The Business Strategy Game: Reflective Report
Suggested areas that you should reflect on regarding the Business Strategy Game
Word limit: 3000 words excluding the Appendices and Bibliography
No single model or technique is necessarily better than another. All are good at doing different things. A combination of different models, theories, concepts and techniques will ensure depth and breadth of analysis and provide you with areas for individual reflection with respect to your organisation’s strategy.
It is recommended you write 500 words each week in which you identify a successful strategy using the techniques discussed in the module and reflect on the decision-making process and its outcomes with the co-managers in your team.
Even if you experience deficiencies with the chosen strategy and execution on the BSG you can score high marks in your
- policy objects for managing groups
reflective report by synthesizing theory and practice and critically evaluating the decision-making process.
The following is an appropriate structure for the reflective report. Do not regard it as a definitive or exhaustive approach. You may wish to deviate and enhance certain sections at the expense of others. Strategic Management is a capstone module and draws on all your other modules.
You can start your Reflective Report during the two pilot weeks when you commence your discussions about the strategic options open to you.
- Identify and understand the strategic decisions made (e.g. competitive position/strategic groups);
- Critically evaluate the application of strategic management thinking;
- Establish and analyse why decisions resulted in better, or worse results than expected;
- Identify and evaluate the causality of those decisions;
- Outline and analyse the evaluation and execution of corrective action measures to subsequently manage the decisions better
In undertaking the above you are strongly recommended that you support all your comments with relation to strategic and management theories.
- Introduction: A short introductory – couple of paragraphs to contextualise the global athletics foot ware market would be beneficial.
- Vision and Mission Statements plus Corporate Objectives:
Corporate objectives are concerned with the organisation as a whole and potentially will last well into the future. They are directed inward to the company and are supported by financial information.
- Situational Analysis
A paragraph to contextualize this section would be useful
3.1 Macroeconomic Analysis – environmental scanning
PESTILE, business life cycle, exchange rates, production plus market structures, manufacturing locations and directions of change
3.2 Industry and Sector Analysis
A paragraph to contextualise this section would be useful:
M.E. Porter’s Five Forces & Generic Strategy; Strategic Groups, Key Factor for Success (KFS), M.E. Porter’s Diamond Model – locational advantage, operation management.
- All the above observations may feed into the G. Panagiotou’s TELESCOPIC OBSERVATION
- Market Analysis
A paragraph to contextualize this section would be useful
4.1 Use a number of techniques e.g. 7Ps, Strategic Groups, BCG (growth/share matrix), KFS, Position Maps, Branding models, Brand Equity, Brand Management; digital marketing
NB Evaluation of the paradigm shift created by the internet would be appropriate
- Internal Analysis
A paragraph to contextualize this section would be useful
5.1 McKinsey 7’s; Johnson’s Cultural Web, Deal & Kennedy’s Cultural Typology,
Handy’s Organisational Cultures, Core Competencies, Critical Success Factors, Sustainable Competitive Advantage, Generic Strategy, Value Chain, Operations Management, Strategic Drift, Kaplan and Norton’s Balanced Scorecard
5.2 All observations will feed into the SWOT analysis. Thus the SWOT will be the last technique to be used in the series. You could refer to the SWOT in the strategic matrix in the Telescopic Observation model – if you have undertaken this analysis
- Marketing Objectives
A paragraph to contextualize this section would be useful
Include the role of pure play internet/digital marketing
6.1 Marketing communication P R Smith’s SOSTAC model – situation, objectives, strategy, tactics, action and control – model
6.2 Marketing objectives must be in line with the corporate objectives and aimed at realising those objectives
- Implementation of the Marketing Strategy
A paragraph to contextualize this section would be useful
7.1 7 P’s – Product, Place, Promotion, Price, People, Processes, Physical evidence
7.2 Design, Style and Quality issues; TQM
7.3 Celebrity endorsement: brand management
- Business Strategies and models
A paragraph to contextualize the market segmentation would be useful
8.1 McKinsey/GE Matrix, Ansoff Matrix and the SWOT framework of the Telescopic Observation model
8.2 Digital marketing should be addressed: the Digital Marketing Campaign, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking, ladder of engagement, Mobile Apps, Morphing the Marketing Mix
- Performance analysis: financing of company operations
Evaluation of the projected financial benchmarks:
- EPS growth of at least 7% annually year 11-15 and at least 5% annually thereafter
- A return on average equity investment (ROE) of 15% or more annually
- A B+ or higher credit rating
- An “image rating” of 70 or higher
- Stock price gains averaging about 7% annually year11-15 and 5% annually thereafter
- Balanced Scorecard
- Corporate Social Responsibility and Citizenship
10.1 CSR, Stakeholder Theory, The Triple Bottom Line; worker compensation and training
- Recommendations for Future Strategy – milestones and leadership
A paragraph to contextualize this section would be useful
11.1 Changes required – change management approach e.g. Lewin’s Model
strategic direction, alignment and developments
11.3 Company culture – changes required
11.4 Corporate Social Responsibility and Citizenship – Corporate Responsibility and Corporate Governance
11.5 Leadership required – identify the appropriate leadership and management style
NB You must include a bibliography in which you list all your references
JT Strategic Management Reflective Report, 2017