MSc Global Strategy Challenges And Choices
MSc Global Strategy: Challenges and Choices (September 2014 starts)
January 2015 exam
Some general comments
1. A REMINDER THAT YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO ANSWER a) TWO questions from FOUR in section A
b) BOTH questions in section B
2. Students are allowed to bring in 4 pages (2 pages double sided) of notes to the exam. The notes must be headed with student’s matriculation number, typed in Arial 12 and contain a reference list (Harvard style). Notes must be pinned to the exam script
3. Remember to bring matriculation card with you to the exam and be at the exam hall at least 15 minutes before the start of the exam.
4. Below are three articles on Tesco. It is recommended that you read more widely than these articles to answer Section B.
Tesco
Article 1
Tesco: Keep calm and carry on? 4 June 2014 Last updated at 09:59 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27693501(accessed 1 October 2014)
Tesco is like a juggernaut with a puncture and a worrying rattle in the engine. It's still a pretty big lorry of course - let's not forget that it made £3.3bn of profits last year (admittedly down 6%) and still accounts for 29% of all supermarket trade in the UK (down from over 30%). So why has there been the major fall in what are known as like-for-like sales - that's sales in its stores and online stripping out the effect of new stores opening (of which there are hardly any). Sales are down nearly 4%, and in the retail world that is significant. Tesco has not seen numbers this bad, it is admitting internally, for 20 years. One retail analyst from HSBC has said that the fall is equivalent to a million customers a week spending £25 less.
Some believe Tesco is becalmed in the middle ground, a no-man's land between Waitrose at the top end - sales up 6% - and Aldi and Lidl at the discount end, where sales are up 36% and 28% respectively. But Asda, which may be expected to be suffering in the same way as one of the four big traditional retailers, is performing better with
January 2015 exam
Some general comments
1. A REMINDER THAT YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO ANSWER a) TWO questions from FOUR in section A
b) BOTH questions in section B
2. Students are allowed to bring in 4 pages (2 pages double sided) of notes to the exam. The notes must be headed with student’s matriculation number, typed in Arial 12 and contain a reference list (Harvard style). Notes must be pinned to the exam script
3. Remember to bring matriculation card with you to the exam and be at the exam hall at least 15 minutes before the start of the exam.
4. Below are three articles on Tesco. It is recommended that you read more widely than these articles to answer Section B.
Tesco
Article 1
Tesco: Keep calm and carry on? 4 June 2014 Last updated at 09:59 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27693501(accessed 1 October 2014)
Tesco is like a juggernaut with a puncture and a worrying rattle in the engine. It's still a pretty big lorry of course - let's not forget that it made £3.3bn of profits last year (admittedly down 6%) and still accounts for 29% of all supermarket trade in the UK (down from over 30%). So why has there been the major fall in what are known as like-for-like sales - that's sales in its stores and online stripping out the effect of new stores opening (of which there are hardly any). Sales are down nearly 4%, and in the retail world that is significant. Tesco has not seen numbers this bad, it is admitting internally, for 20 years. One retail analyst from HSBC has said that the fall is equivalent to a million customers a week spending £25 less.
Some believe Tesco is becalmed in the middle ground, a no-man's land between Waitrose at the top end - sales up 6% - and Aldi and Lidl at the discount end, where sales are up 36% and 28% respectively. But Asda, which may be expected to be suffering in the same way as one of the four big traditional retailers, is performing better with