Strategic Analysis; Tools & Techniques - Coursework 2

This assessment is 50% of the overall grade

Task

Present a current critical strategic analysis of ONE Business Unit

within General Electric

You are required to cover the following topics covered in the module:

 Resource Audit
 Value Systems
 Product/Service portfolio (BCG Matrix)
 Potential future strategic growth
o Identification of options
o Evaluation of options

You may want to focus the analysis on a specific product. This is fine but you will need to
make the focus of the analysis clear to the reader.

News & Web Links

The links below provide some starting points but students MUST add their own detailed
research to develop the analysis:

https://www.gepower.com/
http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/ge/news
https://www.theguardian.com/business/generalelectric
https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/GE:US

The following structure is required for the submitted report:

1 Introduction to the report
2 Brief strategic position of the company
3 A critical evaluation of the resources and value systems of the company
4 A critical evaluation of the product/portfolio mix within the SBU
5 A critical analysis and evaluation of KEY future directions for strategic growth
6 Recommendations

The coursework is an individual piece of work. It will be 3,000 words, inclusive of

appendices (+/- 10%). Please note that text in diagrams or tables will count towards the
word count.
Hand in date: tbc

University of South Wales (USW)

It is important that attention be focused on a strategic appraisal of the company as opposed
to providing lots of interesting facts over what interests you or what you find on the
internet. Assessment will focus on students’ abilities in applying strategic models and
frameworks in a coherent manner that enables them to develop a clear strategic view of the
strategic position being studied. You do not need to reference many academic sources in
this element of the assessment, but you must reference sources of company or market
information. Furthermore, you must reference sources for any theoretical background
that you decide to include.

Marking Criteria
(The marks for each criterion are to illustrate where the main effort should be spent and are
not meant to be a strict marking scheme)

Indicative Criteria
Percentage
30% Application of Frameworks and models
The required frameworks and models introduced in the assignment task
should be applied correctly to identify the key issues emerging relevant
to the business example selected.
60% Depth of Strategic Evaluation.
Key strategic factors should be critically evaluated to develop the
required depth of analysis of the business example selected. A strong
analysis needs to be evidence based rather than appear to be personal
opinion so must draw on relevant sources e.g. news & media, industry
publications, company web pages and documentation
10% Clarity of Structure and Presentation
The report is well organised and logically constructed, following the
layout indicated in the assignment task. The quality of writing, spell
checking, grammar and referencing need to demonstrate accuracy to
ensure the reader can focus on the analysis provided

(The marks for each criterion are to illustrate where the main effort should be spent)

Please remember that an assignment is not meant to DESCRIBE what you have found.
Analysis means commenting on your findings and EXPLAINING what the evidence suggests
about the company.

Marking Criteria
(The marks for each criterion are to illustrate where the main effort should be spent and are
not meant to be a strict marking scheme)

Presentation
 Use of front page to set out important details i.e. title of work, student number, etc.

University of South Wales (USW)

  Well laid out text that is easy to follow
Analysis
 Strategic Position
o Sets out the Differentiation position of GE
o Provide some clear examples to illustrate the strategic position
o Identify the SBU being examined in relation to others within the company
 Resource/Competences
o Identify the main resources and skills within the company
o The section should act as an introduction to the Value Systems
o Use of Resource/Competence model helps to identify the balance related to
the strategic position so that you can discuss the way the balance is relevant
to the aims of the SBU
o Avoid just describing the resources that have been identified
 Value System
o Identify the activities that enable the strategic position of the company
o Use the Value Chain model to critically examine key activities and the links
between them
o Look to evaluate relevant external links that create value for the company
o Develop an analysis of the activities rather than just a list of examples of
company activity
 BCG
o Use the model to identify the portfolio of SBUs or product ranges
o Develop a critical explanation of positions that have been identified
 Future Directions
o Use the Product/Matrix model to identify potential areas of future
development
o Critically explore the relevant differences of each section of the model e.g.
Market development and product offer different challenges
 Conclusions & Recommendations
o Draw the main aspects of the analysis together
o Set out key points that can be considered for strategic development
Structure
 Clear balance of the report
 Effective use of headings, sub-headings
Use of supporting evidence
 Clear use of relevant sources to support the analysis, particularly current news and
media material
 Awareness of the balance of sources
 The evidence is developed into the analysis to provide the depth of explanation
Style of writing
 Clear writing style
 Avoid a personal, descriptive style in the analysis

University of South Wales (USW)

General Guidance to students
Structure

 The introduction should be brief. It is not meant to provide a history of Sainsbury’s

 The Conclusion needs to draw the analysis to a close and comment on the
sustainability of Sainsbury’s strategic position. Remember you do not introduce new
findings into the Conclusion
 If you include Appendices you must refer to them in the relevant section of the
report findings
 References should clearly list all the material that has been referred to in the report
and set out using Harvard style:

Models/Content
 Remember to use the models in a ‘dynamic’ way i.e. place relevant examples onto
the models. Do not simply copy and paste ‘generic’ examples from the lecture slides
 Words in the models are included in the word limit. The models lose their value if
they are full of text. They should aid understanding not confuse the reader because
too much has been stuffed into them
 Models should be included in the main body of the report. Only place them in the
appendices if they are close to a full page
 You may well refer to points made in earlier parts of the report to show the
connections in the analysis. This shows an awareness of the links between themes
 You will struggle to stay within the word limit so focus on the KEY DRIVERS in your
analysis
 You will not be able to use all of the examples if you have done the level of reading
required so ‘cherry pick’ those that best illustrate the key drivers
 Facts and figures need to be supported with sources clearly referenced.

Presentation
 Be your own independent work and free from plagiarism by ensuring that work that
is not your own is clearly referenced
 Use Harvard style citation and referencing using the Drop-in centre published
guidelines
 Be written in appropriate academic style
 Be professionally presented
 Be word processed using font size 12 for the main text and 1.5 line spacing
 Have numbered pages
 Have been spell checked and proof-read
 Be anonymous and have your Student Enrolment number on every page
 Have a clearly labelled front page detailing the module code and title, title of the
assignment, tutors name, your enrolment number and the date of submission
 Be submitted via the Turnitin link on the module VLE

University of South Wales (USW)