31 Dec References: Support your

Preparation

For the assessments in this course, select one of the companies from the list below to be your focus:

Ford: Ford is a complex multinational organization that has recently focused on strategic initiatives to address production capacity, supply chain reliability, sustainability, and technological innovation in order to remain competitive in the rapidly changing automotive industry.

Procter and Gamble: This is a huge multinational firm with products you probably buy every day. This business is interesting because the company is focusing on science and technology to help it revise many of its business strategies and contribute to overall company goals for sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

Virgin Group: This company is an interesting one because of its high profile owner, Sir Richard Branson, and the many widely diversified companies that are part of the Virgin Group.

Walgreen’s: The #1 drugstore chain in the United States, Walgreen’s operates approximately 8,300 stores in the United States, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Note: A Walgreen’s case study is available for purchase for your use in this course. See the Suggested Resources for more information.

Build Your Own Case: Create a strategic case on the company of your choice. The company must be publicly traded, have multiple strategic business units (a corporation), and be approved by faculty.

Review the resources available in the Company Research Information document (in the Suggested Resources) for understanding the organization, and begin researching the firm’s business strategy and business model. Use additional resources from the Capella University Library or your own research as needed. Find at least four current, scholarly, or professional resources for this assessment.

Overview

The vice president of corporate strategy at the headquarters of your selected firm—Ford, Procter and Gamble, Virgin Group, Walgreen’s or a firm of your choice—has requested that you provide her with a business analysis of your key findings regarding the firm’s business strategy:

An overview of the generic strategy that seems to best describe the company’s strategic approach.

A discussion of key elements in the overall business strategy.

A review of the most important components of the company’s business model.

Requirements

In 4–6 pages, provide a business analysis of the firm you selected. Your analysis should do all of the following:

Explain the generic business strategies, including cost, differentiation, and focus or hybrid information, for the selected firm.

Analyze what business strategies the firm is using in their marketplace approach. Provide examples of how they use the strategy to position itself in a competitive environment.

Analyze the firm’s business model.

What are their core products?

How does the firm make money?

What is the customer value proposition?

What is the profit proposition?

Use clear headings and subheadings to organize the key points of your analysis.

Your report should be clearly written and communicate effectively to organizational leadership; use correct grammar, spelling and mechanics as expected of a business professional. Cite and reference all sources using current APA style.

Additional Requirements

References: Support your business analysis with at least four academic resources from the Capella University Library.

APA Style: Use proper APA style for all citations and references.

Length: The body of the business analysis must be 4–6 double-spaced, typed pages, not including the references list.

Written communication: Demonstrate graduate-level writing skills through accurate communication of thoughts that convey the overall goals of the analysis and do not detract from the message.

Font: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Assessment 2

Overview

The vice president of corporate strategy at the headquarters of your selected firm (Ford, Proctor and Gamble, Virgin Group, Walgreen’s, or another firm you have selected) has requested that you provide her with a business analysis of your key findings regarding the firm’s level of diversification (product scope), geographical and vertical scope, and the overall fit with the business strategy or strategies (identified in Assessment 1 of the course).

Preparation

Use the Capella University Library, the Internet, or resources provided in the Firm Research Information document (in the Suggested Resources) to find at least four current, scholarly, or professional resources that provide the information you need to complete this assessment.

Requirements

In 4–6 pages, provide a business analysis of the firm you selected. Your analysis should do all of the following:

Analyze the corporate strategy of the selected firm, including product, geographical, and vertical scope in which it operates. Has the firm expanded from its initial product line or field of operation? Does the firm own vertically related activities along the value chain for its products?

Analyze the firm’s overall corporate structure and key management systems. Does the firm employ any of the following three elements of corporate strategy: diversification, vertical integration, or globalization? Are global alliances an overall part of the corporate strategy?

Analyze the strategic fit between the business and corporate strategies of the selected firm.

Use clear headings and subheadings to organize the key points of your analysis.

Your report should be clearly written and communicate effectively to organizational leadership; use correct grammar, spelling and mechanics as expected of a business professional. Cite and reference all sources using current APA style.

Additional Requirements

References: Support your business analysis with at least four academic resources from the Capella University Library.

APA Style: Use proper APA style for all citations and references.

Length: 4–6 double-spaced, typed pages, not including the references list or title page.

Written communication: Demonstrate graduate-level writing skills through accurate communication of thoughts that convey the overall goals of the analysis and do not detract from the message.

Font: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Assessment 3

Overview

The vice president of strategy for your selected firm (Ford, Proctor and Gamble, Virgin Group, Walgreen’s, or another firm you have selected) has asked you to prepare an objective review of the internal strengths and weaknesses of the firm. Your leaders are hoping to use this understanding to plan for the future direction of the organization.

Preparation

Use the Capella University Library, the Internet, or resources provided in the Firm Research Information document (in the Suggested Resources) to find at least four current, scholarly, or professional resources that provide the information you need for this assessment.

Requirements

Prepare a 4–6-page executive briefing report identifying not only internal strengths and weaknesses, but also a rationale that addresses why your analysis pointed to a particular strength or a weakness. Also be sure to focus on strategic elements (capabilities) of the firm and on how the strategic elements fit into the strategic position of the company.

Use the Executive Briefing Report template available in the Required Resources. Use headings and subheadings to help organize the key points of your 4–6-page executive briefing report and include the following:

Evaluate how the selected firm leverages its resources and capabilities to execute the business strategy. Are the firm’s capabilities found in its functions or the value chain, or both? Does the strategy give coherence to decisions about allocation of resources?

Evaluate the effectiveness of the organizational structure and management system design. Include the firm’s ability to support the key resources and capabilities that execute the business strategy. Is the organizational structure suited for the particular tasks and particular business environment of the firm?

Explain possible ethical dilemmas and governance issues. These issues may include shareholders and stakeholders, distribution of excess profits, and top management’s pay.

Use clear headings and subheadings to organize the key points of your report.

Your report should be clearly written and communicate effectively to organizational leadership; use correct grammar, spelling and mechanics as expected of a business professional. Cite and reference all sources using current APA style.

Additional Requirements

References: Support your executive briefing report with at least four academic resources from the Capella University Library.

APA Style: Use proper APA style for all citations and references.

Length: The body of the report must be 4–6 double-spaced, typed pages, not including the references list.

Written communication: Demonstrate graduate-level writing skills through accurate communication of thoughts that convey the overall goals of the analysis and do not detract from the message.

Font: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Assessment 4

Overview

The organizational leadership of your selected firm has requested that you provide them with an executive briefing report outlining the key findings of an external analysis of environmental and industry influences that could impact the strategy of the firm. You are required to use two external analysis frameworks, PEST and Porter’s Five Forces Model, to support your report.

Preparation

Review the organization and the industry before applying the strategic models below to your selected firm. You will need to use at least five current scholarly or professional resources for this assessment. Follow these steps:

Complete a PEST analysis for the selected firm. Be sure that this is based on research of the organization, not conjecture or opinion.

Complete Porter’s Five Forces Model for the selected firm. Pay particular attention to the relationships of elements from both models.

Requirements

Using the results from both PEST and Porter’s Five Forces models, write a 4–6-page executive briefing report for organizational leadership. An Executive Briefing Report template is available in the Required Resources. As noted above, support your report with at least five academic resources. Your report should include the following:

Title with introduction.

An explanation of key findings from PEST analysis.

An explanation of key findings from Five Forces analysis.

A summary of key findings/results for both models.

Recommendations for leadership as a result of your external analysis.

Reference page.

?Note: Title page and reference page(s) are NOT included in the overall page count.

Use clear headings and subheadings to organize the key points of your report.

Your report should be clearly written and communicate effectively to organizational leadership; use correct grammar, spelling and mechanics as expected of a business professional. Cite and reference all sources using current APA style.

Additional Requirements

References: Support your executive briefing report with at least five academic resources from the Capella University Library.

APA Style: Use proper APA style for all citations and references.

Length: The body of the report must be 4–6 double-spaced, typed pages, not including the title page and reference list.

Written communication: Demonstrate graduate-level writing skills through accurate communication of thoughts that convey the overall goals of the analysis and do not detract from the message.

Font: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Assessment 5

Overview

The organizational leadership of your selected firm has requested that you provide them with an executive PowerPoint presentation synthesizing your internal and external analyses of the firm, as well as recommend potential strategic actions the company could take to address the issues raised by your analyses.

Preparation

If necessary, familiarize yourself with Microsoft’s PowerPoint program and a SWOT analysis format. Both are required to complete this assessment.

You will need to include at least five current, scholarly, or professional resources to support your presentation.

Requirements

Develop a PowerPoint presentation of 8–12 slides (with speaker’s notes) that synthesizes the internal and external analyses for your selected firm. Your presentation must include a well-developed SWOT analysis, a summary of potential strategic actions, and the following:

Summary of SWOT Analysis

Examine the internal resources, capabilities, and competencies of the selected firm using key strategic management tools and models such as the VRIO Framework and Value Chain.

Look specifically for capabilities that are required for the company’s competitive advantage.

Be specific about the firm’s resources (both tangible and intangible) that seem most strategically important, now and in your vision of the company’s future strategic development.

Cleary state where firm Strengths and Weaknesses are found.

Analyze the firm’s external environment including its general environment, industry, and competitive position. Choose a strategic management model such as PEST analysis or Porter’s Five Forces Model to use in this analysis. Clearly state where external Opportunities and Threats are found.

Illustrate the key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats using a SWOT table. You might also develop a SWOT figure that depicts your findings in a way that allows for more effective integration and synthesis of your key ideas.

Strategic Actions Based on SWOT Analysis

Relate the SWOT analysis to the key strategic actions the selected firm could take to further its alignment and long-term success.

How can you relate internal strengths and weaknesses with opportunities and threats in the external environment? Are there capabilities that need to be enhanced in order to capitalize on opportunities or reduce threats? Are there capabilities that can be divested because they are no longer needed in the current or projected environment?

What are the strategic actions that would align specific strengths and weaknesses with specific opportunities and threats?

Your presentation should be written clearly and be communicated effectively to organizational leadership in a business environment. Keep in mind that the audience is an upper level leadership audience, so formatting your content to appeal to that audience will help your presentation be on point.

Additional Requirements

References: Support your PowerPoint presentation with at least five academic resources from the Capella University Library. You must use proper APA style and format for citations and references.

Length: 8–10 PowerPoint slides (with speaker’s notes), plus references.

Written communication: Demonstrate graduate-level writing skills through accurate communication of thoughts that convey the overall goals of the analysis and do not detract from the message.

Font: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Assessment 6

Preparation

Identify at least five current scholarly or professional resources for use in this assessment.

Requirements

Write a 3–4-page analysis focused on the role of strategy, its relationship to different business activities across an organization, and how these business activities inform the formulation and implementation of strategy for your selected firm.

Include the following in your analysis:

Explain why strategy is important and what impacts it has on an organization.

Explain how strategy is formulated.

Explain how strategy can be effectively integrated and implemented.

Analyze how strategy informs (and how is it informed by) key activities of your firm, including leadership, marketing, accounting, finance, and others.

Use clear headings and subheadings to organize the key points of your report.

Your report should be clearly written and communicate effectively to organizational leadership; use correct grammar, spelling and mechanics as expected of a business professional. Cite and reference all sources using current APA style.

Additional Requirements

References: Support your business analysis with at least five academic resources from the Capella University Library. Use proper APA style and format for citations and references.

Length: The body of the business analysis must be 3–4 double-spaced, typed pages, not including the references list.

Written communication: Demonstrate graduate-level writing skills through accurate communication of thoughts that convey the overall goals of the analysis and do not detract from the message.

Font: Times New Roman, 12 point.