BHS0035 Module Title: Strategy in Context
| Criteria | EXPLANATION |
| Case Study Content | |
| Your case study answers the questions set out in the assignment brief. | The assignment asks you to explain why a particular organisation made a particular strategic decision. Your completed case study should focus on this explanation. Simply describing the decision, providing an external and/or internal analysis of the organisation, or evaluating the quality of the decision will not answer the assignment question. |
| The discussion in the case study is informed by relevant theory. | Your explanations of why your chosen organisation made the decision must be grounded in theory. In other words, when searching for explanations, you must consider factors set out in the various theoretical perspectives we discussed in this module. You are expected to use a minimum of three or four different theoretical perspectives. Please avoid exclusively relying on basic planning models such as PESTLE and SWOT. Using basic planning models only will result in a basic pass mark at best. |
| Your writing demonstrates a solid understanding of the theoretical perspectives you are using. | Please make sure that you understand the theoretical perspectives and models you use very well – e.g. what they are intended for, how they work and how they are related to other perspectives. You are not required to explain in your case study the theoretical perspectives you use. However, the way you use concepts and ideas from those perspectives will provide an indication of your understanding. |
| Your case study is based on thorough research of your organisation’s decision, the organisation itself and the situation within which the decision was made. | You are expected to use a variety of sources to obtain information about your chosen organisation, about the decision that you are analysing and about any relevant circumstantial factors (e.g. various aspects of the external and internal environment, important stakeholders, organisational processes, etc.). Relying on just one or two sources will most likely not be enough. Please also be aware of potential biases – e.g. your organisation’s own accounts of how the decision was made may not be objective. |
| Your case study should address the power dimension of organisational decision-making. | In your analysis, you should consider how the various forces both in the internal and external environment of the organisation forced or encouraged the organisation to make the decision. These forces may have exerted a direct coercive impact on the organisation (e.g. stakeholder demands), facilitated the decision (e.g. existence of particular resource sets), or set out the boundaries for organisational imagination (e.g. organisational culture and structure). You should also consider the relationships between the various forces. |
| Case Study Structure | |
| Your case study has a clear introduction. | The introduction should provide a brief overview of the organisation that you chose and the decision that you will be explaining. It should contain a phrase such as “In this case study, I will explain how an organisation X reached the decision Y”. You can also provide a brief list of the theoretical perspectives you will use. |
| Your case study is a coherent narrative. You present your points/arguments in a logical sequence. | The structure of the main body of the case study should support a clear communication of the results of your analysis. As this is a fairly long case study, you should split it into several sections. Each section should deal with a specific topic – e.g. background information, the description of the decision-making process, a particular influencing factor, or the discussion of the relationship between particular influencing factors. Please do not title the main body of your case study “Main body”. The words “main body” are simply used to denote the main substantive section of a piece of writing. They are not an appropriate section title. |
| The case study must have a clear conclusion, summarising the findings of your analysis. | In your conclusion, you should provide a clear outline the key reasons why your organisation made the decision. |
| Evidence and Referencing | |
| All arguments you make must be supported by evidence, either theoretical or empirical. | Your arguments and explanations should be based on thorough research and careful consideration of relevant evidence. Avoid making arguments without supporting them with relevant evidence. |
| All non-common-knowledge facts and arguments are referenced. | You should provide a clear indication of the sources of your evidence by thoroughly referencing your writing. Please use either an APA or Harvard referencing style. |
| The sources used are up-to-date and appropriate for an academic work | Avoid using blogs, social media, ‘yellow press’ newspapers and consultancy websites as your sources. Reputable national and regional newspapers and magazines, websites of reputable non-governmental organisations and commercial and non-profit organisations, government sources and academic journals and books are acceptable. |
| The references are formatted correctly both in the text and the references pages. | Please use either an APA or Harvard referencing style and make sure that you use correct formatting (e.g. the sources should be listed in the reference page in an alphabetical order). |
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