Team Project

This is a project on business strategy. We have discussed in class how the competitive advantage of a company will disappear over time as success breeds imitation or because new technology and other factors change that competitive advantage. A company cannot settle for what it has, constant innovation is necessary. In order to innovate a firm needs to recognize what its distinctive capabilities are, whether it has value and what factors might affect its business.

In this regard the basic approach of this project is for each team to choose a company and provide a medium and long term strategy that could increase its economic profitability within the industry.

Nuts and Bolts

Step 1. The class is divided into teams. Get together with other members of your group and engage in some project planning.

Step 2. Choose a company that is operating in the USA. It will be a good idea to choose a public company as you will have more information available. Let me know in class which company you have chosen. 

Step 3. Use the resources available at the library or online to get information on the following questions. You must at the very least answer all the 15 questions given below. You are free to include more information.

i) What business is the company in?

ii) What is the product?

iii) Who are the customers?

iv) What do the costs look like?

v) What are the strategic assets?

vi) How is the company related to the rest of the industry/market?

vii) Is there a fit between the assets of the company, its capabilities and the market it is in?

viii) Does the company have a culture?

ix) Is the culture supported by company policies and compensation?

x) Does leadership play a role?

xi) What is the EVA for the last 3 years?

xii) What is its current strategy?

xiii) What are the current challenges to this strategy from competitors and the downturn in the economy?

xiv) What can be done to sustain/increase its EVA over the medium term (3-4 years)?

xv) What challenges and corresponding strategies to sustain it EVA do you predict over the long term (8-10 years)

(Good sources for all this information are the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Business Week, Bloomberg News, the Economist, and finance sections of Yahoo, Google other major internet sites. However you are free to choose any other source as well. You will provide a portfolio of copies all magazine/newspaper/other articles that you source your information from.)

Step 4. Each team will present the project in class using PowerPoint presentation on the date mentioned on the syllabus.

Step 5.  You will also turn in your completed project report in class on the date mentioned on syllabus.

(Minimum 6 pages written work excluding charts and tables, MLA format) + Citations.