• Th e paper should provide a brief analysis of the industry in which the company is working similar to those we have completed in class and that you did for your midterm papers . For example, it should include a brief history of the industry , competitors, Porter ' s forces analysis, sources of profitability, future trends , etc.
• The bulk of the paper should include an analysis of the company, or a particular division or group in the company, its markets, product and/or service offerings, business model, etc. simila r to those we have developed in class.
• Follow ing the outline of the course, your c onsiderations should in clude detailed strategic analyse s, strategy development, and implementation considerations.
• The core of the paper should analyze the key strategic and economic tradeoffs among the various options you have identified AND make a strong case for one of those options as a solution
o T his is similar to the structure of many of our class discussions .
o Be sure to include potential limitations of your recommendatio n.
o Be sure recommendations are realistic, especially from a financial standpoint .
• Please do not feel compelled to apply as many course f rameworks as possible . Aim for depth not breadth .
• Please be sure to include a proper bibliography acknowledging your references and all sources. Use footnotes or endnotes as appropriate where you refer to specific data or quotes.
o Sources should be established, reputable, and credible business - related publications (e.g., New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Time s, Bloomberg, Business Week, Economist, Forbes, Fortune, etc.). They can also be specific to an industry as long as they are credible in that industry (e.g., TechCrunch).
o Sources may include books and personal interviews as appropriate.
Format:
The final paper should be 5 - 8 pages, single - spaced, with 12 - point font and 1 - inch margin s , and up to 5 pages of supporting data/exhibits (either within the paper or at the end) .
Overall , aim for brevity and conciseness in your writing. The paper should includ e a short (half a page at most) executive summary on the first page .
• Be sure to include your name, date, and course information on the paper and in the filename .
• Please use page numbers.
• The paper should adhere to professional standards of English business writing.