The purpose of this case study analysis is to develop students' skills in both theory and application as it applies to the learning outcomes of GB500, Business Perspectives. This will enable students to apply business perspective theories and concepts relating to a ‘real world' business scenario. Through this case study, students will be researching and deliberating on a macro-environmental factor that has impacted severely on an Australian company, Holden.
Scenario:
"Australians love their cars. And for much of the past six decades the cars they've loved most have been home-grown. In that time, Australia has been one of a select group of countries with the capacity to design, engineer and build its own cars. For 60 years that capacity has been a cornerstone of the country's industrial capacity. Now all that is about to change. When the new Coalition Government made it clear it wasn't prepared to spend more money assisting the car industry, the big manufacturers Holden and Toyota said goodbye".
As an individual assignment, students are required to use a case study to prepare a 2000 word report addressing the following:
A. Explain how external environmental scanning could have alerted Holden to change its business strategies and avoid business closure in Australia?
B. Using readings from week 2 ("critical reflection"), demonstrate how critical reflection could have and can bring forth managerial foresight for Holden to remain competitive in their business in Australia.
C. Critically analyse how innovative thinking and intrapreneurial orientation could have saved the Holden Manufacturing Group.
Firstly read the articles and watch the DVD provided below, however this will not be sufficient to complete this assessment task and students are required to research independently to justify their analyses.
1. Read Article:
Source adopted from: Long, S and Hichens, C 2014, End of the Road, Four Corners, viewed on 26th of October 2015 via https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2014/04/14/3982809.htm
2. Watch Video: https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2014/04/14/3982809.htm
Useful background reading:
https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/why-australias-car-manufacturers-toyota-holden-and-ford-all-conked-out/story-fnk1378p-1226827493012
https://www.carsguide.com.au/car-news/the-future-of-the-australian-car-industry-once-the-factories- close-29726
https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2014/02/assessing-the-impact-of-the-car-industrys-closure/
Academic and professional sources must be used for intext referencing to validate researched information contained in students' reports.
Some sources will include corporate websites, online databases and government publications. Coaching will also be provided in class in the early weeks of the semester.
Your Case Study Analysis should follow professional report structure:
Title Page Executive Summary Table of Content Table of Figures Introduction:
Industry Overview Organisation's background
(Key Sections)
The three questions for report discussion Conclusion
Appendices Reference List
NB: Title page, Table of Content, Table of Figures, Executive Summary, Reference List & Appendices does not count towards word limit of your report
You must use a minimum of 10 references. These must comprise:
- At least 6 academic articles
- Up to 2 text books (including the prescribed text)
- Up to 2 other authoritative sources of your choice. E.g. quality newspaper or professional journal, government or NGO website. Please avoid the use of corporate websites as these tend to be promotional and not authoritative.
-Wikipedia and other ‘popular' or non-academic sources are not to be used.