Strategic Analysis; Tools & Techniques – Coursework 2

This assessment is 50% of the overall grade

Task

Present a critical strategic analysis of J Sainsbury’s covering the following areas:
• 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 part of the company’s operation. 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 are expected to add their own detailed research to develop the analysis:
http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/11/sainsburys-profits-slide-amid-supermarket-price-war
http://www.independent.co.uk/topic/sainsburys

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.

The following structure is suggested:

1 Introduction to the report
2 Brief strategic position of the company
3 An evaluation of the resources and value systems of the company
4 An evaluation product/portfolio mix
5 A critical analysis and evaluation of KEY future directions for strategic growth
6 Recommendations
Hand in date: tbc
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.
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)

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Presentation 10%
Analysis 50%
Structure 10%
Use of supporting evidence 20%
Style of writing 10%
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.

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