Reference no: EM132939473 , Length: 2000 Words

Aims and Objectives

The purpose of this assignment is to assess your ability to explore and analyse a company's wider environment, evaluate its financial performance and compare it with its competitors and finally provide a set of managerial recommendations for the company to stay competitive; while considering contemporary issues such as organisational culture, employee behaviour, etc. You are specifically expected to:

a) Choose ONE company from the list provided below.
b) Conduct thorough research around that company and provide some background information,
c) Conduct an external market analysis (macro & micro-environments),
d) Utilise your chosen company's relevant financial data and its competitors to calculate the different ratio(s) for evaluating the financial performance.
e) Make recommendations for the company based on the conducted analysis.

Learning Outcomes

The learning outcomes to be assessed are:
• Demonstrate an understanding of the external environmental forces that shape the business structure and their subsequent implications for the companies.
• Be able to use basic accounting and financial management skills.
• Articulate the principles of business and management and demonstrate a critical appreciation of their application in various settings.

Assessment Requirements

Structure
The report is expected to cover the aspects below and adhere to the prescribed format, detailed as follows:
• Front Cover- should be the first page of the report containing the report title (your chosen company), your name, and your student ID.
• Contents Page - this should contain the table of contents, i.e. list of all sections in the report along with their page numbers.

Part 1 - The first part of the assignments requires that you present essential information about your chosen company, such as:

I. Background: preliminary information that a reader must understand 'what' the report is all about and 'how you have presented the required information. You are expected to introduce the chosen company, its products and services, and a brief discussion around the business's structure, sector, and nature.

II. History: brief historical information about the chosen company (properly referenced) iii. Market Position: information on consumer's perception of the selected company about its competitors

III. External Analysis: There are two elements within the external environment; micro and macro. These environmental factors are beyond the control of organisations, but they still influence strategic decision-making. You are expected to analyse the external environment of your chosen company.

o The Macro External Environment Analysis involves using PEST analysis to identify and explore environmental forces that influence the company, its products or services. It examines the influences of business's political, economic, social, and technological factors (refer to the diagram below). The analysis of such outside influences allows an organisation to keep ahead of the competition and reduce the risks as they arrive.

o The Micro External Environment Analysis includes analysing all those micro factors that affect business strategy, decision-making, and performance. It involves assessing and analysing external environmental forces such as buyers, suppliers, competitors, new entrants, substitutes (refer to the diagram below). You are expected to examine how these forces influence the company.

Note: Analysis and discussion of the external environment (both macro & micro) should focus on the UK's environment ONLY. You are not required to present a generalised analysis of the global environment. Moreover, you are expected to use relevant literature and provide some examples, where appropriate, within the analysis to elaborate on the important points.

Part 2 - This part requires an analysis of your chosen company's financial performance in 2019 or 2020 against one of its direct competitors. You can use the companies' financial data on the internet (with proper referencing) and utilise it to calculate different ratios. You must use any these two ratios: net profit ratio, gross profit ratio, and return on assets ratio. You are required to describe and explain how these ratios assist in analysing the companies' financial performance.

Note: You are expected to analyse the important elements within your financial data and the subsequent ratio calculations.

Part 3 - The third part of your project requires you to make managerial recommendations. These recommendations should be based on the analysis conducted in Part 1 & 2. Also, you are expected to use strategic and operational recommendations (SWOT) to evaluate how your chosen company can work on improving its organisational culture and employee behaviour. It is expected that you will use /refer to/ review/ analyse the organisational and behavioural theories covered in this module and conclude how the company can succeed in an uncertain environment. You can use various theories of behaviour (i.e. classical theories) and organisational culture, either people's aspects or operational aspects (i.e. TQM, Kaizen).

Attachment:- Company analysis requirement.rar