Course Project

Week 8

Guidelines and Grading Rubric (200 points)

Use your Course Project organization selected during Week 2 for this assignment.

COMPANY NAME, WEBSITE, and INDUSTRY

State the company name, website address,and industry.

BACKGROUND and HISTORY

Briefly describe the company in the case analysis. What is their primary business, who were the officers or key players described in the case study? If the case study company is currently in business, list the company’s current CEO, total sales, and profit or loss for the last year where data is available. Identify key events or phases in the company’s history. Describe the performance of this company in the industry. Visit the company’s website and use http://finance.yahoo.comand/or some other financial search engine to find this data. (15 points)

NOTE: Make sure to use APA citations throughout the paper. The textbook should be cited if it is the source of information. If you are not familiar with APA citation, check out the tutorial APA Guidelines for Citing Sources at the end of the course Syllabus. There are videos to help you with the APA format and business research in the Week 1 Llecture.  

ANALYSIS VIA PORTER’S FIVE FORCES MODEL

Analyze the competitive environment by listing the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of substitute products and services, and the intensity of rivalry among competitors in the industry (Chapter 2). Summarize your key points in a figure. (25 points)

STRATEGY USED

How does this company create and sustain a competitive advantage? What strategy from the readings was undertaken by this company? Were they successful? Can all companies use this strategy? How is the strategy affected by the life cycle in the industry? Remember to reference Porter’s generic strategies identified in Chapter 5 of the textbook, THIS IS CRITICAL. (40 points)

Specific STRATEGY(S)

Choose six specific strategies from this list.

Ensuring Coherence in Strategic Direction (pages 26–32)  

Value Chain Analysis (pages 81–93)

Resource View of Firm (pages 93–104)

Industry Life Cycle Strategies (pages 187–195)

Turnaround Strategies (pages 193–195)

Vertical Integration (pages 210–214)

Portfolio Management and the BCG Matrix (pages 216–226)

Strategic Alliances and Joint Ventures (pages 226–228)

Achieving Competitive Advantage (pages 256–267)

Entry Model (pages 267–272)

Entrepreneurial Strategy (pages292–311)

External Governance Control (pages 340–347)

Linking Strategic Rewards (pages 366–372)

Creating Ambidextrous Organization Designs (pages383–387)

Leadership (pages 392–416)

Apply them in detail to the organization.Be sure to think strategically and show the results clearly. Use the strategy as a sub-header for each section so it is clear what is being applied. (90 points)

COURSE OF ACTION RECOMMENDED

If you were in a position to advise this company, what strategy would you recommend to sustain competitive advantage and achieve future growth? Be specific and list the steps the company should take for successful implementation of your course of action. (15 points)

OPINION

What do you think of this case study? Describe what you believe are the lessons learned from this case. (10 points)

REFERENCES

When you have completed the paper using the above sections, insert a page break and have a separate reference page. The references should be listed in accordance with the APA guidelines as shown in the tutorial. (5 points)

FORMAT

• Use a title page.

• Font: Use Times New Roman, 12 point.

• Place your name in the upper left hand corner of the page.

• Each section of your paper should be headed by the bolded, capitalized item described above.  

• Indent paragraphs.

• Insert page numbers bottom right.

• Paper length should be six to eight double-spaced pages not including title page, references, or illustrations and tables.

• Use APA citations throughout the paper. If you are not familiar with APA citation, refer to tutorial, which is contained in the last section of our course Syllabus.

• Include a separate Reference page at the end of thepaper.

• Please prepare reference page as follows.

References

Dess, G., Lumpkin, G.,& Eisner, A. (2012).Strategic Management (6e). Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Side Notes

• Save your paper in the following format: Your last name, initials of your first and middle name, and the company discussed in the case study.

EXAMPLE: If your name is Edward R Jones and you are writing a case study on Google, then the file name for your paper would be jonesergoogle.doc

• Place the paper in the Dropbox designated by the weekly assignment.

Note that the report is worth 200 points and points are allocated for each section as noted in the outline.