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International Business Strategy
250 words
Individual Reflection on Case Study Discussion – International Business Strategy
This assignment is an individual reflective assessment for the International Business Strategy module. It focuses on developing students’ ability to critically reflect on their learning experiences and identify how learning from classroom discussions can improve their future academic and professional performance. The assessment is based on a Case Study Discussion undertaken during one of the teaching weeks from Week 5 to Week 8. Students are required to select one of the case studies discussed during the relevant seminar sessions and reflect on their learning from the discussion. The case-study discussions provide an opportunity to explore important issues in the business world, apply concepts introduced through Canvas preparation and face-to-face teaching, and exchange ideas with tutors and peers. The reflection therefore connects theoretical knowledge with practical business situations and encourages students to consider how strategic management concepts can be applied to real-world organisations. The reflective task requires students to explain the topic and case study discussed during their selected week, identify what they learned from the discussion, and consider how the experience helped them develop their ability to apply theories to their chosen company. Students should also reflect on their key takeaways, what went well during the discussion, challenges they encountered, and what they would change if they were to repeat the experience. The reflection should be between 150 and 250 words and should use an appropriate reflective framework, such as Gibbs' Reflective Cycle or Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle, to structure the discussion. Harvard referencing should be used where applicable. The assessment develops critical reflection, strategic thinking, international business understanding and the ability to connect academic concepts with practical business cases. The assessment is worth 15% of the module and is submitted through Canvas. The marking criteria consider the quality of reflection, critical analysis, personal learning insights, presentation and structure, intellectual curiosity, referencing, content and discussion.
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International Business / Strategic Management
200 words
Individual Reflection on Tencent’s Strategic Reorganisation and International Business Strategy
This International Business Strategy assessment is an individual reflective exercise based on a case-study discussion undertaken during Weeks 5–8 of the module. Its purpose is to develop students’ ability to critically reflect on learning experiences and use that reflection to improve future academic and professional performance. Students participate in approximately 30-minute seminar discussions in which theoretical concepts from the module are applied to real-world business cases with tutors and peers. IBS-0901-2025-+Reflection2-Ref For this entry, the selected case is Tencent: “third time lucky?”. The case examines how Tencent evolved from a Chinese instant-messaging company into a major technology group spanning messaging, gaming, entertainment, investment and cloud services. It focuses particularly on three major organisational reorganisations undertaken in 2005, 2012 and 2018 as the company attempted to address increasing organisational complexity, coordination problems, changing technologies and new strategic priorities. The 2005 restructuring responded to Tencent’s growing scale by dividing the organisation into major business and platform-development groups. By 2012, further growth and the success of products such as WeChat had created new organisational complexity, leading to a structure organised around seven distinct business groups. The case highlights that this arrangement subsequently contributed to a “silo culture”, creating difficulties in sharing ideas, data, code and customers across business units. The 2018 reorganisation responded to a strategic shift toward the “industrial internet”, including greater emphasis on cloud services, business-to-business solutions and digital transformation. Tencent reorganised around six major groups, including Cloud and Smart Industries, Platforms and Content, Interactive Entertainment, Corporate Development, WeChat, and Technology and Engineering, while also establishing a technical committee intended to improve internal coordination and data sharing. The case asks students to consider both the strategic rationale for each restructuring and whether the 2018 changes adequately addressed Tencent’s organisational challenges. The reflection itself must be between 150 and 250 words. Students should explain what the week’s topic and case study were about, what they learned from the discussion, how the conversation helped them apply theory to their final report, and what key insights they gained. They should also reflect on what went well, what challenges were encountered and what they would change if repeating the session. At least one reflective framework, such as Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle or Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle, must be applied. IBS-0901-2025-+Reflection2-Ref The wider learning outcomes emphasise strategic management theory, internationalisation, internal and external environmental influences, critical analysis of international organisations and the use of analytical tools to evaluate strategic options. The task therefore combines strategic thinking, international business analysis and reflective professional development. IBS-0901-2025-+Reflection2-Ref The accompanying Tencent case specifically asks students to consider why each major reorganisation occurred, whether the 2018 restructuring adequately addressed Tencent’s challenges, and what additional “hard” and “soft” implementation measures might have been necessary. Case+study+7
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Global Business Strategy
2,500 words
Global Business Strategy – Strategic Analysis of a Global Company
This assessment is an individual portfolio for the Global Business Strategy module. The assignment requires students to conduct a comprehensive strategic analysis of a named global company that is facing a significant business problem and to develop strategic options that can support the organisation's sustainable growth and future success. The selected company can be from any industry and may be a large or small global organisation. Students must identify a company that has experienced significant challenges during the past five years or is currently facing strategic difficulties. These may include loss of market position, inability to gain or regain market share, operational challenges, or declining revenues and profits. The assessment requires students to investigate the company's strategic purpose, vision, mission and objectives before examining the internal and external global business environment that may have contributed to its challenges. Relevant strategic theories and models should be applied to support the analysis. The portfolio is developed progressively across the semester. The first stage focuses on selecting the global company, identifying its key problem and analysing the internal and external business environment. The second stage examines sustainable business strategies, diversification and competitive advantage through a resource audit, together with an appropriate model for supporting global business growth. Students must also propose an appropriate mode and strategy for entering an international market in which the selected company does not currently operate. The third stage focuses on strategic change, leadership and governance. Students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of effective leadership styles, the role of leadership in strategic change, good governance and the importance of ethics in international business. Practical examples should be used to demonstrate how leadership, governance and ethical considerations can contribute to business growth. The fourth stage addresses good strategy execution and evaluation. Students must justify how the proposed strategy can be effectively implemented using available organisational resources and process management tools that support continuous improvement. The analysis should lead to strategic recommendations and an evaluation of how the proposed strategies could affect the company's future performance and competitiveness in the global market. After completing the individual portfolio tasks, students must prepare a summary report of approximately 1,000–1,500 words. This report should synthesise the key learning and insights gained from each task and demonstrate how the different strategic concepts have been applied to the selected organisation. The final e-portfolio is compiled as a single academic report in PebblePad and submitted as a PDF through Turnitin. The overall report should be approximately 2,500 words ±10%, excluding references and appendices, and sources should be cited using the ULBS Harvard referencing style.
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