Instructions:

Part I

Students will perform an external analysis on a company from the list below or from a list of companies provided by the instructor.

• Priceline Group

• Domino Pizza

• Spirit Airlines

In completing the assignment, students will perform research on the company provided, answer the questions below in narrative form and follow the steps below:

Step 1: Create a double-spaced, 12-point font Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document. The final product will be between 5-6 pages in length excluding the title page, exhibits and reference page.

Step 2: Review assignment grading rubric.

Step 3: Follow this format:

• Title page with assignment title, your name, the course, the instructor's name;

• Introduction;

• Comprehensive Written Analysis:

o External Environmental Analysis

o Internal Environmental Analysis

Step 4: In writing the analysis, the writing is in the third person. What this means is that there are no words such as "I, me, my, we, or us" (first person writing), nor is there use of "you or your" (second person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person

Step 5: In writing this assignment, students are required to support the reasoning using in-text citations and a reference list. A reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa. View the sample APA paper under Week 1 content.

Step 6: In writing this assignment, students are expected to paraphrase and not use direct quotes unless citing a company's mission statement and vision statement. Learn to paraphrase by reviewing this link:

Step 7: Read all course material for weeks 1 - 3 and perform independent research to provide a comprehensive external and internal environmental analysis.

Step 8: Jot down or highlight key facts from the scenario. Consider making an outline to capture key points.

Step 9: In your paper, respond to the following:

Part 1: External Environmental Analysis

• Use tools, concepts and information from your own research, perform an external analysis of the company's environment.

1) an industry analysis and

2) a competitive analysis. Use the top two competitors plus the company selected from the list above or the list provided by the instructor;

• Analyze the market environment and identify opportunities and threats that challenge the organization;

• Construct an EFE for selected company,

• Develop a CPM for selected company;

• Evaluate trends significant to the industry and company.

• Discuss key areas of uncertainty related to trends or events that potentially could impact the company's strategy.

Part 2 Internal Environmental Analysis

• Identify the company's mission, vision and objectives;

• Provide a company background;

• Perform an internal analysis:
o Corporate Level Strategy

o Business Unit Level Strategy

o Functional Level Strategy

o Assess the company's interactions with its stakeholders, the organizational structure, the organizational culture, and communication/decision making among managers within human resources, marketing production, operations, finance and accounting, R&D, and computer information systems, which can be accomplished by viewing the company's website, interviews, and surveys.

• Identify company strengths and weaknesses. What must the company do to perform successfully in the industry?

• Construct an IFE Matrix for selected company;

• Perform a financial analysis for the last reported fiscal year:

o Use the company's income statement and balance sheet and calculate key (emphasis added), but no less than 10 key financial ratios to the business;

o Research the industry average financial ratios for the same ratios above and record in a second column;

o In the third column, indicate whether the company's ratio is a strength, a weakness or a neutral factor.

• Discuss what strategies would allow the company to capitalize on its major strengths;

• Discuss strategies that would allow the company to improve upon its major weaknesses.

Step 10: Create an introductory paragraph. The Introduction should clearly and concisely convey the main points of the assignment's requirements. Review the following website to learn how to write an introductory paragraph:

Step 11: Using the grading rubric as a comparison, read through the paper to ensure all required elements are presented.

Step 12: Proofread the paper for spelling and grammatical issues, and third person writing