Description

De Montfort University

BMIB5001: International Business and Strategy

Assessment 2 Brief

Word Count: 3000 words

Assignment Title: Individual Written Essay on ‘Strategy Management

Assignment Weighting: 60%

Deadline: 14^th November 2025 

This assignment is an individual assignment.

You are required to write a 3,000-word strategy plan as if you are a management consultant delivering the plan to the company’s Board of Directors. Your strategy plan must be clear, professional, and supported with analysis and evidence.

For an organisation of your choice, you should formulate a strategic change plan either for the operations of an existing international business or for an organisation intending to internationalise. The strategic change plan should be based on a detailed strategic audit and evaluation of strategic options. A strong rationale should be provided for the chosen strategic option. Critical evaluation of requirements for implementing the strategic option chosen should also be considered. For instance, issues such as strategic change management and cross-cultural implications.

Your Task

You must choose one organisation and develop a strategy plan for one of the following options:

• A company that is already operating internationally, or
• A company that is planning to expand into an international market.

Your 3000-word essay should address the following areas: 

Introduction

• Briefly introduce the company you have selected. Provide key background information such as the industry it operates in, its size, core business activities, and current market position.
• Explain the company’s current business context. What key challenges or opportunities is it currently facing—either in its home market or internationally?
• Clearly state the purpose of the strategy plan. What are you aiming to achieve in this report? Are you advising the company on entering a new international market or on strengthening its current international operations?
• Justify the rationale for internationalisation (if applicable). Why would international expansion or continued international strategy be important for this company? You may refer to global market trends, industry competition, or the firm’s long-term strategic goals.
• Outline the structure of your essay. Briefly summarise the key sections you will cover, such as the strategic audit, macro-environmental and industry analysis, strategic formulation, and strategic implementation.

Strategic Audit (External and Internal Analysis)

You must analyse both the external and internal environment of the company.

Macro-Environmental Analysis (PEST or PESTLE)

Use PEST or PESTLE analysis to assess factors influencing the company in the relevant international market. These include:

• Political (e.g., stability, government policies)
• Economic (e.g., inflation, interest rates, GDP)
• Social (e.g., demographics, customer trends)
• Technological (e.g., innovations, automation)
• Legal (e.g., industry regulations, laws)
• Environmental (e.g., sustainability, climate change)

For each factor:

• Explain how it may affect the business.
• Identify whether it is an opportunity or a threat.
• Justify your analysis with examples or research.
• If your company is already international, apply this analysis to a current market.
• If your company wants to expand, apply this analysis to the new target country.

Industry Analysis (Porter’s Five Forces)

Use Porter’s Five Forces to examine the competitive environment:

• Threat of New Entrants
• Bargaining Power of Suppliers
• Bargaining Power of Buyers
• Threat of Substitutes
• Industry Rivalry

For each force:

• Assess the level of impact (high, medium, or low).
• Provide a clear explanation with examples.
• Explain how this affects your company’s position in the market.
• Apply this analysis to the industry in the country where your company operates or plans to expand.

Internal Analysis (VRIO Framework)

Use the VRIO model to assess if the company’s resources give it a competitive advantage.
Apply the VRIO test to at least 2–3 key resources or capabilities (e.g., brand strength, technology,  skilled workforce):

• Valuable?
• Rare?
• Inimitable?
• Organised to capture value?

Summarise the competitive advantage:

• Meets all four = sustained competitive advantage
• Meets fewer = temporary advantage or competitive parity

SWOT Analysis

Combine findings from your strategic audit into a SWOT table:

• Strengths and Weaknesses – From VRIO analysis
• Opportunities and Threats – From PEST/PESTLE and Porter’s Five Forces

This helps create a clear summary of the company’s current strategic position.

Strategic Formulation

Based on your strategic audit, propose a set of strategic options (2 or 3) that the company could pursue to either expand internationally or strengthen its existing global position.

You must then:

Critically evaluate each strategic option using the SAF criteria:

• Suitability – Does the strategy align with the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats?
• Acceptability – Will the strategy be acceptable to key stakeholders (e.g., shareholders, employees, customers)? What are the expected benefits, risks, and returns?
• Feasibility – Can the company realistically implement this strategy with the resources, capabilities, and time it has?

In your evaluation:

• Clearly identify and discuss any potential risks, constraints, or resource implications associated with each option. 
• Use relevant data or analysis to support your judgment.
• Recommend the most appropriate strategic option(s) and provide a strong justification for your choice(s) based on your SAF evaluation.

Strategic Implementation 

Once you have recommended the most appropriate strategic option(s), you must develop a realistic and detailed action plan for implementing them.

Your implementation plan should include:

• Key steps or phases in rolling out the strategy (e.g., timelines, responsibilities, milestones)
• Resources required (e.g., staffing, funding, partnerships, infrastructure)
• Key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure progress and success

You must also:

• Identify potential barriers or challenges that may arise during implementation (e.g., resistance to change, cross-cultural misunderstandings, regulatory hurdles)
• Suggest strategies to manage or mitigate these barriers (e.g., change management techniques, communication plans, stakeholder engagement)

Discuss possible implementation issues such as:

• Strategic change management (e.g., leadership, communication, training)
• Cross-cultural challenges in international business (e.g., adapting business practices, managing diverse teams)

Conclusion

Summarise key points and final recommendations.

Reference list

At the end of your assignment, include a full reference list according to the Harvard “Cite Them      Right” style. Make sure the references are listed in alphabetical order according to the last name of the first author of each source.

Additional Guidance

• Apply relevant strategic models and frameworks (PEST/PESTLE Analysis, Porter’s Five Forces, VRIO Analysis, and SWOT analysis) consistently to support your analysis. 
• Support your arguments with appropriate academic literature, as well as credible data from industry sources such as Mintel, WARC, Kantar, ONS, and news/media reports.
• You must ensure that this assessment is written entirely in your own words.
• You must not directly copy content from other sources and ensure all references to theories, models, or published work are properly cited using the Harvard “Cite Them Right” style (both in-text citations and your reference list).
• Plagiarism or academic misconduct will not be tolerated.
• Present your work in a clear, professional, and well-structured manner.
• You must write this essay in the third person. This means you should not use personal words like ‘I’, ‘we’, or ‘my’. Instead, write in a formal and objective tone.

Note: This task simulates real-world consulting work. You may not have perfect information make logical assumptions and show clear reasoning in your analysis.

Please use the structure below to articulate your company’s Strategy Plan:

1.0. Introduction
2.0. Strategic Audit
2.1. Macro-Environmental Analysis

• 2.1.1. Political Factors    
• 2.1.2. Economic Factors    
• 2.1.3. Socio-Cultural Factors    
• 2.1.4. Technological Factors    

2.2. Industrial Analysis (i.e, Porter’s five forces).

• 2.2.1. Bargaining power of customers/ threat of substitute products/ competitive rivalry    
• 2.2.2. Bargaining power of suppliers/ Threat of new entrants.    

2.3. Internal Analysis

• 2.3.1. VRIO Analysis
• 2.3.2. SWOT Analysis    

3.0. Strategic Formulation

• 3.1. How to Compete    
• 3.2. Strategic Change Options    
• 3.3. Method of Growth    
• 3.4. Evaluation of the Strategic Options    

4.0. Strategic Implementation
5.0. Conclusion
6.0. Reference List

Details regarding each of the elements above will be discussed in the weekly seminar and lecture
sessions.

BMIB5001 Criteria for Assessment – How you will be marked

The individual written essay will be marked according to specific criteria (see table below). A marking rubric, detailing how each of the assessment criteria will be assessed is provided on Learning Zone, under the Assessment 2 tab. Please note that there will be opportunities in seminars to discuss the assessment task in more depth, including the marking criteria.

1	Introduction	15%
2	Strategic Audit	30%
3	The generation of strategic change options and the evaluation of the strategic change plan in terms of suitability, acceptability, and feasibility	30%
4	An action plan for implementation	20%
5	Academic references, professionalism, and presentation	5%

Please, have a look at the marking rubric for more detailed information (separate document).

Further information on University mark descriptors can be found here.

This assignment is designed to assess the following learning outcomes:

1. Conceptualise and critically evaluate why and how firms go international.
   2. Critically appraise what strategy is and use academic scholarship to assess how firms make and implement strategy.
   3. Critically evaluate the underlying drivers of value creation to inform international business strategy.
   4. Critically appraise the host and home country factors that affect the development and implementation of international business strategies to inform proposed solutions.
   5. Develop a conceptual framework for tackling the opportunities and challenges in international business.

Assessment Details:

• The word count is: 3000 words
• There will be a penalty of a deduction of 10% of the mark for work exceeding the word limit by 10% or more.
• The word limit includes tables, figures, quotations, and citations, but excludes the cover page, contents page, and references list.

 

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