Module - Case

The External Environment, Internal Profile, and SWOT

Assignment Overview

Remember that the Case in this course is an ongoing exercise, meaning that we will be taking an intensive look at one company over the course of our four modules. This session, we will be conducting a strategic analysis of the Coca-Cola Company.

The outcome of this Case is use a completed external and internal analysis of the Coca-Cola Company, in the completion of a SWOT.

Coca-Cola Company

Case Assignment

In a 7- to 10-page paper, integrated your external and internal company analysis, completing a formal company SWOT.

Keys to the Assignment

• Step 1: Perform research, and complete an industry analysis using each of the Five Forces in Porter's model. Support your analysis with current financial, operational, and marketing data.

• Step 2: Complete your external analysis using each of the four elements in the PEST analysis. When considering economic data, use the most current data you can find.

• Step 3: Write up the results of your external analysis, and be sure to label the impact of each of the Five Forces as high, moderate, or low. Taken together, the Five Forces analysis and the PEST analysis should lead to conclusions about the overall opportunities and threats facing the Coca-Cola Company as revealed by your research. All data and factual information that you report in your Five Forces and PEST analysis must be properly cited using APA style.

• Step 4: Conduct a critical and thorough internal analysis of the Coca-Cola Company, assessing as many of the company's key internal strengths and weaknesses as you can. Consider the operations, customer service, finance, human resources management, and marketing functions. See the following website, as it will help you decide which strengths and weaknesses you might wish to evaluate: http://www.businessballs.com/swotanalysisfreetemplate.htm

• Step 5: Discuss the results of your internal analysis, including your conclusions concerning the strengths and weaknesses facing the Coca-Cola Company.

• Step 6: Synthesize your internal analysis with your external environmental analysis, formulating a complete SWOT analysis.Provide a SWOT diagram (include as an Appendix - not as part of the written analysis!) in which you show - in each of the four quadrants - the most important 3-4 company strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Each of these should be discussed thoroughly within your written analysis.

• Based on your SWOT, give very specific and informed recommendations as to what the company should do. Give your overall analysis-does the company have more strengths than weaknesses? More weaknesses than strengths? Whatever you decide, you need to recommend (with strong, convincing support) what you believe should be the company's strategy - in response to your collective assessment of the organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You must demonstrate evidence of critical thinking - don't simply restate facts you've learned about the company! Interpret the data and factual information you've found instead!

• Step 7: Consider the Case as a formal business report that you are developing for the Board of Directors and CEO as the Coca-Cola Company's consultant. This is a professionaldocument. Follow the format below:
o Executive summary: This is a synopsis of the main points, conclusions and recommendations made in the longer report. If you would like a refresher on writing an executive summary, check this website: http://www.csun.edu/~vcecn006/summary.html
o Introduction: State the main purpose of the paper (thesis statement), what you hope to accomplish, and how you will go about doing it.

o Main Body: The "meat" of the paper. Emphasize analysis, not just description. Delineate separate topics or sections with section headings.

o Conclusion: Summarize your paper in the light of your thesis statement.

Assignment Expectations

Your paper will be evaluated using the grading rubric.

Tips and Suggestions

Note the following tips and suggestions:

• Business school case-study assignments are meant to offer practice opportunities for future businesspeople who are earning their MBA degrees. Consider yourself a consultant hired by the company to make these critical assessments. There are no right or wrong answers to the Case questions - however, your position must be well-defended.

• Study the theoretical concepts provided in the Background materials section of the module, and identify main strategy concepts.

• Include a cover page and reference page, in addition to the 7-10 pages of analysis described above.

• Include section headings in all papers.

• Cite and reference all sources, including those that you paraphrase. This means include citations and quotation marks for direct quotes, and citations for information you have "borrowed" or paraphrased from other sources.