Guidance for the SFM report 2022-2023

FINA 1035

The case study

Contents

1. Introduction 2
2. Model of report structure 5
3. Guidance for format for the business report and marking scheme 6

Submission dates 2022-231

Summary of assessment
Assessment Title Weight Length Due Date Anonymous Anticipated Header
towards Submission Return Sheet
final Required? Date number
grade
Internal report 45% 2,500 Yes
words
Final report 55% 3,000 No
words

***N.B Word length is strict, flexible to within +-10% for each report (not total report). Failure to
comply with the word count will result in a penalty of 5 percentage points.***

1
These dates are for students studying on the Greenwich campus only. If you are studying at a partner
institution, please speak to your course coordinator to agree your dates.
1. Introduction

Please note before you complete your work you should look at the examples of good practice
available on Moodle. Look at the level of detail, research they used and also the style that it
is written in. PLEASE DO NOT COPY THESE, THEY ARE FOR YOUR REFERENCE
ONLY

Word count: 5,500 words, this does NOT include any footnotes or appendices. Only the
report is marked, and the appendices simply demonstrate how you determined the main
points discussed in the report. Footnotes should only be used to reference material, or to tell
the reader where to find the related information (see example of good practice). If you want
the information to be marked, please make sure the relevant pieces are in the actual report.

You are required to produce a report based on the case study. The report should answer the
following:

1) A) Identify the major strategic business units (SBUs) within the company you have
been given to analyse, during the period described in the case study.

B) “What strategies has the company adopted during the period of the case? You
should describe these strategies for one specific SBU of your choice and for the
corporation.

C) Using relevant models, theory and frameworks explain how and why these
strategies were/weren’t appropriate for the chosen SBU and for the corporation.

2) Is the company business model the right model looking ahead for the next five
years or more? Based on the analysis already undertaken what future strategy would
you recommend for the chosen SBU and for the corporation?

Please note that this is not an essay, you must produce it in a business report format. Below
is a guideline of the structure of your report; following it will help you answer all the
questions above. Remember that you will be marked on your ability to extract relevant
information from your case study and outside research to produce the various frameworks
and models.

DO NOT underestimate how much work you need to perform to attain research outside
the case study – if you want to get a high mark.

However, more importantly you will be marked on your ability to connect the models and
show a critical and logical progression in your report, ultimately putting you in a position
where you can show your creative skills and suggest future strategies. Students often
misjudge how difficult this is and assume they will gain full marks just because they have
submitted a section– this is not the case.

You should be aware that students who cut and paste models from the internet and
various other sources, even when referenced, will not receive any marks – this is an
individual piece of work and it should be your own work. It is your own analysis and
resulting conclusions that gain marks.

On the following page we have provided a map to try and explain how each section is related
and what prior section you should use to develop subsequent ones.

Submission: your final submission of your report must include your presentation slides as
you are awarded 5 marks for these, please submit 6 slides per A4 Page.
2. Resources
In addition to the resources mentioned in section 4 there is an additional resources that is vital
to access good data. The database is called passport and within this there are reports called
Euromontior. You can find the guide on how to use these resources by using this link
http://libguides.gre.ac.uk/af/resources

Look for this:

If you are based on Greenwich Campus please also remember to talk to and ask for advice
from our Academic Service Liberian:
3. Model of report structure
4. Guidance for format for the business report and marking
scheme

Although the table below suggests some good sources you should NOT rely solely on
these.

Format Marking
scheme

Front page

Contents page

Executive Summary 2 marks

1 Intro

a) Which market(s) is the organisation operating in? 3 marks

Identification of major SBUs
b) How does the organisation make its money? Think
outside the obvious – look at past examples of practice.
c) Provide some information about the company and answer
what industry it belongs to.
2 Financial analysis – with conclusions (you should identify the
core competence (CC) and unique resources (UR) as you do this
section). 20 marks

a) A full financial analysis is required including a

segmentation analysis. Look at the examples of good
practice for the level of detail. Remember to use industry
specific ratios where relevant.
b) You do not need to calculate the ratios, you can use good
quality sources (listed below) to get the ratios. Your job is
to interpret the values in the ratios and explain why the
company got that value. Please see the example of good
practice to gain a further understanding of what is
required here.
c) You must cover a five year period.
d) Remember industry averages are essential in this section.
e) Please look at how many marks are allocated to this
section, you must produce a professional financial
analysis at level 6, year 3. Remember it is the story
behind the numbers that gets you the high marks. 10
marks for 5 year financial analysis – it’s the story behind
the numbers that gets you the high marks, 5 marks for the
 segmentation analysis, 5 marks for the competitor
analysis.
f) Good sources: Google Finance, company annual reports,
case study, Financial Times, Thomson 1 and Passport (the
latter two are on the database section of the library) and
any other good finance sites.

3 Marketing analysis – with conclusions (you should identify the

core competence and unique resources as you do this section).
Cover price, product, place and promotions (these four Ps are 5 marks
required).

For extra marks can you see how much they spend on promotion
(advertising)? Can you find out where they are positioned on the
brand league tables? Many web sites offer brand league tables, so
have there been any changes?. When you discuss pricing, what
is the type of pricing applied known as? Provide an example to
support what you have stated.

Remember: any information you use must be evidenced. Please

note that the marketing analysis is not the same as the
market analysis! One example of a good source
http://brandirectory.com/league_tables

4 HRM analysis – with conclusions (you should identify the core

competences and unique resources in this section).
5 marks
Core values, skills, change in management, pay, additional
compensation, culture, number of employees, recruitment and
company structure are all important aspects of this section.

You must also include a corporate governance section.

Good sources:

http://www.bestcompanies.co.uk/Lists/BestCompaniesLists.aspx

and www.glassdoor.com to find out if it is a good company to

work for and average pay extra for extra marks.

5 Operations analysis – with conclusions (you should identify the

core competences and unique resources in this section).
5 marks
This is a difficult section and you must discuss how the
organisation’s operations create value. Reading chapter 3 of your
textbook is imperative before attempting this section. You can
use the value chain or value system (or both) to help you here. If
you like you can draw it. The important thing to discuss here is
 which categories of activities best describe the operations of the
organization. Which of these categories are most significant in
delivering the strategy and achieving advantage over
competitors. Also you must discuss what business model they
use? What form of integration? What are the key value adding
activities? Remember this must be company specific so the
evidence you use will be about the company you are analysing.

You must decide what type of model is required here. Only use
the appropriate one!

Good sources: company annual reports, investor relations

website.

6 Strengths and weaknesses (S&W)– prioritised and distinctive

competences / unique resources
5 marks
These MUST come from your own analysis – everything you list
must come from your own finance, operations, HRM and
marketing sections – nothing new should be introduced here. List
5 in each section, i.e. 5 strengths and 5 weaknesses.

For each S&W you should use a footnote to signpost the marker
where this has come from (see examples of good practice). You
could add the page number to be very clear that this comes from
your own work.

Good source: your own internal analysis, nothing else!

END OF INTERNAL ANALYSIS HERE 45

START OF EXTERNAL ANALYSIS HERE

7 Executive Summary 1 mark

8 PESTLE analysis and conclusions 4 marks

Do NOT simply provide a generic list – this is an industry

analysis, not an organizational one! Provide evidence and detail
– look at examples of good practice. You should not analyse the
company you have been given – it is about the whole industry.
You can conclude and explain which elements impact the
company at the end.

Remember: you must evidence all the points you list, footnotes
 should only provide the references of you data – the data should
go in the main body of the report.

Good sources: company annual reports and good newspapers,

economist, data web sites (showing trends), euromonitor.

9 Porter’s 5 forces analysis and conclusions, attractiveness of

industry and highlight the strongest force
5 marks
This analysis should be based on your SBU chosen from your
list of SBUs in your intro. Make sure you clearly state which
SBU you will analyse before you start this section. Apply the
analysis to this SBU and make sure that you provide a conclusion
for each force whether it is a weak, medium or strong force.
Conclude this section by answering ‘Is this an attractive market
for existing players to remain in?’

Remember: this is not about the company it is about the SBU

you choose or are told to do. Once again data to support your
points is vital.

Good sources: Company annual reports, Google Finance and

good quality newspapers, regulations sites and data web sites
(showing trends), apps on Android or iOS

10 Markets and Critical success factors (CSF) - this should be

based on your chosen SBU or the one you are told to do.
5 marks
Markets – what future predictions are there for your chosen SBU
and the industry? On the internet there are many prediction
produced by analysts. You are asked for two lists 1) the industry
predictions and 2) the SBU predictions – four predictions in each
list. Remember you must include data and they MUST be
FUTURE predictions – not information for this year.

CSFs – what do the customers demand from companies

competing in this SBU?

Good sources: look online at the top accounting companies

like E&Y, PWC and KPMG etc.... they have good industry
reports and you do not need to pay, the free information they
provide is enough. Also look for industry specific regulators
 and euromonitor.

11 Opportunities and threats (O&T) – prioritized and identified 5 marks

main.

List 5 in each section, i.e. 5 opportunities and 5 threats.

Remember: each item listed has come from your own external
analysis PESTLE, five forces, markets and CSFs. It is good
practice to show where each one has come from – using
footnotes and once again you could add the page number of
where it has come from.

Good sources: your own external analysis – nothing else!

12 The strategic position of the organisation (at the end of case) : 5 marks

a) Description of strategy/-ies adopted to date.

b) Discussion of the key issues relating to the future of the
company including conclusions whether the organization,
its strategies and business model are strongly or weakly
positioned to deal with these issues.

To achieve this:

i) Explain where the SBU or the analysed company is

located on Bowman’s strategic clock.
ii) Explain what strategies they employ by using the
Ansoff matrix and its terminology to help you.
iii) Explain how they execute these strategies.
iv) Determine what parental role top management takes –
portfolio, synergy or developer?
v) What international strategies does the company use?
vi) Is the BCG Matrix useful?

13 A narrative discussion of the likelihood of success/failure of the 5 marks

organisations current strategies. Are they in a good position to
face the future?

14 Identification of 2 possible new future strategies or ‘strategic 10 marks

directions’. One for the SBU and the other for the whole
corporation – so 2 in total.
 Use the Ansoff matrix again to help you identify what type of
strategy it is. Explain how, where and what you will do to
achieve it – don’t just list generic items. The language you use is
very important here and throughout your report. Also use your
strengths and weaknesses section and your opportunities and
threats section. Does your strategy take advantage of a strength
of yours or an opportunity you identified in the market? Or
maybe it eliminates a weakness or a threat?

FULL description of recommended strategies– this is where

you really sell your strategies. Use your future market
predictions to help you. We would expect a good half a page for
this.

Remember: use your market predictions to help you sell the

winning strategy.

15 Discussion on the feasibility and acceptability of recommended 5 marks

strategies.

16 - Selection of winning strategy 5 marks

- Key issues in implementing the strategy

- Risk assessment and risk management

Make sure you use the correct “risk terminology” in this section,
refer to your lecture notes.

17 Presentation slides 5 marks

Referencing: As you will be using a large amount of work from the case study rather than
repeatedly referencing it, it is good practice to state at the beginning of your report “All work
within this report is taken from the case study unless referenced otherwise”. As this is a
business report we expect you to use footnote referencing and not the Harvard reference
system you use in essays. Please see examples of good practice on how this should be done.
We still expect a reference list at the end of your report.

Please also note the case study does NOT deliver all the data required. You will be expected
to use the case study, the company website, financial data websites and any other internet site
that helps with the section you are analysing. This also includes the use of (free) apps on
Android or iOS. If you only use the case study it is likely you will get a very low mark.