Evaluation of Strategic Alternatives: Second Focus Area 

a. Student selects a focus area from Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, Human Resource Information Systems, International, Marketing, or Operations in the evaluation of the strategic alternatives. 
i. What do the experts in this focus area say about the strategic alternatives? 
ii. What key concepts and theories of the focus area will help to support your discussion in evaluating the alternatives? 

b. For example, assume the previously mentioned scenario: the organization is a wireless telephone service provider, the central problem is an inadequate smartphone product line, and the alternatives are to 1) design and manufacture their own branded smartphone in house and 2) purchase and private label a smartphone from an existing smartphone manufacturer. 
i. If Marketing was the second focus area, what do the experts in marketing say about the alternatives? 
ii. What marketing key concepts and theories will help to support your discussion in evaluating the alternatives? 

c. Nearly every strategic decision has implications for the people in an organization, and thus involves ethics. Review any ethical considerations that should be examined in the strategic alternatives within the context of the management and leadership focus area and the moral and ethical framework as expressed by the Indiana Wesleyan University “world changer” perspective. 

d. Research Requirements: 
i. Articles: What do experts say about the project topic? Students need to include research from at least five articles accessed through OCLS. 
ii. MBA course integration: What key concepts and theories will help to support your discussion in this focus area? This section must include at least five sources from any of the following courses: Accounting, Economics, Ethics Law and Leadership, Finance, Intercultural and Global Issues, Management, Marketing, Operations Strategy, Organizational Development and Change, and Statistics. 
iii. Ethical Considerations: One source from your Ethics Law and Leadership course and two citations from the Bible. 
iv. Total in-text citations and references for Second Focus Area: 13