Assignment: Competitive and Strategic Analysis

1. On Functional Strategy - Pertaining to your CEO Project Company

a. Among the various functional divisions of the firm, identify the most burning issue whereby your functional strategy (marketing, financial, operational, etc.) impacts the overall corporate AND business strategies. Explain in detail.

i. More directly, select from two functional areas and discuss the following:

1. Identify the function's essential goal for 2016
2. What resources must be employed to effectively realize this goal
3. What measures will indicate whether your functional strategy has produced the required results

2. On Strategic Intent and Strategy Implementation

a. First, identify your CEO company's strategic intent, that is, the ambitious stretch targets that go beyond corporate vision propelling the firm to win. Pull from the readings to support your response

b. Second, identify and discuss the important components of your strategy's implementation - mainly the who, what, how:

i. Who are the central players/managers who will carry out your strategic recommendations?
ii. What must be done - describe the program that is (or needs to be) in place to carry out your strategic recommendations?
iii. How will everyone work together - what organizational structure will work best and why?

3. On Evaluation and Control

Referring to the Balanced Scorecard's key measurement concepts, illustrate and discuss the following:

a. Using the traditional model from Kaplan and Norton customize your team company's BSC model by identifying and completing ONE objective you will ‘measure' for each scorecard perspective. Discuss in detail.

b. Lastly, provide a basic, yet customized, illustrative model of your BSC to complement your response.

4. On The Strategist

In The Strategist, Cynthia Montgomery challenges you the future leader to confront four basic questions: what does my organization bring to the world? Does that difference matter? Is something about it scarce and difficult to imitate? Are we doing today what we need to do in order to matter tomorrow?

i. Please answer these four questions as though you are speaking to the board and they expect you to be candid and concise. Please refer to the CEO company for this response.

Article: Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton.