Prepare a report suggesting the best strategic direction for the firm to grow internationally, and to develop strategies that will help them to create a competitive advantage and achieve their strategic objectives.

Assessment brief – Strategic Management CMDA
Individual Strategic Management Report
Word limit: 3,500

Details of Assessment

You are the newly appointed strategic consultant with JD Sports PLC a UK based retailer of fashionable
branded sports and casual wear. The board of directors in UK have decided to expand the business in Asian Market’.

Therefore, you are instructed to prepare a report suggesting the best strategic direction for the firm to grow internationally, and to develop strategies that will help them to create a competitive advantage and achieve their strategic objectives.

You need to consider effectively scanning both the internal and external environment for JD sports in order to help the business to explore new opportunities in the Asian market.

To narrow down your report you can choose Any Asian country of your choice.

Company Background

Established in the year 1983 by John Wardle and David Makin, JD Sports has long been established as the
leading UK specialist retailer of fashionable branded, sports and casual wear. What started as a single shop in Bury, England has now expanded across the UK, and by 1996, JD has opened a total of 56 stores. By 2011, JD has dominated most of the EU, primarily in Germany, Ireland, France, Netherlands and Spain, with Denmark and Sweden to follow suit. At this moment in time, JD was already regarded as the mo st innovative visual merchandiser of sportswear with the best and most exclusive stylish range.

Fast forward to 2016, JD officially launched its first store in Asia, right here in Malaysia. In November, JD opened its first flagship store in Pavilion Elite, Kuala Lumpur, and its third store in Asia in Sunway Velocity, Cheras.

JD looks forward to a progressive development in Asia in the days to come.

However, for better understanding of the organisation you are required to research the given organisation including its challenges and strategic management approach to expand in the Asian
Market

• Applying the knowledge of relevant strategic management frameworks, you need to
• Carry out the external analysis
• Address the internal analysis
• Identify key issues, evaluate alternatives and make conclusions based on thorough analysis

Make appropriate strategy recommendations for the given organisation in today’s business environment.

All these must be completed by accessing, selecting and utilising a variety of business information
sources.

Assessment Task Details

Your individual strategic management report will need to identify the internal and external opportunities
and threats facing the organisation (s) given in the case study, and utilize appropriate frameworks that
inform the development of strategic options and recommendations for the organisation(s) in terms of
future strategic directions and methods of expansion in Asian markets.

The report should therefore be comprised of areas for consideration that address the following
questions:

Appraise the current strategic positioning of the given organisation. (LO1, LO2, LO3 and LO5)

The following will need to be carried out to address this question:

Undertake a critically evaluated strategic audit, using appropriate models & frameworks, of the firm’s
existing strategy in relation to its ability to exploit new global opportunities to create a more competitive
advantage

In order to prepare report for the board of directors you are required to scan Micro and Macro
environment of the company where it operates.

This will need to include an critical assessment of the external MACRO environment (using the PEST
or PESTEL framework); external MICRO environment (using Porter’s 5 Force framework) and internal
analysis of the organisation (applying Jay Barney’s VRIO or Michael Porter’s Value Chain Analysis) to
identify opportunities and threats in both these external and internal environmental layers.

What strategic recommendations can you propose for the organisation (s) given in the case
study to strengthen its current position in the given Market? (LO4, LO6)

The following will need to be carried out to address this question:

Your report must include an analysis and evaluation of organisation competitive strategies in a critical
and informed way.

Evaluating best alternatives and make possible recommendation and conclusions based on thorough analysis and consideration of their future competitive strategies, applying either Porter’s Generic Strategies of Competition framework or Bowman and Faulkner’s Strategy Clock.

Your final strategic management report should contain:

• Executive Summary
• Introduction (Company & industry background, key challenges faced by the selected company)
• External environmental analysis for identifying opportunities and threats: Macro (PEST or
PESTEL) & Micro (5 Forces Framework for analysing industry structure and the nature of
competition)
• Internal environmental analysis for identifying strengths and weaknesses: VRIO or value chain
analysis
• Identification of Competitive Strategies (Bowman’s Clock or Porter’s Generic Strategies)
• Strategic directions (Markets, Products, Services) & methods of expansion
• Conclusion and Recommendations
• In-text citations and list of references using Harvard Referencing

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