- ASSIGNMENT DETAILS
Read the article titled ‘Air New Zealand, the little airline that can – triples its FY2012 and 10-year average earnings’. This is available on Moodle under the assignments heading.
Using the Strategic Management Process , you are required to write a report:
Describing the strategic actions/decisions Air New Zealand’s leadership team has made over the past ten years to enable them to maintain strategic competiveness and above average returns in a highly competitive market and volatile market. As part of your assessment of the present state you will need to carry out a SWOT, PESTLE and Porters five forces analysis to identify whom Air New Zealand’s main competitors are and where their competitive advantage lies. You will need to study annual reports 2013, 2014 and 2015 to assess the strategic decisions made since the above article was published. Good supporting documents for each year are the “AnaIysis of Results report also available with each year’s annual results from the Air New Zealand website. You should also look at recent press announcements of new aircrafts purchased and new flight paths to understand where Air New Zealand is positioning itself in the marketplace.
Predicting Air New Zealand’s future strategic direction over the next five years from 2015. For example, what do you foresee as their competitive advantage/s? Should they be considering further merger/acquisitions and/or additional business/corporate level strategies? Using your SWOT analysis think about how Air New Zealand can continue to utilize it strengths and identify opportunities in the marketplace.
To help you understand how far Air New Zealand has come from 2002, you will need to complete secondary research on Air New Zealand. Information you should look at includes; annual reports and business articles on the Internet. When discussing different strategic actions Air New Zealand has taken or should take, use academic literature to define what these are.
ASSIGNMENT STRUCTURE
Refer to the Marking Schedule on page 4 as a guide for writing this report. Your report must include the following sections:
1. Introduction 15 Marks
The objective in writing the introduction is to tell the reader what you are going to talk about. The introduction should begin with some general statements about the topic, then outline the main points you are going to make in the body of the report, and finish with the key idea/s you are putting forward.
2. Context and Issues 35 Marks
In this section you will provide information on the history of the company (Air New Zealand). In other words, what significant events have happened along the way? Include information on issues/decisions, which were key in influencing the success of the company today.
3. Present State 53 Marks
This section leads from the description of the past, which you have covered in the context section, to a description of the present. The article you have been asked to read, annual reports and other business reports will provide you with information on the company. You may choose to use graphs, tables, pictures to support your writing. As part of your assessment of the present state you will need to carry out a SWOT, PESTLE and Porters five forces analysis to identify whom Air New Zealand’s main competitors are and where their competitive advantage lies.
3. Future Directions 32 Marks
Explain what is likely to happen with a number of scenarios, for example; the acquisition of another company, expansion into other markets (international strategy), focused differentiation (business level strategy) diversification (corporate level strategy. You may want to suggest what the best-case scenario for Air New Zealand is after suggesting a number of scenarios. Using your SWOT analysis think about how Air New Zealand can continue to utilize it strengths and identify opportunities in the marketplace.
4. Conclusion 10 Marks
The conclusion is where students will summarise the findings of the report. Students should not introduce new material in the conclusion. Your conclusion should; summarise the main points made in the report, relate these points to the key scenario you are suggesting and lead to a broad final statement.
4. References 5 Marks
In this section you must provide details of all the resources you used in writing your report. It must be in correct APA referencing format (refer to the “Guide to APA referencing” document found on the Library Website or Moodle.
Ensure that you follow the academic standards for referencing to avoid plagiarism.
5. Format 10 Marks
Your report must be a minimum of 5000 words (excluding references). Include a word count at the end of your conclusions. Ensure your report follows headings as above; writing is clear, concise, and correct in grammar and spelling.
