Strategy Analysis SMM880: Group Coursework 2

1. Coursework specification
This coursework gives your group an opportunity to actively apply concepts from
the Strategy Analysis Module SMM880 and formulate a strategy for a live
organization, Tsuru. The founders of Tsuru have had mixed success since they
opened their first restaurant in 2007 providing take-away lunch to a steady city
worker market segment with the provision for sit-down meals. The founders wanted
to take advantage of the (perceived) generally inferior Japanese quality food around
London and minimal evening competition in the London central business district
(CBD). The founders opened a second outlet in 2010 and opened a third in 2011
all located in the London CBD. The founders are now considering whether to put
their effort in on-going menu diversification to get new revenues or revise strategy,
consolidate and scale?
In this project your task is to undertake relevant analysis that will ultimately lead to
some recommendations to Tsuru about which is the best route for the greatest value
creation for the founders. Your analysis should follow the template as outlined
below:
Template
External analysis
What implications for Tsurus strategy did you infer from the trends in the
industry/sector where Tsuru competes? What are the current industry forces or
factors affecting Tsuru and how do (or will) they affect Tsurus strategy?
Internal analysis
What are the specific and explicit activities performed by Tsuru that link together to
deliver Tsurus offering? Distil which activities currently lead to advantage and/or
which need improving? What trade-offs are required and is the advantage
sustainable?
What are Tsurus strategically important resources and capabilities that are
competitively superior? Which of Tsurus resources and capabilities are their weak
points?
Competitive advantage
What do Tsurus customers value in its product/service offering? What attributes are
more important to them or less important? How is Tsurus offering differentiated
from Tsurus competitive rivals? Distil which activities/resources and capabilities
contribute to the advantage and/or where it needs improving? Is the advantage
sustainable over time?
1

Strategy Summary
A strategy is a set of choices whose fundamental purpose is for the firm to create a
unique external positioning where (1) the firm uses its strategic resources and
capabilities to serve specific customer needs and (2) the organizations activities
are aligned and integrated to support its unique external positioning and so create a
sustainable competitive advantage. Describe Tsurus strategy current strategy and
(the proposed) new or improved strategy. Include the strategic objectives (financial
and market), winning advantage, scope guidelines (product, vertical and
geography).
Action Plan
What are the implications of your strategy, i.e. what are the key action items
needed for Tsuru to achieve or refine its strategy? Which specific actions will you
recommend? Which parts of the organization must change? Which actions are most
timely? What are the likely challenges as you try to implement this strategy?

2. How to execute the coursework

As you work through the exercise, you are expected to work as a group to come to
an understanding of Tsurus strategic positioning, and share any underlying
assumptions, undertake relevant research to obtain input into the analysis, so as to
facilitate more thinking and refinement. This research was not commissioned by the
founders. So it is very unlikely that you will get any information from the company
officially. However, the onus is on you to get as much information as possible from
public sources to get a very good sense of Tsurus positioning. You may also want to
consider conducting primary research of your own.
Library Search:
You should search in various publications for articles and news items that touch
directly or indirectly on the relevant industry and of companies as relevant. The best
place to begin is by searching through databases and the internet for the relevant
industry and companies (Tsuru and competitors). You should attempt to locate
articles that go back at least from 2007.
Report Writing:
When you have finished your analysis, try to organize your main ideas so that they
will come across clearly and concisely. Write a rough draft, and then edit and polish
this draft. Your report should not exceed 4 pages, excluding appendices and
references. Tables, figures, and other material which exceed the 4 pages can be
consigned to up to 8 pages of appendices. Your report should be printed in times
new roman font, size 12, 1.5 line spacing with 2.5cm margins, and have the page

number clearly marked at the bottom of the page. It should contain a separate title
page with the members of your group in alphabetical order.
Your report is due in on 11th December, 2015 by 5pm via moodle.

Group Project Assessment Criteria

In grading your reports, I will consider the following key areas:
The report is divided into five clear sections. Each section is worth the same
amount of marks. I will award a single collective mark (to be peer reviewed).
1.

Did you make effective use of class concepts/ frameworks/models in your

analysis? Did you demonstrate that you understand when you should use
particular concepts/frameworks? Do you also demonstrate that you really
understand the concept and use it to provide appropriate insights? How effective
is your analysis?
2.
How do you effectively support assertions made throughout the paper? Does
the data analysis provide new insights?
3.
Do you provide specific and useful (and hopefully novel, creative and doable)
strategic recommendations for the company rather than recommendations that
are largely generic in nature? e.g., they should explore an acquisition.)
4.
Is the paper well-written (clear and interesting prose, no typos, grammatical
errors etc.). Does it make effective use of tables/graphics in the overall
presentation of the analysis? Is the overall presentation professional? Does the
paper sell your ideas?