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The submission is in the form of an individually written strategic management report, which includes an environmental audit and a strategic plan. This should be written in a concise, formal business style using 1.5 line spacing and font size 12. You are required to make use of headings, paragraphs and subsections as appropriate and ensure that the report is justified aligned. All work must be supported with research and all research resources should be cited and referenced using the Harvard referencing system. Please also provide a Reference List including all cited materials using the Harvard referencing system. The recommended word limit is 3000 words, although you will not be penalised if you go over this limit.
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LO1: Analyse the impact and influence that the macro environment has on an organisation and its business strategies.
LO2: Assess an organisation’s internal environment and capabilities.
LO3: Apply the outcomes of an analysis, using an appropriate strategic management tool, in a given market sector.
LO4 Develop a strategic management plan in an organisation, informed by models, theories and concepts, to achieve competitive advantage in a given market sector
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Scenario
You have been recruited as a Corporate Strategy Manager by Gymshark, a fast growing British manufacturer and retailer of fitness apparel and accessories for both men and women. It was founded in June 2012 by school friends Ben Francis and Lewis Morgan while they were both 20-year old university students. Currently they sell both domestically and internationally (mainly online) and are valued at over
£1 billion. In 2020 they opened their first pop-up shop in London’s Covent Garden. They still do not rely substantially on brick-and-mortar stores, but in 2022 Gymshark opened its first permanent store in
Regent Street in London. Currently they have offices in London (UK) and abroad Denver (US), as well as in Hong Kong and Mauritius.
The company is keen to further expand its business so the report must include recommendations for growth with full justification and rationale.
You have been asked to produce a strategic report based on environmental analysis, and devise a strategic growth management plan.
The environmental audit should be conducted using recognised internal and external analytical tools, such as PESTLE, SWOT, VRIO, the Value Chain, and the Porter’s 5 Forces Framework. Based on the detailed critical analysis of the external and internal environment in which Gymshark operates, you will then set appropriate strategic objectives and consider and critically evaluate strategic options for the case organisation (Gymshark). Based on critical interpretation of the outcomes of the above analyses and applying a range of suitable strategic models, you will devise a strategic management plan which includes a set of valid strategic directions, objectives and tactical actions which would help Gymshark to successfully achieve strategic alignment. You must use appropriate theories, strategic concepts and frameworks to support your critical evaluation and recommendations.
For the report you should do the following:
- Conduct a detailed analysis of the external environment (macro and competitive / industry level) and a critical evaluation of how the relevant environmental factors impact the case organisation, as well as how these can inform the management decisions and influence their strategic directions. You should apply a range of analytical frameworks here; for instance, PESTLE for the macro environmental factors, and Porter’s Five Forces model for the competitive environment.
- Conduct a critical assessment of the internal environmentof the case organisation, including their structure, internal capabilities and skills set. Here you should also use appropriate frameworks, for instance, you could conduct McKinsey’s 7S model or SWOT for the company’s internal strengths and weaknesses and / or the VRIO/VRIN model to evaluate their resources and capabilities.
- Based on a critical interpretation of the outcomes of the above analyses, create appropriate strategic objectives for the case organisation. Then choose relevant management tools to inform their strategy and objectives, justify their suitability and apply them for the market sector in which the case organisation (Gymshark) operates. For example, here you could consider using: the structure-conduct-performance model, the Ansoff growth vector matrix for the product and market strategy, stakeholder matrix for stakeholder mapping, etc.
- Evaluate a range of different types of strategic directions availableto the organisation. For example: cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy, focus strategy diversification, vertical/horizontal integration etc.
- Provide justified recommendations of the most appropriate growth platform(s) and strategies.
- Produce a detailed strategic management plan with tangible strategies, objectives, priorities and tactical actions
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