IB3D80
Corporate Strategy
Individual Assignment (15 CATS), 2023-24
Assignment Instructions
All assignments must be submitted ONLINE via my.wbs by 12pm (midday) UK time on the date
displayed against this assessment.
Please ensure that you have inserted a completed assignment coversheet, which must be included
as the first page of your script. This should include your Student ID number, but not your name.
Word Limit
3,000 words.
Word Count Policy
WBS has a school-wide policy on word counts. This is strictly enforced to ensure consistency across
modules and programme. You can find more information about this policy in your Student
Handbook under Academic Practice - 7i. Word count policy.
This is a strict limit not a guideline: any piece submitted with more words than the limit will result
in the excess not being marked.
Academic Practice
Please ensure you read the full guidelines for Academic Practice in the Undergraduate Handbook
and ensure you understand it. If in doubt, please seek clarification in advance of your submission.
This includes important information on:
• Cheating, plagiarism and collusion
• Correct referencing
• Using internet sources in assessments
• Academic writing
• English Language support
• Word count policy
When you submit this assignment online, you will be required to tick a declaration box indicating
that the work involved is entirely your own. Each assignment will be put through plagiarism software
to identify any collusion or inadequate referencing of materials used from different sources. Please
do not submit images of your typed work unless you have been specifically requested to do so.
We would consider taking action if your work:
1. is too reliant on the words of particular authors (rather than presenting your ideas in your own
words), if the essay uses the ideas or words of an author without referencing them or putting their
words into quotations (plagiarism).
2. suggests that you have worked very closely with another student or students (unless explicitly
asked to do so by your Module Leader/Tutor) (collusion).
3. includes unreferenced work that you have previously submitted for any accredited course of study
(unless explicitly asked to do so by your Module Leader/Tutor) (self-plagiarism).
The Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The University recognises an increasing number of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and
that they may be applicable in your completing this assessment. The assessment brief sets out
specific requirements or restrictions, and your student handbook has further guidance and advice.
You are reminded that the inappropriate use of such a technology may constitute a breach of
University policy, such as the Proofreading Policy or Regulation 11 (Academic Integrity). If you
breach these policies, it may have significant consequences for your studies. Please make sure you
read and understand the assessment brief and how AI may or may not be used.
If a generative AI or similar is permitted and has been used you MUST make clear why you used such
a tool or service, what you used it for and you will be obliged to confirm that you take sole
intellectual ownership of any submitted work. As appendices, and as part of your submitted work,
you must provide screenshots of the question and the AI-generated response, alongside an
explanation of how the content has been utilised. You should note the relevant reference alongside
each screenshot.
When you submit you must complete (physically or electronically) a declaration. This requires you to
explain the use of any AI. Failure to disclose at the point of submission may be prejudicial in any later
investigations should they arise.
For this assessment the use of AI is:
- Prohibited
You MUST NOT use any generative Artificial Intelligence in this assessment unless specifically
authorised for reasonable adjustments. You MAY use non-generative tools such as a spell-check,
basic grammar check (non-generative), calculator or similar. If you have any doubts about a tool or
service you plan to use please contact the module leader.
Extensions and Self-certification
Late submissions will incur a penalty of 5% for every 24 hour period after the due date and time, i.e.
this begins one minute after the submission deadline (beginning at 12.01pm).
Requests for specific extensions (of up to 15 days) which are typically for longer and more serious
concerns must be submitted via my.wbs ideally 72 hours BEFORE the deadline. Extensions can only
be approved if you clearly detail your circumstances and provide supporting documentation (or a
reason as to why you cannot provide the supporting documentation at the time) as set out in the
Mitigating Circumstances Policy.
Self-certification is a university-wide policy whereby you are permitted an automatic extension of 5
working days on eligible written assessed work without the need for evidence. WBS permits self-
certification for all types of written, assessed works such as essays and dissertations. It is not
permitted for exams, course tests, or presentations.
You can self-certify twice within each year of study, starting from the anniversary of your course
start date. This will cover all eligible written assessments that fall within the self-certification period,
as long as they have not previously had an extension applied. To find out further details about the
self-certification policy please see: https://my.wbs.ac.uk/-/academic/20778/item/id/1244460/.
If you wish to self-certify for an extension of 5 working days, please select 'Self-certification' in the
Extension Type field. If you wish to request a longer extension than 5 working days, please leave the
Extension Type as 'Standard'.
Your assignment instructions begin below.
The assignment requires you to conduct an in-depth strategic analysis of a multi-business firm, on
both the corporate and business levels. The firm on which you conduct your analysis should be
one from the following list:
• Jumia
• Marelli Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Sea Group
• Infosys
• Rolls-Royce Holdings plc
• Associated British Foods plc
• TotalEnergies SE
• Nvidia
• Comcast
• Carnival Corporation
Present a critical analysis of your chosen company's business environment, current strategic
position and future outlook on both the corporate and the business level. The analysis should
encompass the following specific elements (each element will weigh 20% of the final mark):
1. An analysis of the characteristics and attractiveness of the industries/markets that the firm
operates in and how these are changing. If the firm operates in a wide variety of industries,
you can focus on the industry or set of industries with the greatest strategic significance for
the firm. (approx. weight 20%)
2. A business-level analysis of how the firm competes in these markets/industries - how does
the firm aim to generate and sustain its competitive advantage? What kind of a competitive
strategy does it utilise? What distinctive resources and capabilities does the firm possess?
The business-level analysis should focus on the firm's most important business unit(s) (by
revenue or strategic significance) that operate in the markets considered in (1) above.
(approx. weight 20%)
3. A corporate-level analysis - how do the firm's different business units link together? How
similar or different are the business units' strategies and why? Why does the firm operate in
these particular industries? What kind of synergies are there between the business units?
What is the role of the corporate centre? (approx. weight 20%)
4. A statement of the (about) two or three main strategic challenges currently facing the
company. Based on the above analysis, what are the key points of concern in the firm's
strategic situation, how is the firm's strategic situation likely to develop in the future, and
what challenges are involved?
An analysis of your suggested approach to managing the challenges identified in (4) above
along with some concrete suggestions for how the firm might deal with them. (approx.
weight 20%)
5. A 500-word executive summary, presenting a condensed version of the whole report and
aimed at aiding the firm's top management in its decision making. (approx. weight 20%)
Use publicly available sources, such as annual reports, press releases and news articles, to gather
information on the company's strategy and the key strategic issues it is facing. Using appropriate
strategic frameworks and concepts, analyse the company's strategy, success and potential for
competitive advantage. All sources used in the assignment must be properly referenced and
included in the list of references.