Critical reflections on the strategic management of a contemporary firm

1. Using publicly available information about Walt Disney, write a brief overview of the Walt Disney competitive situation and current strategy (about 500 to 800 words).
2. Then, applying the knowledge that you have acquired through the module, reflect on the firm’s strategy to answer in three separate paragraphs the following questions (about 2,200 to 2,500 words):
   1. To what extent are the traditional concepts of ‘industry’, ‘competitor’, and ‘sustained competitive advantage’ useful to understand the strategic options available to the firm today or in the near future? Please discuss and substantiate your argument.
   2. How could the firm achieve greater strategic agility? Specifically, which strategic objectives should it pursue? Which strategic initiatives should it undertake?
   3. Which factors could support or hinder the attainment of strategic agility? Which role might aspects such as technology, organisational culture, leadership, organisational structure, or existing assets play in the process?

You are expected to provide evidence of your understanding of the subject areas covered in the lectures, supported by extensive independent reading. In particular, your paper should show:

• – Ability to collect reliable information about the selected firm or to triangulate information to ensure its reliability.
• – Quality of the analysis and of the argument put forward, and critical reflection about the existing literature.
• – A professional touch throughout – e.g., use of the language, document layout, page numbers, figures and tables, accuracy of citations, and referencing. Tables, figures, models and frameworks developed by you (and not simply borrowed from the literature) will help illustrate or support your argument.

Assessment Criteria

Depth and breadth of research carried out to appraise the firm’s strategy and to triangulate multiple sources of information 20%

Ability to synthetize key information that is crucially relevant to understanding and assessing the firm’s strategy 20%

Quality of analysis and reflection in the answers to questions 2a, 2b and 2c 30%

Extent to which relevant literature has been used to support the argument 20%

Professional presentation of the document, including aspects of style, layout, use of language and visual aids 10%