Master Of International Business; Master Of Marketing and Public Relations
Lecturer: Dr Barbara Gligorijevic
Semester l, 2020
Case study Analysis (30%) - INSTRUCTIONS
opic:
This assessment should deliver an in-depth case study analysis — from a business strategy perspective.
Students may examine a business or an organisation of their choice, by selecting one of the following
business enterprises:
Coles
urpose:
Flight Centre
Didi
SK-II
Zoom
The purpose of this report is to allow students to analyse a company by using the theoretical
knowledge, business concepts and models that are delivered in class in weeks 1-5. The company must
be selected from the list above. Students should analyse organisation's business strategy or aspects
of it. Here is the list of theoretical themes that may assist in completing the analysis:
I. Business Strategy (Concepts and Techniques)
2. Company's Direction and Capabilities (Vision, Mission, Objectives and Strategy; SWOT)
3. External Environment (PESTLE, Five Competitive Forces, Industry Dynamics, Competitor Analysis,
Success Factors, Industry Outlook for Profitability)
4. Resources and Competitiveness (Competitive Advantage, Value Chain, Value Proposition)
5. Five Generic Competitive Strategies (Low Cost Provider, Broad Differentiation Strategy, Focused
Strategy, Focused Differentiation Strategy, Best-Cost Provider)
The students will have to describe it as a business case study - that reflects a company's business
strategy decisions (e.g. change of industry, entry to new markets, new product development,
international expansion, sales and acquisitions, disruptive or obsolete technologies, industry
leadership, or any other similar issues).
Semester 1, 2020
When conducting research for this assignment, students need to correctly reference or cite the
original sources (Harvard referencing style). The assignment must have a proper reference list, any
omissions will be penalised. For a pass grade students need to have at least 5 references. For a higher
grade a bare minimum is 10, but it is expected that a HD assignment would have 15 or more
references. If students are using any additional readings that are not necessarily cited or referenced
in the body of the assignment — a bibliography list can be added. This paper may include up to three
appendices, each appendix should not exceed a full A4 page.
Presentation
In addition to the written report, students will be required to prepare a short PPT presentation (3
slides only focusing on the content of the written report, maximum 5 minutes long - excluding cover
slide and list of references) about the selected company/topic. The purpose of this exercise is to allow
students to practice how to present a compact presentation format and speaking in front of an 'expert'
audience and their peers. Q&A may follow each presentation.
Students will receive a verbal feedback from their lecturer and members of the audience about their
presenting skills, good public speaking characteristics or aspects that may require improvements.
Students are obliged to deliver this short presentation as an overview of their previously submitted
paper in Week 6. Students should submit their PPT slides via the Turitin link by Wednesday 6th May
2020, 11:59 pm (23:59).
Students that do not present the highlights from their reports (as a short presentation) will receive a
mark reduction (-20%) for their written assignments. Submitting PPT slides, which were not presented
in class by a student (as explained above), will not in any way affect the mark reduction procedure.
escription:
Written report and presentation
The students need to select a case study (company) from the list above. This organisation should be
briefly introduced, analysed, issues identified, and linked to the theory. The identified issues should
be clearly outlined and justified (with supporting arguments from academic or industry sources) within
the context of the company's business strategy and business environment in which the selected
company operates.
This report should explain the company's business strategy case, what were the outcomes of the
introduced strategic changes, what were the consequences for the organisation or perhaps for the
industry in which the company operates. This paper should provide a set of clearly outlined business
strategy issues that should be justified by using the academic literature, industry reports or research
findings.
tructure and content:
Written report
This paper should have the following structure:
Cover page — student name, ID, unit code and name, type of assessment (Case Study Analysis);
Table of content;
Executive summary — a detailed overview of the full paper;
Introduction — a brief outline of issues that will be discussed in this paper;
Analysis — about a company, analysis of a company's background (industry, size, history,
organisation's structure, available resources, product portfolio, market share, etc.);
Semester
A detailed description of two (2) business issues - highlighting reasons why the company
decided to implement changes, or completely change its strategy;
Outcomes — what consequences may arise from this strategic change, for the organisation or
industry in which the company operates;
Recommendations — a set of commendations how to encourage positive outcomes and boost
growth, or how to diminish negative consequences and prevent reoccurrence of similar issues
in the future;
Conclusion — a brief overview of the key points presented in the paper;
References and bibliography;
Appendices - up to three, but not longer than 3 pages.
The paper should use only valid (academic journals, industry reports, financial reports, government
publications, etc.) sources of information that are based on primary research or experts' analysis, as
arguments. Recommendations should be well structured and should correspond to the analysis, and
the identified issue(s). The writing style should be clear and precise. It is a prerogative to link the
identified issues to the theory, and to provide suitable strategic solutions / recommendations to the
identified issues.
Students will need to show their understanding of the business strategy theoretical models, and use
the business concepts that are relevant and appropriate for this type of analysis. The accurate business
terminology should be used throughout the paper. If students need any type of language assistance,
they may contact the Language and Academic Skills Coordinator - MS Martha Hendra (her email is
listed above).
Presentation
The structure of the presentation should be as follows:
I. Cover slide: student name, ID, unit code and name, assignment type, selected topic (company
name);
2. Slide I: short introduction and background of the selected company;
3. Slide 2: identified business issues (listed in bullet points);
4. Slide 3: proposed solutions for each listed issue / recommendations and conclusions;
5. Closing slide: list of references or bibliography.
This presentation should highlight the main points from a submitted paper such as:
Identified business strategy issues and consequences,
Key readings (as listed within the written assignment),
Any other relevant facts/materials.
Marking:
The mark for this assignment is weighted 30% of the total mark for this unit. For more details, please
check the Case Study Marking Rubric.