Strategic Analysis Report-3000 WORD COUNT
Instructions for assessment
This assignment is focused on the selected organisation, its industry and business environment.
Chosen company: the links below is mandatory to be used and applied into the report for the chosen company.
VF Corporation Acquires Supreme For $2 Billion
Information about the deal and news
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/v.f.-corp-vfc-acquires-supreme-brand-enhances-portfolio-2020-12-29
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/v-f-corp-vfc-acquires-160404695.html
Corporate site
https://www.vfc.com/investors
https://www.vfc.com/news/press-release/1741/vf-corporation-completes-acquisition-of-supreme
Use Mintel database for the purposes of market and data analysis. Mintel is global market research database providing data, market analysis, competitive intelligence, and product intelligence for a range of industry sectors.
The Strategic Report should address the following:
How will the work be assessed?
Brief introduction of the report
Brief introduction of the company
Q1: (30%) External analysis (NOT about organisation)
Discuss the business environment and identify several Opportunities – Os and Threats – Ts.
Note that there is no need to address each factor (if for example there are no important legal or technological issues do not discuss these factors). Your task is to identify and discuss 6 most important issues in your opinion.
Demonstrate how an issue is an Opportunity or a Threat. Use PESTLE.
Industry analysis (5 Forces) should be applied to assess industry attractiveness (each force should be discussed and assessed as High, Moderate or Low and industry attractiveness should be assessed having these forces in mind).
Make sure that you use appropriately referenced data (charts, figures, news, quotes etc) to support your arguments.
Also, note that this is an external analysis, so it is not about the firm but about issues in that industry (in context).
Q2: (30%) Internal analysis (about organisation) -short brief introduction
Identify and discuss organisation’s unique resources & distinctive capabilities (approximately 10-12 Strengths and Weaknesses should be covered in total). Discuss resources (what a company has) and competences (activities) separately.
While addressing unique resources (physical – e.g. retail outlets, manufacturing facilities, products etc.; human – e.g. people and teams crucial for successful strategic development; intangible – e.g. brands, links to external stakeholders etc. and possibly financial) make sure that each is discussed separately and concluded as an S or a W. Identify and discuss 5 to 6 resources in total.
While discussing distinctive competences construct Value Chain for the organisation and within list a number of specific and distinctive activities for your organisation (5-6 in total).
Demonstrate how unique capabilities link to competitive advantage (each distinctive competence from Value Chain should be “pushed” through VRIO to identify Core Competences for the organisation).
Once you identify one (or two at most) core competence provide a discussion about these below Value Chain or VRIO. Note that all competences listed n value chain (and VRIO) should be company’s Strengths.
Again, use properly referenced data to support your arguments. This question is about the company (internal analysis). VALUE CHAIN AND VRIO.
Q3: (30%) Strategy Evaluation- short brief introduction
Evaluate the given strategy – using the three SAFe tests:
Construct TOWS populating Os, Ts, Ss and Ws fully (all Os and Ts obtained from Q1, all Ss and Ws obtained from Q2). Place the strategy you are evaluating in one of the inner sections and try to associate it to one or more internal and one or more external items while addressing Suitability.
Construct Power/Interest matrix with a number of relevant stakeholders, then choose two stakeholder groups that will be affected with the strategy and for each discuss if the strategy you are evaluating is acceptable or not and why.
While addressing Feasibility, comment on financial resources and skills required for implementation of the strategy being evaluated.
Exploring Suitability: Is the strategy suitable? Does it make sense? Use of TOWS matrix.
Checking for Acceptability: Use of Power/Attention matrix, identifying most relevant/affected stakeholder groups and assessing if the strategy (being evaluated) is acceptable to them
Testing for Feasibility: Can the strategy be implemented? Looking at available resources (predominantly human – skills and financial)
Note that it is a specific strategy that is evaluated!
PRESENTATION: (10%) We expect a professional report with clear report style (not an essay) e.g. front sheet, contents, clear sections, tables & diagrams and relevant Harvard referencing.
Important points about PESTEL analysis
It is very important to distinguish between external (about external environment surrounding companies in the industry) and internal (about an organisation) analyses.
It is also important to define the industry in context or setting first (e.g. UK budget airlines) – PESTEL should then be applied to that industry as defined!
PESTEL is used to identify the most important external strategic issues (each should be appropriately named and concluded as an Opportunity- O or a Threat-T). A discussion needs to be provided to elaborate your conclusions – use of data (charts, figures, news, quotes etc.) is essential to support the arguments.
Os and Ts should not be discussed and identified for an organisation but in that environment (those are issues affecting all if not most organisations in the industry as defined for the analysis purposes). Os are not strategic recommendations for the company and Ts are not Weaknesses of an organisation.
Also, PESTEL analysis is about how external environment affects the industry (companies within) not the other way around (it is not about how organisations in the industry affect the business environment).
Example of the structure
References to be used:
Textbook:
Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017). Exploring Strategy (Text and Cases), Edition 11. Pearson.
Chapter 1
Additional reading
Grant, R. M. (2013) Contemporary Strategy Analysis,Blackwell, Oxford. (8th Edition).
Chapters 1 & 2.
Journal Article:
Porter, M. (1996) What is Strategy? Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec, pp. 61-78.
Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017). Exploring Strategy (Text and Cases), Edition 11. Pearson.
Textbook:
Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017). Exploring Strategy (Text and Cases), Edition 11. Pearson.
Chapter 3.
Additional reading:
Grant, R.M. (2013) Contemporary Strategy Analysis,Blackwell, Oxford. (8th Edition).
Chapters 3 & 4.
Textbook:
Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017). Exploring Strategy (Text and Cases), Edition 11. Pearson.
Chapter 4.
Additional reading:
Grant, R.M. (2013) Contemporary Strategy Analysis, Blackwell, Oxford. (8th Edition).
Chapter 5.
Textbook:
Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017). Exploring Strategy (Text and Cases), Edition 11. Pearson.
Chapter 4.
Additional reading:
Grant, R.M. (2013) Contemporary Strategy Analysis, Blackwell, Oxford. (8th Edition).
Chapters 7 -10.
Textbook:
Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017). Exploring Strategy (Text and Cases), Edition 11. Pearson.
Chapter 7.
Additional reading:
Grant, R.M. (2013) Contemporary Strategy Analysis,Blackwell, Oxford. (8th Edition).
Chapter 5 & Case 1.
Textbook:
Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017). Exploring Strategy (Text and Cases), Edition 11. Pearson.
Chapters 8 and 11.
Additional reading:
Grant, R.M. (2013) Contemporary Strategy Analysis, Blackwell, Oxford. (8th Edition).
Chapters 11 & 14.
Textbook:
Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017). Exploring Strategy (Text and Cases), Edition 11. Pearson.
Chapter 12.
Additional reading
:Grant, R.M. (2013) Contemporary Strategy Analysis, Blackwell, Oxford. (8th Edition).
Chapters 7 -10.
Textbook:
Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017). Exploring Strategy (Text and Cases), Edition 11. Pearson.
Chapter 6.
[Core] Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017) Exploring Strategy: text and cases. (11th ed.) Harlow: Pearson Education. Chapter 1.
[Further] Grant, R. M. (2016) Contemporary Strategy Analysis. (9th ed.) Chichester: Wiley. Chapter 1 and 2.
[Further] Porter, M. (1996) ”What is Strategy?”. Harvard Business Review. (Vol.74, 6) pp. 61-78.
[Core] Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017) Exploring Strategy: text and cases. (11th ed.) Harlow: Pearson Education. Chapter 2.
[Core] Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017) Exploring Strategy: text and cases. (11th ed.) Harlow: Pearson Education. Chapter 3.
[Further] Grant, R. M. (2016) Contemporary Strategy Analysis. (9th ed.) Chichester: Wiley. Chapter 3 and 4.
[Core] Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017) Exploring Strategy: text and cases. (11th ed.) Harlow: Pearson Education. Chapter 4.
[Further] Grant, R. M. (2016) Contemporary Strategy Analysis. (9th ed.) Chichester: Wiley. Chapter 5.
[Core] Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017) Exploring Strategy: text and cases. (11th ed.) Harlow: Pearson Education. Chapter 4.
[Further] Grant, R. M. (2016) Contemporary Strategy Analysis. (9th ed.) Chichester: Wiley. Chapter 7-10.
[Core] Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017) Exploring Strategy: text and cases. (11th ed.) Harlow: Pearson Education. Chapter 7.
[Further] Grant, R. M. (2016) Contemporary Strategy Analysis. (9th ed.) Chichester: Wiley. Chapter 5 and Case 1.
[Core] Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017) Exploring Strategy: text and cases. (11th ed.) Harlow: Pearson Education. Chapter 8 and 11.
[Further] Grant, R. M. (2016) Contemporary Strategy Analysis. (9th ed.) Chichester: Wiley. Chapter 11 and 14.
Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D., & Regner, P. (2017) Exploring Strategy (Ed. 11) Pearson. Ch. 12.
[Core] Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2017) Exploring Strategy: text and cases. (11th ed.) Harlow: Pearson Education. Chapter 6.
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