Semester 2, 2015 BUSM3200 Assignment 1 Guide 1 How we deliberately design your assessment to not only be a test of what you know, but to also build lifelong learning skills. Assessment in this course refers directly to the Australian Qualifications Framework (Level 7) learning outcomes criteria for Bachelor Degrees. These criteria are expressed as Knowledge, Skills and Applications: Knowledge: Graduates of a Bachelor Degree will have a broad and coherent body of knowledge, with depth in the underlying principles and concepts in one or more disciplines as a basis for independent lifelong learning Skills: Graduates of a Bachelor Degree will have: • cognitive skills to review, critically, analyse, consolidate and synthesise knowledge • cognitive and technical skills to demonstrate a broad understanding of knowledge with depth in some areas • cognitive and creative skills to exercise critical thinking and judgement in identifying and solving problems with intellectual independence • communication skills to present a clear, coherent and independent exposition of knowledge and ideas Application: Graduates of a Bachelor Degree will demonstrate the application of knowledge and skills: • with initiative and judgement in planning, problem solving and decision making in professional practice and/or scholarship • to adapt knowledge and skills in diverse contexts • with responsibility and accountability for own learning and professional practice and in collaboration with others within broad parameters These learning outcomes are, of course, for your whole Bachelor’s Degree and as such we are not required in this specific course to address all of them - some of these learning outcomes will have been addressed in other courses you have undertaken as part of your degree. This course uses a case study approach to learning and assessment. This case study is ‘live’ in that it consists of working with an existing organisation in real- time. You will be engaged in the case over a whole semester within which time you are required to; • undertake an analysis of the organisation and its operating environment(s) • determine what you believe to be the current strategy of the organisation using established frameworks Your assessment will involve you designing and publishing a report for use by managers as the basis for their ongoing strategy. This is a real-life organisation with a real-life need. Semester 2, 2015 BUSM3200 Assignment 1 Guide 2 Your assessment pieces have been designed to give you the best possible opportunity to help Singapore Post to survive and thrive into the future. The skills that you will be developing include: • cognitive conceptualisation skills • critical thinking and analysis skills • creative application skills. All these are valuable skills you will need in future employment. How well you are able to demonstrate mastery of these skills will impact not onl.

1. Semester 2, 2015 BUSM3200 Assignment 1 Guide
1
How we deliberately design your assessment to not
only be a test of what you know, but to also build
lifelong learning skills.
Assessment in this course refers directly to the Australian
Qualifications
Framework (Level 7) learning outcomes criteria for Bachelor
Degrees. These criteria
are expressed as Knowledge, Skills and Applications:
Knowledge: Graduates of a Bachelor Degree will have a broad
and coherent body of
knowledge, with depth in the underlying principles and concepts
in one or more disciplines as
a basis for independent lifelong learning
Skills: Graduates of a Bachelor Degree will have:
• cognitive skills to review, critically, analyse, consolidate and
synthesise knowledge
• cognitive and technical skills to demonstrate a broad
understanding of knowledge
with depth in some areas
• cognitive and creative skills to exercise critical thinking and
judgement in
identifying and solving problems with intellectual independence
• communication skills to present a clear, coherent and
independent exposition of
knowledge and ideas

2. Application: Graduates of a Bachelor Degree will demonstrate
the application of
knowledge and skills:
• with initiative and judgement in planning, problem solving
and decision making in
professional practice and/or scholarship
• to adapt knowledge and skills in diverse contexts
• with responsibility and accountability for own learning and
professional practice
and in collaboration with others within broad parameters
These learning outcomes are, of course, for your whole
Bachelor’s Degree and
as such we are not required in this specific course to address all
of them - some of
these learning outcomes will have been addressed in other
courses you have
undertaken as part of your degree.
This course uses a case study approach to learning and
assessment. This
case study is ‘live’ in that it consists of working with an
existing organisation in real-
time. You will be engaged in the case over a whole semester
within which time you
are required to;
• undertake an analysis of the organisation and its operating
environment(s)
• determine what you believe to be the current strategy of the
organisation using
established frameworks
Your assessment will involve you designing and publishing a

3. report for use by
managers as the basis for their ongoing strategy. This is a real-
life organisation
with a real-life need.
Semester 2, 2015 BUSM3200 Assignment 1 Guide
2
Your assessment pieces have been designed to give you the best
possible
opportunity to help Singapore Post to survive and thrive into the
future. The skills that
you will be developing include:
• cognitive conceptualisation skills
• critical thinking and analysis skills
• creative application skills.
All these are valuable skills you will need in future
employment. How well you are
able to demonstrate mastery of these skills will impact not only
on you and your
group (in terms of a mark) but also has the potential to
influence the future of the
case study organisation. Your work matters.
You will be working in groups of six throughout the semester.
Your groups will be
allocated to you.
Assignment 1: Strategic analysis and context evaluation

4. (40%) (report 35% / map 5%)
Length: A maximum of 7,500 words + one page (A3) ‘map’
Due date: To Be Advised. 7:00pm Singapore time via
myRMIT BlackBoard Electronic Submission.
Overview
Main report: A Maximum of 7,500 words + One page ‘map’
You are required to conduct a strategic analysis and context
evaluation for a real-life
organisation – Singapore Post (http://www.singpost.com).
The purpose of this assignment is to apply the theoretical
framework, concepts, and
analytical tools covered in this course to analyse the
organisation’s strategic position.
As part of your report you will provide a reasoned conclusion
based on rigorous
analysis detailing what you believe SingPost’s current strategy
is and whether it is
appropriate.
You will also produce a one page (A3 size) ‘map’ that captures
and summarises your
findings.
While you will undertake this assignment as part of a group of
four, you will need to
identify each individual’s contribution. This means that there is
potential for
individuals within a group to earn different grades. You will
each be required to sign

5. Semester 2, 2015 BUSM3200 Assignment 1 Guide
3
and agree to an Equity of Contribution ‘policy’ that will outline
the relative
contribution of each student.
How this assignment connects to the learning opportunities
afforded by this course:
This assignment is designed to enable assessment of your
knowledge, skills and
abilities across three dimensions:
1. Your ability to learn and understand the strategic
management theory and
concepts contained within the course. This may include other
theories and concepts
not specifically covered in the course that you discover through
your reading of the
(strategic) management literature.
2. Your ability to critically evaluate theory and to understand
the implications of
applying the theory.
3. Your ability to apply the theory in an appropriate or creative
manner.
What a typical report includes (this is a guide only):

6. 1. A description of the relevant background and history of
SingPost.
This information should be accurate and relevant to the
analysis of SingPost.
As a group you need to decide what should be included; it may
include ownership,
history, size, business scope, major products/services, and
major ‘markets’ and
spheres of influence of the organisation. Only include the
relevant material that will
have a material affect on your analysis.
This provides the background against which you undertake
subsequent analysis.
It may also include an outline of the significant moments in the
history of SingPost
and why you believe these moments were/are consequential to
the way SingPost
undertakes its activities today. Your choices here about which
information to include
or exclude are important and will require you to use your
critical and analytical skills.
2. Conduct a macro-environment analysis for the operating
environment within
which SingPost operates.
You must use analytical tools/frameworks that have been
published in recognised
scholarly publications.

7. Semester 2, 2015 BUSM3200 Assignment 1 Guide
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Focus on developing and demonstrating:
• an understanding of the purpose of this analysis
• identification of key factors/forces and their implications in
terms of key
opportunities and threats
• determine the overall direction of the operating environment
in the future.
Draw well reasoned conclusions that have been supported by
analysis about the
nature of the macro-operating environment of SingPost. Use this
analysis to inform
later aspects of your assignment.
3. Undertake a industry/sector/market analysis.
You must use analytical tools/frameworks that have been
published in recognised
scholarly publications. Focus on developing and demonstrating:
• an understanding of the purpose of this analysis
• a critical understanding of any tools/frameworks you select for
the analysis
• an understanding of how this analysis is connected to the
macro
environmental analysis previously undertaken.

8. You must make reasoned, argued conclusion(s) on the structure
of the
Industry/market/sector(s) and any competitive/cooperative
forces that are operating
on and within it. Use this analysis to inform later aspects of
your assignment.
4. Identify any resources and competences that are likely to
provide
sustainable competitive advantage for SingPost (and whether or
not SingPost
possess these)
Justify why these resources and competences can be regarded
as strategic
capabilities and discuss how useful they are in relation to the
macro-environmental
and industry/sector/market analysis that you have conducted
earlier.
You must use analytical tools/frameworks that have been
published in
recognised scholarly publications.
Focus on developing and demonstrating:
• an understanding of the purpose of this analysis
• a critical understanding of any tools/frameworks you select for
the analysis
Semester 2, 2015 BUSM3200 Assignment 1 Guide

9. 5
• drawing conclusions as to whether you believe SingPost
currently possess
the resources and competencies that you have identified.
Use this analysis to inform later aspects of your assignment.
5. Identify and assess who the key stakeholders are for SingPost
and how and
why they are important.
Justify your choices about who the stakeholders are and why
you have indicated
that they are important. Broad categories are discouraged.
Focus on developing and demonstrating:
• an understanding of the purpose of this analysis
• a critical understanding of any tools/frameworks you select for
the analysis
• drawing conclusions as to how and why each of these
stakeholders are
important to SingPost and how this knowledge can help you to
shape
strategic recommendations for SingPost.
6. Identify and discuss the current strategy of SingPost and
assess if it is
suitable given the strategic context.

10. Use a well established strategic framework (e.g. Porter’s
generic strategies or
Miles and Snow’s strategic typology, or similar) to classify the
strategy of SingPost.
Clearly justify your choice with a well developed and logical
argument.
Justify whether you believe the current strategy is appropriate
for the
organisation or whether it needs to change. Explain why.
Focus on integrating the conclusions from the analysis that you
have undertaken
in previous aspects of your assignment to make a coherent,
logical argument
supporting your position.
What you have to do: the publishing and reporting
There are only a few constraints to the format of the
assignment, but they are
important:
1. The maximum length of the ‘document’ (including any
executive summary
should you choose to include one, but excluding reference list
and
appendices) is 7,500 words. (NOTE: This includes the usual
10%
Semester 2, 2015 BUSM3200 Assignment 1 Guide
6

11. allowance. i.e the word limit is 6,750 words + 10% = 7,500
words
MAXIMUM).
2. The onus is on you not to exceed 7,500 words. Any
assignments submitted
that do not meet this criteria will be returned to you for editing
and
resubmission. Consequently, penalties will apply for late
submission - as
outlined in the course guide.
3. The final, published ‘document’ should be typed in Times
New Roman font,
12pt size with 2.0 line spacing and 2.5cm margins.
In addition to the main part of the assignment, you are to design
and publish a one
page ‘map’ summary of your analysis and findings in your
assignment. This map
must not be any larger than A3. This ‘map’ must be a flat, static
document; it is not to
include any multimedia or links to other documents or websites.
All submissions must be in digital form and through the
assignment link on the
BUSM3200 myRMIT BlackBoard site.
Each student must clearly indicate what their contribution has
been to the total
assignment. If it can be established that there was an unequal

12. contribution by some
members of the group, a differential grade may be assigned. See
the equity of
contribution documentation for further, important details.
How we'll assess your work
Assessment of your work will be based on how well you
research, conceptualise,
critically analyse/evaluate and apply the theory based
components of this course
together with your ability to construct and communicate a well
argued conclusion to
the questions: “What is the strategic context of SingPost”; and,
“What is the
current strategy of SingPost and is it appropriate?”
We are seeking to understand how well you have learned:
• the ‘what’ of doing a strategic analysis
• how sophisticated your understanding of the
theory/tools/frameworks that you
have chosen to use is
• whether you can apply and justify your choices with a sound
argument.
Semester 2, 2015 BUSM3200 Assignment 1 Guide
7
• we will provide you with a marking rubric against which your

13. assignment will
be judged. Ensure that you have regard to the requirements of
this
assignment and the marking rubric when constructing your
assignment.
Academic staff will base their assessment on their judgement of
the quality of the
work you submit and how well it meets the requirements of the
assignment. We will
undertake a rigorous and transparent moderation process to
ensure that all work is
assessed to the same degree and standard.