PRESENTATION TASK
Changes such as those in politics and information and communication technology
(ICT) have transformed business. In this dynamic environment, companies must be
sensitive to those changes.
As part of their planning process, the companies listed below have asked for advice to determine their future business strategy and improve management decision making.
They are inviting contributions from business advisors to help them gain a better
understanding of the environment in which they operate and the effect of
technological change on aspects of their organisations.
Choose one of thecompanies listed below and present the following consultancy briefing:
1. Assess the general environment of the company to identify the major opportunities and constraints it is facing. Use any three of the following six variables of the environment for your analysis: political, economic,socio-cultural, technological, legal or ethical.
2. Assess the effects of ICT issues such as technological change on thecompany and its overall technology strategy as a source of competitive advantage.
Companies:
• REVOLUT
• SPIRE HEALTHCARE GROUP PLC
• JD SPORTS FASHION PLC
• ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC
• RIGHTMOVE PLC
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA AND GUIDANCE
This is a practical assignment and must be completed individually.
You are to act as a business advisor giving a boardroom presentation. You are not expected to define any business theories/models, but rather to apply those
theories/models to explain the environment your chosen company is operating in
and the extent to which the company’s technology strategy can be seen as a
source of competitive advantage.
To deliver a successful consultancy briefing, use the key topics from the relevant
lectures on the business environment and technology and their corresponding
explanations in Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5 & 8 of the module textbook Business in Context
(Needle, D and Burns, J, 2019). For further reading and academic sources, see
below.
With real-world company data and examples, use the key lecture and chapter
topics as well as your own independent academic research to explain and assess
the general environment the company is operating in.
Using PESTLE, assess any three of the following six variables:
political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, legal, or ethical.
Based on your environmental analysis, advise on major opportunities and constraints faced by the company.
In addition, research and critically assess the effect of technological change,
particularly changes in information and communication technology (ICT) on the
company.
With real-world company data and examples, select one business function and assess the extent to which technology has improved the company’s financial performance thanks to improvements in productivity, quality, or cost reduction.
Based on your findings, assess the company’s overall technology strategy as a source of competitive advantage.
You will have 5 minutes to present your analysis to the company’s senior management as follows:
• Cover slide (including student ID, module name and code, coursework title, and name of your chosen company) and final slide with references.
• Five content slides as follows:
• Three slides to present your findings relevant to any three PESTLE variables of your environmental assessment, showing the interaction between the company and its environment (3 x 15 marks for each PESTLE variable = 45 marks).
• One slide to present your findings relevant to opportunities and constraints associated with the general environment of the company (15 marks).
• One slide to present your findings relevant to the impact of technology on
the company and its overall technology strategy as a source of competitive advantage (15 marks for the impact of technology and 15 marks for the overall technology strategy = 30 marks).
• Academic and Presentation Skills (10 marks)
Total 100 marks.
Any additional slides will not be considered for final marking.
Once you have completed your consultancy briefing, the senior management may
ask further questions, if necessary, for clarification.
Points to consider:
• Present issues clearly, confidently, and concisely, with relevant practical
examples.
• Show a high standard of presentation and communication skills.
• Appear credible and professional.
You must not read verbatim from a script. You may, however, have a small card
listing brief notes/reminders with you, but you must be able to brief the
boardroom with confidence, maintaining good eye-contact throughout.
READING REQUIREMENT
Needle, D, and Burns, J., 2019. Business in Context. Cengage Learning. (Chapters
1,3,4,5&8).
Morrison, J., 2020. The Global Business Environment: Towards
Sustainability? London: Macmillan Education UK. (Chapters 3,4,5,6 & 9).
Boddy, D., 2019. Management: using practice and theory to develop skill. Eighth
edition. Harlow, England: Pearson (Chapter 12).
Any three further academic texts (Journal articles or textbooks) that you locate on
the ARU Online Library. ARUL Digital Library sources available online (you must
include ARUL website URL for any ARUL Digital Library sources used in
references).
ARUL Digital Library data bases available online (you must include ARUL website
URL for any ARUL Digital Library sources used in references):
FAME Business database, which contains detailed information on UK with up to 10 years financial information, Business Source Premier, a searchable business and management database with company information, and FT.com, with Financial Times articles and special reports.
Relevant information found online pertaining to the company of your choice (visit
the website of your chosen company for its annual report and other necessary
information).
UK news sources:
BBC News, The Times, The Economist, The Guardian
newspaper, The Independent, The Telegraph.
You must include at least six academic references.
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