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Student Information | | Student Full Name: Nick Richmond | Student ID: 21737075 | Email: nirich@orcon.net.nz | Location: Auckland, NZ | | | | Unit/Assignment Information | | Unit Name: Strategic Management | Unit Code: MNG00716 | Tutor Name: Wiremu Manaia | Assignment Due Date: 21/06/2013 |

Declaration | | I declare that this assignment is my own original work and has not been submitted for assessment elsewhere. I acknowledge and irrevocably agree that the assessor of this assignment may, for the purpose of assessing this assignment: * Reproduce this assignment and provide a copy to another member of faculty for review and comment, including whether the work is an original work; and/or * Provide a copy of this assignment to a plagiarism checking service for review so that it may determine whether the assignment is an original work. The checking service may retain a copy of the assignment on its database for the purpose of future plagiarism checking.I have read and understand the Rules relating to Awards (Rule 3.17) as contained in the University Handbook. I understand the penalties that apply for plagiarism and agree to be bound by these rules. Signed: N P RichmondDate: 21/06/2013 Word Count: 2048 |

Tutor Comments | | |

An Analysis of AMES Strategic Environment

Nick Richmond
21st June 2013

Table of Contents Title Page…………………………………………………………………………2 Table of Contents………………………………………………………………....3 Abstract...…………………………………………………………………………4 Question Analysis...………………………………………………………………5 Question 1...………………………………………………………………5 Question 2...………………………………………………………………5
Question 3...………………………………………………………………6
Question 4...………………………………………………………………6
Question 5...………………………………………………………………6
Conclusions……....………………………………………………………………7
Appendices…….....………………………………………………………………9 Appendix A……………………………………………………………….9
Appendix B……………………………………………………………….10
Appendix C……………………………………………………………….11
References………...………………………………………………………………12

Abstract
The objective of this report is to evaluate AMES IT Academy (AMES) strategic position, functional strategy and tactics to determine whether management have aligned them with its competitive strategy as per the pre-set questions. AMES is a tertiary training organization specializing in Information Technology (IT), with three campuses across the Auckland and Waikato regions. The two primary sources of income derived by AMES are direct funding from the NZ government via the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), whom administer the level of funding dependent on allocated student numbers, and indirectly through another government department, Studylink, from which students apply for loans with which to pay for their studies. This reliance on a narrow income source means that AMES has to abide by the rules these two regulatory bodies apply as dictated by the government of the day, as well as a third government department, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) that regulates the courses of study that can be delivered by an institution. The overall education strategy is laid out by the TEC on their website and clearly directs institutes to target a specific age and ethnic groups in order to lift their educational, skill and success levels. There are also specific rules that effectively restrict competition between similar institutes as, according to the TEC and NZQA, the aim is to provide quality education. As AMES operates in the niche area of IT education and with a focus on international qualifications the strategy needs to be well defined.

Question Analysis
Question 1:
Within the niche area of IT training geared towards levels 4, 5 and 6 on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and within the Auckland region, there are