Level

Higher National Diploma in Business

BUSN-5021
Business Strategy
Term Assessment

Issue date: 26/01/15

Final Submission Date: 22/03/15
Submit your written assignment online through NIVE Virtual Learning Environment by 11.55pm on the due date

L5
Assessment Title: Plan and Implement Business Strategy
Author: Haneefa Sulaiman
Internal Verifier: Seema Pillai
Lead Verifier: Tim Gallon

Assessor: Haneefa Sulaiman

Approval Date: 21/01/15

Signature:

Approval Date: 21/01/15

Signature:

Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to provide evidence of your understanding of planning and implementing business
strategy with the use of different strategic concepts and techniques

Learning Outcome/Assessment Criteria

. LO 1
LO 1
LO 1
LO 2
LO 2
LO 2
LO 1
LO 1
LO 1

P1.1 explain strategy contexts and terminology missions, visions,objectives ,goals, core
competencies
P1.2 review the issues involved in strategic planning
P1.3 explain different planning techniques
P2.1 produce an organisational audit for a given organisation
P2.2 carry out an environmental audit for a given organisation
P2.3 explain the significance of stakeholder analysis
M2 select/design and apply appropriate methods and techniques
M3 present and communicate appropriate findings
D2 take responsibility for organising and managing activities

Task 1
Task 2
Task 3
Task 4
Task 4
Task 5
Task 3
Task 3
Assignment

Plagiarism / Student Declaration

All learners at NIVE shall demonstrate academic honesty by avoiding plagiarism. Plagiarism is deliberately presenting
another persons work as ones own without acknowledging the original source. A Referral grade will be awarded for
plagiarised work and learners who continually plagiarise will be subject to disciplinary action.
In submitting this assignment you confirm that you have read and understood the meaning of plagiarism and the
assignment submitted is your own work.
NIVE | Assignment Brief | Jan 2015

Page 2 of 5

L5
Strategic contexts of a business
Business strategy is the means by which organisations achieve their desired ends or it can be simply described as long
term business planning. Reviewing and understanding strategic contexts of the top performing businesses is a
befitting exercise for students of business strategy. This enables the students to plan and manage business units
successfully. The strategic contexts of a business includes generally the following;
Vision

Objectives

Mission

Core competencies

Strategic intent

Strategic architecture

Goals

Strategic control

Scenario
Hotel Sunrise
Hotel Sunrise is a small privately owned hotel in Bur Dubai. The hotel was established in 2010. In the beginning, the
hotel was rented out but then it was returned to the owners in December2014. The owners wanted to run their hotel
business with a new strategic plan.
The business idea of Hotel Sunrise is to provide accommodation and restaurant services to its customers. Mr. Majid is
the CEO and his wife, Mrs. Amina, is the hotel manager. Additionally, there are two assistant managers, four
supervisors and five permanent employees at the hotel.
There are 36 rooms in the hotel including single and double rooms as well as three suites. All of the rooms have air
conditioning, telephone, TV and a shower. The hotel services also include buffet breakfast and lunch, and la carte
restaurant in the evenings. Additionally there is also a sauna and a large conference room. Hotel Sunrise also owns
two furnished apartments for guests staying for longer periods of time. The hotel management needs your assistance
to make a strategic plan

Task 1 (P1.1)
Explain the importance of strategic planning and design the strategic contexts for Hotel Sunrise
Guidelines To achieve pass grade show evidence your understanding of the significance of making appropriate
strategic contexts for the business which shall inspire achievement of the desired goals and SMART objectives

Strategic planning issues, an overview

Strategic issues are fundamental to the process of corporate strategic planning. John Argenti, developer of the Argenti
System of Strategic Planning, refers to the process of unearthing strategic issues as an 'elephant hunt'. It is a process
of looking for strategic elephants in the organisation's undergrowth, identifying them, then corralling them in one
place so everyone can see all of them together and can note the sum total of the organisation's strategic situation. It is
very important to see these elephants against a very broad, panoramic, background and then to deal with all of them
at once in one major, holistic, strategic review
http://www.simply-strategic-planning.com/strategic-planning-issues.html

Task 2 (P1.2)
Describe the role and major issues connected with strategic planning for Hotel Sunrise with particular reference to
impact on managers, targets, planning time and involvement of staff.
NIVE | Assignment Brief | Jan 2015

Page 3 of 5

L5
Overview

The three businesses above are selected from the top performing companies in Dubai based on their operational
success, market share and revenue generated .Operational success of a business is greatly influenced by its planning
techniques and processes in place .

Task 3 (P1.3, M2, M3)

Explain the significance of planning techniques suggested below and evaluate how these techniques are utilised
effectively in any one of the organisations above. P1.3, M2, M3

BCG growth share matrix

Directional policy matrices

SPACE

PIMS

Guidelines: To achieve a pass show understanding and provide evidence application of the techniques. To achieve
merit use a range of sources of information and apply a variety of methods and techniques in researching and
answering the task .Use appropriate technical language while explaining concepts.

Overview
Emaar Properties (Emaar) is a global property developer and provider of premier lifestyles. The company is well
known for its expertise in creating value-added, master-planned communities that meet the full spectrum of lifestyle
needs. Major activities of the company include among others the following

Develop and sell condominiums, villas, commercial units, and plots of land.

Develop lease and manage shopping malls, retail facilities, commercial buildings, and residential spaces.

Own and manage hotels, serviced apartments, golf resorts and recreation clubs.

Emaar is a Public Joint Stock Company listed on the Dubai Financial Market, Emaar has been shaping landscapes and
lives in the Emirate since the companys inception in 1997. The company specialises in creating value-added, masterplanned communities that meet the full spectrum of lifestyle needs. A highlight of Emaars approach to developing
integrated lifestyle destinations is Downtown Dubai, the 500-acre mega-project, home of Burj Khalifa the worlds
tallest building which features the worlds first Armani Hotel Dubai and the worlds highest restaurant, At.mosphere;
The Dubai Mall the worlds largest shopping and entertainment destination; and The Dubai Fountain, the worlds
tallest performing fountain.
http://www.emaar.com/en/investor-relations/investor-resources/fact-sheet.aspx
Encouraged by the success stories of Emaar there are several new offers coming in from different parts of the world to
launch similar projects. It is a strategic practice for business organisations including Emaar, to conduct two important
audits, organisational and environmental before undertaking any major projects.

NIVE | Assignment Brief | Jan 2015

Page 4 of 5

L5
Scenario
Under a scheme of skill development and empowerment of business students, Emaar recruits young student trainees
to their planning and development department. You have been selected as a student trainee and assigned a task of
preparing an organisational and environmental audit for Emaar.

Task 4 (P2.1, 2.2)

Produce a report on organisational audit and environmental audit for Emaar as suggested above. P2.1, 2.2,
Guidelines: An organisational audit is referred to as an activity which is created to assist an organisation in improving
its operations by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation to achieve its objectives. It may include
a SWOT analysis and product position.
An environmental audit is the process of identifying the key opportunities and threats faced by an organisation to
develop strategies which could benefit from the opportunities and avoid the impact of threats. This may include
PESTLE, and Porters five forces analysis

Scenario
The management of Emirates NBD has decided to relocate their branch at Nad Al Sheba to a selected location at DIAC.
Several influential customers approached the branch manager to register their protest to the proposed move. On the
ground of losing their nearby banking outlet to a distant location at the same time many potential customers from
DIAC and nearby locations informed their support of the decision.
The manager has to do a stakeholders analysis and adopt an appropriate strategy to overcome the likely disputed
branch relocation. The term stakeholder means individual or organisations who stand to gain or lose from a business
decision. It is necessary to take their opinion and interest into account in order to proceed with the proposed action.
Stakeholders can have positive or negative views regarding a given project, and often they dont agree with one
another, making it a challenge to reconcile their differing viewpoints. This challenge is met by the business managers
through doing a stakeholders analysis.

Task 5 (P2.3)
Explain the significance of stakeholders analysis and describe strategies you may adopt for the branch relocation
assuming yourself as the branch manager of Emirates NBD p2.3

Assignment
To achieve D2, demonstrate autonomy and independence in completing your assignment and submit your assignment
on or before the due date.

NIVE | Assignment Brief | Jan 2015

Page 5 of 5