MBA 700: Strategic
Analysis Final Project Guidelines and Grading Guide

Overview
The final
project for this course requires students to use concepts from each module,
answer questions about their chosen company, and complete a strategic analysis
of that company in a variety of areas. Milestone drafts of your answers are
assigned in several modules leading to the strategic analysis final project
submitted in Module Ten.

You have
been hired as a consultant at the company you have been researching. This final
report is an in-depth look at the strategy and corporate management based on
your detailed research completed throughout the semester. This paper is
designed as a full report with recommendations that the executive team will use
to enhance the existing strategic management. This project is divided into five
milestones, submitted in Modules One, Four, Six, Eight, and Ten (final
deliverable).

Main Elements
Your report should include, as a minimum, the following 11 components:

Strategy and the Strategic
Management Process at your Chosen Company
Describe the industry you are investigating.
Identify the company you are researching along with the mission, vision,
values, and strategic plan. Be sure to answer the following questions:

Describe the industry in which the
company operates..0in;=”” list=””>What is the companys stated strategy?
Is it a winning strategy?.0in;=”” list=””>How does the companys mission statement compare to
those of its competitors?.0in;=”” list=””>How do the mission, vision, and values support
strategic objectives or performance targets of your company?
What do the mission, vision, and value statements
say about the company and its leadership?

External Environment and
Competitive Position
Complete an industry analysis and a five forces
model analysis including an assessment of the company’s closest rival. Be
sure to answer the following questions:

What are the driving forces of change
in the industry in which your company competes? How has your company changed
its strategy to address driving forces?Where does the company stand within the
industry based on the five forces model of competition analysis?Which of the five forces exert the most
pressure on the company? What has the company done to relieve this pressure?What are your recommendations to
further reducing pressure from these forces?

Internal Environment and
Competitive Position
Complete a SWOT analysis and a value chain
analysis of the company you have chosen. Be sure to answer the following
questions:

How well has the company performed to
stated strategic objectives or performance targets? Support your assessment
with factual data.Compare the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats of the company to those of its competitors. How do
the vision and values affect how the company will respond to each?What is the core competency of the
company? How does this affect its standing within the industry?How has the company used its value
chain activities to improve its competitive position?What are your recommendations in regard
to the companys competitive position and value chain activities?

Competitive
Strategy

Summarize the generic strategy employed by the company and how it
helps the company achieve sustained competitive advantage.

Which of the generic competitive
strategy options is your company pursuing?
Explain how your company is pursuing
this generic strategy. How does it fit value chain activities
specifically to support its generic strategy?
How does pursuit of this strategy help your company
achieve sustained competitive advantage?
What are your recommendations in regard to the company’s pursuit
of a generic strategy or how it uses its value chain in this pursuit?

Strengthening Competitive
Position

Summarize how the company strengthens its
generic strategy through complementary strategic moves. Be sure to answer the
following questions:

Outline what the company has done to fit its
strategy to the industry and company situation.
Has your company responded
offensively or defensively, or both, to improve its strategic position?
How?
Has your company pursued
complementary strategic options? Explain your answer.
What are your
recommendations for your company to pursue future complementary strategic
options to strengthen its competitive position?

The Global
Marketplace

Summarize
company operations in foreign markets and competitive advantage possibilities.
Be sure to answer the following questions:

Describe which method(s) has been used to enter
foreign markets.How has the company gained competitive advantage
through competing internationally?What are additional actions that the company could
take to gain a competitive advantage in foreign markets?

Corporate
Strategy: BusinessDiversification

Summarize
the companys methods to diversify into related or unrelated businesses. Be
sure to answer the following questions:
Whichdiversification strategy is useddiversification
into related or unrelated businesses, a mix of both or none, and/or divestiture
and retrenchment?How has this helped or hurt the company?Offer a future proposal for business diversification
and describe how it will help the company’s strategic position.

Ethics, Social
Responsibility, and Environmental Sustainability

Summarize
the corporate ethics statement, statement about social responsibility, and
sustainability statement. If none exist, report what you believe are these unwrittenstatements orcode of conduct based on what the
company says about itself. Be sure to answer the following questions:

Does company practice conform to its ethics
statement or code of conduct? Where does practice diverge from the statement?.0in;=”” list=”” lfo5;=”” level2=”” l4=””>Does the company have a comprehensive, proactive
social responsibility statement? Does company practice support this statement?.0in;=”” list=”” lfo5;=”” level2=”” l4=””>Does the company follow environmentally sustainable
business practices? Does this help or hurt the company? How?.0in;=”” list=”” lfo5;=”” level2=”” l4=””>Offer suggestions for improvement in the above
areas.

Strategy
Execution: Building the Capability to Execute Strategy

Summarize
the companys strategic plan based on its internal resources, capabilities, and
structure. Be sure to answer the following questions:

How do the companys hiring and
training practices support its strategy?How is the company structured?Would a different structure work to
better implement the strategic plan? Why? If not, why does the current
structure work?
Offer any additional changes that may help the
company to deliver its strategic objectives.

Strategy
Execution: Managing Internal Operations

Summarize
an employees experience within the company and its leadership. Be sure to
answer the following questions:

What best practices can you derive from the
company?How has the company used information systems to
better execute its strategy?How does management motivate their teams?Review the compensation packages of the executive
team of the company.What are the monetary and non-monetary elements of
the top three executives?Rate the company within the industry based upon its
compensation packages.What future changes in these areas do you see for
the company? Offer any suggestions for change in the above areas.

Strategy Execution:
Leadership

Summarize
your recommendations to the CEO and board of directors on how to improve
strategy for your chosen company. Be sure to answer the following questions:
What
will this company be doing differently in three to five years to become more
competitive based on your recommendations in previous components? (no change
is not an option)What
do you recommend the company’s leadership focus on to achieve this strategic
position?Write the paper in your own words. Include your own critical analysis
and remarks in the paper. If you copy and paste any quotes from the search
results, make sure to put those in quotation marks and provide a citation and
reference for the source.Following are general format guidelines:
Cover PageAbstract (Executive Summary)Table of ContentsComponents (11)ReferencesAppendices
OverviewThe final
project for this course requires students to use concepts from each module,
answer questions about their chosen company, and complete a strategic analysis
of that company in a variety of areas. Milestone drafts of your answers are
assigned in several modules leading to the strategic analysis final project
submitted in Module Ten.You have
been hired as a consultant at the company you have been researching. This final
report is an in-depth look at the strategy and corporate management based on
your detailed research completed throughout the semester. This paper is
designed as a full report with recommendations that the executive team will use
to enhance the existing strategic management. This project is divided into five
milestones, submitted in Modules One, Four, Six, Eight, and Ten (final
deliverable).Main ElementsYour report should include, as a minimum, the following 11 components:Describe the industry in which the
company operates..0in;=”” list=””>What is the companys stated strategy?
Is it a winning strategy?.0in;=”” list=””>How does the companys mission statement compare to
those of its competitors?.0in;=”” list=””>How do the mission, vision, and values support
strategic objectives or performance targets of your company?What do the mission, vision, and value statements
say about the company and its leadership?What are the driving forces of change
in the industry in which your company competes? How has your company changed
its strategy to address driving forces?Where does the company stand within the
industry based on the five forces model of competition analysis?Which of the five forces exert the most
pressure on the company? What has the company done to relieve this pressure?What are your recommendations to
further reducing pressure from these forces?How well has the company performed to
stated strategic objectives or performance targets? Support your assessment
with factual data.Compare the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats of the company to those of its competitors. How do
the vision and values affect how the company will respond to each?What is the core competency of the
company? How does this affect its standing within the industry?How has the company used its value
chain activities to improve its competitive position?What are your recommendations in regard
to the companys competitive position and value chain activities?

Summarize the generic strategy employed by the company and how it
helps the company achieve sustained competitive advantage. Summarize how the company strengthens its
generic strategy through complementary strategic moves. Be sure to answer the
following questions:Summarize
company operations in foreign markets and competitive advantage possibilities.
Be sure to answer the following questions:Describe which method(s) has been used to enter
foreign markets.How has the company gained competitive advantage
through competing internationally?What are additional actions that the company could
take to gain a competitive advantage in foreign markets?Summarize
the companys methods to diversify into related or unrelated businesses. Be
sure to answer the following questions:Whichdiversification strategy is useddiversification
into related or unrelated businesses, a mix of both or none, and/or divestiture
and retrenchment?How has this helped or hurt the company?Offer a future proposal for business diversification
and describe how it will help the company’s strategic position.Summarize
the corporate ethics statement, statement about social responsibility, and
sustainability statement. If none exist, report what you believe are these unwrittenstatements orcode of conduct based on what the
company says about itself. Be sure to answer the following questions:Does company practice conform to its ethics
statement or code of conduct? Where does practice diverge from the statement?.0in;=”” list=”” lfo5;=”” level2=”” l4=””>Does the company have a comprehensive, proactive
social responsibility statement? Does company practice support this statement?.0in;=”” list=”” lfo5;=”” level2=”” l4=””>Does the company follow environmentally sustainable
business practices? Does this help or hurt the company? How?.0in;=”” list=”” lfo5;=”” level2=”” l4=””>Offer suggestions for improvement in the above
areas.Summarize
the companys strategic plan based on its internal resources, capabilities, and
structure. Be sure to answer the following questions:How do the companys hiring and
training practices support its strategy?How is the company structured?Would a different structure work to
better implement the strategic plan? Why? If not, why does the current
structure work?Offer any additional changes that may help the
company to deliver its strategic objectives.Summarize
an employees experience within the company and its leadership. Be sure to
answer the following questions:What best practices can you derive from the
company?How has the company used information systems to
better execute its strategy?How does management motivate their teams?Review the compensation packages of the executive
team of the company.What are the monetary and non-monetary elements of
the top three executives?Rate the company within the industry based upon its
compensation packages.What future changes in these areas do you see for
the company? Offer any suggestions for change in the above areas.Summarize
your recommendations to the CEO and board of directors on how to improve
strategy for your chosen company. Be sure to answer the following questions:What
will this company be doing differently in three to five years to become more
competitive based on your recommendations in previous components? (no change
is not an option)What
do you recommend the company’s leadership focus on to achieve this strategic
position?Write the paper in your own words. Include your own critical analysis
and remarks in the paper. If you copy and paste any quotes from the search
results, make sure to put those in quotation marks and provide a citation and
reference for the source.Following are general format guidelines:Cover PageAbstract (Executive Summary)Table of ContentsComponents (11)ReferencesAppendices