Strategic Management
Assignment Brief (September,2019)
1
Assessment General Information:
Individual Strategic Management Report (100%)
Word limit: 3,500 (10% +/-)
Submission Deadline: 20th December 2019, Friday, 11.59PM
Details of Assessment
You are the newly appointed strategic consultant at Grocer Lidl. The board of directors in UK have
decided to expand the business to the ‘Asian Market’ and they have asked you to prepare a report
suggesting the best strategic direction for the firm to grow internationally particularly, and 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 of Lidl in order
to help them explore new opportunities in the Asian market.
To narrow down your report you can choose any Asian country of your choice.
Background
Dating back to 1930’s, a small, independent grocery wholesaler was born in Germany (Lidl,2017). Fast
track to today Lidl is one of the largest grocery retailers in Europe. The first Lidl stores were opened in
1973, and by the 1980s Lidl was a household name in Germany. During the 1990s Lidl started
branching outside of Germany and today the grocer can be found across Europe.
In 1994, Lidl opened its first retail shop in the UK, just two decades later, they now have over 600
stores with a simple vision of providing ‘high quality at low prices’.
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 organisation(s) given in the case study, in today’s
business environment.
All these must be completed by accessing, selecting and utilising a variety of business information
sources
2
Assessment 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 present 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:
1. 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.
2. 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:
This will need to 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
• In-text citations and list of references using Harvard Referencing
Marking allocations:
Sections
Maximum Marks Awarded
3
Executive Summary (not part of word
count)
Introduction (Company & industry
background, key challenges faced by
the selected company)
10
External analysis
Macro (PESTEL or STEEPLE) &
Micro (5 Forces Framework)
25
Internal analysis (VRIO or value chain analysis) 15
Identification of Competitive
Strategies (Bowman’s Clock or Porter’s
Generic Strategies)
20
Strategic directions (Markets,
Products, Services) & methods of
expansion
20
Writing and Harvard Referencing 10
4
Elements (100%) (≥ 70%%) Distinction 60% – 69% Merit 50% – 59% Good 40% – 49% Fair <40% Poor
This range is reserved for work of
high quality which shows evidence of
a deep understanding of and insight
into the full range of ideas, principles,
themes and/or techniques in question
and independence of thought.
It demonstrates a full and systematic
understanding of knowledge, and a
critical awareness of current problems
and/or new insights, at or informed by
the forefront of the discipline, field of
study, or area of professional practice
This range is for work which shows
evidence of a very good
understanding of the main ideas,
principles, themes and/or techniques
in question coupled with some
insight and the expression of some
independent thought.
It demonstrates a systematic
understanding of knowledge, and a
critical awareness of current
problems and/or new insights, much
of which is at, or informed by, the
forefront of the discipline, field of
study, or area of professional
practice.
This range is for work which shows
evidence of appropriate study,
presented clearly and adequately
marshalled to illustrate the most
significant of the main ideas,
principles, themes and/or techniques
in question and to demonstrate a
sound grasp of them.
It demonstrates a good
understanding of knowledge, and a
critical awareness of current
problems and/or new insights, some
of which is at, or informed by, the
forefront of the discipline, field of
study, or area of professional
practice.
The range is reserved for work
that is lacking in some respects or
contains flaws which are
noticeable and serious enough to
warrant the award of a failing
grade, but nonetheless essentially
approaches the criteria necessary
for the good category sufficiently
for it of itself not to prevent the
award of an overall pass.
This is a failed category. It
is for work which fails to
meet or in significant ways
does not approach the
criteria described for a good
grade.
Introduction (10%)
(Company & industry background, key challenges
faced by the selected company)
Understand the role of strategic management within an
organisation
(≥ 7.0) (6.0 – 6.9) (5.0 – 5.9) (4.0 – 4.9) (<4.0)
Demonstrate highly comprehensive
level of understanding
Demonstrate robust level of
understanding
Demonstrate adequate level of
understanding
Demonstrate a fair level of
understanding
Demonstrate a very limited
level of understanding
External analysis (25%)
Macro (PESTEL or STEEPLE) & Micro (5 Forces
Framework)
Critically analyse an organisation’s competitive
environment
(≥ 18.0) (15.0 – 17.9) (13.0 – 14.9) (10.0 – 12.9) (<10.0)
Demonstrate ability to provide
comprehensive, lucid analysis;
Demonstrate highly developed critical
skills
Demonstrate ability to provide
detailed and coherent analysis and
demonstrate consistently sound
critical skills
Demonstrate adequate ability to
analyse and some sound critical
skills demonstrated
Demonstrate some ability to
analyse and some sound critical
skills demonstrated
Demonstrate little ability to
analyse and some sound
critical skills demonstrated
5
Internal analysis (15%)
(VRIO or value chain analysis)
Evaluate the resources, capabilities and core
competences of an organisation
(≥ 11.0) (9.0 – 10.9) (8.0 – 9.9) (6.0 – 7.9) (<6.0)
Provide a consistently strong
assessment with well-reasoned and
original assumptions; All ideas are
highly coherent
Provide a generally strong
assessment with some
wellreasoned assumptions;
Ideas are consistently coherent
Provide a reasonable assessment of
the subject; Ideas are generally
coherent
Provide some assessment of the
subject; Ideas are generally
coherent
Provide little assessment of
the subject; Ideas are
generally coherent
Identification of Competitive Strategies (20%)
(Bowman’s Clock or Porter’s Generic Strategies)
Understand the impact of competition on the strategy of
an organisation
(≥ 14.0) (12.0 – 13.9) (10.0 – 11.9) (8.0 – 9.9) (<8.0)
Demonstrate highly comprehensive
level of understanding
Demonstrate robust level of
understanding
Demonstrate adequate level of
understanding
Demonstrate a fair level of
understanding
Demonstrate a poor level of
understanding
Strategic directions (20%)
(Markets, Products, Services) & methods of expansion
Understand the formulation and implementation of
organisational strategy based on Markets, Products,
Services
Understand the effect of business ethics and social
responsibility on strategy of methods of expansion
(≥ 14.0) (12.0 – 13.9) (10.0 – 11.9) (8.0 – 9.9) (<8.0)
Demonstrate highly comprehensive
level of understanding
Demonstrate robust level of
understanding
Demonstrate adequate level of
understanding
Demonstrate a fair level of
understanding
Demonstrate a poor level of
understanding
Writing and Harvard Referencing (10%) (≥ 7.0) (6.0 – 6.9) (5.0 – 5.9) (4.0 – 4.9) (<4.0)
6
Understand the use of referencing.
Various credible and up-to-date sources are used
Demonstrate highly comprehensive
level of understanding
Demonstrate robust level of
understanding
Demonstrate adequate level of
understanding
Demonstrate a fair level of
understanding
Demonstrate a poor level of
understanding
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