Strategic Direction

Appendices

You may include appendices to support your work, however appendices must only contain additional supporting information, and must be clearly referenced in your assignment.

You may also include tables, graphs, diagrams, Gantt chart and flowcharts that support the main report should be incorporated into the back of the assignment report that is submitted.

Any published secondary information such as annual reports and company literature, should be referenced in the main text of the assignment, in accordance of Harvard Style Referencing, and referenced at the end of the assignment.

Confidentiality 

Where a learner is using organisational information that deals with sensitive material or issues, they must seek the advice and permission from that organisation about its inclusion.

Where confidentiality is an issue, learners are advised to anonymise their assignment report so that it cannot be attributed to that particular organisation.

Marking and Grades 

Qualifi uses a standard marking rubric for all assignments, and you can find the details at the end of this document.  Unless stated elsewhere, learners must answer all questions in the Final Assignment Structure & Format file available on the EGSM LMS.

You are requested to strictly follow the sequence of the marking rubric.

Required content for each part of the rubric must be written under its relevant heading.

Content found in irrelevant headings will not be considered for grading.

Few headings and information are required to be written twice during the sequence of the rubric. If you have not written it twice, it will not be considered for marking. 

Assignment Introduction

a) Background

This section sets the context for the report and provides the (brief) background information required for the reader to understand the report.

NOTE: Detailed company background should not be included here. It is best discussed in the body of the report

b) Aims/Objectives

This tells the reader what the aims/objectives of the report are. It indicates what key questions the report is trying to answer and what it is trying to achieve. Why was it written?

c) Scope

Tell the reader exactly what areas/ideas are covered in the report. This also helps to explain how the report is organized. Look at your plan and consider your headings and sub-headings.

Final Assignment Questions

You are a manager at a medium sized organisation. You have been asked to review your organisational strategic plan to establish if suitable progress is being made to meet the organisation’s strategic objectives. Analysis of internal and external factors affecting the plan is part of your remit and it has been suggested you examine options to meet the plan which are more effective and cost efficient. From your analysis you need to justify your recommendations and so, valid and realistic options need to be produced.

If you will be using the scenario please select and research an organisation of your choice with regards to their strategic plan. Provide details of your research and a short summary of the information you have found in order that the assessor may contextualise your responses to the tasks below. The summary is expected to be between 200 and 250 words.

Task 1 – 1000 words

1.1: Critically analyse the current strategic aims and objectives of your chosen scenario / organisation, you may wish to consider the fuller hierarchy of objectives, within your critical analysis, enable greater detection of misalignment. Use techniques and modelling to underpin your critical analysis, where feasible. (300 words)

1.2: Decompose your organisational strategy into logical component parts, it is likely that each functional area will have their own customized strategies and tactics; it is within this sphere that misalignment often occurs. Not all component parts of the strategy will have the same value or level of risk; this may be considered in your analysis. (450 words)

1.3: Critically conduct an environmental scan focused on environmental factors in the short and medium term, short being up to one year, longer term being up to three years. (250 words)

Assessment Criteria

1.1: Critically analyse the existing strategic aims and objectives of the organisation.

1.2: Undertake a critical evaluation of the components of current organisational strategy.

1.3: Critically analyse the factors affecting the strategic aims of organisational strategy over the short and medium term.

Task 2 – 900 words

2.1: Conduct an audit customized for the purpose of signposting the activities within the processes of working towards existing strategic aims and objectives. Embed diagnostic tools from across the business domain to add validity and confident in the auditing activity. (350 words)

2.2: Identify ten stakeholders connected with the organisation and evaluate their expectations. Undertake stakeholder mapping to analyse the power and influence they have upon the organisational strategy. Strategic Stakeholder Tooling is recommended for this task. (200 words)

2.3: Evolve a strategic positioning map or tool(s) to enable critical analysis of the business processes and activities towards the achievement of the current strategic posit. (350 words)

Assessment Criteria

2.1: Apply a range of diagnostic and analytical tools to audit and assess progress towards existing strategic aims and objectives.

2.2: Take responsibility for and critically assess the expectations of all stakeholders and their influence upon future organizational strategy.

2.3: Critically analyse, interpret and produce an evaluation of the existing organisational strategic position and progress towards achieving the existing strategy. Use at least three recognised strategic tools.

Task 3 – 600 words

3.1: Deploy strategic options tools to support the critical evaluation of your identified range of strategic options in the short and medium term. Conduct critical analysis of the value of your chosen tools, together with suitable criteria for the selection of use of such tools. Supporting factors may be such factors as profit, core competencies, quality, competitive factors and business processes. (350 words)

3.2: Determine and justify the evolved strategic option(s) and assess its suitability in contributing to meeting any revised strategic posit. (250 words

Assessment Criteria

3.1: Critically evaluate and develop a range of alternative strategic options to meet organizational strategic aims, direction and objectives in the short and medium term.

3.2: Determine and justify the existing strategic option that can meet the revised strategic position.

Assignment Conclusion

1. Stating the aim/ context of the assignment again
2. Followed by a very brief summary of the main points
3. Final comments often considering the future (for e.g.: what can be done to improve the implementation of a strategy in the future)

Marking Rubric

Assessment Criteria