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LSME Management and Business Studies DepartmentPage 1Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma Business (RQF)ASSIGNMENT BRIEF – UNIT 32 Unit Title:Unit Credit Value:Unit Level:Business Strategy155Assessor/s:IQA:Amanda BabalolaSignature of AssessorA.BabalolaSignature of IQALearning OutcomesTo pass this unit, the student must achieve learning outcomes as follows:1. Analyse the impact and influence which the macro environment has on an organisation and itsbusiness strategies.2. Assess an organisation’s internal and external environment and capabilities.3. Evaluate and apply the outcomes of an analysis using Porter’s Five Forces model to a given market.4. Apply models, theories and concepts to assist with the understanding and interpretation of strategicdirections available to an organisation.Student Name:College ID NO:E-mail:Issue Date:ExpectedSubmission Date:Student Signature:ActualSubmission Date: LSME Management and Business Studies DepartmentPage 2Unit IntroductionThe purpose of this unit is to help students understand the difference between the function of amanager and the role of a leader. Students will consider the characteristics, behaviours and traitswhich support effective management and leadership. In addition, this unit will introduce theconcept of operations as both a function and a process which all organisations must adopt toconduct business. Students will be introduced to contemporary and historical theories andconcepts which will support their learning for this unit.InstructionsStudents must complete ALL tasks in order to achieve this unit.Grading criteriaA pass grade is achieved by meeting all the requirements defined in the assessment criteria for passingthis unit. Learners who complete the unit but who do not meet all the pass criteria are graded ‘Referred’.Learners whose coursework is unclassified will be given the opportunity to make necessary correctionsand amendments for resubmission. In order to achieve a merit unit grade, all pass criteria and all meritdescriptors must be met. To achieve a distinction unit grade, all pass criteria plus all merit anddistinction descriptors must be met.Completing the tasksIn order to complete the tasks, you will need to research different information sources such astextbooks, journals articles and the internet. You are also required to develop skills in analysis andsynthesis of information. Analysis requires you to critically examine different aspects of a topic andidentify important issues. Synthesis requires you to summarise the information you have analysed in acosies and coherent manner. Make use of information on assignment preparation and command verbusage in your Moodle Platform.LSME Management and Business Studies DepartmentPage 3Helpful informationThe following sources of information may be useful for the completion of this assignment.Textbooks• A & C Black Publishers Ltd (2009)– Whitaker’s Almanack 2010, 142nd Revised edition, A & CBlack Publishers Ltd.• Begg. D (2009), Foundations of Economics, 4th edition, McGraw-Hill Higher Education.• Sawyer M, (2004), The UK Economy: A Manual of Applied Economics, 16th edition, OUPOxford.• Morrison J (2006), International Business Environment: Global and Local Marketplaces in aChanging World, Palgrave Macmillan.• Johnson, G.et al (2014) Exploring Strategy Text and cases. Harlow: Pearson.• Johnson, G.et al (2011) Fundamentals of Strategy. 2nd Ed. Financial Times/ Prentice Hall.• Kim, W. C. and Mauborgne, R. (2015) Blue Ocean Strategy. Expanded Ed. Boston: HarvardBusiness Review Press. Journals• Harvard Business Review (Harvard Business Publishing)• The Economist (The Economist Newspaper Ltd)• The broadsheet newspapers have daily business sections. Many business stories will appearin the news sections. LSME Management and Business Studies Department Page 4Websites• www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm the government’s portal• www.berr.gov.uk has sections on business support, Europe, Business Law and regionaldevelopment as well as other materials• www.ac777.dial.pipex.com/bes/index.html Online journal for British EconomyLSME Management and Business Studies DepartmentPage 4Referencing your workReferences to relevant academic theory and research findings should be provided and citedappropriately using the Harvard system of referencing. Example of this referencing style is as follows:Sawyer M, (2004), The UK Economy: A Manual of Applied Economics, 16th edition, OUP OxfordAuthor/s name and initials are listed first, followed by a year of publication in brackets. Then there isthe title of article/chapter of the book and the journal where the article appears/ title of the book. If itis a journal, the journal will be in italics and you will have to add the volume and issue number (inbrackets) along with the pages where the article can be located. If it is a book, you will have to add theplace of publication and then the publishing company. Include at least two in-text citations andreferences in each assessment criterion. Further information on the Harvard System of referencing is onyour Moodle Platform.Note: Do not use Wikipedia as a source of reference.Plagiarism and cheatingYou are required to work independently when preparing this assignment. Presenting another learner’swork as yours or taking information from any sources without acknowledging the source constitutesplagiarism. Please note that your work will be cancelled if you plagiarized. In some cases, the college willdetect this by using software called ‘Grammarly’. Make sure you read your work carefully and ensurethat all sources of information have been acknowledged to avoid any untoward investigations thatwould result in a delay in your achievement of the unit.Further information on plagiarism and potential consequences are available in your student handbooks.PresentationPresent a document with a suggested word count of 4000 (+/- 10%). The word guide does not includereferences, bibliography, images, diagrams and appendices. The word count should be stated on theassignment cover sheet. You are required to make use of headings, paragraphs and subsections asappropriate, and all work must be supported wit

h research and referenced using the Harvardreferencing system. Word should be processed in a suitable format of 12-point font, 1.5-line spacing andpages numbered.LSME Management and Business Studies DepartmentPage 5SubmissionWhen submitting your assignment, you must include:1. The Assignment Brief2. Assignment Cover Sheet3. Other documents required by your assessor as evidence of achievement.All assignments should be handed in electronically, with necessary documents and should be signed anddated by the student and lecturer.Submission deadlines must be strictly observed. Therefore, disciplined time management is veryimportant when producing this assignment. Failure to meet deadlines will unduly delay yourachievement and progression through the course and may affect your achievement of higher grades.For example, the Merit indicator “an effective approach to study and research has been applied”, andfor Distinction, the indicator “activities have been managed” can both be interpreted to mean thatsubmitting assignment work on time is an appropriate learning technique at this level.SCENARIO:BP oil company have been reported to be currently facing a big challenge in meeting the demands of allstakeholders. This became more challenging when they began to lose their key workers to othercompetitors. Appropriate management of staff and availability of essential resources became a hugechallenge for BP oil company. In the past 8 months, it had been one negative report after the otherranging from the explosion of the organisation’s deep-water drilling horizon, uncontrolled oil gushingfrom the BP oil drilling reek into the ocean putting aquatic life at risk to the explosion of in the Gulf ofMexico which left many injured seeking for compensation. Experts have predicted that if a properbusiness strategy is not put in place, BP oil company will be losing close to £2.7 million per day andinvestors trust. All these put together created an uncertainty about the profitability and the existenceof the company. These tremendous effects have led the CEO of the company calling for an urgentmanagement meeting to discuss appropriate business strategies that can be used to rebuild theconfidence of stakeholders. You have been employed as a junior manager at the head office and chargedwith the responsibility of strategic management decisions. You are required to produce a report on theLSME Management and Business Studies DepartmentPage 6following tasks before the next management meeting (Students are required to carry out additionalresearch on BP oil company for additional information)Task 1 – Analyse the impact and influence which the macro environment has on an organization suchas BP oil company and its business strategies.Critically analyse the macro environment to determine and inform strategic management decisions foran organization such as BP oil company by applying appropriate framework to analyse the impact andinfluence of the macro environment on BP oil company as an organization and its strategies.You can extend your report to demonstrate better understanding by doing a critique and interpretationof information and data applying environmental and competitive analysis to produce a set of validstrategic directions, objectives and tactical actions for your given organisation.Evidence: ReportTask 2 – Assess an organization’s internal environment and capabilities.Critically evaluate the internal environment to assess the strengths and weaknesses of an organization’sinternal capabilities, structure and skill set using BP oil company as an example.Evidence: ReportTask 3 – Evaluate and apply the outcomes of an analysis using Porter’s Five Forces model to a givenmarket sectorApply Porter’s Five Forces model, evaluate the competitive forces of a given market sector for anorganization using BP oil company and devise appropriate strategies to improve competitive edge andmarket position based on the outcomesEvidence: ReportTask 4 – Apply models, theories and concepts to assist with the understanding and interpretation ofstrategic directions available to an organisation.Applying a range of theories, concepts and models, interpret and devise strategic planning for a givenorganization such as BP oil company then produce a strategic management plan that has tangible andtactical strategic priorities and objectives for BP oil company.LSME Management and Business Studies DepartmentPage 7Extend your report to critically analyse and evaluate the relevance of team development theories in thecontext of organizational behaviour concepts and philosophies that influence behaviour in theworkplace.Evidence: ReportLearning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria: PassMeritDistinctionLO1 Analyse the impact and influence which the macro environment hason an organisation and its business strategies.LO1, 2 ,3 & 4D1 Critically analyse andevaluate the differenttheories and approaches toleadership in given contexts.P1 Applying appropriateframe works analyse theimpact and influence of themacro environment on agiven organization and itsstrategies.M1 Critically analyse the macroenvironment to determine andinform strategic managementdecisions.LO2 Assess an organisation’s internal and external environment andcapabilities.P2 Analyse the internalenvironment and capabilities of agiven organization usingappropriate frameworks.M2 Critically evaluate the internalenvironment to assess strengthsand weaknesses of anorganization’s internal capabilities,structure and skill set.LO3 Evaluate and apply the outcomes of an analysis using Porter’s FiveForces model to a given market.P3 Apply Porter’s Five Forces modelevaluate the competitive forces ofa given market sector for anorganization.M3 Devise appropriate strategiesto improve competitive edge andmarket position based on theoutcomes.LO4 Apply models, theories and concepts to assist with the understandingand interpretation of strategic directions available to an organisation.P4 Applying a range of theories,concepts and models, interpretand devise strategic planning for agiven organisation.M4 Produce a strategicmanagement plan that hastangible and tactical strategicpriorities and objectives.