BM561 Business Consulting of LSST College Assignment Sample

Introduction: Strategic Analysis of the LSST Market and Operational Issues

London School of Science & Technology (LSST) is one of the leading providers of higher education. This educational institution was founded in 2003, and it specialises in providing a wide range of courses such as information technology (IT), business management and health and social care. In addition, LSST has numerous campuses in well-known locations across Luton, London and Birmingham. The vision of the LSST is to support the people of all capabilities, backgrounds and aspirations to fulfil their potential needs with the help of learning, progression and achievements (LSST, 2024). Along with this, the key objectives of LSST are to build and provide professional and academic qualifications at all phases of the national curriculum.

Accountability, transparency, professionalism, integrity and excellence are significant values of LSST. The current research report highlights client LSST and the problems faced by them. This report also describes competitors, target customers and external factors that impact LSST.

Main Body

Detailed Description of Client

LSST is considered one of the main clients that provides higher education to the students. The learners who learn from this university gain diverse kinds of knowledge and attainment, which are utilised to translate the issues and solve them effectively and efficiently. This higher educational institute is primarily focusing on offering practical training and support to all the learners to make their future bright. In addition, LSST believes in being inclusive to attract learners of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds. This educational institution is also focusing on employing talented and skilled staff to ensure students can receive the best quality of education and provide support to them wherever they need it. LSST is a large educational sector where a huge number of students are reading and learning regularly, as well as developing their skills and knowledge to complete their studies effectively and successfully.

Along with this, LSST is also transforming its infrastructure and processes towards digital transformation in order to provide high-quality education to the students (LSST, 2024). The chosen educational institution also made a decision related to providing all courses online due to the nationwide lockdown. LSST also emphasises offering proper and high-quality online teaching to the students. The consultancy team suggests that LSST to emphasise improving the learning method to improve the professional lives of the learners in the future. LSST need to focus on integrating blended learning, online learning and remote learning to improve the experience of the students

However, LSST is facing various challenges related to HRM and IT, like the hiring and selection of students, which adversely affect the profitability and productivity. According to the consultancy team, the HRM of LSST needs to understand the challenges and take corrective measures in order to solve all the challenges. In other words, this is an opportunity for the IT and HRM departments of LSST to use their competencies and skills effectively to redress the issues and contribute to the growth and development of the University.

Competitors, Target Market and External Environment

In current times, the education sector is highly competitive due to the large number of competitors accessible in the markets that provide similar learning activities and courses to the learners. LSST also has a wide range of competitors, such as Colchester University, Bury College, Itchen Sixth Form College, Croydon College, Stratford-upon-Avon College, etc. Along with this, the target customer market of LSST is all people who are likely to complete their higher education. This college considers that location plays an immersive role in attracting the target students, so it developed campuses in various locations such as Luton, London and Birmingham. Apart from this, LSST is also targeting experienced teachers, inspiring learning materials and resources, as well as thriving communities, in order to enhance experience and increase knowledge of the students. LSST is targeting people of all age groups, irrespective of their nationalities and backgrounds. On the other hand, political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors are significant external factors that directly affect the overall operation and performance of LSST.

Political

Public funding is considered one of the significant political factors that directly affects the operation and performance of LSST. Through public funding, the government of the UK tends to subsidise education costs for each student. This political factor is effective for knowing about the decisions that are taken by the government for the betterment of the traders within the market. Along with this, during Brexit, the education sector of the UK faced massive competition, which also impacted the operation and performance of LSST. Another political factor is international students, which affects the operation and performance of LSST. The chosen client is likely to attract students from international countries in order to provide education to them.

Economic

The inflation rate of the UK is drastically increasing, which directly influences the performance and efficiency of the educational sector. Due to the high inflation rate of the UK, students are unable to take out loans for their degrees due to the high costs. Additionally, the high rate of GDP also forces students to incur larger debts to make payments for their degrees. Due to financial setbacks, the learners are facing several challenges in beginning their careers. LSST may require taking corrective actions to redress the challenges.

Social

In the present highly competitive environment, the learners of the UK accept a large amount of loans. Several challenges are connected with an unpayable amount of the loan. Acceptance of debt is considered one of the common social issues that directly affects the attraction of students. In current times, students are preferred to gain relevant experience in comparison to higher education, which is beneficial for LSST to attract more students.

Technological

The UK is a highly technological country, so LSST can implement a wide range of emerging technologies to make the education system more effective and successful. Due to the latest and emerging technologies, a high level of advancement and innovation is introduced within the education system of the UK. Currently, online education is considered one of the biggest trends within the market. Technologies make studying easier for students because they can collect learning materials easily from online platforms everywhere and anywhere. LSST also introduces emerging technologies to provide high-quality and better education to the students through online platforms.

Environmental

To protect the environment and safeguard the health of the students, the educational institution can require to emphasis on sustainability. The integration of sustainability helps in enhancing the reputation, image and study quality of the university (Lochner et al, 2022). For sustainability, it will be significant for LSST to recognise the activities that are involved in the course, with techniques implemented for teaching effectively and efficiently.

Legal

To run the educational institution successfully, LSST must follow all the legal rules and regulations as well as policies that are framed by the educational department of the UK and the government. The educational institutions are accountable for implementing equity and diversity policies, the Education Reform Act, etc., to provide equal treatment to all learners and improve their learning experience; otherwise, they are liable for a penalty.

Top Three Issues

From the above analysis, it has been identified that LSST is facing various challenges that directly impact the performance and efficiency.

Attraction and Retention of Students

Attracting and retaining the new students is one of the common issues and a challenging task for the educational institution. The HR department of LSST is facing an issue in finding out the learners who are likely to opt for higher education. This challenge negatively impacts the profitability and productivity of the chosen university.

Integration of Technology

LSST is also facing the challenge of integrating the latest and emerging technologies due to huge investment, high costs and the requirement of skilled and talented professionals (Compagnucci and Spigarelli, 2020). Due to this challenge, the educational institution is unable to provide online learning to students, which directly impacts their experience.

Time Tracking and Cooperation

It is another issue that is faced by LSST, so it will require managing time properly with the students so that they will feel motivated and encouraged to put effort into enhancing their learning. Apart from this, these are the major issues that are faced by the LSST, so it will require adopting strategies to mitigate them, which will lead to improving the experience of students.

Conclusion

From the above research report, it has been concluded that LSST is seeking to adopt emerging technologies in improving the learning experience of learners. Stratford- Upon-Avon College, Croydon College, etc., are the biggest competitors of LSST that directly affect its growth and development. The target market customers of LSST are people of all age groups who are likely to opt for higher education. In addition, external factors can have a significant influence on the growth and development as well as the performance of LSST.