Implementing Strategy

Assignment Task Part B: Academic Essay (1500 words, 40%)

Making and implementing business strategies within organizations has always been a challenging task. This is because there are so many factors which a?ect how we go about conducting strategy projects. Some factors are common to all businesses and have been around for many hundreds of years. For example, competition between firms, the health of the national and local economy, styles of management and the culture within the business and society. Some factors are more contemporary and are emerging, like the growth of the internet, pandemics, the growing power of social media, the impact of technology.

Look through the content of the module and the core textbook and choose a factor which you find interesting. You might be interested in environmental factors or internal factors. You might be interested in the financial side of businesses or the people side of businesses. You might be interested in the creative side of strategy making or the analytical nature of business modelling. You might be interested in social media or what makes a good business strategy. The choice is yours.

Your Task:

Once you have chosen your factor, discuss how the factor impacts upon the practice of making or implementing strategy. Remember, the purpose of this module is to develop yourknowledge and capability in the practice of making and implementing business strategies. This essay gives you the opportunity to reflect upon and critically review how the factor affects this practice.

When thinking about the practice of making strategy, you might want to consider one or more of the following aspects:

• How to conduct strategy projects: for example, the 6 step Business Strategy Method.

• The implementation of strategy: for example, making action plans and managing change within the firm.

• Business strategies: the actual strategy a business chooses to enact. For example, to pursue cost leadership, to sell online to end customers, to export products.

Part B of the assignment is an Academic Essay. An academic essay is a specific type of document. An essay is an argument, which is supported by relevant scientific evidence from the literature. More support on writing essays will be provided in the lectures.

Marking Criteria for Part B: