Business Strategies – Assignment 2 (up to 2500 words)

Making and implementing business strategies within organisations has always been a challenging task. This is because there are many factors which affect how we go about conducting strategy projects. Some factors are ancient and have been around for many years. For example, competition between organisations, the health of the economy and the culture within the business. Some factors are more contemporary, like the growth of the internet and the growing power of social media.

Look through the content of the module and the core text book and choose TWO such factors which you find interesting and relevant. You might be interested in environmental factors or internal factors. You might be interested in the financial side of businesses or the people side of businesses. You might be interested in the creative side of strategy making or the analytical nature of business modelling. The choice is yours.

Your Task: Once you have chosen your two factors, discuss how they impact upon the practice of making strategy. Remember, the purpose of this module is to develop your knowledge and capability in the practice of making and implementing business strategies. This assignment gives you the opportunity to reflect upon and critically review how two factors affect this practice.

When thinking about the practice of making strategy, you might want to consider some of the following aspects: • Conducting strategy projects: for example, think about the 5 steps of the assignment 1

method. • The implementation of strategy: for example, making action plans and change

management. • Business strategies: the actual strategy that a business chooses to enact. For example,

to pursue cost leadership, to sell online to end customers, to export products.

This assignment is an Academic Essay. An academic essay is a specific type of document. An essay is an argument which is supported by relevant scientific evidence from the literature. More support on writing essays will be provided in the lectures.