Section 1: An analysis of the company’s strategic position
Provide an overview of the company you have chosen.
1. Identify and apply 2 appropriate tools and techniques to analyse
A) The internal environment of the company
B) The external environment of the company
2. This analysis of the company’s strategic position should include:
a) Leadership and communication
b) The company culture including its ethical and value base
c) The company’s position in the sector
d) A critical evaluation of the strengths and limitations of the tools
and techniques you have used
e) The client needs
3. Following your analysis on the company’s strategic position, identify the main
issues that you could advise the company to address.
NOTE: This section refers to Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 and is worth 30 marks

Section 2: Recommendations to the organisation
1. Based on your analysis in Section 1, propose 3 recommendations for the
company.
2. Ensure that each recommendation is clear, has appropriate detail, is justified and
is feasible in this context.
3. Recommendations should refer to the leadership and communications strategy of
the company, taking account of internal and external stakeholders.
NOTE: This section refers to Learning Outcomes 1,3 and 4 and is worth 15 marks

Section 3: Implementation of Recommendations
1. Based on Section 2, explain how the company would implement the
recommendations put forward to support the changes in its strategic direction.
2. This section will include analysis of the following:
a) Leadership styles – this must include reference to different leadership
styles supported by theories, models and/or evidence.
b) Communicating the vision to the key stakeholders
c) Leadership strategy and the impact on organisational direction
3. This section considers the actions that should be taken by the company in order
to achieve the recommendations that you have described above.
NOTE: This section refers to Learning Outcomes 3 and 4 and is worth 25 marks

Section 4: Critical Reflection
All students, particularly at postgraduate level, need to reflect critically on the learning
experience.
Use either Borton’s (1970) model of reflective practice or Kolb’s (1984) Learning Cycle,
to reflect on your learning experience on the CMI module, and consider how you might
apply your learning and knowledge from this module to your own area of study and future
career aspirations.
NOTE: this section is worth 10 marks

 

SOLUTION

1. Internal and External Analysis Tools and Techniques
2. A) The internal environment of the company

An analysis of the Historic Coventry Trust reveals that its strategic position can be credited to its internal environment. Its internal environment factors will be analyzed using a SWOT analysis.

Strengths

An evaluation of the company’s strategic position reveals that it understands the role community integration plays in its industry. It is based on this realization that the organization has a vested interest in maintaining Coventry’s heritage for its people’s benefit. While numerous other organizations have been developed to maintain and restore historic buildings, most of these organizations are more interested in the industry’s monetary aspect. One-way other organizations make money from historic buildings such as the one is the Historic Coventry Trust is trying to preserve is by raising funds for their restoration and preservation after which they sell them to the highest bidder and move to the next project. The organization’s strategic position is further manifested in the extent to which it is willing to educate the surrounding community. For example, even though most people around Coventry were unaware of Charterhouse’s existence, the organization was quick to raise awareness about its history and existence.

 

Through the organization’s input, the community not only got enlightened about its existence but also about how the Charterhouse’s previous owner had donated it to the community. Based on this input, the people of Coventry rallied behind the organization, in a move that stopped the historic building from being sold. What is unique about the organization is that its effort did not stop at ending the building’s sale but also helped the community come up with a preservation strategy. Stopping the sale would not have been worthwhile if the community failed to put it to meaningful use while preserving it at the same time. The success the company has attained can be attributed to its leadership that is comprised of competent professionals.

 

Weakness

Despite the numerous opportunities that give the organization a competitive edge, it also suffers from some significant shortcomings. One of the weaknesses is the limited funding, which has resulted in understaffing. An analysis of the organization reveals that it is notably understaffed, a factor that could result in its inability to meet its goals. In addition to this weakness, the organization also suffers from a lack of a clear set of goals. Even though the organization is clear about its current operations, it lacks a clear vision and goals.

 

Opportunities

The right social organization has come to acquire can be utilized in guaranteeing that the Historic Coventry Trust becomes one of the largest organizations in its industry. People are more likely to support an organization with the community’s interest at heart compared to those driven by profits. In addition to this, the organization has staff members who have worked in some of the industry’s most established companies. Thus, these personnel members will bring in a lot of experience and expertise that the organization needs to meet its objectives (Bloom et al. 2019).

 

Threats

The biggest threat the organization is facing is more prominent companies in the industry. Despite the confidence the community has in the organization, it has a limited budget, which could limit its capacity to finish the diverse projects it has committed to success. Key players in the industry might take advantage of this shortcoming and deprive the organization the chance to be one of the leaders in its industry. In addition to the limited resources, the ongoing pandemic has harmed the organization’s capacity to meet its projections regarding the completion of individual projects.

 

1. B) The external environment of the company

To better understand the organization’s external environment, this strategic analysis will utilize the PEST analysis. An evaluation of the political environment in which the organization operates reveals that it is not subject to any political turmoil that may affect its operations. Even though Brexit was anticipated to result in a heated political atmosphere, this was not the case. Even though Brexit never resulted in any significant political constraints, Brexit harmed the region a factor the negatively affected the organization’s capacity to secure funding (Bloom et al. 2019). It is based on the economic constraints that the organization has a limited number of personnel members compared to the operations it is expected to undertake, especially after the handing over of the 22 historic buildings to them by the council.

 

Despite the setback identified, the organization has managed to develop a good social standing with the surrounding community. The right social standing can be attributed to the commitment that the organization has shown in wanting to be engaged in the restoration and preservation of some of the region’s most iconic buildings. The right social standing the organization has with the community has further manifested the Coventry’s community decision to engage its chairman in efforts to put Charterhouse into fair use. In regards to technology, the organization has not significantly incorporated the use of technology apart from the fundamental aspects such as emails and phone calls in keeping in staff members in touch with each other especially during the ongoing pandemic.

 

2. Analysis of the Company’s Strategic Position
3. a) Leadership and Communication 

The organization’s leadership and communication also play a critical role in its strategic position. An analysis of the organization’s leadership reveals that it is made up of professionals who have an understanding of the industry. For example, the organization’s chairman Ian has vast experience in the preservation of historic buildings in addition to being one of Coventry’s local boys. Carol’s experience in Britain’s archaeology field and at English Heritage, which was later succeeded by Historic England also gives the organization a competitive edge when it comes to leadership. The organization is also open when it comes to the diverse projects that it is engaged in. By maintaining an open communication policy, it becomes possible to ensure that the organization is in good books with everyone and is likely to positively impact its success (Holt et al. 2018).

 

1. b) The Company’s Culture Including its Ethical and Value Base

Its culture also influences the organization’s strategic position. An evaluation of the organization’s operations reveals that it is very open about its operations. One of the things that people look out for when engaging any company is how open it is about its operations. By maintaining an open culture, the organization has managed to attract a lot of individuals and companies interested in investing in its projects. The company’s unique culture is also manifested in their openness to new ideas. An analysis of modern management practices reveals that organizations success is influenced by its capacity to drive change (Bloom et al. 2019). Even though current practices may be working as planned, being open to new suggestions is essential in coming up with more efficient ways of carrying out certain activities. By being open, the organization has come to attain high ethics and values, a factor that has substantially contributed to its significant growth within a short duration.

 

1. c) The Company’s Position in the Sector

Despite the remarkable achievement that the Historic Coventry Trust has managed to accomplish within a short duration, it remains a small player in the Sector. However, the company has much potential, primarily because of the transfer of assets and funding it has managed to acquire. The organization’s potential is evident through the council’s agreement that resulted in the transfer of over 22 historic buildings to the organization.

Even though the ongoing pandemic has harmed the Trust’s capacity to carry out with its plan, there is no doubt that it is headed for greatness. The growth that has been witnessed in its staff within the last twelve months as Carol noted also indicates the possibility of significant development in the foreseeable future.

1. d) Critical Evaluation of the Strengths and Limitations of the Tools and Techniques

The strengths linked to SWOT analysis include the fact that it offers a multi-level analysis, is cost-effective, simple to apply, is a sufficient problem-solving domain and is neutral (Heyler and Martin 2018). The limitations included is ambiguity, subjective analysis, and the fact that there are no weighting factors (Heyler and Martin 2018). The pestle analysis’s strength includes its cost-effectiveness, capacity to provide an in-depth understanding of business, highlights threats, and provides avenues to capitalize on opportunities (Heyler and Martin 2018). The PEST analysis limitations include the fact that the factors change, much data is not readily available, it takes up much time, and it does not offer the full picture.

 

1. e) The client needs

An analysis of the organization in regards to meeting the clients’ needs reveals it has been effective in doing so. Even though Charterhouse is the most notable project that the organization has been engaged in, it proved to be a significant success resulting in the allocation of numerous other projects. Currently, the projects the organization is working towards are not yet due, but much work is being put to ensure that the clients’ expectations are met despite the ongoing pandemic that is slowing down operations.

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