UNIVERSITY OF SURREYFaculty of Arts and Social SciencesSurrey Business SchoolGlobal Strategy (MANM407)

UNIVERSITY OF SURREY

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Surrey Business School

Global Strategy (MANM407)

Individual Assignment Brief

(weighting: 75% of total grade in this module)

The Assignment Brief:

Select one multinational enterprise (MNE) with any nationality that is active in one or more than one industry. This MNE can be small, medium, large or very large. This company can be famous or unknown, but the information about this MNE should be publicly available in English. Collect required data about this company and its environment from valid sources such as the company’s annual reports, the company’s press release, the company’s website, industry databases (such as Statista, Mintel, Orbis, or Euromonitor Passport), academic case studies, Eurostat, WTO, World Bank, IMF, OECD, UNCTAD’s Global Investment Trends Monitor, market research reports or news by reliable broadcasters.

You need to write an analytical report regarding this company that covers the following strategic issues:

A) Analyse the outer-organisational environment of this company in one of the countries where it is present to identify the major external factors that influence this company

B) Suggest corporate-level strategies for the company 

C) Propose business-level strategies for this company 

It is expected from you to use any theoretical frameworks or theoretical discussions that can help you in strategic analyses of your chosen company. So, you need to combine theoretical discussions with the factual data about the company. Every theoretical discussion and every provided information about the country or the company should be supported by relevant referencing (citation) from valid academic, international or the company sources. Thus, it is normal to expect citations in every paragraph except in the Introduction and Conclusion sections.

Recommended Structure:

The structure of your work has its own mark. There is no need for an executive summary for this report. The recommended structure for this assessment is as follow.

Coversheet: It is recommended (not mandatory) to use the usual template for coversheet for assignment. This coversheet is available in SurreyLearn in the Assessments folder.

Table of Contents: Provide the list of headings and their page number in one separate page from the cover sheet and the introduction.

1. Introduction: 

In one paragraph say what are you going to discuss in your work. You may mention the list of main headings would be discussed in your work.

2. Background to the chosen company: 

In one or two paragraphs, give some short information about what your chosen company does and why you selected this company. You may provide some graphs or/and tables to show the company’s market share and position among the competitors in the same industry. Indicate in how many countries this company do business. If you can find, you might write the company’s vision, mission, and objectives. Do not worry if you cannot find.

3. Analyse the outer-organisational environment of this company in one of the countries where it is doing business

3.1. Theoretical: Start this section by brief mentioning of 3 to 9 techniques (theoretical frameworks) that can be used in analysing external environment of an organisation. Your mark would be increased if you identify the similarities and differences that are exist among these techniques (theoretical frameworks). You might use a table to compare these theoretical frameworks to each other (for example, each framework can be mentioned in one of the columns [or rows] of this table) and the written words in the table do not count as part of the 3000 words limit. Teaching and reading materials from week 2 are directly relevant to the topic of this section but do not limit your work to lecture notes in this week.

3.2. Practical: Use any suitable theoretical framework for environmental analysis such as Porter’s Five Forces or the Diamond Model to analyse the external environment of the selected MNE either in its home country or any other countries that this company does business there. You are allowed to use more than one theoretical frameworks for analysing external environment of the MNE. It is much better to use only one or two outer-organisational analysis tools for doing an in-depth analysis instead of using three or more analysis techniques for superficial analysis. Criticise the chosen frameworks. Focus on only or mainly industry-related factors that may have noticeable effect on effective formulation and development of the global strategy in this company. If your selected company is activated in more than one industry, you need to analyse only one industry that is the main source of the income for this company. There is no need for analysing inside of the company. So, do NOT waste your words and time for internal analysis of the firm because it does not have any marks.

4. Suggest corporate-level strategies for the company

4.1. Theoretical: First you may explain briefly main corporate-level strategies. It would be helpful if you compare two or more classifications of the corporate-level strategies by two or more different scholars such as the classification by Wheelen et al. (2017) and the one by Dessler (2016). Using a table would assist you in this comparison (you may allocate one column [or row] in the table for each classification) and the written words in the table do not count as part of the 3000 words limit. Try to criticise these strategy classification frameworks. Teaching and reading materials from week 4 are directly relevant to this topic but do not limit your work to lecture notes in this week.

4.2. Practical: Then by considering the results of the outer-organisational environment, you are expected to suggest the most suitable corporate-level strategies for this organisation. You should justify your suggested strategies by considering the external environment as well as functions and impacts of the proposed strategies. You would receive a higher mark if you propose one or two corporate-level strategies from each of the classifications of the corporate-level strategies. For instance, you may recommend one or two corporate strategies that mentioned by Wheelen et al. (2017) AND one or two corporate strategies that are stated by Dessler (2016). Some of your suggested corporate-level strategies can be similar to the strategies that are already being used by the company or the strategies that have not been used. I want to see your ability to recommend appropriate corporate-level strategies to this organisation, so you will receive a fail grade if you just describe the current corporate-level strategies of this company.

5. Propose business-level strategies for this company

5.1. Theoretical: Initially discuss briefly main business-level strategies. Try to compare two or more classifications of the business-level strategies by two or more different scholars such as the Generic Strategies by Porter (1980) and the Ansoff’s Matrix. Try to criticise the frameworks. Using a table would assist you in this comparison (you may allocate one column [or row] in the table for each classification) and the written words in the table do not count as part of the 3000 words limit. Teaching and reading materials from week 5 are directly relevant to this topic but do not limit your work to lecture notes in this week. 

5.2. Practical: After that you should propose the most suitable business-level strategies for this company based on A) the outputs of analysing the outer-organisational environment, as well as B) your suggested corporate-level strategies. It is necessary to have direct and meaningful relationship between the business-level strategies that you are recommending and the corporate-level strategies that you suggested for this organisation. To receive a better mark, you may suggest one or two business-level strategies from each of the classifications of the business-level strategies. For example, you may suggest one or two business strategies from Porter’s Generic Strategies AND one or two business strategies from the Ansoff’s Matrix. Some of the recommended business-level strategies can be similar to the strategies that are already being used by the company or the strategies that have not been used. The intention is assessing your ability to suggest suitable business-level strategies to this company, thereby you will receive a fail grade if you just describe the existing business-level strategies of this MNE. 

6. Conclusion: 

Summarise your findings and suggestions in one or two paragraphs. You might use a table to help you in summarising your findings and recommendations.

References: It is mandatory to have a full list of all sources you used directly in your work. Please do not mention the sources that you did not use directly in your work. Referencing should follow the Harvard Referencing system only.

Appendices: It is better not to have any appendices. Every necessary information, discussions, tables or graphs should be provided within the main text between the introduction and the conclusion sections. If you use an appendix, remember that the contents in appendix do not have any mark. I will not read what you put in the appendices.

Important Issues:

1. The deadline for the submission is 20^th March 2024 at 16:00 (UK time).
2. The assignment should be submitted via SurryLearn.
3. You should avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism is the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as your own.
4. The length of the assignment is 3000 words. You are not allowed to write even one word more than 3000 words. The written words in the coversheet, table of contents, any tables in the main text, references, and appendices would not be considered as part of the 3000 word limit.
5. Try to have at least one citation in every paragraph, for example: According to Porter (1990)
6. Having more than one citation in each paragraph would increase your mark. For the first class mark you need to have three citations on average in every paragraph.
7. Having multiple citations would improve your mark. You can have multiple citations if only one opinion or finding is supported or mentioned by more than one scholar (or co-scholars in one publication). For example, if scholars of three separate publications are agree on the importance of connectivity between the corporate-level and business-level strategies, you can write something like this: It is necessary to have a direct relationship between the corporate-level and business-level strategies (Aboutalebi, 2016; Smith, 2015; Zhong, 2013).
8. You are expected to use at least 15 different sources in writing your assignment. These sources can be annual reports of the company, essential reading provided on SurreyLearn or any other academic or professional sources. To receive a top mark, you should use at least 25 different sources.
9. To receive a top mark, you need to use resources beyond lecture notes or the essential readings. 
10. Try to have citations from relevant papers from top academic journals such as Strategic Management Journal, Long Range Planning, Global Strategy Journal, or Strategic Organization. 
11. To identify academic sources concerning strategic analysis, corporate-level strategies and business-level strategies you need to use keywords such as ‘strategic analysis’, ‘environmental analysis’, ‘corporate strategy’ and ‘business strategy’ to search within the top strategy journals.
12. In order to find information about mission, vision and objectives of your chosen company, you may also use keywords such as ‘vision’, ‘mission’, ‘objective’ or ‘goal’ to search within the company-related sources such as the company’s annual reports or its website.
13. Use graphs and tables in your discussions. Tables are great tools to help you compare two or more perspectives to each other. You may use a table with three columns or rows to compare three perspectives of three different scholars regarding alternative business-level strategies.
14. Try going beyond description of theories or current strategies used in your chosen company. Analyse and criticise the theories or/and the utilised strategies in the company by findings their weaknesses. 
15. Try not to rely solely on your personal opinion in criticising the theories. Find the criticism made by scholars regarding your mentioned theory, then you can add your perspective to these criticisms.
16. Use the Harvard Referencing System correctly.
17. Submit your assignment in PDF format.

Formatting Issues

1. It is suggested to use fond size 11 for the general body of the text.
2. It is recommended to use one of the readable and academic fonts such as Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman.
3. You might use font size 13 or 14 in bold for main headings.
4. Font size 11 in bold would be suitable for sub-headings.
5. Any default page margins (e.g. 2.54 for all sides or 2 for all sides) would be acceptable.
6. Try to have headings for every tables or graphs in your assignment. Put the heading above the table or the graph.
7. It is recommended to number all table or graph headings.
8. Mention the source of your tables or graphs under the table or graph. If you developed the table or graph just write ‘Source: Developed by the Author for this work’.
9. The recommended line spacing is either 1.2 or 1.5.

Important note on penalties. All students are required to submit their coursework on time by the deadline set in the Assignment Brief (20^th March 2024 at 16:00 UK time). Late submission penalties will be strictly applied to the mark as follows: 

Time of Submission	Penalty
Up until 4pm on Day 1	–
Between 4.001pm on Day 1 and 4pm on Day 2	10 percentage marks
After 4pm on Day 2	Zero

Initial consequences of committing plagiarism

The amount of ‘similarity index’ in the Turnitin report of the submitted coursework would be used to judge initial actions to deal with the plagiarised assignment. It is normal to have a few percentage points of similarity (5-10%) in the assignment due to using a common coversheet and statement of originality. These minor similarities are not considered as plagiarism. The similarities from the coverpage and reference list are parts of overall similarity.

• If the similarity index in the Turnitin report is 20% or lower, there will be no penalty. It is highly recommended to keep the similarity index of your work well below 20%.
• If the Turnitin report shows a similarity index of 21 – 30%, the student will be required to attend an interview and viva (oral examination), concerning the potentially plagiarised work. In the interview the student would be asked to explain reasons for a relatively high amount of unacknowledged borrowing from other sources. The students who are under investigation would also need to verbally answer some examination questions to show the written discussions in the submitted assignments belong to them. There would be no penalty if the student passes the viva and gives satisfactory responses to the questions. Otherwise, the student may be introduced to the Academic Misconduct Panel to be considered for a fail mark for the plagiarised work.
• The student may be introduced to the Academic Misconduct Panel to be considered for a fail mark for a submitted work that has a similarity index of 31% or higher.