BPP Coursework Cover Sheet
Please use the table below as your cover sheet for the 1st page of the submission. The sheet should
be before the cover/title page of your submission.
Programme BSc (Hons) Accounting and Finance with Digital Business
Strategy for Business
Module name
Schedule Term
Student Reference Number (SRN)
Report/Assignment Title Strategy For Business
Date of Submission
(Please attach the confirmation of any
extension received)
Declaration of Original Work:
I hereby declare that I have read and understood BPP’s regulations on plagiarism and that this is my
original work, researched, undertaken, completed and submitted in accordance with the requirements
of BPP School of Business and Technology.
The word count, excluding contents table, bibliography and appendices, is ___ words.
Student Reference Number: Date:
By submitting this coursework you agree to all rules and regulations of BPP regarding assessments
and awards for programmes. Please note, submission is your declaration you are fit to sit.
BPP University reserves the right to use all submitted work for educational purposes and may
request that work be published for a wider audience.
BPP School of Business and Technology
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Programme: BSc (Hons) Accounting
and Finance with Digital Business
Module: Strategy for Business
Coursework Assessment Brief
Submission mode: Turnitin online access
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1. General Assessment Guidance
• Your summative assessment for this module is made up of this individual coursework
submission which accounts for 100% of the marks.
• Please note late submissions will not be marked.
• You are required to submit all elements of your assessment via Turnitin online access. Only
submissions made via the specified mode will be accepted and hard copies or any other digital
form of submissions (like via email or pen drive etc.) will not be accepted.
• For coursework, the submission word limit is 5,000 words. You must comply with the word count
guidelines. You may submit LESS than 5,000 words but not more. Word Count guidelines can be
found on your programme home page and the coursework submission page.
• Do not put your name or contact details anywhere on your submission. You should only put
your student registration number (SRN) which will ensure your submission is recognised in the
marking process.
• A total of 100 marks are available for this module assessment, and you are required to achieve
minimum 40% to pass this module.
• You are required to use only Harvard Referencing System in your submission. Any content which
is already published by other author(s) and is not referenced will be considered as a case of
plagiarism.
You can find further information on Harvard Referencing in the online library on the VLE. You can
use the following link to access this information: [Link]
• BPP University has a strict policy regarding authenticity of assessments. In proven instances of
plagiarism or collusion, severe punishment will be imposed on offenders. You are advised to
read the rules and regulations regarding plagiarism and collusion in the GARs and MOPP which
are available on VLE in the Academic registry section.
• You should include a completed copy of the Assignment Cover sheet. Any submission without
this completed Assignment Cover sheet may be considered invalid and not marked.
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2. Assessment Brief
You are required to write a strategic management report on Tesla Incorporated, a public limited
company listed in the USA.
Tesla Inc (Tesla) is an automotive and energy company based in the United States of America. The
company is well known for producing and selling a unique range of upmarket high performance
electric vehicles. According to its website, Tesla designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and leases
fully electric vehicles (EV) and energy generation and storage system. In terms of production
capabilities, Tesla has manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe (Germany) and Asia Pacific
(China), [Link] (Accessed 3/3/2023).
Tesla went public (stock market listing) in 2010, interestingly, the first American car manufacturer to
do so since Ford in 1956, [Link] (Accessed 3/3/2023).
While some observers have questioned Tesla’s sustainability and even criticised its meteoric rise as
being a highly over-valued company, the company remains a darling of investors. As at February 2023,
Tesla reported a market capitalization value of approximately $626 Billion making it one of the most
valuable companies in the world [Link] (Accessed
3/3/2023).
The USA is Tesla's largest sales market, [Link]
tesla/ (Accessed 3/3/2023). While Tesla has pursued aggressive growth overseas, new market
acceptance and EV pricing are among potential hurdles. Also Tesla’s foray into installing and
maintaining energy systems, selling solar electricity and so on might (to some industry observers),
appear to be a lack of strategic focus. Nevertheless, Tesla appears to have found a recipe mix to
produce additional sales; total revenues have been record-breaking increasing by some 71% year on
year to approximately $54 Billion in 2021 and then accelerating further to approximately $82 Billion
in 2022. It has a seemingly high EBITDA margin at 32% against an operating margin of circa 17%,
[Link]
se-content-disposition=inline%3Bfilename%3D%22b7871185-dd6a-4d79-9c3b-
[Link]%22 (Accessed 3/3/2023).
However, in a fast growing EV market, significant new competition likely awaits given potential
profits which could be generated from global EV revenues projected to reach a market volume of
circa $858 Billion by 2027, [Link]
(Accessed 3/3/2023). Former global competitors Volkswagen (Germany) and Ford (USA) have
recently joined forces to fight Tesla and capture the lucrative EV market. For Tesla, the path for
continued accelerated growth and success is not necessarily assured. The automotive industry is
facing rapid change and in particular, the EV industry players are locked in an aggressive competition
for the fast-growing number of environmentally conscious drivers. EV manufacturers are
experiencing growing pains and myriad challenges including infrastructure issues, brand cultivation,
regulatory hurdles, technology innovation issues, cost pressures, changing consumer behaviour,
criticism about safety and performance, supply chain shortcomings, questions about sustainability of
resources etc. Tesla the EV pioneer and leading player has been fighting to dominate the industry
resulting in both adulation and scorn [Link]
changed-the-auto-industry/517251/ (accessed 3/3/2023).
You are required to carry out further secondary research into Tesla, its competitors and the
industry in which it operates. You should familiarise yourself with the strategic challenges now
faced by Tesla and their response to these challenges. You should aim to establish the strategic
priorities of this company and consider their options as they relate to Tesla’s strengths and
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weaknesses and the external environment’s opportunities and threats. Focus your secondary
research on providing answers to the questions in this assessment task (see below sections).
You must access information through credible and authentic sources, (for example, corporate
websites, annual reports, quality media sources, industry periodicals and journals etc.).
Third-party essay writing sites are not credible academic sources and should not be used. You are
not required or permitted to conduct any primary research for this assessment.
2.1 Report Contents
Executive Summary: The Executive Summary will give the reader enough information about your
report to understand its context and all its contents, including your recommendations, without the
need to read the whole report. In other words, it should cover the main points of the report in a
very concise summary. It is different from the Introduction which is detailed below.
Introduction: Briefly introduce Tesla Inc (Tesla) and provide the reader with your assessment of
their scale and size. Your introduction should bring the reader up to date with what has been
happening at Tesla over the last 3 years, up to the end of 2022. Your introduction should not waste
words describing the report contents but focus on providing concise details and context for the
remainder of this report.
Q1. External analysis; Choose either
a) one country / territory that Tesla is currently active in (this may include USA or any other
named country) Or
b) one country / territory that they may seek to exploit
AND assess the impact of the external environment in that country on the industry, using a
minimum of two appropriate academic tools (for example choose from, Porter’s Five Forces analysis
/ PESTLE analysis / Industry Lifecycle model / strategic groups / or something else). Critically analyse
the opportunities and threats this presents for Tesla. This analysis must lead to an understanding
of several priority areas that you will evaluate in Q3 below.
Q2. Internal analysis: Use at least two appropriate academic tools (for example, Value Chain analysis
/ VRIO / Resource Based View / or something else) to critically analyse the strengths and
weaknesses and the strategic capabilities and resources of Tesla. This analysis must lead to a
greater understanding of Tesla’s position as you will evaluate this in Q3 below.
Q3. Evaluation: Use your analysis in Q1 and Q2 above to evaluate and explain the consequences
(what this means to Tesla) of at least two external opportunities and/or threats AND at least two
internal strengths and/or weaknesses. Here you should consider the commercial problems or
challenges you think are the most significant (i.e., those that lead to either competitive advantage(s)
or competitive disadvantage(s)).
Q4. Strategic choices: Here you should discuss the strategic choices your analysis and evaluation
presents for Tesla (what strategic options should Tesla consider, to address the issues you raise?).
These strategic choices must be relevant to your earlier analysis and evaluation and will lead to your
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recommendations / solutions in the next section. You should apply some ranking and screening to
your earlier analysis and evaluation and assess the most appropriate strategic direction.
Conclusion and recommendations: Here you should provide a brief but clear summary of your
critical evaluation and analysis, focusing on the main commercial points of interest. The conclusion
should reflect a logical outcome of the analysis you have conducted and should clearly lead to your
recommendations / solutions. You should aim to provide no more than 3 SMART (Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Related, Time-bound) recommendations. Your recommended course of
action must be relevant to your earlier analysis and evaluation and must not simply present your
opinions. You should justify your recommendations with academic rationale and/or real-world
evidence
Presentation: The whole report should be presented professionally with no errors in spelling,
grammar, and punctuation. The report should be constructed as a strategic management report not
an essay or a case study. A good use of headings with sections and pages numbered. Good use of
data tables, graphs, diagrams etc. where appropriate. Good evidence should be presented
throughout.
Your answers must be presented in a professional format with no grammatical errors and the word
count must be no more than 5,000 words (including your Executive Summary). All in-text citations
and references must follow the Harvard Referencing format (including any diagrams, tables, charts
etc.). You must have a complete reference list before the appendices, evidencing all research
sources used in your work. Any supplementary / additional material that may demonstrate
understanding, but that is not directly related to the questions asked, may be shown in the
appendices. Appendices are not included in your word count and will not attract marks.
2.2 Report Structure
You are writing a 5,000-word Strategic Management Report designed to inform and impress the
senior executive team of Tesla Inc.
There are many ways to construct a strategic management report and the following is only a
suggestion:
Cover page: Standard BPP Submission sheet used for the Hub.
Title page: Your reader’s first impression of the report. It should be succinct but still describe the
report’s contents so that it can be distinguished easily from other reports.
The Executive Summary: The purpose of the executive summary is to provide an overview of all the
details contained in your report, including its main findings, conclusion, and recommendations. The
Executive Summary should be no longer than one page. Words in the Executive Summary will count
towards the 5,000-word count.
List of contents: A table of contents could help the reader to find specific information in the report
quickly. This includes page numbers and any additional sections such as appendices and reference
list.
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Report: Covers your introduction, answers to Tasks Q1 to Q4 and your conclusion and
recommendations as listed above.
References list: If you have consulted any source, either printed or online, you must include it in the
list of your references and dates of Internet access where applicable. You must follow the Harvard
Referencing System. For more information on referencing and the Harvard system, refer to the
guidance provided by the BPP online services.
Appendices: Appendices contain additional information for example, information which would be
too detailed to include in the main body. Typical examples of information included in appendices can
be glossaries (if it is a technical report), tables with supporting statistical data, examples of research
and so on. Please remember that appendices will not attract any marks and so should not be used
for essential information. Essential information should be in the main report, not in the appendices.
Your report structure should include the following sections:
• Cover page (University cover sheet)
• Title Page
• Executive Summary
• List of Contents
• Introduction to Tesla Inc, USA
• Q1: External analysis (opportunities and threats)
• Q2: Internal analysis (strengths and weaknesses)
• Q3: Evaluation
• Q4: Strategic choices
• Conclusion and Recommendations
• Reference list (Harvard Referencing System)
• Appendices (if required)
Note: Word count applies to the areas of your report shown in bold. This includes your Executive
Summary. In addition to qualitative analysis, you should use suitable quantitative information
including recent statistics, data visualisation tools and other methods, such as: tables, charts,
diagrams and/or graphs.
3. Marking Guide
3.1 Marks allocation
Tasks Marks Breakdown of marks Planning (#
allocation Words)*
Executive Summary 6 Marks awarded for clarity and Approx. 350
context. Appropriate
information covering the full
report including,
recommendations should be
provided.
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Introduction 4 Marks awarded for clear, Approx. 210
accurate and up to date
introduction to Tesla, covering
breadth and depth of Tesla.
Students should not waste
words describing report
contents.
Q1: External analysis 20 Marks to be awarded for the Approx. 1,100
(opportunities and correct application of
threats) appropriate academic tools for
external analysis. At least 2
models/tools to be applied
correctly. No marks for simply
describing the models/tools.
Q2: Internal analysis 20 Mark to be awarded for the Approx. 1,100
(strengths and correct application of
weaknesses) appropriate internal academic
tools. No marks for simply
describing models.
Q3: Evaluation 15 Marks awarded for relevance Approx. 840
and linkage to earlier analysis.
Evaluation should be justified
and commercially aware. At
least two external opportunities
and/or threats AND at least two
internal strengths and/or
weaknesses should be included.
Q4: Strategic choice 10 Marks awarded for relevance to Approx. 560
earlier analysis and evaluation.
Students are expected to
demonstrate an understanding
of the alternative strategies
available to Tesla and identify
the different product and
market expansion options Tesla
can pursue for growth. You
should apply some ranking and
screening to your earlier
analysis and evaluation to
assess the most appropriate
strategic direction
Conclusion and 15 Marks awarded for a clear Approx. 840
recommendations summary of critical evaluation
and analysis, focusing on the
main commercial points of
interest. The conclusion should
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reflect a logical outcome of the
analysis conducted and should
clearly lead to the
recommendations / solutions.
There should be 3 SMART
(Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Related, Time-
bound) recommendations.
Presentation, Structure 10
& Referencing
Totals 100 5,000
* The above table (# Words) is an indicative word count for the planning of each section of the
report. Ensure the final report is not over the 5,000 words as indicated in the guidance
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