ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET NAME OF STUDENT REGISTRATION NO. UNIT TITLE Unit 7: Business Strategy ASSIGNMENT TITLE Strategy Formation and Planning ASSIGNMENT NO 1 of 2 NAME OF ASSESSOR SUBMISSION DEADLINE I, __________________________ hereby confirm that this assignment is my on or! and not co"ied or "lagiari#ed from any source$ I ha%e referenced the sources from hich information is obtained by me for this assignment$ ________________________________ _________________________ Signature &ate ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR OFFICIAL USE (Course Administrator 'ssignment (ecei%ed By: &ate: 1 Unit Out!omes Out!ome E"iden!e #or t$e !riteria Feed%a!& Assessor's de!ision Interna( )eri#i!ation Ana(*+e $o, t$e %usiness en"ironment is !onsidered in strate-* #ormu(ation. (. &efine the conte)t of business strategy a *)"lain the significance of sta!eholder analysis % +onduct an en%ironmental and organi#ational audit of a gi%en organi#ation ! '""ly strategic "ositioning techni,ues to the analysis of a gi%en organi#ation d Understand t$e /ro!ess o# strate-i! /(annin-. (0 &emonstrate an ability to thin! strategically a Pre"are a strategic "lan for a gi%en organisation, based on "re%ious analysis % Merit -rades a,arded M. M0 M1 Distin!tion -rades a,arded D. D0 D1 2 Out!ome E"iden!e #or t$e !riteria Feed%a!& Assessor's de!ision Interna( )eri#i!ation Comments %* Assessor - Common S&i((s A B C D E F G Assi-nment - . /ell0structured1 (eference is done "ro"erly 2 should be done -if any. 3%erall, you4%e Areas #or im/ro"ement2 ASSESSOR SIGNATURE DATE 3 3 NAME2$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ (Ora( #eed%a!& ,as a(so /ro"ided STUDENT SIGNATURE DATE 3 3 NAME 2$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ FOR INTERNAL USE ONL4 5*(IFI*& 6*S 73 &'8* : $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 5*(IFI*& B6 : $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 7'9* : $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ COMMON S5ILLS 6 COM7ETENCIES ASSESSED (indi!ated %* 8 : SCENARIO In ;anuary 2<<7, three decades after its incor"oration, '""le +om"uter shed the second ord in its name and became '""le Inc$ /ith that mo%e, the com"any signaled a fundamental shift aay from its historic status as a %endor of the 9acintosh "ersonal com"uter -P+. line$ 9ac sales remained %ital to '""le4s future, but they no accounted for less than half of its total re%enue$ 7on0P+ "roduct lines dro%e much of '""le4s financial "erformance$ 8he com"any4s iPod line of "ortable music "layers, together ith its i8unes Store, had u"ended the music business$ /ith the iPhone, a multifunction handheld de%ice released in ;une 2<<7, '""le aimed to do the same for the mobile "hone mar!et$ 8he launch of the iPhone :=, in ;uly 2<<>, in%ol%ed ma?or changes to the offering@a re%am"ed "ricing model, a ne retail channel ad%anced, and a "latform for third0"arty a""lications, along ith := netor! ser%ice@that "romised to ma!e it still more com"etiti%e$ A'""le Inc$B as thri%ing to a degree that as seemingly far beyond the ca"acity of A'""le +om"uter$B 6et critical as"ects of the com"any4s strategic "rofile had changed rather little$ 'lthough 9ac sales had surged in recent years, for e)am"le, '""le4s share of the orldide P+ mar!et consistently failed to rise abo%e a :C ceiling$ +*3 Ste%e ;obs, therefore, faced a ne %ariation on an old ,uestion: /as '""le4s recent success ?ust another tem"orary Au"B in its u"0and0don history, or had he finally established a sustainable strategy for the com"anyD In 2<<>, the sale of 9acintosh com"uters remained a "i%otal business for '""le, notithstanding the com"any4s name change$ A/e thin! P+s are more im"ortant than they ere fi%e years ago,B ;obs said in 2<<7$ 8hat year, 9ac sales accounted for E:C of '""le4s total re%enue$ '""le "ut a high "remium on creating machines that offered a cutting0edge, tightly integrated user e)"erience$ '""le charged "remium "rices as ell$ In mar!eting its 9ac "roducts, '""le highlighted features that differentiated them from other P+s hile also em"hasi#ing their intero"erability ith other machines$ 'ttracti%e '""le design factors, ease of use, security, and high0 ,uality bundled softare ere among the ,ualities that distinguished the 9acintosh line$ 't the same time, '""le trum"eted the 9ac as an A*%erything0readyB de%ice that or!ed ell ith other de%ices$ 3%er time, the 9ac had become a less closed system, incor"orating standard interfaces such as the USB "ort$ 3ners of a 9ac mini could use a non09ac !eyboard, for e)am"le, and users of a non09ac P+ could E A. MANAGING 6 DE)ELO7ING SELF D. MANAGING TAS5S 6 SOL)ING 7ROBLEMS 1. Managing own roles & responsibilities 12. Use information sources X 2. Manage own time in achieving objectives 13. Deal with a combination of routine & nonroutine tas!s 3. Un"erta!es personal an" career "evelopment 1#. $"entif% & solve routine & nonroutine problems #. &ransfer s!ills gaine" to new'changing situations & conte(ts B. 9OR5ING 9IT: 6 RELATING TO OT:ERS E. A77L4ING NUMERAC4 ). &reat others beliefs an" opinions with respect 1). *ppl%ing numerical s!ills an" techni+ues ,. -elate & interact effectivel% with in"ivi"uals & groups .. /or! effectivel% as a team member F. A77L4ING TEC:NOLOG4 C. COMMUNICATING 1,. Use a range of technological e+uipment an" s%stems X 0. -eceive an" respon" to a variet% of information X G. A77L4ING DESIGN AND CREATI)IT4 1. 2resent information in a variet% of visual forms X 1.. *ppl%ing a range of s!ills an" techni+ues to "evelop a variet% of i"eas in the creation of new ' mo"ifie" pro"ucts3 services or situations 14. 5ommunicate in writing X 11. 2articipate in oral & noverbal communication 10. Use a range of thought processes attach it to an '""le dis"lay$ '""le launched the iPod, a "ortable digital music "layer based on the 9P: com"ression standard, in 7o%ember 2<<1$ 8han!s to its slee! design, it soon became Aan icon of the &igital 'ge$ 8he economics of the iPod ere stellar by +* industry standards, ith gross margins that ranged from :<C to :FC$7: In 2<<7, analysts estimated that '""le "aid a bill of materials -B39. of G127 for an ><=B iPod classic, hich retailed for G2EH$ 9aintaining relationshi"s ith !ey su""liers@ ranging from Samsung, hich manufactured the iPod4s %ideo0audio chi", to 8oshiba, hich made many of its hard dis! dri%es@as crucial to '""le4s strategy for the de%ice$ Forging deals ith flash manufacturers as es"ecially im"ortant$ In 7o%ember 2<<F, the com"any agreed to "ay GF<< million u"0front to Intel and 9icron to secure Aa substantial "ortionB of the out"ut from a ne flash0memory ?oint %enture$ It made similar deals ith Iyni), Samsung, and 8oshiba$ In mid02<<7, '""le as on trac! to command roughly 2FC of all flash "roduction for use either in iPod "roducts or in the iPhone, hich also relied on flash memory$ 's of mid02<<>, '""le had sold more than 1F< million iPods$ 'ccording to most estimates, the de%ice commanded 7<C or more of the U$S$ mar!et for "ortable music "layers$ (i%als in the 9P: "layer mar!et included +reati%e, Samsung, and Sony$ 8he most "rominent challenge to the iPod came from 9icrosoft, hich introduced its June line of music "layers in late 2<<K$ 't the hardare le%el, June "layers roughly matched com"arable iPod models and included features@ireless music0sharing ca"ability, an F9 tuner@that the iPod lac!ed$ 'ccording to some re%ieers, though, June softare and the June 9ar!et"lace content store ere inferior to i8unes offerings$ In ;uly 2<<>, ?ust a year after launching the iPhone, '""le rein%ented it$ 8he ne offering, called the iPhone :=, came not only ith faster netor! ser%ice, but also ith an entirely ne "ricing model and ith a ne "latform for adding third0"arty a""lications to the de%ice$ 's the "roduct name im"lied, a !ey difference beteen the iPhone := and its "redecessor as that it su""orted := netor! co%erage$ 8he de%ice4s battery life had im"ro%ed enough to allay ;obs4s concerns$ 8he iPhone := as also chea"er than the first iPhone@at least ith res"ect to the initial "urchase "rice for the de%ice$ 8he chief benefits of the iPhone := essentially matched those of the first iPhone, and they reflected '""le4s "roess in designing user interface -UI. technology$ Unli!e most mobile "hones, the iPhone had no embedded !eyboard$ Instead, it featured a :$F0inch Amulti0touchB idescreen dis"lay that too! u" most of its surface area$ +ritics ra%ed about this UI, hich alloed users to mani"ulate content on the screen by ta""ing, "inching, and dragging their finger on it$ 8he de%ice also featured AaccelerometerB technology, hich enabled it to sense hen users ere mo%ing and to ad?ust its screen orientation accordingly$ Its screen ,uality, meanhile, mar!ed a big ste" forard for iPod %ideo functionality$ Partnershi"s ith =oogle and 6ou8ube alloed '""le to "ro%ide customi#ed search, ma""ing, and %ideo features$ In addition, users could buy music for the iPhone directly from the de%ice, %ia the i8unes /i0Fi 9usic Store$ In con?unction ith launching the iPhone :=, '""le introduced a ne benefit for iPhone users: a "latform for third0"arty a""lications$ 'n u"dated softare "ac!age, called iPhone 2$<, enabled users to install "rograms distributed through '""le4s ne online '"" Store$ Users could %isit the store and donload a""lications directly from their iPhone$ 3fferings ranged from "o"ular games -Scrabble, Sodo!u. to business "rograms de%elo"ed by 3racle and salesforce$com$ 8he first iPhone did not su""ort such a""lications$ But no e%en users of the older model, as ell as iPod touch F oners, could donload iPhone 2$< softare and e,ui" their de%ice for the ne "latform$ By mid0'ugust 2<<>, customers had donloaded more than K< million a""lications, and sales came to an a%erage of G1 million "er day$ ;obs s"eculated that the '"" Store might become Aa G1 billion mar!et"lace at some "oint in time$B '""le, hich had to a""ro%e each a""lication before it ent on sale, !e"t :<C of the retail "rice for e%ery "roduct and let de%elo"ers !ee" the rest$ &rabac!s to the iPhone included its lo storage ca"acity, in com"arison ith other music "layers, and its lac! of memory e)"andability1 its relati%ely lo0resolution camera, hich lac!ed %ideo ca"ability1 and a le%el of =PS functionality -introduced in the iPhone :=. that fell short of hat other smart"hones offered$ Its battery lasted as little as fi%e hours during routine := use -or ten hours during 2= use.1 more im"ortant, the battery as non0re"laceable and had a "redicted life of roughly one year$ 8o attract enter"rise customers, the second iteration of the iPhone added features that the first iPhone lac!ed, such as ad%anced email security and su""ort for the 9icrosoft *)change email "latform$ 6et the iPhone :=, hile it could dis"lay 9icrosoft 3ffice documents, lac!ed the ability to run or synchroni#e ith them$ For high0%olume email users, its lac! of a "hysical L/*(86 !eyboard and its failure to "ro%ide a cut0and0"aste tool ere also serious limitations$ In 2<<>, ould0be AiPhone !illerB "roducts ere ra"idly a""earing on the mar!et$ 9obile o"erators, in collaboration ith handset ma!ers, rushed to offer touchscreen de%ices: S"rint07e)tel distributed the Samsung Instinct, for e)am"le, hile 5eri#on /ireless sold the M= &are1 both "roducts hit the U$S$ mar!et in ;uly 2<<>$ Blac!berry -hich had a mar!et0leading EFC share of the U$S$ smart"hone mar!et. released a := de%ice called the Bold in 9ay and ould release an ad%anced touchscreen "hone called the 8hunder by the end of the year$ 3ther iPhone com"etitors included the Palm +entro1 the 7o!ia 7HF1 and the &iamond 8ouch, a := touchscreen handset that I8+ +or"$ introduced in 9ay 2<<>$ -This case is adopted from an article written by David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind for Harvard Business School. Ro(e 's a recently a""ointed research consultant in one of the leading business strategy research agencies in your country, you ha%e been tas!ed by you directors to "re"are a re"ort that outlines the business en%ironment of '""le Inc to aid in its future strategy formulation and "lanning$ 8he re"ort is to address the folloing areas: Tas&s &efine the conte)t of '""le Inc business strategy -1a. *)"lain the significance of conducting a sta!eholder analysis of '""le Inc -1 b. +onduct an e)ternal en%ironmental and organi#ational audit of the com"any i$e$ '""le Inc -1c. '""ly strategic "ositioning techni,ues to the analysis of '""le Inc -1d. 8a!ing note of the current en%ironment in your country, you are re,uired to K &emonstrate an ability to thin! strategically by e)"laining the "ossible considerations for strategic analysis of the com"any in e)"anding o"eration -2a. Pre"are a strategic "lan for '""le Inc based on the abo%e analysis -2b. GRADING 7ass is achie%ed by meeting all the re,uirements defined in the assessment criteria$ Merit Select and a""ly a""ro"riate techni,ues -92. Characteristics / ossible !vidence " Indication of rele%ant theory and techni,ues ith effecti%e ?udgments being made$ 8his can include use of en%ironment audit models such as S/38, P*S8M*, Porter4s F forces, %alue chain, etc$ Present and communicate a""ro"riate findings -9:. Characteristics / ossible !vidence N '""lication of a range of methods and sources of information used$ Used of models such as 'nsoff matri), groth, stability, "rofitability, "osition matri)$ 8he selection of methods ?ustified$ Distin!tion Use critical reflection to e%aluate on or! and ?ustify %alid conclusions -&1. Characteristics / ossible !vidence N 8he %alidity of the result ?udged indi%idually as sound and rele%ant ith self criticism of a""roach$ Indicate through future directions in relation ith com"etitor, customers and clients, industry and economy$ Some of these models included maybe1 'nsoff, "ortfolio matri), "lanning systems, etc$ &emonstrate con%ergent, lateral and creati%e thin!ing -&:. Characteristics / ossible !vidence N 8he ability to indicate that ideas generated and decisions considered ith con%ergent and lateral thin!ing$ 8here is e%idence of realistic, logical and systematic a""roach to the strategic "lanning "rocess$ ' clear e%idence of good use of !noledge, a""lication and understanding ith strategic "lanning techni,ue has been used$ Common S&i((s Gradin- 8o achie%e a 7ASS, students should gather sources and su""orting material identified, selected and organised$ Pro%ide some a""ro"riate %isual methods, ritten 7 medium a""ro"riated to the intended audience, sho information gathered through selected data collection techni,ue ith test and some conclusion dran$ 8o achie%e a MERIT, students should gather a""ro"riate sources and su""orting material identified, selected and organised$ Pro%ide a""ro"riate %isual "resentation, designed "roduced and used to communicate effecti%ely cou"led ith ritten medium a""ro"riated to the intended audience$ Information gathered shon through selected data collection techni,ue ith test and rele%ant conclusion dran$ 8o achie%e a DISTINCTION, students should gather rele%ant information analysed, e%aluated and summarised$ Pro%ide a""ro"riate %isual "resentation, designed "roduced and used to communicate effecti%ely$ /ritten medium to the intended audience should be rele%ant ith a""ro"riate information selected e%aluate analysis and synthesised for used$ 8here is clear suitability of solution e%aluated for accuracy and fitness for "ur"ose$ 7RESENTATION 1$ 8he assignment should ha%e a co%er "age that includes the assignment title, assignment number, course title, module title, Mecturer2tutor name and student4s name$ 'ttach all the "ages of assignment brief2co%er sheet ith your re"ort and lea%e them blan! for official use$ 2$ *nsure that authenticity declaration has been signed$ :$ 8his is an indi%idual assignment$ E$ +ontent sheet ith a list of all headings and "age numbers$ F$ ' fully ty"ed u" "rofessionally "resented re"ort document$ Use 12 "oint 'rial or 8imes 7e (oman scri"t$ K$ 6our assignment should be ord0"rocessed and should not e)ceed from 2,F<< to :,<<< ords in length$ 7$ Use the Iar%ard referencing system$ >$ *)hibits2a""endices are outside this limit$ H$ 8he assignment should be not contain a bibliogra"hy N but should contain a list of any references used in the assignment$ NOTES TO STUDENTS FOR SUMMISSION +hec! carefully the submission date and the instructions gi%en ith the assignment$ Mate assignments ill not be acce"ted$ *nsure that you gi%e yourself enough time to com"lete the assignment by the due date$ &o not lea%e things such as "rinting to the last minute N e)cuses of this nature ill not be acce"ted for failure to hand0in the or! on time$ > 6ou must ta!e res"onsibility for managing your on time effecti%ely$ If you are unable to hand in your assignment on time and ha%e %alid reasons such as illness, you may a""ly -in riting. for an e)tension$ Failure to achie%e a P'SS grade ill results in a (*F*(('M grade being gi%en$ 8a!e great care that if you use other "eo"le4s or! or ideas in your assignment, you "ro"erly reference them in your te)t and any bibliogra"hy$ NOTE2 I# *ou are !au-$t /(a-iari+in-; *ou !ou(d $a"e *our -rade redu!ed to +ero; or at ,orst; *ou !ou(d %e e<!(uded #rom t$e !ourse. 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