MNG4801/201/0/2015

Tutorial Letter 201/0/2015

Strategic Management

MNG4801

Year Module
Department of Business Management

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
This tutorial letter contains information
relating to Assignment 01

Open Rubric
 MNG4801/102

Contents
 
1.  INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 3
2. ASSIGNMENT 01 ................................................................................................................................ 3
3. ASSIGNMENT INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSION....................................................................... 3
4. QUESTION 1 – EXPLAIN THE CONCEPT OF STRATEGY .............................................................. 4
5. QUESTION 2 – INTENDED, DELIBERATE, EMERGENT AND DELIBERATE STRATEGY ............. 4
6. QUESTION 3 – THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PROCESS......................................................... 5
7. QUESTION 4 – ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES .................................................................. 5
8. GENERAL COMMENTS ..................................................................................................................... 5
9. IN CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................ 6
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1. INTRODUCTION

Dear Student

This tutorial letter provides detail on what was expected of you for Assignment 01. The feedback in this tutorial letter
will provide guidance on what is expected of you for future assignments at postgraduate level.

You will receive your marked assignment, with the marker’s comments, and you can compare your performance with
the assignment evaluation sheet (rubric) in Tutorial Letter 101. It is important to note that it remains your
responsibility to ensure that your MNG4801 assignment was correctly uploaded, received by the University and
submitted on time.

2. ASSIGNMENT 01

We accept that you found the assignment challenging and trust that you realised that you have now progressed to a
higher level in your academic career. As a postgraduate student, you need to maintain a balance between the
theory and application. Merely copying facts from prescribed books is insufficient, as you now need to demonstrate
your understanding of the course concepts and present information from various sources in an integrated manner.

Meaningful discussion with referenced sources is important in postgraduate studies. Also, as a postgraduate
student you are expected to supplement the material in your prescribed books with additional material from other
sources such as academic articles.

For this assignment, you were required to consult your prescribed books, the learning guide and three articles from
academic journals. As indicated in Tutorial Letter 101, assessment on postgraduate level incorporates a number of
critical cross-field outcomes. The purpose of assessments, in the form of assignments and examinations, is to test
your understanding and mastery of the course outcomes. This implies that you will be assessed on the theory and
on your ability to apply the theory in the correct context.

Assignment 01 was an essay-type assignment. The assignment evaluation sheet (rubric) offered the expectations
for a good assignment and you were given the criteria for the technical aspects of the assignment in your Tutorial
Letter 101. Further guidelines were also provided on the myUnisa site where the expectations for each question
were discussed. Additionally, you were given a Library folder under Additional Resources. This provided you with
guidance on getting the academic articles. It is important you learn how to navigate through the sources and
published academic articles in the library. Please ensure that you utilise these resources as you continue with
Assignments 02 and 03

You would have been penalised for not adhering to the assignment instructions, the guidelines, poor referencing
and for late submissions. We also expected you to answer each question and follow the instructions. Those who
provided related but not relevant information in answering the questions did not get full marks.

3. ASSIGNMENT INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSION

It was important that your essay included an introduction to the central topic. For this assignment, marks were
awarded for a good introduction under the “technical requirements.” Your introduction needed to be clear and
should have stated the purpose of the essay.

Your introduction should introduce the topics (your answers to the questions) of the assignment, not the broader
subject. Many students introduced either the concepts of ‘strategy’ or ‘strategic management’. Your conclusion
acts as a summary, where every answer is briefly re-iterated. In short, your introduction should have said what you
were going to discuss in the assignment, and your conclusion should have indicated what was discussed.

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4. QUESTION 1 – EXPLAIN THE CONCEPT OF STRATEGY

The focus should have been on the word ‘explain’. In order to ‘explain’ the concept of strategy, one had to source
various definitions from the prescribed material, and compared them with one another. In addition, certain tenets
of strategy could have been discussed. Once this was done, a sentence in your own words to summarise your
understanding of ‘strategy’ was required.

Chapter 1 of Louw and Venter (2013) provided an excellent foundation for your answer. Louw and Venter
(2013:10) exhibit a short synopsis of various definitions in a single paragraph. Furthermore, the Study Guide
(Unisa, 2014:16) and Louw and Venter (2013:16-18) both explain the so-called ‘5 Ps’ of strategy.

By integrating the definitions of multiple authors in your assignment, you demonstrated wide reading and
understanding. Definitions should have come from academic sources and they should have been correctly
referenced.

Some students only provided some empirical information. Other students provided only their own limited opinion
on ‘strategy’. In both occurrences few marks were awarded. In order to form an academic opinion, your
referenced facts needed to have been aligned and should have incrementally built up to your argument or
observation. Providing proof of your understanding of the concept was critical in fulfilling the requirements
imposed by the word ‘explain’. It is difficult to accomplish this task if one is limited to only half a page for the
answer.

5. QUESTION 2 – INTENDED, DELIBERATE, EMERGENT AND DELIBERATE STRATEGY

The focus should have been on the word ‘distinguish’. One had to find a definition or at least a referenced
description of the four terms, and should have indicated where they overlap, and more importantly, where they do
not.

Deliberate strategies are realised strategies that were formed exactly as intended. A deliberate strategy is rational
and enforced from the top-down and is also referred to as "intended" strategy. In order for this to happen, three
conditions need to be satisfied. Firstly, there must have existed precise intentions in the organisation, articulated
at a relatively concrete level of detail, so that there will be no doubt about what was desired before any actions
were taken. Secondly, because organisation means collective action, to dispel any possible doubt about whether
or not the intentions were organisational, they must have been common to virtually all the actors, either shared as
their own or accepted by leaders. Thirdly, these collective intentions must have been realised exactly as intended,
which means that no external force should have interfered with them (Mintzberg & Waters, 1985:258).

Within the process approach to strategy, a strategy emerges from a combination of influences within the
organisation. The strategy emerges or develops gradually in response to a range of views within the organisation.
This implies that the strategy is not a deliberate, rational, top-down process as purported by the classical planning
school. Thus, a strategy may suddenly be rationalised to mean something very different from what was originally
intended (Maritz, 2008:52).

Emergent strategies are the unplanned responses to unforeseen circumstances (Louw & Venter, 2013:19). They
arise from autonomous action by individual managers deep within the organisation, from fortunate discoveries or
events, or from an unplanned strategic shift by top-level managers in response to changed circumstances.
Emergent strategy implies learning what works – taking one action at a time in search of that viable pattern or
consistency. It is also frequently the means by which deliberate strategies change. This does not mean that
managers are out of control, only that strategies are open, flexible and responsive.

Emergent strategising enables management to act before everything is fully understood. The rational approach to
strategy emphasises that strategy needs to be planned (looking ahead), that is, intended strategy, while as a
pattern (looking at past behaviour), strategies also evolve out of their past, that is, realised strategy.

Finally, one should have been able to draw the conclusion that intended strategies that are fully realised are
referred to as deliberate strategies, those not realised are referred to as unrealised strategies or abandoned

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strategies, and when the pattern realised is not explicitly intended, it is referred to as an emergent strategy.

Some students provided non-referenced examples of these strategies. Examples create context, and by utilizing
non-relevant examples, no context is created, therefore no marks awarded.

6. QUESTION 3 – THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PROCESS

This question consists of two parts. Firstly, one should have ‘explained’ what the strategic management process
entails. Secondly, one should have described the various steps in the process. Even though various schools or
approaches or perspectives apply to strategic management, academics and practitioners agree that strategic
management is concerned with good strategies and good strategy implementation.

According to Ehlers and Lazenby (2007:2), “strategic management can be defined as the process whereby all the
organisational functions and resources are integrated and coordinated to implement formulated strategies which
are aligned with the environment, in order to achieve the long-term objectives of the organisation and therefore
gain a competitive advantage through adding value for the stakeholders”. In addition to this, Thompson and
Martin (2006) highlight the fact that strategic management involves awareness of how successful and strong the
organisation and its strategies are, as well as an awareness of changing circumstances.

Strategic management is indeed concerned with the overall effectiveness and choice of direction within a dynamic,
complex and ambiguous environment. Therefore, strategic management encompasses more than the
management of the strategic decision-making process and should also ensure that strategies are successfully
implemented (Louw & Venter, 2013:22).

Considering the preceding definitions it can be concluded that strategic management refers to a structured
process. This process includes (Unisa, 2014:24):

 Strategic planning/analysis: Strategic analysis consists of analysing and evaluating the strategic link
between the organisation’s external environmental opportunities and threats (outside-in perspective) and
its internal strengths and weaknesses (inside-out perspectives). The question ‘what is our current
situation?’

 Strategy development/formulation: Strategy development involves understanding the underlying

options for the corporate level, business level, and global strategy development, in terms of directions and
methods of development. The key question is ‘where are we going?’

 Strategy Implementation: The strategies chosen and developed have to be implemented in this stage.
The key question ‘how will we get there’ needs to be answered.

 Strategic Control: During this stage we monitor progress and do ongoing appraisal.

7. QUESTION 4 – ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

The focus should have been on the word ‘expand’. One should have listed the advantages and disadvantages of
strategic management, and then one should have expanded on this by elaborating on each advantage and
disadvantage. It was crucial that the importance of the advantages and disadvantages are highlighted in each
case. The information contained in Unisa (2014:26-28) was sufficient, although one or two from other referenced
and credible sources would have been beneficial.

8. GENERAL COMMENTS

Generally the assignments were of a high standard. It is critical to understand that the assignments are the only
means by which one can experiment and learn first-hand how to answer and apply theory. This is a skill which
needs to be refined on a continuous basis. Mediocre marks will be obtained when only theory is listed. One needs

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to utilise the theory as a tool to construct an argument whilst subscribing to the scientific method. The best way to
achieve this is by providing two or more well-referenced (and relevant) facts, after which a logical conclusion is
drawn or an observation is made. The argument or observation should be structured and concise.

The use of bullet points and figures are discouraged in the assignments, due to the page limit enforced. If one
does make use of a table or a figure, it should be referenced if it is not your own work. Furthermore, if you are not
going to refer to the figure in your preceding or following paragraphs, it is better to leave it out completely. It simply
means that little value is added to your argument and ultimately, to your assignment.

Editing has been a true concern in this assignment. Mediocre marks will be obtained when your paragraphs are
not justified or your in-text referencing is incorrect and inconsistent. At postgraduate level, we expect to receive
neat assignments that adhere to the following technical requirements:

Font Arial or Times New Roman

Font size 11 or 12
Spacing 1.5 line spacing
Margins 2 centimetres on both sides of the page
Referencing method Harvard Referencing Method (guidelines available on myUnisa)

It was important that a full list of references corresponded to your in-text referencing. Penalties were imposed for
poor referencing and late assignments. We provided you with the penalties in Tutorial letter 101 and we gave late
submissions, of more than 10 days; zero. Part of having a postgraduate degree is demonstrating your ability to
submit assignments on time. Technical requirements include your language, spelling, grammar, writing style and a
table of contents. We would also prefer it if you “justify” your lines for improved presentation.

Plagiarism was detected on numerous occasions. When detected, a standardised warning was provided, and
should any further cases of blatant plagiarism be detected, the matter will be forwarded to the Student Disciplinary
Committee. Answers which exhibited signs of plagiarism received no marks.

9. IN CONCLUSION

This Tutorial Letter provided details about what was expected from you in Assignment 01. Introduction and
conclusion were discussed, followed by question-specific information. Lastly, general comments were made on
generic problems picked-up during the marking process.

It is important to take the comments from the markers into account once you have received your assignment.
Assignment 02 and 03 will take much longer to complete than Assignment 01, and will focus on both the
presentation of theory as well as the application thereof.

Kind regards

Mr Wilhelm Neuland
Prof Nisha Sewdass
Mr Tapiwa Muzata