Strategic Planning

strategic planning

Unit 7.10 Strategic Planning
Level 7 15 Credits
Sample Assignments
Scenario: You have recently been appointed as a Strategy Assistant in a major consultancy firm based in the City of London. As part of your training you have been asked by your manager to prepare a draft strategy plan for an organisation to show your capabilities as a strategic planner. You have been given a free choice of organisation, so your own business experience should be used to the maximum. Choose a company with a background you know well or have researched carefully.
Task 1
In preparation for drafting this strategy plan you should provide the following information:
• An explanation of the importance of external factors affecting your chosen organisation.
• An analysis of the needs and expectations of stakeholders of this organisation.
• An analysis of the major changes taking place in the external environment that will affect strategy.
• An analysis of the effects of current business plans, using appropriate tools.
• A review of the position of the organisation in its current market.
• An evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation’s current business strategies in relation to its competitive situation in its market.

Task 2
Now before drafting the plan you should develop options for strategic planning for the organisation.
• Using appropriate modelling tools develop strategic options for the organisation.
• Develop a comparative understanding of competitor activity from other organisations in the market.
• Create options to form the basis of future organisational strategy.

Task 3
Construct a strategy plan for your organisation.
• Propose a suitable structure for a strategy plan that ensures appropriate participation from all stakeholders of the organisation.
• Develop criteria for reviewing potential options for a strategy plan.
• Write your strategy plan ensuring you include the resource implications.

Task 4
Having produced the strategy plan for your organisation, examine the factors which affect such plans.
• Compare core organisational values with the current business objectives of an organisation.
• Develop appropriate vision and mission statements for a named organisation.
• Produce agreed future management objectives for an organisation.
• Develop measures for evaluating a strategy plan.

Task 5
Plan for the implementation of your strategy plan.
• Develop a schedule in a tabular form which will be used for implementing your strategy plan.
• Devise a communications plan in a tabular format to support the roll out of the plan and to ensure the needs of all stakeholders are met.
• Design appropriate monitoring and evaluation systems for the strategy plan.

Guidelines for assessors
There is no suggested word count for the student’s assignment work in this unit. The assessment criteria for the unit specify the standard a learner is expected to meet. They demonstrate that the learning outcomes have been achieved. The suggested evidence listed below is how students can demonstrate that they have met the required standard.
1.
Task number Assessment criteria Suggested evidence
1. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2,
2.3 Written preparatory work for the strategy plan including explanations, analyses and a review using appropriate factors and named tools.

2. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 Written preparatory work for the strategy plan using relevant analysis tools for strategic options and competitor activity.
3 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 A written strategy plan using an appropriate structure and presentation format for a document of this kind.
4 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 Written responses addressing the factors affecting strategy plans.
5 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 Both a schedule and communications plan in tabulated form.
In addition a written explanation of relevant monitoring and evaluation systems, that can be used with strategic plans.