The Group Report is a formative assessment scheduled in the end of the teaching period to assess your understanding of concepts introduced in unit, along with the skills developed in class. The Report component of your Group Report & Presentation is the answers of the assigned case study. In class, you would have had some practice analysing case studies, which will prepare you for the Group Report. Each case study in this unit is accompanied by case study questions, which require the analysis of case facts supported by one or several of the frameworks and situational audit tools discussed in class. The written Group Report has a word limit of 1,800 words or about 4 pages, excluding a maximum of 3 appendices. As previously mentioned in class, the emphasis will be on the extent to which the case study facts are well-examined and understood, as well as, the extent to which your analysis is insightful and structured using the most suitable situational audit tools to answer the case study questions. Since the case study questions are complex, a far greater emphasis will be placed on the substance, rather than the writing style. As long as you communicate clearly, it is far better to be concise than verbose. Be reminded that you should not “dilute strong arguments with weak ones” and that tables/charts generated in Excel from the data in the case study exhibits are encouraged for their conciseness. It is important to submit your best work after several drafts, which will incorporate feedback from the audience. The report must state case facts from the attached documents on blockbuster. Case Study Questions that the report should briefly cover using case facts Case 1: Blockbuster Case Study Both your Group Presentation and Report are limited to case facts available only from the Disc Jockeying reading, along with the Blockbuster case study (Blockbuster Inc. & Technological Substitution A). You may use any or all of the situational audit tools discussed in class. The questions for this case are: 1. Summarise the developments that might present opportunities and/or threats to Blockbuster. 2. What are the sources of Blockbuster’s competitive advantage? What areas or activities that Blockbuster generates most of its value from? 3. How has Blockbuster dealt suppliers to create or maintain a competitive advantage? 4. How has Blockbuster dealt with customers to create or maintain a competitive advantage? 5. Overall, does Blockbuster have a competitive advantage? Is it sustainable in the following 3 years? 6. Blockbuster has the option to pursue more aggressively, the sales of new movies (i.e. sellthrough),which means taking some of the emphasis away from the rental of new movies. Would that be a good decision and what are the issues Blockbuster has to consider before making that decision.
