Task 1 – 50 Marks

Undertake an analysis of the strategic position of an organisation of your choice. The organisation you choose should be large enough to face a reasonably broad range of strategic issues but not so large as to prevent meaningful analysis. Your organisation must be have a link to Ireland – either be an Irish company or have some operations here.

• You should undertake an analysis of the macro environment and then summarise that as the overall strategic position of the organisation.

Do not attempt to include a full PEST analysis, a full 5-Forces analysis, a full stakeholder analysis and so on, as you will struggle to do this within the word count.

Do those pieces of analysis and then discuss the key outcomes in the piece you submit

If you wish you can put the analysis tools in the Appendices.

Task 2 – 50 Marks

Using your analysis of the strategic position of the organisation, identify and evaluate the main strategic options available to the organisation, selecting and justifying what you consider to be the preferred strategic option. You could do the following.

• Use the strategy clock framework or Porter’s Generic Strategy Theory to identify the long-term basis on which the organisation should compete (Low-cost, Differentiation etc)
• Use the Ansoff matrix framework to identify a range of alternative directions for the future strategy of the organisation. Here you can bring in learning in the area of International Strategy and Innovation Strategy.
• Evaluate those alternative directions and methods. Do this systematically, using an appropriate framework (such as the ‘suitable, feasible, acceptable’ framework).