GreenwichSchool of Management

Undergraduate Assignment

Title of Module / STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Lecturer / John Threlfall/Stephen Fettes
Assessment Task / Ghost Town
This town is coming like a ghost town
All the clubs have been closed down
Bands won't play no more
Too much fighting on the dance floor
Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town?
We danced and sang as the music played in any boomtown
This place is coming like a ghost town
The Specials
The Death of the High Street
The High Street is in crisis. In the last two years Jessops, Blockbusters, HMV, Comet, JJB Sport, Peacocks, Game, Ellie Louise, Aquastcutum, La Senza, Habitat, TJ Hughes, JJB Sports, Focus DIY, Jane Norman, Barratts, Blacks Leisure, Clinton Cards, Republic, Homeform, Pumpkin Patch have all filed for administration.
The High Street has been hit by the triple whammy of the double dip recession, digital competition and the emergence of mega shopping centres.
You have been requested,in small consultancy groups,to undertake the followingwith respect to a High Street store of your choice. Produce a briefing paper in which you identify the need for strategic change in the digital competitive environment of 2013. You may wish to focus on either a click and brick or a pure play strategy. Identify the need for change, how the business enterprise might realign itself to the needs of the external environment and evaluate the possible outcome of the strategic change programme. Support your briefing paper with reference to a range of strategic management theories drawn from: paradigm shifts, macro-economic environment, Pestel, SWOT, product life-cycle competitive advantage, 5 Forces, BCG matrix, Ansoff’s matrix, McKinsey 7’s, experience curve,cultural web etc. in which you evaluate retail in the 21st century.
Identify and evaluate how a knowledge of strategic management/strategic thinking together with change management can improve an organizations competitiveness and efficiency. You are also encouraged to provide a critique of contemporary strategic management research and practice. A presentation of your report will be undertaken in class. All members are expected to participate. You may, if you wish, produce your presentation as a digital video presentation. Remember to annotate all the strategic models
NB Please include your PowerPointor Prezi slides.
Presentation/Video plus Briefing paper (40/60)
The presentations will be undertaken in the seminars in week 7,8 & 9
Assessment format / Harvard referencing
Bibliography – comprehensive bibliography expected
Appendix
Word limit / 3,000 maximum plus an appendix which does not impact on the word count
There is a word limit penalty
10% excess - no reduction
20% - 5%, 30% - 10%, 40% - 15%, 50% - 20%
Assessment in excess of the word limit will be penalised in accordance with the above scale
Learning outcomes to be examined in this assessment / 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of corporate strategy and how it relates to the long term planning process;
2. Analyse how changes in the corporate environment create the necessity of modification of corporate strategy;
3. Illustrate how corporate strategy influences management decisions relating to resource acquisition, market selection, size and structure;
4. Demonstrate the importance of time horizons for planning strategy and how the latter encompasses forecasting and uncertainty
5.
Assessment criteria / Explanatory comments on the assessment criteria / Maximum marks for each section
Content, style, relevance, originality / Professional presentation skills. Ownership of the material presented. Persuasive, holistic approach
Original, critical thought. / 20 Briefing Paper
20 Presentation
plus PowerPoint slides, video or audio clips
Format, referencing, bibliography / Harvard referencing.
Good range of books and journal articles.
Correct grammar and syntax. / 20
Constructive critical analysis, introduction, conclusion / Critique of a range of strategic theories/models/approaches.
Practical and pragmatic conclusion &
recommendations. Include material beyond that presented in module. Embrace critical as well as normative perspectives and demonstrate utilisation of relevant critical reading / 20 Briefing Paper
20 Presentation

Students should conform to the conventions of the above assessment format in the preparation of their assignments. The relevant assessment criteria have been stated to enable and guide students in the preparation of their work. Achievement of the learningoutcomes and the application of relevant theories to the assessment task should be demonstrated.