Assignment: Capstone Paper

Select a publicly traded corporation for which you would like to work or are currently working.

Research the corporation on its own Website, the public filings on the Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR database (http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml), in the University's online databases, and any other sources you can find. The annual report will often provide insights that can help address some of these questions.

Write an eight to ten page paper in which you:

Determine the impact of the company's mission, vision, and primary stakeholders on its overall success.

Analyze the five forces of competition to determine how they impact the company.

Create a SWOT analysis for the company to determine its major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Based on the SWOT analysis, outline a strategy for the company to capitalize on its strengths and opportunities, and minimize its weaknesses and threats.

Discuss the various levels and types of strategies the firm may use to maximize its competitiveness and profitability.

Outline a communications plan the company could use to make the strategies you recommend above known to all stakeholders.

Select two corporate governance mechanisms used by this corporation and evaluate how effective they are at controlling managerial actions.

Evaluate the effectiveness of leadership within this corporation and make at least one recommendation for improvement.

Assess efforts by this corporation to be a responsible (ethical) corporate citizen and determine the impact these efforts (or lack thereof) have on the company's bottom line. Provide specific examples to support your response.

Use at least five quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the professor's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Determine ways in which the vision, mission, and stakeholders of a firm impact that firm's overall success.

Identify how the six segments of the general environment affect an industry and its firms.

Identify the five forces of competition.

Analyze the external environment for opportunities and threats that impact the firm.

Analyze the internal environment of a company for strengths and weaknesses that impact the firm's competitiveness.

Identify various levels and types of strategy in a firm.

Predict ways in which corporate governance will affect strategic decisions.

Assess the relationship between strategy and organizational structure.

Use technology and information resources to research issues in business administration.

Write clearly and concisely about business administration using proper writing mechanics.