This assignment emphasizes concept application, analysis, synthesis, and assessment. Basically, you will analyze the firm's current situation and make a list of recommendations. Obvious data sources for this assignment are Business Source Complete, the company website, investor-related web pages, etc.
Your analysis must do the following:
Identify a key strategic issue that a focal firm faces in the case. Please note that each case usually has a significant strategic issue in the starting section and/or ending section. This issue will help you decide the direction of your analyses, strategic alternatives, and recommendations and implementation plans.
Conduct the external and internal analyses and draw implications of these analyses. The internal analysis should include analysis on the focal firm's core competencies, key resources, and the company performance such as financial status. You are also expected to discuss sustainability issues with regard to firm's core competencies. For the external analysis, you should also discuss in detail industry competing environments such as key competitors, their key competence and market share distribution etc., Strategic group analysis would be significant plus to the report. Present any pertinent information needed to solve the key strategic issue that you identify. Visual graphics can be useful in helping the audience to recall, organize, and understand the pertinent information. Make the best of the facts and exhibits given in the case to find such information. Make sure that you use the concepts and frameworks that we have learned so far and will learn in the textbook.
Identify what the company is currently doing and come up with the most feasible strategic alternatives. "Strategic" refers to the "what and why," not the "how" that is referred to as tactical. You should also evaluate each of these strategic alternatives by considering the pros and cons and short-term versus long-term priorities. Ensure that these strategic alternatives are drawn from your analysis and supporting data and evidence. What matters is your analysis and logic, not what the company really did. Show us your own solutions based on your common sense, knowledge, analysis, logic, and creativity. What this means is that the strategic alternative should not come from any existing sources (such as your textbook or the Internet).
Finalize your recommendations and implementation plans. Implementation plans are tactical issues that help a focal firm get the job done, making sure that the recommended strategic alternatives are well executed and implemented.
The quality of the group strategic analysis will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
1. Identification of the main issues and problems
2. Analysis of all the issues discussed above (external and internal analysis, strategic recommendations, and implementation plans)
3. Links to course readings and additional research