MRKC 7020 Strategic Management Formative Assignment

Graduate students develop professional strategic management analysis skills when they prepare a structured SWOT and TOWS evaluation of a real organisation using credible data and established analytical tools.

University of Cumbria and Robert Kennedy College

Formative Assignment (not marked, feedback only). Constructive formative feedback helps students refine analytical thinking before the summative assessment.

For the midterm assignment, you are required to submit a written paper to the RKC platform of approximately 750 words that presents the SWOT analysis of the organisation you work for or have worked for recently or that you know personally. Clear alignment with course learning outcomes supports effective strategic reasoning. (Note, if you work for a large organisation, where there may be multiple business units with multiple strategies, it is acceptable to focus on a single geography or single strategic business unit.) Selecting a manageable organisational unit improves the depth and precision of the analysis. The name of the organisation should be anonymised as ‘Organisation X.’

The written paper will consist of:

1. Cover Page (1 page)
2. Table of Contents/List of Appendices (1 page)
3. Introduction to the organisation. One or two paragraphs briefly saying what the organisation does, how it fits into the industry as a whole that it operates in e.g. https://sites.duke.edu/sociol342d_01d_s2017_team-7/2-global-value-chain/ and https://entertainmentstrategyguy.com/2019/04/08/value-chainsexplained/ and https://blog.marketresearch.com/what-is-industry-value-chain-analysis , and how it is organised, what its current corporate strategy is, what it needs to be expert in to perform successfully, and what key challenges it faces. Logical background information allows the reader to evaluate later strategic arguments. This is important contextual information without which the SWOT is difficult to assess.
4. SWOT in a conventional matrix format. Give the 3 most important items for each S, W, O and T. Careful prioritisation demonstrates critical judgment and strategic focus. You MUST research and provide supporting data. Reliable data strengthens the credibility of every element included in the SWOT. (See below – Data for the SWOT.)
5. A brief explanation of how the SWOT was produced, where the data was collected from, and how you chose the top 3 items for each S, W, O and T. Transparent explanation of methods shows academic integrity and analytical discipline.
6. Recommendations how the organisation might address the issues identified in the SWOT in the form of a TOWS matrix. Evidence-based recommendations help translate analysis into practical strategy e.g. https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/8/3313 and https://ceopedia.org/index.php/TOWS_analysis
7. A brief statement outlining 3 alternative strategic ‘directions’ that the organisation’s management should consider for long-term success, with a statement saying which one looks to you as the most suitable at this moment. Clear comparison of options reflects higher-level strategic thinking.
8. A statement saying which ONE of the strategic concepts we discuss in the module is the most relevant to the strategic direction you think is most suitable for the organisation. Selection of an appropriate concept demonstrates integration of theory and practice. Strategic concepts include:

• Core competencies
• Generic strategies, either cost leadership or differentiation, or focused cost leadership or differentiation, or outpacing.
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Alliances
• Outsourcing
• CSR and shared value
• Blue ocean strategy
• BSC
• Capability development and agility
• Culture change

NOTE, as you work your way through the module, you can change your choice of strategic option and strategic concept for the final assessment. Flexibility in learning allows refinement of ideas as knowledge grows.

9. List of references
10. Appendices. Here you must include your data that you used to prepare the SWOT. Organised appendices provide transparency and academic credibility. The appendices are not included in the word count limit of 750 words.

Data for the SWOT

You must collect and analyse hard and soft data using PESTLE, Five Forces of the industry, Competitor analysis e.g. https://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/JRDM/article/viewFile/33186/34084 and https://www.aha.io/roadmapping/guide/templates/competitor-analysis and https://venngage.com/blog/competitor-analysis-template/ , And Core Competency analysis, and organisational Value Chain analysis. Systematic use of analytical tools ensures a balanced and objective SWOT outcome. These are all tools we discuss in the course materials and forum and that you can find more information about in textbooks and blogs online. Here is a good website for example: https://strategicmanagementinsight.com/

Note, if the organisation you examine has no competitors, for example because it is in the public sector, then instead of a competitor analysis do a Stakeholder analysis e.g. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221719308963 and https://simplystakeholders.com/stakeholder-analysis/ Alternative analytical approaches help ensure relevance in different organisational contexts.

Where can you get data? Internal organisation reports, published industry reports, financial analyst reports, commentaries by industry journalists in the business press, discussions with colleagues. Diverse data sources improve the validity of strategic conclusions. You must do some searching on the web. Careful online research supports evidence-based academic writing. We are not expecting great depth for the Interim Assignment, but we are expecting the SWOT to be a concise and effective summary of the current situation of the organisation, and you will have to provide data evidence for each statement you make in the SWOT.

A poor SWOT will be done if you simply make a personal guess and list several factors. Analytical rigour separates strong work from weak submissions. A good SWOT will be based on a good range of data, both hard and soft data, and will follow recommended good practice.

Your Study Bay

Organisation X operates in the renewable energy sector and provides solar installation services to residential customers. The SWOT analysis identifies strong technical expertise and brand reputation as key strengths supported by consistent customer reviews. Limited geographic reach and high operating costs appear as major weaknesses that restrict growth. Market expansion into emerging green energy incentives represents an important opportunity for future development. Intensifying competition from lower-priced rivals creates a significant threat to profitability. Data collected from industry reports and competitor websites informed the prioritisation of these factors. Strategic management research confirms that structured SWOT and TOWS frameworks improve organisational decision making when combined with reliable evidence (Gürel & Tat, 2018, https://doi.org/10.20491/isarder.2018.379).

 Scholarly References

1. Gürel, E. & Tat, M. (2018). SWOT analysis: A theoretical review. Journal of International Social Research, 11(59), 994–1006. https://doi.org/10.20491/isarder.2018.379
2. Benzaghta, M.A., Elwalda, A., Mousa, M.M., Erkan, I. & Rahman, M. (2021). SWOT analysis applications: An integrative literature review. Journal of Global Business Insights, 6(1), 55–73. https://doi.org/10.5038/2640-6489.6.1.1148
3. Phadermrod, B., Crowder, R.M. & Wills, G.B. (2019). Importance-performance analysis based SWOT analysis. International Journal of Information Management, 44, 194–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2016.03.009
4. Helms, M.M. & Nixon, J. (2020). Exploring SWOT analysis in strategic management. Journal of Strategy and Management, 13(2), 123–145. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-06-2019-0086