Strategy & Decision Making

Overview

Description: Critically analyze and discuss an organization’s strategic purpose, evaluate its resources and competences, and assess its ability to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

You are required to select a real-world organization (e.g., a published case study or an organization of your choice with accessible data) and critically analyse its strategic purpose, strategic capability, and sources of competitive advantage. Your work should demonstrate postgraduate-level critical analysis, integration of theory with practice, and engagement with contemporary strategic management debates.

Part 1: Strategic Purpose Analysis (Unit 1)

1. Mission, Vision, Values, and Objectives (Approx. 450–500 words)

Identify and critically evaluate the organization’s mission, vision, values, and strategic objectives.

Assess how these elements collectively inform and shape its strategic purpose and market positioning.

Analyse the key contextual factors—internal (e.g., leadership, corporate governance, organizationalculture) and external (e.g., competitive dynamics, regulatory pressures)—that influence the organization’sstrategic purpose.

Level 7 analysis should move beyond description by critiquing coherence, adequacy, and strategic

implications.

2. Shareholder vs. Stakeholder Perspectives (Approx. 250–300 words)

Critically compare shareholder-oriented and stakeholder-oriented approaches in relation to the

organization’s strategic purpose.

Analyse tensions, conflicts, or trade-offs the organization faces in balancing these interests, using real

examples.

Demonstrate awareness of contemporary debates around corporate purpose, ESG pressures, and

responsible governance.

Part 2: Strategic Capability Evaluation (Unit 2)

3. Resource and Competence Analysis (Approx. 550–600 words)

Evaluate the organization’s strategically significant resources and competences through a critical VRIO

analysis.

Identify which resources/competences provide potential competitive advantage and assess the extent to

which they are valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and supported by organizational systems.

Link your evaluation to concrete evidence such as core technologies, product/service innovations, or

human capital capabilities.

Demonstrate Level 7 judgement by prioritising what matters most, critiquing sustainability, and identifying

capability gaps or vulnerabilities.

4. Alignment with Stakeholder Expectations and Ethical Considerations (Approx. 250–300 words)

Critically assess how the organization aligns its strategic resources and competences with stakeholder

expectations, including ethical, social, and environmental responsibilities.

Evaluate how ethical and socially responsible actions influence the organization’s long-term strategic

capability.

Draw on relevant ethical frameworks or standards where appropriate (e.g., CSR, ESG).

Part 3: Strategic Development (Unit 3)

5. Sustainable Competitive Advantage (Approx. 550–600 words)

Analyse how the organization’s resources and competences contribute to building and sustaining a

competitive advantage.

Apply relevant strategic tools—such as SWOT, Value Chain Analysis, and benchmarking—to support

your evaluation.

Critically reflect on threats to sustainability of advantage, including imitation, substitution, technological

disruption, or erosion of core competences.

Ensure your analysis demonstrates synthesis, insight, and critical engagement—not only mechanical

application of tools.

Structure and Academic Writing • Include a concise introduction outlining your chosen organization, scope, and analytical approach.

Use clear headings for each part and sub-headings for analytical tools (e.g., “VRIO Analysis,” “ValueChain Analysis”).

End with a brief conclusion that synthesizes your key insights rather than repeating content.

Maintain coherence, criticality, and academic tone expected at FHEQ Level 7.

Choice of Organization

Select a real-world organization with sufficient data available from annual reports, case studies, academic

literature, or reputable business publications.

Use of Strategic Tools

Use advanced strategic frameworks (VRIO, Value Chain, SWOT, etc.) appropriately and critically.

Tables or diagrams may be included where useful (not counted in the word limit).

Evidence and Criticality

Your work must:

draw on real-world evidence (examples, cases, data)

demonstrate critical evaluation, synthesis, and application

avoid descriptive or narrative-only discussion

References

You must use a minimum of 12 academic sources, including course materials, peer-reviewed journal

articles, academic textbooks, and reputable business publications.

All sources must be cited appropriately using your programme’s referencing style.

Recommendations (Optional)

You may offer strategically justified recommendations to improve the organization’s strategic capability or address

identified gaps, provided these support—not replace—critical analysis.

Use Harvard Referencing