(a) Threat of New Entrants and Substitutes for Tesco Essays

(a) Threat of New Entrants and Substitutes for Tesco Essays (a) Threat of New Entrants and Substitutes for Tesco Essay (a) Threat of New Entrants and Substitutes for Tesco Essay Introduction: This individual assignment will be assessed by means of a 3,500 Â ± 10% word Report. The assignment has been designed to allow you to develop and use your knowledge and skills in understanding key strategic issues relating to food retail internationalisation. You will be required to apply the strategic concepts and analytical techniques studied in this module. All the learning outcomes below will be assessed: 1. Demonstrate critical understanding and application of relevant theories associated with global corporate policies and strategies. 2. Understand the holistic nature of strategy and apply analytical techniques to solve complex problems in real life organizations 3. Demonstrate knowledge of the strategic decision making process through critical analysis of how strategic decision making enables an organisation to relate to its global business environment. 4. Critically evaluate and monitor the business mission, objectives and policies of international organisations. 5. Use critical reflective skills to reflect on the impact of their understanding on the problem solving process The assignment will be internally moderated by: John Dixon-Dawson Please note: 1. All work must adhere to the University regulations on ‘Cheating, Collusion and Plagiarism’ which are provided as an Appendix in your Programme handbook. See your tutor for useful guide on ‘Harvard Referencing Style’ and on how to avoid ‘Plagiarism’. 2. A hard copy and an electronic copy on DVD or CD of the assignment must be handed to your Study Centre on or before the appointed date under cover of the Sunderland Business School Feedback Sheet. Please include/attach a Turnitin Report if possible. 3. Issue Date: Wednesday, 25 May 2011 4. Submission Date: Friday 19th August 2011 Task Your task is to carry out a critical analysis and evaluation of the strategies adopted by world-class food retailers, using the information provided and other materials researched. You will be expected to select and apply appropriate theories, techniques and models studied during the module whilst having regard to the practical aspects of strategy development. Your assignment should be presented in a Business Report Format and should be within the range 3,500 Â ± 10% words (excluding executive summary, references and relevant appendices). The report should include a title page and executive summary and be fully and consistently referenced, using Harvard Referencing style. You must also submit a DVD or CD containing an electronic version of the report. This should be clearly labelled with your name, your course and the name of the case study. It is recommended that you research information additional to the case study to support your arguments. This may be obtained from a diverse range of sources and you are encouraged to research the issues in whichever way you deem appropriate. Assessment Criteria In the event of failing this individual assignment, normal referral / deferral procedures will apply. This assignment carries a weighting of 100%. The assessment will focus on the level of ANALYSIS carried out. That is, the application of THEORETICAL CONCEPTS studied in the module to the ‘practical’ case study presented. In other words, you should proceed beyond a DESCRIPTION of the company and its actions. You should be analysing ‘why’ rather than describing ‘what’. The assignment will be assessed and moderated by two members of staff in accordance with the marks allocated to each of the questions detailed below. 0% of the marks are set aside for the ‘presentation’ criteria. Academic Rigour your ability to isolate the key strategic issues the coherence and depth of the analysis of those issues the ability to analyse the strategy context within which companies operate the ability to critically review and evaluate strategic decis ions made by companies Methodology the use of relevant evidence, from material provided and personal research to support any statements made the appropriateness of the methods used and theoretical models and frameworks applied the breadth and depth of research undertaken Evaluation of data the ability to make sound recommendations or conclusions arising from the analysis the soundness of arguments put forward Presentation the summary of arguments report layout and format use of illustrative material and evidence to support arguments the appropriateness of length the quantity and accuracy of referencing |The Global Food Retail Supermarket Industry | The entire global food industry, from growing to processing to retailing, is an extremely competitive industry where profit margins have become so low that it is often challenging to maintain profitability (www. plunkettresearch. com/Industries/ ). The global food retailing industry is a complex collection of diverse supermarket chains, independent food stores, and direct-to-consumer services that supply much of the food consumed today. The supermarket and hypermarkets are where tens of thousands of products are gathered in one location, in continuous, year-round supply. Global food retail sales are about $4 trillion annually, with supermarkets and hypermarkets accounting for the largest share of sales (www. ers. usda. gov/). At present vast changes are sweeping through the industry as major supermarkets such as Safeway and Kroger cut prices and lower operating costs dramatically, while others are being sold to private investors. (www. plunkettresearch. com ; www. ers. usda. gov/). |Question One: | Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrison are among the top UK food retailers. Using examples from any TWO of these five food retailers, critically examine the main arguments for and against ‘globalization’ in the food retail industry in terms of: a) Threat of New Entrants and Substitutes, and b) Bargaining power of suppliers and buyers. Your answer should be based on critical analysis of developments in the global food retail supermarket industry over the past 12-18 months. [30 % marks] |Question Two: | Globalisation of food retail is not an emerging or imminent strategy, but a current focus for many food retailers. Established supermarket retailers recognise that with domestic organic growth becoming more difficult to sustain in mature markets, expansion into new markets is a necessary step towards securing future profitability. Critically evaluate the global food retail market dynamics since the year 2000 in the context of the above statement and discuss how Tesco continues to invest into food retail facilities in order to secure future profitability, with particular focus on their innovation food retail formats. 30% marks] |Question Three: | Using relevant leadership and management theories, discuss the ability of David Reid the current Chairman of Tesco PLC to transform Tesco into a diverse international business for long-term growth by the year 2015. You are expected to use relevant data/information from Annual Reports on Tesco’s website (,http://ar2010. tescoplc. com/~ /media/Files/T/Tesco-Annual-Report-2009/Attachments/pdf/tesco-annualreport. df) and your own understanding of the approach to strategy development at Tesco since 2005. [30 % marks] Note: 10% marks is allocated for presentation Suggested Reading: Textbooks: De Wit, B. and Meyer, R. (2004) Strategy Process, Content, and Context International Perspective, 3rd Edition, Thomson Learning Johnson, G. , Scholes, K. and Whittington, R. (2005) Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases, 7th Edition, Financial Times Prentice Hall. Lynch, R. (2006) Corporate Strategy, Fourth Edition, Financial Times Prentice Hall. Mintzberg, H. , Ahlstrand, B. and Lampel, J. (1998) Strategy Safari, Financial Times Prentice Hall Websites PDF documents: www. economist. com The Economist www. ers. usda. gov/Briefing/GlobalFoodMarkets/Industry Global Food Markets: Industry Structure www. ft. com The Financial Times www. plunkettresearch. com/Industries/ Plunket Research www. tesco. com/ Tesco Food Retail http://ar2010. tescoplc. com/~/media/Files/T/Tesco-Annual-Report-2009/Attachments/pdf/tesco-annualreport. pdf Tesco PLC Individual Assignment Case Study – Strategy Development in the Global Food Retail Supermarket Industry Module Leader: Dr. Augustus Osseo-Asare Submission Date: Friday 19th August 2011 Word Count: 3,500 words