Strategic Management

Assignment Brief (September,2019)

Assessment General Information:

Individual Strategic Management Report (100%)

Word limit: 3,500 (10% +/-)

Submission Deadline: 20th December 2019, Friday, 11.59PM

Details of Assessment

You are the newly appointed strategic consultant at Grocer Lidl. The board of directors in UK have
decided to expand the business to the ‘Asian Market’ and they have asked you to prepare a report
suggesting the best strategic direction for the firm to grow internationally particularly, and strategies
that will help them to create a competitive advantage and achieve their strategic objectives.

You need to consider effectively scanning both the internal and external environment of Lidl in order
to help them explore new opportunities in the Asian market.

To narrow down your report you can choose any Asian country of your choice.

Background

Dating back to 1930’s, a small, independent grocery wholesaler was born in Germany (Lidl,2017). Fast
track to today Lidl is one of the largest grocery retailers in Europe. The first Lidl stores were opened in
1973, and by the 1980s Lidl was a household name in Germany. During the 1990s Lidl started
branching outside of Germany and today the grocer can be found across Europe.

In 1994, Lidl opened its first retail shop in the UK, just two decades later, they now have over 600
stores with a simple vision of providing ‘high quality at low prices’.

However, for better understanding of the organisation you are required to research the given
organisation including its challenges and strategic management approach to expand in the Asian
Market.

• Applying the knowledge of relevant strategic management frameworks, you need to

• Carry out the external analysis
• Address the internal analysis
• Identify key issues, evaluate alternatives and make conclusions based on thorough analysis
Make appropriate strategy recommendations for the organisation(s) given in the case study, in today’s
business environment.

All these must be completed by accessing, selecting and utilising a variety of business information
sources

1
Assessment Details
Your individual strategic management report will need to identify the internal and external
opportunities and threats facing the organisation (s) given in the case study, and present appropriate
frameworks that inform the development of strategic options and recommendations for the
organisation(s) in terms of future strategic directions and methods of expansion in Asian markets.

The report should therefore be comprised of areas for consideration that address the following
questions:

1. Appraise the current strategic positioning of the given organisation. (LO1, LO2, LO3 and LO5)

The following will need to be carried out to address this question:

Undertake a critically evaluated strategic audit, using appropriate models & frameworks, of the firm’s
existing strategy in relation to its ability to exploit new global opportunities to create a more
competitive advantage

In order to prepare report for the board of directors you are required to scan Micro and Macro
environment of the company where it operates.

This will need to include an critical assessment of the external MACRO environment (using the PEST
or PESTEL framework); external MICRO environment (using Porter’s 5 Force framework) and internal
analysis of the organisation (applying Jay Barney’s VRIO or Michael Porter’s Value Chain Analysis) to
identify opportunities and threats in both these external and internal environmental layers.

2. What strategic recommendations can you propose for the organisation (s) given in the case
study to strengthen its current position in the given Market? (LO4, LO6)

The following will need to be carried out to address this question:

This will need to include an analysis and evaluation of organisation competitive strategies in a critical
and informed way. Evaluating best alternatives and make possible recommendation and conclusions
based on thorough analysis and consideration of their future competitive strategies, applying either
Porter’s Generic Strategies of Competition framework or Bowman and Faulkner’s Strategy Clock.

Your final strategic management report should contain:

• Executive Summary
• Introduction (Company & industry background, key challenges faced by the selected
company)
• External environmental analysis for identifying opportunities and threats: Macro (PEST or
PESTEL) & Micro (5 Forces Framework for analysing industry structure and the nature of
competition)
• Internal environmental analysis for identifying strengths and weaknesses: VRIO or value chain
analysis
• Identification of Competitive Strategies (Bowman’s Clock or Porter’s Generic Strategies)
• Strategic directions (Markets, Products, Services) & methods of expansion
• In-text citations and list of references using Harvard Referencing

Marking allocations:
Sections Maximum Marks Awarded

2
Executive Summary (not part of word 10

count)

Introduction (Company & industry

background, key challenges faced by
the selected company)

External analysis 25

Macro (PESTEL or STEEPLE) &

Micro (5 Forces Framework)

Internal analysis (VRIO or value chain analysis) 15

Identification of Competitive 20

Strategies (Bowman’s Clock or Porter’s

Generic Strategies)

Strategic directions (Markets, 20

Products, Services) & methods of
expansion

Writing and Harvard Referencing 10

3
Elements (100%) (≥ 70%%) Distinction 60% - 69% Merit 50% - 59% Good 40% - 49% Fair <40% Poor

This range is reserved for work of This range is for work which shows This range is for work which shows The range is reserved for work This is a failed category. It
high quality which shows evidence of evidence of a very good evidence of appropriate study, that is lacking in some respects or is for work which fails to
a deep understanding of and insight understanding of the main ideas, presented clearly and adequately contains flaws which are meet or in significant ways
into the full range of ideas, principles, principles, themes and/or techniques marshalled to illustrate the most
noticeable and serious enough to does not approach the
themes and/or techniques in question in question coupled with some significant of the main ideas,
and independence of thought. insight and the expression of some principles, themes and/or techniques warrant the award of a failing criteria described for a good
independent thought. in question and to demonstrate a grade, but nonetheless essentially grade.
sound grasp of them. approaches the criteria necessary
It demonstrates a full and systematic for the good category sufficiently
understanding of knowledge, and a for it of itself not to prevent the
critical awareness of current problems It demonstrates a systematic It demonstrates a good award of an overall pass.
and/or new insights, at or informed by understanding of knowledge, and a
critical awareness of current understanding of knowledge, and a
the forefront of the discipline, field of critical awareness of current
study, or area of professional practice problems and/or new insights, much
of which is at, or informed by, the problems and/or new insights, some
forefront of the discipline, field of of which is at, or informed by, the
study, or area of professional forefront of the discipline, field of
practice. study, or area of professional
practice.

Introduction (10%) (≥ 7.0) (6.0 – 6.9) (5.0 - 5.9) (4.0 - 4.9) (<4.0)
(Company & industry background, key challenges
faced by the selected company) Demonstrate highly comprehensive Demonstrate robust level of Demonstrate adequate level of Demonstrate a fair level of Demonstrate a very limited
Understand the role of strategic management within an level of understanding understanding understanding understanding level of understanding
organisation

External analysis (25%) (≥ 18.0) (15.0 – 17.9) (13.0 – 14.9) (10.0 - 12.9) (<10.0)
Macro (PESTEL or STEEPLE) & Micro (5 Forces
Demonstrate ability to provide Demonstrate ability to provide Demonstrate adequate ability to Demonstrate some ability to Demonstrate little ability to
Framework) detailed and coherent analysis and
comprehensive, lucid analysis; analyse and some sound critical analyse and some sound critical analyse and some sound
demonstrate consistently sound skills demonstrated skills demonstrated critical skills demonstrated
critical skills
Critically analyse an organisation’s competitive
environment Demonstrate highly developed critical
skills

4
Internal analysis (15%) (≥ 11.0) (9.0 – 10.9) (8.0 – 9.9) (6.0 - 7.9) (<6.0)
(VRIO or value chain analysis)

Evaluate the resources, capabilities and core

competences of an organisation
Provide a consistently strong Provide a generally strong Provide a reasonable assessment of Provide some assessment of the Provide little assessment of
assessment with well-reasoned and assessment with some the subject; Ideas are generally subject; Ideas are generally the subject; Ideas are
original assumptions; All ideas are wellreasoned assumptions; coherent coherent generally coherent
highly coherent Ideas are consistently coherent

Identification of Competitive Strategies (20%) (≥ 14.0) (12.0 – 13.9) (10.0 – 11.9) (8.0 - 9.9) (<8.0)
(Bowman’s Clock or Porter’s Generic Strategies)
Demonstrate highly comprehensive Demonstrate robust level of Demonstrate adequate level of Demonstrate a fair level of Demonstrate a poor level of
level of understanding understanding understanding understanding understanding
Understand the impact of competition on the strategy of
an organisation

Strategic directions (20%) (≥ 14.0) (12.0 – 13.9) (10.0 – 11.9) (8.0 - 9.9) (<8.0)
(Markets, Products, Services) & methods of expansion
Demonstrate highly comprehensive Demonstrate robust level of Demonstrate adequate level of Demonstrate a fair level of Demonstrate a poor level of
level of understanding understanding understanding understanding understanding

Understand the formulation and implementation of

organisational strategy based on Markets, Products,

Services

Understand the effect of business ethics and social

responsibility on strategy of methods of expansion

Writing and Harvard Referencing (10%) (≥ 7.0) (6.0 – 6.9) (5.0 - 5.9) (4.0 - 4.9) (<4.0)

5
 Demonstrate highly comprehensive Demonstrate robust level of Demonstrate adequate level of Demonstrate a fair level of Demonstrate a poor level of
level of understanding understanding understanding understanding understanding
Understand the use of referencing.

Various credible and up-to-date sources are used