Business Strategy Report for Morrisons Supermarket
1.please be a report not an essay, use an executive summary keep it short and simple, structure it clearly by: Short paragraphs; White space; Number each
section;Use bullets sparingly, maybe to introduce a number of points briefly before going on to describe them;Use small tables or charts & put any source
tables in Appendices (if they are relevant); Use superscripts & brief footnotes, then put full references at back in bibliography
2.The Main Report Content for Business Strategy Report for Morrisons Supermarket
2.1 STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
1)Industry analysis, Profile of the company(market size & trends, firm operate, what products does it sell, which are important, market share, how much growth
in the last 5/10 years, how many employees does it have)
2)Stated Organisational Purpose (or if not publicly stated, then give your understanding of its purpose).(mission, vision & value statement; sales & profit
analysis for past 5/10 years, ROCE & Component ratios)
3)External(PESTEL) & Internal(SWOT) and Competitive(Porter’s 5 forces) environment analysis. think about implications of each factor, what does each strength
and weakness mean for their future? the key write is something to exploit or build up?
4)basis of competition&key success factors. (how does the firm compete in its markets? what is in the mind of customers in choosing between competitors?)
2.2 Strategy Development in Business Strategy Report for Morrisons Supermarket
1)Existing strategies should be identified, as published (using company websites, Chairman’s Report, Financial results, statements to the press…)
should identify the Business streams (Strategic Business Units : SBUs, preferably using the Strategic Direction Matrix)
2)generation of strategic options,a good starting point is ROCE and its related components, think about ways that firm could increase ROCE by increasing
numerator and or decreasing denominator within external(Ansoff’s matrix; expansion strategies…)&internal(value chain; cost reduxtion strategies..)
constraints
Use one or more of the portfolio methodologies (notably BCG &/or ADL) to evaluate & rank SBU level strategies; then develop Corporate Strategies (the
‘bigger’ picture’) & revise SBU strategies given ‘real world’ constraints’
3)evaluation and ranking of options. would use BCG or ADL matrix.
evaluate SBUs: costs, benefits, risks and timing of each strategic option.
evaluate Corporate: after evaluation and ranking strategic options, then evaluate and rank the overall porfolio of SBUs.
Propose some important functional level strategies critical to successful implementation
KEY WRITING : Comment critically on how your proposed strategies differ from those being implemented by the company and on the implications of these differences.
4) Choice of strategies in Business Strategy Report for Morrisons Supermarket
based on the ranking above, choose the stategies that you recommend the firm should implement over the next 5 years
2.3 strategy implementation
Develop outline plans for implementing your strategies.
Include the main actions that are needed.
Gantt chart or other simple bar chart to show key actions & timing. Milestones.
3.COMMENTS RELATING TO THE BUSINESS STRATEGY REPORT
3.1 General points
Don’t lose sight of the purpose of this coursework. It is to show your understanding and real life application of strategy analysis and strategy formulation.
Introduce the frameworks, tools, concepts etc as you use them. We need to see that you understand them but we don’t need to see a long description of, for
example, the meaning of Porter’s 5 forces or Ansoff’s matrix. We do need to see you apply them (if you feel they are appropriate).
If you really think you need to describe any strategy jargon or methodologies, then consider putting this as a footer to avoid disrupting the flow of your
main text.
3.2 The Word Count
Markers have been asked by the university to take off marks if the word count is exceeded. This is also useful discipline for your business /professional
life.
3.3 Relevance
Be ruthless in looking at your work to see if every paragraph is relevant. Does it add value or
use all academic references, like ABI/INROMATION, MINTEL,BUSINESS SOURCE PREMIER,or FINACIAL TIMES.
