Strategic Management BM045-3-3

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MODULE: Strategic Management

LO1 Assess strategic management concepts and theories to formulate, Final Exam
implement and evaluate strategies for organisations (C3,PLO2)

Propose models, techniques and theories to contribute towards

LO2 Essay
organisation’s success using environmental factor analysis
analysis in the form of essay(A3,PLO9)

Practice alternative strategic direction for organisaiton to employ Group

LO3
and execute using real life case studies, through group work presentation
presetnaiton .(A5,PL08)

Assessment Criteria
Assessment will be made on the sound understanding and effective application of theory
and techniques. To pass the assignment, key aspects of the business must be identified, and
key analytical tools and techniques appropriately used. To achieve a distinction, a complete
analysis of the situation is expected along with a sound understanding of theoretical tools
and their effective and creative application; a coherent structuring and effective
presentation of the report will also be expected.

NB: It is expected that the overall presentation of the assignment, including document
design, style and quality of writing, referencing, use of tables, diagrams and appendices,
will be of 'reasonable' standard. As such, assessment of assignments takes presentation into
account. Work that does not meet the standard will be penalised. Clarification of quality
standards will be given during module delivery.

Assessment Task

You are expected to carry out strategic analysis on the banking industry in any
country of your choice with a particular bank in your chosen country as the focus.
Required:

Based on the information from journals, books, reports and other reliable sources, you
need to:

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Question 1

Analyse your selected bank’s external (using PEST and the Five Forces model) and
internal environment (using the Value Chain Analysis model). Based on your analysis,
identify some major challenges for the bank.. Justify and support your arguments using
relevant resources ( based on your external and internal analysis)

Question 2

Propose strategies (using the TOWS matrix) for the future direction of your selected bank
by taking into account any expected changes in the environment and/or its competition.

Question 3

Make your recommendations on the implementation of your chosen strategies proposed

in the TOWS matrix. Your recommendations should thoroughly discuss and evaluate the
implications and consequences resulting from the recommended strategies.

Attention will be paid to:

 Critical evaluation and discussion. Issues will be dealt with deeper and on an analytical
plane, based on good research - with industry examples, data projections and commentaries.
 Balanced researched materials. Appropriate and different sources which must include
sufficient academic research, not just secondary research from URLs or Wikipedia.
 Proper referencing and citation. Harvard Referencing is a must. Citation must include,
apart from the normal details, the page number of the where issue for discussion has been
taken from.

C. REQUIREMENTS
The assignment must adhere to standard academic documentation standards. (Failure to do
so will result in loss of marks in the Format, Citations and References criterion.)

 You are to write the citations and references following the Harvard System.

 You are required to use Times New Roman as the font type and 12 pts as the font
size.

 Vertical/line spacing is to be 1.5 line spacing.

 You are required to provide page numbers to your pages.

 You must use enough of your own words to convince that you understand what you
are writing. Evidence of originality in your writing reflected by effort of

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paraphrasing and use of own personal expression in your individual analysis and
evaluation. You should not submit a “copy and paste” work as you may only be
awarded at most a PASS even though proper citations and referencing are given.
 You should on no account make reference to www.wikipedia.com,
www.about.com or the likes as sources for your work. These websites can be useful
to provide you with the definitions and the general ideas about the concepts and
theories within the module but they are not acceptable to be inserted into your
academic writing as references.
 You are encouraged but not limited to use Proquest (accessible at
http://proquest.umi.com/login; obtain the login and password from the university
librarians).
 You may include diagrams, figures, tables etc. without word penalty. If you are to
present information in table format, ensure the information is presented briefly.
You are not to write paragraphed information in the table in order to avoid word
count.

 You must have at least 8 references from sources of authority (i.e. academic
journals, academic websites, or textbooks). However, for students who wish to
receive more marks in their assignment, they should strive to go beyond the
minimal requirement by looking for more relevant and authoritative sources of
information.
 You must ensure that your writing is clear and concise as quantity does not always
guarantee quality. Therefore, you should not expect by writing more will enable to
get a high mark unless the information is presented with clarity and relevance with
high degree of analysis and evaluation.

D. GUIDELINES
A written essay must be compiled in a suitable format that must incorporate the following:
 A clear and concise outline of the practical strategic management issues;
 Generation of conclusions that draw upon both theoretical and practical aspects;
 Use of appropriate terminology that will indicate a thorough understanding of
strategic management concepts;
 Suitable referencing of the materials used to support arguments put forward that
will indicate competence in the academic issues discussed;
 Evidence to suggest a more in-depth understanding of the strategic management
concepts being reviewed and their practical applications;

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 Written content and structure that will demonstrate practical benefits being derived
from the module, reading lists and research required for the assignment;
 A wide range of contemporary sources used and cited.

E. MARK DISTRIBUTION FOR ASSIGNMENT

The mark allocation for the assignment will be as follows:
 40% of the mark will be allocated for familiarity with subject/material and evidence
of original thinking and understanding of existing body of knowledge.

 40% of the marks will be allocated for Quality of argument/reasoning; the depth of
analysis; expansion of ideas/argument and recognition of wider context/complexity of
topic. Clarity and flow of information and logic sequence with section well linked and
well organized

 20% will be allocated for the use of supporting evidence; acknowledgement of

sources: references, quotes, statistics and range and relevance of bibliography.

There is no penalty against the number of words for the assignment. However, students are
advised to provide a reasonable number of pages to answer the questions asked in the
assignment within the word count of 3500 words.
This individual assignment represents 40% of the total marks for this module.

F. GRADING
Marks are awarded based on the following guidelines:

GRADE
Grade Description of performance level
Distinction  Ability to show good application of theories and concepts covered in the
75% – 100% module with reference being made effectively to the context of the case or
questions
 The answer must be able to exhibit high depth of analysis and evaluation
supported by extensive sources of relevant authority (using more than the
10 minimal requirement for references) with clear linkage to the issues
concerned in the questions.
 Good use of language with minimum or no grammatical errors ad spelling
mistakes.
 Expressions of ideas are clear, concise and comprehensive.
 Overall answer show high originality of own writing (this can be evident
through effort of paraphrasing).
 Proper layout with proper heading and subheading and consistency in
referencing and citations.

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 Each reference is be reflected by a citation in the body of the assignment.

Credit  Ability to show proper understanding of the theories and concepts.

65% –74%  Answer shows basic level of analysis and evaluation with some evidence
of references being made to the issues and context concerned in the
question.
 Minimal number of references from relevant sources is made.
 Citations and references are present but not consistent.
 Some grammatical and spelling errors are made.


Pass  Some understanding of the theories and concepts are shown albeit with
50% – 64% certain mistakes on the application and definition.
 Very limited level amount of analysis and evaluation is made.
 Inconsistency in writing the references and citations.
 Some parts in the answer where citations are required are without citations.
 Lack of originality in writing.
 Answer fails to flow cohesively.

Fail  Answer given by students fails to address the question.

Below 50%  Poor understanding of the theories and concepts. Many incidences of
irrelevancy and inaccuracy.
 Ideas are presented in a fragmented manner.
 High evidence of students copying and pasting works from other sources.
 Citation and references are written in a highly inconsistent fashion.
 All or many of the references do not adhere to Harvard System.
 Less than the minimal sources of references have been made.

Level 3 Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation 2019