Assessment
2 Authentic Tasks – Research project
Graduate Qualities Assessed Understanding
business theory and practice
Intelligent use of information
Creative problem solving
Leadership
Responsible and ethical behaviour
Topic
ENVIRONMENTAL & SWOT ANALYSIS (GROUP)
Length No more than 3500 words. The word
limit does not include the title
page, executive summary, table of contents,
introduction, conclusion,
tables, charts, diagrams, list of
references, and appendices.
Weighting 30%
Due Date 26 Oct 2014 (Sunday in Trimester 3
Week 10)
Type of Collaboration Group Work
Marking Criteria The marks you obtain
depend on the extent to which:
1.you are able to demonstrate your
understanding and application of
relevant concepts.
2.you are able to constructively critique
the company’s marketing
situation
3. the opinions you express are concise,
logical and coherent arguments.
4. the report uses a professional format,
including key objectives,
executive summary, conclusions and
recommendations.
5.the report is researched broadly and
skilfully from varied sources
(journal articles, industry publications,
text books, websites, and
interviews).
6.Harvard referencing style is used
accurately and consistently within
text as well as the end of the report
7.you are able to demonstrate a clear
understanding of the basic rules of
grammar and punctuation.
8. the report is well presented in business
report writing style.
9.the report consists of (i) title page
(ii) table of contents (iii) executive
summary, and (iv) all tables and relevant
analysis in the appendices.
Outline of marketing criteria is provided
in Moodle E-learning. Included
marks allocated to each section of the
paper.
Style and Format You will need to work as a
group to answer Part A,B,C,D,E.
Only 4 members per team.
Assessment Submission On-line submission
via TBS 804 moodle e-learning site on Sunday 26
October 2014 before 11.59pm
Assessment Return If submitted by the due
date: 10 working days
Detailed Information Conduct an
environmental review of a nominated company with regard to
the practices of its key brand (for a
product offered by the company),
culminating in a SWOT analysis. This
assignment provides you with an
opportunity to research and prepare a
marketing analysis of a brand,
placing it within a particular company or
business and its portfolio of
products as well as the market place.
Your team is not expected to develop a
marketing strategy or
produce a marketing plan for the brand you
choose to examine.
Your team will work together to research
and address the following
issues:
PART
A Competitive Review
From what you can observe, who are the
direct competitors of the TBS 804 Subject Outline Trimester 3, 2014 Page 15 of
18
company’s SBU and what are their
competitive positions? What is your
assessment of the main competitive
advantages that each has over the
other? Construct a positioning map of the
company’s key brand against
its competitors. On what
attributes/features are they competing? How
does the company appear to position itself
towards its target markets?
How does the target market perceive the
brand with respect to its
competition? Construct a perceptual map.
Discuss your findings.
PART
B Customer Review
What information does the company need to
know about its customers
and why? Describe the consumer decision
making process for the
markets and segments that the company
operates in? Give examples of
how your company and competitors addresses
the specific levels of the
process. Do consumers show loyalty or do consumers
regularly switch?
Why? Describe key market segments that the
company serves for the
product you chose (target markets).
PART
C Review of Products and Services
Explain the company’s product or service
mix. Are there different brands
for different target markets? Explain. Is
the company’s product, brand
and/or service offering and strategies
different to its competitors? What
if any new products/services has the
company introduced recently (in the
last five years) or is about to introduce?
How would you describe the new
product strategies (i.e. new to the world,
line extensions, category
development, repositioning, etc?). How do
these fit with the market needs
(i.e. segments and preferences) and
competitive environment?
PART
D Review of Prices
What do you think are the pricing
objectives of the company? Is the
industry predominantly characterised by
price competition or other forms
of competition? Is the product demand
elastic or inelastic? What do you
think is the strategy utilised by the
company to achieve its objectives?
How are the products priced relative to
competitors? What key factors
influence the pricing decisions and
strategies of the company?
PART
E SWOT and Issue Analysis
Perform a SWOT analysis for the
company/brand you chose and its key
competitor. Use Porter’s Five Forces to
evaluate the market as a whole.
Then, summarise the results. When analysing
Threats and Opportunities,
include a brief summary of historical facts
and figures for the most
important factors. Note which threats and
opportunities require action
and/or monitoring. Then, state your
assumptions about the future and the
implications of these assumptions in terms
of opportunities and threats.
When analysing strengths and weaknesses,
include a summary of the
significance of each one. State the
critical success factors and your
justification as to why these factors are
the most important.
