13 Jan What is organizational

Module 1 – Case

THE ORGANIZATION’S PURPOSE: MISSION, VISION, VALUES, AND GOALS

Assignment Overview

In the Module 1 Case study, we will be exploring the Mission, Vision, and Values statements of the Coca-Cola Company.

Case Assignment

Do some research in the library and on the internet, and find the following:

5 criteria that comprise good (quality) Mission statements; and

5 criteria that comprise good (quality) Vision statements.

Visit the corporate website of the Coca-Cola Company, and read the organization’s Mission and Vision statements: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/mission-vision-values

Using the specific criteria that you listed in Item #1 above, critique the Mission and Vision statements of the Coca-Cola Company as follows:

Mission Statement: Is the organization’s Mission statement a “good” Mission statement? Why or why not? Justify your answer using your 5 chosen criteria. Be specific!

Vision Statement: Is the organization’s Vision statement a “good” Vision statement? Why or why not? Justify your answer using your 5 chosen criteria. Be specific!

Finally, find the company’s Values statement: Conclude your paper with an analysis of the company’s Values statement: What do Coca-Cola’s values say about the organization’s sense of ethics?

Assignment Expectations

Your Case Assignment should be a minimum of 5 pages in length.

You are required to use APA formatting and you are required to cite and reference your sources. There should be a minimum of three (3) reputable sources cited and referenced in your paper (at least two of your sources must be different from the sources provided you in the Background materials).

Please make sure you review the assignment rubric prior to writing your assignment.

Module 1 – SLP

THE ORGANIZATION’S PURPOSE: MISSION, VISION, VALUES, AND GOALS

In the Module 1 SLP, you will be considered a Strategic Management subject matter expert and will be asked to blog about important aspects of the Strategic management process and to provide examples to support your key arguments using current events pulled from a recent article from reputable sources (such as a trade journals, newspapers, or magazines such as the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Business Week, or Forbes).

For the Module 1 SLP, find a recent article that provides an example of an organization that appears to be successful (or that has been unsuccessful) in fulfilling its Mission, Vision, Values, or goals.

Hint: Visit either ProQuest or EBSCO-Business Source Complete in the library. Type in “Mission Statements,” OR “Vision Statements” OR “Values Statements” OR “Goals” in the boxes provided. Then, click on “Subject” in the pull-down menu bar next to each. Be sure to click on “Trade Journals,” “Newspapers,” and/or “Magazines”. You will find plenty of sources from which to choose.

Your main article(s) for your blog entry must be no older than 12 months. You may, of course, use older sources to support your discussion and analysis, however, the current event article serving as the main focus of your paper must be no more than 12 months old.

Remember that you are playing the role of a business expert who is blogging in the context of Strategic Management. The key here is to convey to the public the importance of the Mission, Vision, and/or Values statements or organizational goals in a Strategic Management context. You will need to provide examples of an organization that has done particularly well (or one that has done poorly) in fulfilling its stated Mission, Vision, or Values statements, or its goals.

SLP Assignment Expectations

Your SLP assignment should be a minimum of 2-3 pages in length.

You are required to use APA formatting and you are required to cite and reference your sources. There should be a minimum of two reputable sources cited and referenced in your paper.

Please make sure you review the assignment rubric prior to writing your assignment.

Module 2 – Case

SWOT ANALYSIS

Assignment Overview

For the Module 2 Case, we will be formulating a SWOT analysis of the Coca-Cola Company.

Case Assignment

Visit the library, and go to IBISWorld. Enter the term “Soda Production in the U.S.” After you have familiarized yourself with the IBISWorld contents (be sure that you review all pages on the Soda industry), perform some additional and more current research in the library on Coca-Cola (use trade journals, newspaper articles, and magazines). Be sure that you review the company’s most recent 10-K report as well, located at http://www.coca-colacompany.com/2015-year-in-review/downloads

Then, in a well-written 5-page paper, do the following:

Perform an assessment of Coca-Cola’s external environment, identifying key opportunities and threats, by doing the following:

Complete an analysis of Coca-Cola’s external environment using Porter’s Five Forces.

Using the Function Approach to Internal Analysis, identify key strengths and weaknesses at Coca-Cola by performing an in-depth internal analysis of the company. Use what you have learned in previous courses to perform your analysis. At a minimum, evaluate the following functional areas:

Accounting/Finance: Include your analysis of at least three (3) key financial ratios (if you need a resource, see: Drake, P. (n.d.). Financial Ratio Analysis. Retrieved from http://educ.jmu.edu/~drakepp/principles/module2/fin_rat.pdf).

Marketing

Human Resources

Operations Management

Technology

Logistics

After you have completed your Internal and External analyses, prepare a table in which you clearly show the most important strengths and weaknesses of the company, and the most salient opportunities and threats currently facing the Coca-Cola Company.

Conclude your analysis by answering the following:

Does Coca-Cola have more strengths or weaknesses? Explain.

Does Coca-Cola have more opportunities or threats? Explain.

Does Coca-Cola have any sustainable competitive advantages? If so, what are they?

Assignment Expectations

Your Case Assignment should be a minimum of 5 pages in length.

You are required to use APA formatting, and you are required to cite and reference your sources. There should be a minimum of three (3) reputable sources cited and referenced in your paper (at least two of your sources must be different from the sources provided you in the Background materials).

Please make sure you review the assignment rubric prior to writing your assignment.

Module 2 – SLP

SWOT ANALYSIS

For purposes of the Module 2 SLP, once again consider yourself to be an expert in the field of Strategic Management. In this assignment, you will blog about some aspect of the external environment of an organization, providing examples based on current events you have found in a recent article in a trade journal, newspaper, or magazine (e.g., the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Business Week, or Forbes).

Hint: Visit either ProQuest or EBSCO-Business Source Complete in the library. Choosing an industry that is of interest to you, find a recent article related to how one or more of Porter’s Five Forces or PESTLE have impacted your chosen industry. You may want to type in a specific force as a key word (e.g., Social, Economic, Legal, Threat of Entry, Competitive Rivalry, Suppliers, Buyers, etc.). Be sure to click on “Trade Publications,” “Newspapers,” and/or “Magazines”. You may also select a specific company and discuss how a force (or forces) in the remote or industry environment have (for better or worse) affected that company.

For example, you might find a recent article related to how the fiercely competitive nature (one of Porter’s Five Forces) within the soda industry has affected the market share of such major company players as Coca-Cola or Pepsico. Or you might find an article that evaluates how a new law or regulation (in the remote environment) has impacted the healthcare industry.

Remember that you are playing the role of a Strategic Management blogger, who is conveying to the public how environmental forces (whether remote environment or industry environment forces) are affecting a particular industry.

Your main article(s) for your blog entry must be no older than 12 months. You may, of course, use older sources to support your discussion and analysis, however, the current event article serving as the main focus of your paper must be no more than 12 months old.

SLP Assignment Expectations

Your SLP assignment should be a minimum of 2-3 pages in length.

You are required to use APA formatting and you are required to cite and reference your sources. There should be a minimum of three reputable sources cited and referenced in your paper.

Please make sure you review the assignment rubric prior to writing your assignment.

Module 3 – Case

GRAND STRATEGY SELECTION

Assignment Overview

The Module 3 Case assignment requires that you use the various Grand Strategy selection matrices to select the grand strategy (or strategies) that the Coca-Cola Company should follow.

Case Assignment

List the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the Coca-Cola Company that you identified in the Module 2 Case assignment.

Review the SWOT Analysis Diagram (Slide 4 of the Grand Strategy Selection Matrices PowerPoint presentation). In which cell do you believe Coca-Cola Company belongs? Defend your answer.

Next, using the Grand Strategy Selection Matrix (Slide 7), determine the grand strategy (or grand strategies) that should be pursued by Coca-Cola. Discuss the assumptions you have made in applying the Grand Strategy Selection Matrix (i.e., explain why you chose “overcome weaknesses” vs. “maximize strengths” and why you chose “internally-directed” vs. “externally directed”).

Next, apply the Model of Grand Strategy Clusters (Slide 8) to the Coca-Cola Company. Discussion the assumptions you made in applying the Model of Grand Strategy Clusters to the Coca-Cola Company (i.e., rapid vs. slow growth; weak vs strong competitive position).

Finally, apply the BCG Matrix (Slide 10) to Coca-Cola’s core strategic choices. Again, discuss your assumptions for choosing, e.g., high versus low market share). Is Coca-Cola a Dog, Cash Cow, Star, or Question Mark?

Compare your results from the Grand Strategy Selection Matrix (Step 2), the Model of Grand Strategy Clusters (Step 3), and the BCG Matrix (Step 4). How do your results compare?

Conclude your written analysis by stating which grand strategy (or strategies) Coke should follow and why. Defend your answer!

Assignment Expectations

Your Case Assignment should be a minimum of 5-6 pages in length.

You are required to use APA formatting and you are required to cite and reference your sources.

Please make sure you review the assignment rubric prior to writing your assignment.

Be sure to use section headings to organize your paper, for example:

Introduction

Coca-Cola Company SWOT

Application of the Grand Strategy Selection Matrix

Application of the Model of Grand Strategy Clusters

Application of the BCG Matrix

Comparison of Results

The Grand Strategy Coca-Cola Should Choose

Conclusion

Module 3 – SLP

GRAND STRATEGY SELECTION

For purposes of the Module 3 SLP, you are a Strategic Management consultant. Your client is a major competitor in one of the following industries:

Amusement Parks in the U.S.

Golf Centers and Country Clubs in the U.S.

Concert and Event Promotion in the U.S.

Jewelry Stores in the U.S.

Nursery and Garden Stores in the U.S.

Department Stores in the U.S.

Women’s Clothing Stores in the U.S.

Furniture Stores in the U.S.

New Car Dealers in the U.S.

Fast Food Restaurants in the U.S.

Your client has an extensive number of strengths (indeed, these are SCAs): A solid image, the top market share in the industry, excellent cash flow, and a very low long-term debt to equity ratio. Because your client’s company is renowned in the industry (which you have selected from the list above), the organization has also managed to attract – and retain – the most talented people working in the industry. Finally, the company’s approach to marketing is second to none.

While your client is clearly aware of its internal strengths, the organization is still unclear relative to whether the company should pursue a “Grow” (a more aggressive) strategy, or a “Hold” (a more passive) strategy. Your client has engaged you to do some research on the industry (use IBISWorld and other current publications in the library). In IBIS, be sure to review the sections: “Industry Questions” and “Industry Issues” in addition to other key information and industry data. Assess the opportunities and threats facing the company, and determine the relative attractiveness of the industry as a whole. Then using the GE/McKinsey Matrix, decide whether your client should pursue a “Grow” or a “Hold” strategy. Because you already know that your client’s business strength is “strong,” your task is to determine the attractiveness of the industry/market.

After performing some research on the client’s industry using IBISWorld, write a 2-3 page memorandum to your client in which you discuss the key threats and opportunities in the industry’s operating environment. Next, dependent on the attractiveness of the industry/ market, advise your client as to whether the company should pursue a “Hold” or “Grow” strategy. Finally, use the Model of Grand Strategy Clusters to recommend a grand strategy that your client should pursue. Be sure to justify your choice.

SLP Assignment Expectations

Your SLP assignment should be a minimum of 2-3 pages in length.

At a minimum, you should include the following section headings to organize the memo to your client:

Introduction

Opportunities and Threats in the _______ Industry

The GE/McKinsey Matrix Applied to the ________ Industry

Model of Grand Strategy Clusters Applied to the _______ Industry

Conclusion

You are required to use APA formatting and you are required to cite and reference your sources.

Please be sure to review the assignment rubric prior to writing your assignment.

Module 4 – Case

STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING

Assignment Overview

In the Module 4 Case, we will investigate the control systems at the Coca-Cola Company.

Case Assignment

Visit the website of the Coca-Cola Company: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/, and go to the Investors page. Look around at this page (there is a lot of excellent information here), and search for information related to the organization’s structure and controls. Then, locate the company’s most recent Annual Reports and 10-K filings. After completing some research at Coke’s website, in the library, and on the internet, please address the following:

Describe the organizational structure at the Coca-Cola Company (what form of structure does the company have?). Include any information you can find regarding the company’s Board of Directors and the company’s committees.

Describe the organization’s culture. How well does the company’s Values statement align with its culture?

Do some research at the Coca-Cola Company website and in the library (be sure to look at trade magazines and newspapers as well) and find as much information concerning the company’s control systems as you can (budgets, inventory control, annual objectives, functional strategies, policies and procedures, personnel evaluation systems, or other). Describe these controls, and discuss how they assist in keeping Coca-Cola’s strategies on-track.

In the Module 3 Case, you identified a grand strategy (or grand strategies) that the company should follow. Do the company’s organizational structure, culture, and control systems align well with this strategy? Explain.

Assignment Expectations

Your Case Assignment should be a minimum of 5 pages in length.

You are required to use APA formatting and you are required to cite and reference your sources. There should be a minimum of three (3) reputable sources cited and referenced in your paper (your sources must be different from the sources provided you in the Background materials).

Please make sure you review the assignment rubric prior to writing your assignment.

Module 4 – SLP

STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING

The Module 4 SLP requires that you run a simulation entitled: “The Platform Wars: Simulating the Battle for Video Game Supremacy.” Visit the Forio site, and access the simulation here:

https://forio.com/simulate/mit/video-game/simulation/

Click on “Play as an individual.”

Enter your first name as the “Screen ID,” then click “Login.”

In this web-based simulation, you are a senior manager of a video game hardware platform producer. Each year, you have three decisions to make:

Determine the price of the video game console;

Determine the number of video games that your company will subsidize to enhance the development of new video games (and that can be played on your company’s video game console); be sure to note that the subsidy of each new game costs you $162M each year; and

Determine the royalty percentage you will require game makers to pay you (the higher the royalties, the more revenue you earn on new games, but the less inclined game makers are to develop new games).

At the start of the simulation, your market share is 50%. The price of your video game console is $250.00 (note that your competitor’s market share is 50%, but your competitor’s console price is $370.00 (hint: you are vastly underpriced to begin the simulation).

As the CEO, it is your task to make decisions one year at a time. As you do so, note how key data are changing, and take note of how your pricing, changes made to royalties, and new game subsidies change your profits and your market share. You may need to go through at least one practice run of the simulation in order to become familiar with it.

One way of becoming familiar with the simulation is to change only value, leaving the others constant. This will isolate the impact of one variable, and will give you a sense of how the change in a single variable impacts revenue, market share, etc. (use the Dashboard and the financial statements to determine this). For example, if I leave all variables unchanged in Year 1 (price = $240; Game titles to subsidize = 3, and Royalties = 15%), my market share becomes 69% at the end of Year 1 (and my net profit is $48.0M). In contrast, if I reduce the console price to $230, my market share becomes 71% at the end of Year 1 (and my net profit is $33.6M). Importantly, if I increase my console price to $330, my market share at the end of Year 1 is 58%; however, my net profit is $140.8M!

As the CEO, your task is to find the best combination of changes in the three variables that both increases your market share and earns a maximum net profit. Remember that the changes are relative; there are no right or wrong answers. Your goal is to use the knowledge you have acquired from previous courses (Accounting, Marketing, Finance, etc.), and allow the various statements and the Dashboard to guide you in your analysis, accumulating high market share and revenue. Be sure to take note of how the statements may be used to “control” your strategy! Remember that you need to cover your costs, while simultaneously turning a profit and increasing your market share.

SLP Assignment Expectations

As the CEO, you are asked to run the simulation a minimum of three (3) times, noting the changes made each year, as well as your final results. Then, write a 2- to 3-page memorandum to your Board of Directors, informing them of how changes in the variable (e.g., the price of the console; royalties paid by the game maker; and changes in the number of game titles subsidized) affect total market share, revenue per year, and net profit per year. Be creative, and include some tables and graphs in your written analysis to show your changes and/or results.

Week 1 discussion

DQ1 Mission Statement

Acme Airlines is an international carrier. The airlines transports passengers and/or freight all over the globe. The CEO of Acme Airlines, namely Wile E. Coyote, has asked you—a renowned Strategic Management expert—to draft a Mission statement for the company. In Week 1, your task is to come up with a Mission statement that:

States the business that Acme Airlines is in;

Is memorable (creative); and

Is informative,

but simple.

Do some research in the library on the airline industry. Open the Trident University IBIS World document and scroll to the bottom of the page. Click on the “Click Here” hyperlink at the bottom of the page. This will take you to IBIS World, an organization well known for conducting industry level research. Run a search on “International Airlines in the U.S.” in the search window. This will lead you to a detailed and industry-specific report. After familiarizing yourself with the international airlines industry, write your Mission statement.

Be creative! Consider the specific target market of Acme Airlines (its passengers or the kind of freight it transports), and remember that Acme Airlines is competing with major airlines.

DQ2 Vision and Values Statements

The CEO of Acme Airlines, Wile E. Coyote, liked your Mission statement so well that he is now asking you to develop the Vision or Values statement for the organization. In Week 2, you are asked to come up with either a Vision or a Values statement for Acme Airlines.

If you decide to devise Acme Airlines’ Vision statement, your statement should:

Be inspirational;

Convey a sense of purpose;

Capitalize on the unique competencies of Acme Airlines (it is up to you to determine what the airlines’ competencies should be); and

Be futuristic, forecasting the airlines’ desired future (you need to decide what that future should look like).

If you decide to devise a Values statement for Acme Airlines, your Values statement should:

Specify at least five (5) specific core values of Acme Airlines;

Guide Acme Airlines’ Mission and Vision (you should choose your Week 1 Mission Statement as your reference point);

Be sure to state whether Acme Airlines is internally focused, externally focused, or both (e.g., an internal focus would be oriented towards employee needs or company profits, while an external focus would be oriented towards the needs of the community, e.g., philanthropy).

Please be sure that you respond to at least two of your classmates’ posting as well!

Week 2 discussion

DQ1 Amazon.com: Gathering the External and Internal Data

During Week 1, we will be compiling information concerning strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as they relate to Amazon.com.

First, visit the website of Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com.

Go to the “Investor Relations” section of the Amazon.com website (you will find the “Investors” link at the bottom of the page), and locate the company’s most recent Annual Report. Share with your classmates at least three (3) key facts, metrics, ratios, or observations as they relate to some key strength, weakness, opportunity, or threat faced by the company (i.e., an internal functional area, a PESTLE force, or one of Porter’s Five Forces).

For example, you might provide a financial ratio along with your impression as to whether it is a financial weakness or a strength (Internal Profile), or you might mention how the governmental politics of a foreign country might be placing one of Amazon’s foreign operations at greater risk (External Environment).

In the company’s Annual Report, you will find multiple references to the external environment and extensive self-reported information and data on the company’s internal functional areas as well. Alternatively, visit IBISWorld, and type in “E-Commerce and On-line Auctions in the U.S.” Choose one of Porter’s Five Forces and one of the PESTLE forces, and discuss how each of these forces influence competition in the E-Commerce and On-line Auctions industry.

Remember to properly cite your sources. You can also use current trade journals, business magazines, or newspapers if you like.

The purpose of this week’s Discussion is to locate data or information from the external environment. Do your best not to duplicate information that has already been provided by one of classmates.

DQ2 Amazon.com Completing the SWOT

After reading the key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats presented by your classmates in Week 1, provide your impression as to whether Amazon.com has more strengths than weaknesses or more weaknesses than strengths. Do the company’s opportunities (if any) outweigh its threats? Does Amazon.com have any sustainable competitive advantages (SCA), and if so, what are they?

Be sure that you respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings. Remember that there are no right or wrong answers; what is important is that you use critical thinking to support your position, and that you are able to support your position.

Week 3 discussion

DQ1 Grand Strategy

Recently, Sears Holdings (consisting of Sears and Kmart stores) and Macy’s announced the combined closing of over 200 stores and the layoff of approximately 10,000 workers nationwide.

Do some research either on Sears Holdings or on Macy’s. Be sure that you visit IBISWorld, and that you do some research on the Department Store industry. Then, answer the following:

Describe the specific strategies that you believe Sears Holdings or Macy’s have followed in the past 2-3 years.

Next, discuss why the strategies of these companies appear to be failing (why are both companies now needing to close so many stores?). Are the strategies of the company you selected flawed? If so, why? If not, what else is the cause of the multiple store closures on the part of both companies?

DQ2 Constrasting Strategy Success with Strategy Failure

In contrast to Sears and Macy’s, Target department stores appear to be thriving. Has Target pursued a more appropriate (or correct) strategy than Sears or Macy’s? If yes, what do you believe is the difference between their strategies (why has Target been relatively more successful)? If no, what then, is behind Target’s success? Be specific.

Week 4 discussion

Organizational Culture: Can It Be “Managed”?

Some organizational theorists would assert that an organization’s culture cannot be “managed” in the truest sense of how one “manages” the processes and activities and things that exist within an organization. David Campbell (2000, p. 28) says that an organization “is being constructed continuously on a daily, even momentary [italics added], basis through individual interactions with others. The organization never settles into an entity or a thing that can be labelled and described, because it is constantly changing, or reinventing itself, through the interactions going on within it.” At the same time, Campbell says that an organization “does have a certain character to it, such that, like driving on the motorway, not just anything goes” (p. x).

Consider the sheer multiplicity of formal and informal groups, structures, tasks, functional operations, and individual interactions that exist and occur within very large organizations; these are seemingly endless. Consider as well the potential number (and combination) of individual to individual, individual to group, and group to group interactions that are likely to occur on a momentary basis within an organization (and then, there are the seemingly endless numbers of contacts/interactions with external stakeholders as well). The possibilities are seemingly infinite—or at least they are indefinite. For this reason, organizational culture seems more abstract, fragmentary, perhaps fluid—perhaps even relative and momentary.

What is organizational culture? Can culture be managed in the same way that other systems and processes can be “managed”? Depending on your answer, what does this mean as to the use of culture as a “strategic control”?

Week 4 reflective discussion

In this final Discussion Question—the Module 4 Reflective Discussion—I would like for you to reflect on the course by responding to the following:

What concepts were most interesting to you?

What concepts and ideas will be most useful to you?

How do you believe you will use the concepts you have learned in MGT499?