1ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS AssessmentIndividual Reflective ReportAssessment code:011Academic Year:2020/21Trimester:2Module Title:Business StrategyModule Code:MOD003337Level:6Module Leader:Benjamin TaiwoWeighting:50%Word Limit:3,000 words – excluding bibliography and any other attachments such as appendicesAssessed LearningOutcomesLO1: Improve abilities of strategic problem identification, analysis and solution.LO2: Integrate business capabilities and functions in an analytical manner.LO3: Improve oral and written presentation abilities.LO5: Demonstrate an understanding of key strategic management concepts, models andliterature and apply knowledge of strategic decision making in a variety of ‘real world’contexts.Submission Deadline:Wednesday 05 May 2021 at 14:00 WRITING YOUR ASSIGNMENT:• This is an individually submitted Business Strategy Reflective Report.• Completing the Business Strategy Game (BSG) is a pre-requisite for undertaking the Business StrategyReflective Report.• The Assessment is an individual reflective strategy report that assesses the progression and outcome of theBusiness Strategy Game.SUBMITTING YOUR ASSIGNMENT:• This assignment is an individual activity, which must be submitted through Turnitin.• Complete the ARU Assignment Cover Sheet and obtain a Turnitin Assignment receipt.• Work uploaded on Turnitin after the stated date and time will not receive a mark unless an extension has beenapproved in advance of the deadline.• Requests for short-term extensions will only be considered in the case of illness or other cause considered validby the Student Adviser. These must normally be received and agreed by Student Adviser in writing at leasttwenty four hours prior to the deadline.• Any attachments must be marked with your SID number(s) and attached to your assignment before submission.• Please refer to the Academic Regulations, or the Student Handbook for full details.The AssessmentProduce an individual 3,000 word Reflective Business Strategy Report (RBSR) in which you:• Identify and evaluate the group decisions made in playing the Business Strategy SimulationGame• Evaluate both the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the decision-making process.• The RBSR is not simply a diary, nor a description of events• Use Harvard referencing• Include an appendix and bibliography• Submission of the Reflective Business Strategy Report assignment must be submitted viaTurnitin.The Tasks1. Identify and evaluate the major strategic decisions made during the BSG simulation.30 marks2. With reference to relevant management models and concepts, evaluate the impact of a range offactors in the business environments which you considered in the decisions taken in developinga competitive strategy.30 marks3. Critically analyse the impact of emerging technologies on the future competitiveness of thebusiness and make useful recommendations to future managers of the organisation.40 marksTotal 100 marksBusiness Strategy: Reflective report SID:Type SID hereWord count:(Excluding text in abstracts; data; tables; figures;diagrams; in-text citations; footnotes/endnotes usedfor reference purposes and kept within reasonablelimits; references; appendices. Per ARU AcademicRegulations 12, 2019, §6.83).Type word count hereAcademic honesty:[By submitting this assignment, I declare that] I understand thatthe piece of work submitted will be considered as the final andcomplete version of my assignment of which I am otherwisethe sole author. I understand both the meaning andconsequences of plagiarism and that my work has beenappropriately attributed unless otherwise stated. I have notknowingly allowed another to copy my work.Assignment deadline:14:00 on ………. 2021Assignment:011Module:MOD003337Lecturer:Your lecturer’s name hereSemester/Trimester:2Academic year:2020-21 Executive summaryDELETE TEXT BEFORE SUBMISSIONAn executive summary should summarise the contents of the report. It should not simply take the form of a generalintroduction. It is ideally compiled after you have completed your report and presented in past tense.Table of contentsYou must present a table of contents with page numbers.List of figuresList any figures you are planning to use in this report.List of tablesList any tables that your report will contain.Introduction – Mission, vision and values, corporate objectives (Group businessstatements)MissionDELETE TEXT BEFORE SUBMISSIONA mission statement is designed to inform and inspire the company’s stakeholders, primarily employees, the mediaand general public, about the company’s CURRENT purpose – why the company exists.VisionDELETE TEXT BEFORE SUBMISSIONA vision statement is designed to inform and inspire the company’s stakeholders, primarily shareholders, about thecompany’s FUTURE purpose – what your company intends to achieve in the future.ValuesDELETE TEXT BEFORE SUBMISSIONA values statement is designed to inform all stakeholders about the company’s core beliefs – usually expressingbelief on ethical stance, especially as regards corporate social responsibility, sustainable supply chains etc.Corporate objectivesDELETE TEXT BEFORE SUBMISSIONHere you should state your corporate objectives. These should relate directly to the strategy/strategies you haveadopted during the game in achieving the ‘Investor Expectation’ KPIs.You can use market-based strategic models such as, but not limited to Porter’s Generic Strategies and the AnsoffMatrix to describe a fixed approach to competing in the market if you have adopted one. The same goes for theBalanced Scorecard, which many students have found useful as a means to set more granular and holistic objectivesthan the five Investor Expectation (IE) measures. Note that four of the IE measures are very top-level financialmeasures (RoE, EPS, credit rating and share price) which are useful to investors; but they are not much direct use inrunning your company and making strategic decisions.On the other hand, you may have played the game more inductively by setting strategy and objectives in relation tothe competitive information reports produced after each round of the game. In this case, your objectives will havebeen more ‘emergent’ and will probably have changed more than once during the game.Objectives should be stated in the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) formatand should be completely unambiguous.For example:Achieve by Year 13 [timebound] a market share of [specific] not less than 15% [measurable]You do not at this stage need to address achievability and realism; you can do that in the year-by-year evaluation ofstrategic decision-making in the next section.(1) Identifying and evaluating the major strategic decisions made during the BSGsimulation (Year-by-year evaluation)DELETE TEXT BEFORE SUBMISSIONHere you will reflect and report on your yearly activities from Year 11 (Week 6). This must be presented on a yearby-year basis as prescribed below. The unit of analysis in this section is decisions taken by your team.You need to be disciplined here about how much you write. Pick what you believe to be the most importantdecisions made in each round, and evaluate them from three perspectives: What decisions did you take as an organization – how do they relate to corporate strategic objectives?Were you forced to make certain decisions owing to constraints rather than directly in pursuit of objectives? How did you make these decisions – for example, what was the process you went through in your team?Was there any conflict or disagreement; if so how was it resolved? Did you persuade each other or did youvote? What was the outcome of the decisions – were your strategic objectives helped or hindered by thedecisions you took? Did you change your strategy as a result? You should ideally present some form ofevidence of outcomes – e.g. screenshots of results.You do not have to reflect on the practice rounds 11 and 12, but you may choose to do so if you feel that they wereparticularly important in terms of shaping your team’s approach to the game; team formation etc.It may be appropriate to use behavioural models such as Belbin’s team role theory, the Jung/MBTI personalitytypes, or perhaps Tuckman’s theory of team formation, to evaluate team behaviours.1.1. Year 111.2. Year 121.3. Year 131.4. Year 141.5. Year 151.6. Year 16(2) Making use of relevant management models and concepts to evaluate the impactof a range of factors in the business environments which you considered in thedecisions taken in developing a competitive strategy (Business environment analysis)DELETE TEXT BEFORE SUBMISSIONHere you should reflect on various theoretical tools discussed in class and present a minimum of 8 in yourreflection in this section. We would like to see depth and detail in application of each theory to the delivery of yourbusiness through various decisions made in your company.You need to be critical – you should explain why you are choosing a particular analysis model rather than others fora given purpose. You should also be clear about any weaknesses which a particular model has, in its specificapplication to the game.2.1. Macro-environment (External Environment)DELETE TEXT BEFORE SUBMISSIONHere you should address the macro environment for your company using techniques such as, but not limited to,STEEPLED analysis (do it properly; i.e. BRIEF sentence describing each factor; quantitative rating of each factorin each global region; reference for each factor). See if you can find sector reports about the athletic footwear/sportsapparel industry as quality sources.2.2. Meso-environment (Competitive Environment)DELETE TEXT BEFORE SUBMISSIONHere you should address the meso-environment, i.e. the immediate competitive and market environment for yourcompany, using techniques such as, but not limited to, Porter’s Five Forces; Porter’s Value Chain; the GEMcKinsey matrix; Bowman’s strategy clock etc.Within reason, you can eke out your word count by presenting your analysis in diagrams – but you must discussapplication of theories used. You will still need a short paragraph picking out the key learnings, but you will havesaved many words.2.3. Micro-environment (Internal Environment)DELETE TEXT BEFORE SUBMISSIONThe micro-business environment is the internal environment of your company.You definitely know about the interactions within your team, so you may wish to focus on this in your analysis ofthe micro environment of your company. Internal analysis techniques include (but are not limited to): McKinsey’s 7S framework, which is a thematic tool for evaluating different dimensions of the internalbusiness environment in much the same way that PESTEL works for the external environment. Cultural typologies such as Handy’s four types, Schein’s model of organizational culture; Deal andKennedy’s risk vs reward framework, etc. SWOT Analysis(3) Critically analysing the impact of emerging technologies on the futurecompetitiveness of the business and making useful recommendations to futuremanagers of the organisationDELETE TEXT BEFORE SUBMISSIONHere you should consider a range of emerging technologies which may be relevant to the nature of business yourorganization has delivered during the BSG – these should include any emerging technologies in the form ofArtificial Intelligence, Robotics, 3-D Technology, Cloud-based Technologies, etc. You may define/describe whatemerging technologies are.You should identify ONE emerging technology which may be relevant to your organisation in the future; andcritically evaluate its impact on the activities of your organization – i.e. evaluate its opportunities and the threats itposes to the future of your organization or its industry (these must be discussed rather than being simply presentedas bullet points or in simple tabular form).Following the critical evaluation of the impact of your identified emerging technology on your organization or itsindustry, you should present useful recommendations that future Directors could consider – either to take advantageof/maximise opportunities OR overcome/minimize threats.(4) Conclusion (Overall performance review against investor expectations)DELETE TEXT BEFORE SUBMISSIONIn this section, you should offer an overall summary of your company’s performance against investor expectationsset year by year. This does not need to be lengthy or detailed, but should cover key KPIs such as finance, CSR, etc.ReferencesInsert Harvard-style bibliography here4 GRADING RUBRIC: MID POINT % ACHIEVABLE LEVEL 6Exceptional95Outstanding85Excellent75Very Good65Satisfactory55Basic45Limited35Poor25Inadequate10EVALUATION&CREATIVITIY25%Exceptionalinformation baseexploring andanalysing thediscipline, its theoryand ethical issueswith extraordinaryoriginality andautonomy. Workmay be consideredfor publication withinAnglia RuskinUniversity.Demonstratesintellectual originalityand imagination.Outstandinginformation baseexploring andanalysing thediscipline, its theoryand ethical issueswith clear originalityand autonomy.An exemplar ofstructured/accurateexpression.Demonstratesintellectual originalityand imagination.Excellent knowledgebase that supportsanalysis, evaluationand problem-solvingintheory/practice/ethicsof discipline withconsiderableoriginality.Excellentmanagement oflearning resources,with a degree ofautonomy/researchthat may exceed theassessment brief.Structured andcreative expression.Good knowledgebase that supportsanalysis, evaluationand problem-solvingin theory/practice/ethics ofdiscipline with someoriginality.Good managementof learningresources, withconsistent selfdirected research.Structured andaccurate expression.Satisfactoryknowledge basethat supports someanalysis,evaluation andproblem-solving intheory/practice/ethics of discipline.Acceptable level ofacademic/intellectual skillsgoing beyonddescription attimes.Basic knowledgebase with someomissions at thelevel oftheoretical/ethicalissues. Restrictedability to discusstheory and/or orsolve problems indiscipline.Basic use oflearning resourceswith littleautonomy. Somedifficulties withacademic/intellectual skills.Limited knowledgebase. Limitedunderstanding ofdiscipline/ethicalissues. Difficulty withtheory and problemsolving in discipline.Unable to workautonomously. Littleinput to teams. Weakacademic/ intellectualskills. Still mainlydescriptive. Generaldifficulty withstructure/accuracy inexpression.Little evidence ofknowledge base. Littleevidence ofunderstanding ofdiscipline/ethicalissues. Significantdifficulty with theoryand problem solving indiscipline.Very weak academic/intellectual skills. Workis significantlydescriptive. Significantdifficulty withstructure/accuracy inexpression.Inadequate knowledgebase. Inadequateunderstanding ofdiscipline/ethical issues.Major difficulty with theoryand problem solving indisciplineExtremely weakacademic/intellectualskills. Work issignificantly descriptive.Major difficulty withstructure/accuracy inexpression. .CAUSALITY15%Exceptionalinformation baseexploring andanalysing thediscipline, its theoryand ethical issueswith extraordinaryoriginality andautonomy. Workmay be consideredfor publication withinAnglia RuskinUniversity.Demonstratesintellectual originalityand imagination.Outstandinginformation baseexploring andanalysing thediscipline, its theoryand ethical issueswith clear originalityand autonomy.An exemplar ofstructured/accurateexpression.Demonstratesintellectual originalityand imagination.Excellent knowledgebase that supportsanalysis, evaluationand problem-solvingintheory/practice/ethicsof discipline withconsiderableoriginality.Excellentmanagement oflearning resources,with degree ofautonomy/researchthat may exceed theassessment brief.Structured andcreative expression.Good knowledgebase that supportsanalysis, evaluationand problem-solvingin theory/practice/ethics ofdiscipline with someoriginality.Good managementof learningresources, withconsistent selfdirected research.Structured andaccurate expression.Satisfactoryknowledge basethat supports someanalysis,evaluation andproblem-solving intheory/practice/ethics of discipline.Acceptable level ofacademic/intellectual skillsgoing beyonddescription attimes.Basic knowledgebase with someomissions at thelevel oftheoretical/ethicalissues. Restrictedability to discusstheory and/or orsolve problems indiscipline.Basic use oflearning resourceswith littleautonomy. Somedifficulties withacademic/intellectual skills.Limited knowledgebase. Limitedunderstanding ofdiscipline/ethicalissues. Difficulty withtheory and problemsolving in discipline.Unable to workautonomously. Littleinput to teams. Weakacademic/ intellectualskills. Still mainlydescriptive. Generaldifficulty withstructure/accuracy inexpression.Little evidence ofknowledge base. Littleevidence ofunderstanding ofdiscipline/ethicalissues. Significantdifficulty with theoryand problem solving indiscipline.Very weak academic/intellectual skills. Workis significantlydescriptive. Significantdifficulty withstructure/accuracy inexpression.Inadequate knowledgebase. Inadequateunderstanding ofdiscipline/ethical issues.Major difficulty with theoryand problem solving indiscipline.Extremely weakacademic/intellectualskills. Work issignificantly descriptive.Major difficulty withstructure/accuracy inexpression.APPLICATION25%Exceptionalinformation baseexploring andanalysing thediscipline, its theoryand ethical issueswith extraordinaryoriginality andOutstandinginformation baseexploring andanalysing thediscipline, its theoryand ethical issueswith clear originalityand autonomy.Excellent knowledgebase that supportsanalysis, evaluationand problem-solvingintheory/practice/ethicsof discipline withGood knowledgebase that supportsanalysis, evaluationand problem-solvingin theory/practice/ethics ofdiscipline with someoriginality.Satisfactoryknowledge basethat supports someanalysis,evaluation andproblem-solving intheory/practice/ethics of discipline.Basic knowledgebase with someomissions at thelevel oftheoretical/ethicalissues. Restrictedability to discusstheory and/or orLimited knowledgebase. Limitedunderstanding ofdiscipline/ethicalissues. Difficulty withtheory and problemsolving in discipline.Little evidence ofknowledge base. Littleevidence ofunderstanding ofdiscipline/ethicalissues. Significantdifficulty with theoryInadequate knowledgebase. Inadequateunderstanding ofdiscipline/ethical issues.Major difficulty with theoryand problem solving indiscipline. autonomy. Workmay be consideredfor publication withinAnglia RuskinUniversity.Demonstratesintellectual originalityand imagination.An exemplar ofstructured/accurateexpression.Demonstratesintellectual originalityand imagination.considerableoriginality.Excellentmanagement oflearning resources,with a degree ofautonomy/researchthat may exceed theassessment brief.Structured andcreative expression.Good managementof learningresources, withconsistent selfdirected research.Structured andaccurate expression.Acceptable level ofacademic/intellectual skillsgoing beyonddescription attimes.solve problems indiscipline.Basic use oflearning resourceswith littleautonomy. Somedifficulties withacademic/intellectual skills.Unable to workautonomously. Littleinput to teams. Weakacademic/ intellectualskills. Still mainlydescriptive. Generaldifficulty withstructure/accuracy inexpression.and problem solving indiscipline.Very weak academic/intellectual skills. Work issignificantly descriptive.Significant difficulty withstructure/accuracy inexpression.Extremely weakacademic/intellectualskills. Work issignificantly descriptive.Major difficulty withstructure/accuracy inexpression. 6
