Assignment 1: Select a business organization from the Fortune 500 which is of interest to you and ensure that you will be able to obtain the necessary information about its strategy, business model, and performance (much of this information can be obtained from the organization's Web site, annual report, financial news, etc.). Write an overview of the organization you selected, including the following:

Name of the organization, locations, web address

Overall organizational strategy and business model

Products or services, industry, and market position

Sources of information about the organization (at least three)

Your reasons for selecting the organization

Write your response in 2-3 pages in Word format. Cite your sources. Apply APA standards for writing style to your work.

Assignment 2: The goal of conducting a competitor analysis is to gather information about the company's competitors and systematically formulate a strategy to become the market leader in the industry. In formulating any strategy, it is imperative that the company understand its organizational structure as well as the internal and external forces which could impact their strategic decisions.
Based on the company you chose in the previous module, analyze the organization's mission, vision, and values, its ability to compete, and the effectiveness of its management team in executing strategy. Some of the factors to be considered in doing this evaluation include the company's internal resource capabilities, its relative cost position, and its competitive strength.In addition,evaluate the competitive strategy of your selected organization and examine how this strategic approach drives the rest of the strategic actions the company undertakes in terms of product line, production emphasis, marketing emphasis, and the means for sustaining the strategy. Make sure to include at least one analytical tool such as SWOT analysis, Porter's, BCG, etc. in your analysis.

Research your selected organization's strategy and analyze the following elements:

The organization's mission, vision, and values. What does it tell you about the company, their culture, their direction? Does it convey the purpose and primary objectives of the company? If so, how, if not what is missing?

The organization's strategic goals. Based on your research, what are the top three strategic goals of your chosen company?

The relative alignment of strategic goals with the organization's mission, vision, and values. Include at least three examples of how the strategic goals help and/or hinder the organization in achieving its mission, vision, and values.

Additions or changes you would recommend to the strategic goals to better achieve the company's mission, vision, and values. Include at least two additions or changes and justify your response.

Describe the relevant external factors and influences (at least 3) which could affect the decisions the company makes about its direction, objectives, strategy, and business model.

Describe the Internal factors and influences (at least 3) which could impact the company's decision making such as the company's market position and its competencies, capabilities, resource strengths and weaknesses, and competitiveness.

Does your selected organization have a focused strategy that differentiates it from other companies in the same marketplace? Explain your answer.

Is the organization seeking a competitive advantage by taking the initiative in the marketplace? Explain your answer.

Does the organization have a strategy for competing in international markets? Does it appear to have a solid understanding of local customer needs and preferences to create customized products or services? Does it appear to know how to transfer company expertise to initiate actions to compete internationally?

Make sure you utilize at least one analytical tool in your analysis of this section.

Write up your findings in a 6 to 8 page MS Word format paper which complies with APA standards, including proper grammar and spelling.

Assignment 3: Many companies find they are forced to remodel their traditional hierarchical structures, which were originally built around functional specialization and centralized authority, to compete in today's marketplace. Companies often draw on the following five tools of organizational design to make their organizations leaner, flatter, and more responsive to change. The five tools are:

Empower managers and workers

Reengineer work processes

Implementing self-directed work teams

Rapid incorporation of Internet technology applications

Networking with outsiders to improve existing capabilities and create new ones

In addition, there are many managerial tasks that shape corporate culture and the leadership skills needed to engage the full organization to produce great results. Examine the dynamics of the elements that must be brought together to create a corporate culture, such as core values and business principles, operating practices and behaviors, ethical standards and attitudes, and work climate and people management practices.

Considering the five tools of organizational design, managerial tasks and leadership skills, examine the practices followed by your selected organization and include the following in a 8-10 page APA formatted paper in MS Word:
Describe which of the five tools of organizational design your selected organization uses to maintain and improve productivity while achieving cost savings. Use detailed examples in your response.

Explain how work groups are utilized in your organization to accomplish the stated goals of the company.

Describe the motivational practices used by the organization to promote better strategy execution. Include some illustrative examples in your response.

Explain how, if at all, the reward system in the organization ties incentives directly to achieving higher productivity and performance targets.

Explain the evaluation and feedback process used in your company to assess employee performance.

Identify the elements in the organization that affect how cultural change is implemented.

Describe the ethical model being used by the company.

Present your overall opinion of the organization's corporate strategy approach. Is the strategy execution effort delivering the expected results? Explain and illustrate your conclusions.

Describe what specific actions have been taken to delegate authority to middle and junior managers and to create a sense of empowerment among employees. Explain and illustrate your answers.

Avoid plagiarism: Using someone else's words or ideas in your paper without proper acknowledgement constitutes plagiarism and is unacceptable in any situation. Make sure you have properly documented the source of original facts, ideas, and interpretations that you use in your paper. This must be done whether you summarize information or paraphrase what you learned from a particular source.