As part of the formal assessment for the programme you are required to submit a Contemporary Management Issues assignment. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments.
Learning Outcomes: After completing the module, you should be able to:
1. Exhibit an understanding of the key dynamic forces impacting on business and society.
2. Critically evaluate the relationship between such forces in terms of effective strategic decision making.
3. Prepare an evaluation of an organisation’s responses to key dynamic forces in the contemporary business world.
4. Select and use decision making tools to address contemporary drivers for change.
5. Analyse the relevant theoretical foundations to support the identification and application of effect corporate responses to contemporary management issues.
This assessment is worth 100% of the total marks for the module.
Case Study House of Fraser to close 31 stores House of Fraser started with a shop in the centre of Glasgow almost 170 years ago. It became a retail empire with more than 100 department stores. The House of Fraser Group has annual sales of £1.2bn. It employs about 5,000 people directly and also has 12,500 concession staff. Department store chain House of Fraser is to close 31 of its 59 shops, affecting 6,000 jobs, as part of a rescue deal. If the plan is approved, 2,000 House of Fraser jobs will go, along with 4,000 brand and concession roles. The firm`s boss said the decision to close stores was "as tough as it gets". Speaking to the BBC, House of Fraser chief executive Alex Williamson described the move as "brutal", adding "we have not taken this decision lightly". "I find it personally very emotional, and I am not making this decision based on anything other than what I consider to be absolutely the best option for House of Fraser and all of our stakeholders." Accountancy firm KPMG, which is overseeing the insolvency process, said the firm had been hit by mounting pressures facing the UK High Street. In the last year, the increasingly tough conditions on the High Street has exposed its weaknesses, with the result that its problems have finally come to a head. Even with these store closures, House of Fraser still need to have the right products and experience to pull shoppers into the stores that will be left. Considering this case study
(see below links for full article and further reading), and address the following question:
Link to Case Study https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44394948
Question Considering the case study, select any two drivers for change discussed in the module materials. Critically evaluate how they are currently impacting upon strategic decisionmaking and other activities (commercial or operational) of House of Fraser.
Your discussion should include:
• Drawing upon appropriate sources of information, discuss the nature of the pressures for change brought about by your two selected drivers
• Provide a critical evaluation of the organisation’s current response
• Recommend how the organisation might enhance its response over the next decade Please note the following instructions for the assignment:
You will need to undertake some secondary research to complete the assignment and to develop the evidence base to support your conclusions.
You may select any country or organisation upon which to base your research but you are strongly recommended to select an organisation that you have worked for or one you feel you can research easily
