Identify potential future strategic options available to the company

Part (c):

Make a reasoned recommendation (which one is best? Why is best one?) on both the direction and method of strategic development that you feel is most appropriate for the organisation over the next 3-5 years.

Initial guidance regarding the assignment:

•    YOU NEED TO DEMONSTRATE A CRITICAL UNDERSTANDING OF STRATEGIC IDEAS, TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

DO NOT: Simply repeat material from books or lecture handouts

•    You need to demonstrate an ability to use and discuss strategic ideas

DO NOT: Just state what these ideas are

DO NOT: Just provide personal opinions

•    You need to demonstrate a  well constructed argument, in which you state clearly what the assignment is about, you use subheadings, and you provide a summary and conclusions

•    Make proper use of references

•    Provide a full bibliography of sources used

•    DO NOT PLAGIARISE.

•    YOU MUST PUT YOUR SEMINAR TUTOR’S NAME ON THE ASSIGNMENT

•    Late submission of course work is not acceptable. If you can not submit your assignment due to illness or personal circumstances, make sure to contact your module leaderAlistair Johnson and the student support officer Susan Foster to discuss the possibility of an extension. Please read carefully the regulation on late submission on Shuspace

PS:

http://www.rolex.com/zh-hans

This is the company’s website. It will help you with identifying information about the trading practices of the organisation, the history of the organisation…etc
It is your responsibility:
–  to understand the organisational capabilities of Rolex S.A.
– to understand the industry structure
– to identify the direct and indirect competitors
– to understand the growth strategies of Rolex S.A.

ANY INFORMATION YOU USE FROM THIS WEBSITE, PLEASE MAKE SURE TO REFERENCE THEM

Seminar Activity:

ReadIllustration 1.2 below and answer the following questions:

1.Discuss the goals, scope of activities and competitive advantage of Samsung and the University of Utrecht.
2. Suggest the goals, scope of activities and competitive advantage of Sheffield Hallam University.
3. Using the Exploring Strategy Model, map key issues relating to the Strategic Position, Strategic Choices and Strategy into Action, for Sheffield Hallam University.

Exploring Strategy Model
Johnson, Whittington, Scholes, Angwin & Regner (2014)
Task 1: Analysis of the Macro-environment
Identify all the issues you can think of that might impact upon Rolex S.A. and write them down in the relevant boxes.
Political

Economic

Socio-cultural

Technological

Environmental/ethical

Legal

Developing your analysis further
Now think about which of these have the greatest potential to affect Rolex S.A. – in either a positive or a negative sense.
Consider which of these might combine either to offset the potential opportunities or threats, or to increase their potential impact.
Now consider how likely these events are to happen.
If the organisation does nothing, what would the consequences be? Would it matter? Why?
Other questions you might like to consider to develop depth in your analysis:
1.    Are these consequences difficult to avoid?
2.    Does Rolex S.A. have any power to influence what might happen?
3.    What can they do to improve their position? Can they delay events or speed them up, for example?
4.    Are there lots of things they would need to address or just a few?
5.    Can theytackle them all at once or do they need to prioritise?

NOTE: This list of questions is not complete – have confidence to use your own initiative.
Write a paragraph summarising your conclusions from the analysis.
Task 2: Analysis of the Competitive Environment
Consider the industry in which Rolex S.A. operates (this might not be as straightforward as you first think). In completing the grid, you need to form a view as to whether the current threat/power level/state of rivalry is high, medium or low, and explain why you have come to this conclusion.
Industry:……………………………………………………………………………………………….
Competitive Rivalry

Low
To develop your analysis, consider the following questions:
1.    What are the key forces at work in the competitive environment?
2.    What are the underlying forces in the macro-environment (this is what you looked at in your PESTEL analysis) that are driving these forces?
3.    Is it likely that the forces will change, and if so, how?
4.    How do particular competitors stand in relation to these competitive forces? What are their strengths and weaknesses in relation to the key forces at work?
5.    What could Rolex S.A. do to influence the competitive forces affecting them?
6.    What do you think their competitors might do in response to their actions? Would the advantage gained be temporary or more lasting, and what do you think they should do then?
Write a paragraph summarising your conclusions from the analysis.

Strategic Capability Before attempting the tasks in this section, read Chapter 3 in Fundamentals of Strategy.
Culture and Stakeholders
According to Johnson and Scholes (2008:156) stakeholder mapping identifies stakeholder expectations and power and helps in identifying political priorities. It underlines the importance of two issues:
•    How interested each stakeholder group is to impress its expectations on the organisation’s purposes and choice of strategies.
•    Whether they have the means to do so. This is concerned with the power of the stakeholder groups.
Read Chapter 4 in ECS, and then complete the following power/interest matrix for Rolex S.A..
1.   Identify their stakeholders.
1.      Plot them according to their level of power and interest.

Task 5: Stakeholder Power & Interest

2.    Then, to develop your analysis, consider the following questions:
1.    Which of these positions would you wish to maintain and why?
2.    Who are likely to be the blockers and facilitators of a strategy?
3.    Should you seek to reposition certain stakeholders?
4.    How could you go about this?
5.    What ethical issues do your proposed actions raise?
6.    What consequences could there be as a result of the decisions that you have made?
Write a paragraph summarising your conclusions from the
analysis