BA 490 Week 1 to Week 8 assignment and Discussion

BA490 Business Policy & Strategy

BA/490 Entire Course (***** A+ Work *****)

BA 490 Week 1 Mini Strategic Audit 

The strategic audit system is a diagnostic tool to pinpoint an organization’s strengths and weaknesses. Use the Strategic Analysis Framework and other tools in order to conduct a strategic audit.  You might consider using a SWOT analysis for both companies to analyze each companies situation.

For this assignment, a mini strategic audit will be conducted for two companies with an overall goal to compare how each company differs in the strategy management and implementation, while indentifying the importance of strategic management.

Assignment Requirements

Conduct a mini Strategic Audit on e-company Tigerdirect.com and Best Buy, Visit the each company’s website at Tiger Direct at http:/ /www.tigerdirect .com/ and Best Buy at www. bestbuy.com.  After conducting research, identify key strategies that each company has in common.  List a brief introduction of each company, to include the Mission Statement and compare key aspects of each company.  Identify the importance of strategic management based on your research. Be sure to include the concepts identified in the readings for this week's topics.

Submit your answers in a 1000 word, APA style paper.  Include a title sheet and 2-3 references.  Only one reference may be found on the internet.  The other references must be found in the Grantham University online library.  Only the body of the paper will count toward the word requirement.  Please see rubric below.

BA490 Week 1 Discussion Question Mission Statement Analysis

Question B

For this discussion activity, you will first need to research a company of your choice and locate the company's most current mission statement. Then, evaluate the mission statement.  (Note:  In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen company's statement you will use the following criteria for evaluating a Mission Statement.)

Criteria: Use the following questions to evaluate the selected mission statement.

Score: Use a score of 1 point for each criteria/question that the mission statement meets.

Is our mission statement focused on satisfying customer needs rather than being focused on the product?

Does our mission statement tell who our customers are?

Does our mission statement explain what customer needs our company is trying to satisfy?

Does our mission statement explain how our company will serve its customers?

Does our mission statement fit the current market environment?

Is our mission statement based on our core competencies? (A core competency is a company strength.)

Is our mission statement motivating and does it inspire employee commitment?

Is our mission statement realistic?

Is our mission statement specific, short, sharply focused and memorable.

Is our mission statement clear and easily understood?

Does our mission statement say what we want to be remembered for?

Once you have completed the evaluation of the missing statement, address the following questions in the Discussion forum:

How many points would the mission statement earn? What is the significance of the score in relation to how well the company's is currently operating?

Are all of the questions equally important? Should some be dropped and others added? Why?

Why is it important to conduct a "quantitative" analysis" vs. "gut feeling"?  How could that impact your final result and strategy development?

Be sure to post the chosen company "Name", Mission Statement, Results of Evaluation, and Responses to the Closing questions in your discussion/response.

E-activity

For this discussion activity, you will first need to research a company of your choice and locate the company's most current mission statement. Then, evaluate the mission statement.  (Note:  In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen company's statement you will use the following criteria for evaluating a Mission Statement.)

Criteria: Use the following questions to evaluate the selected mission statement.

Score: Use a score of 1 point for each criteria/question that the mission statement meets.

BA 490 Week 2 Industry Analysis of the Airline Industry

Before answering this discussion question you will need to conduct a review of the US Airline Case on pages 473-487 of the course text and any additional resources necessary to conduct and industry analysis on the airline industry.

Before writing your response, using the textbook and knowledge you have about the airline industry, complete the industry analysis.

1. Provide a rating for each area and provide a short justification for the rating: Rate High, Medium, Medium to Low, or Low.

·         Threat of new entrants

·         Rivalry among existing firms

·         Bargaining power of buyers/distributors

·         Bargaining power of suppliers

·         Relative power of other stakeholders

2. Once you have conducted your analysis answer the following disquestion questions:

·         Are any of the forces changing? Please explain.

·         Evaluate the future level of competitive intensity in the airline industry, based on this evaluation, would you invest or look for a job in this industry? Please explain.

BA 490 Week 2 Project Part 1 - Project Proposal

Project Part 1: Project Proposal

There are four parts to the final course project. The first part of the project is the initial project proposal, which will be submitted to the instructor for approval--before continuing with the rest of the project.  It includes the Introduction to the Project Proposal.

The first part of the project will identify the company of choice that will seek an expansion opportunity to an oversee area of choice. Be sure to identify the country and mode of entry. In addition, provide an introduction and overview of the selected company along with an initial analysis of the growth opportunity.

Write a 1000 word, APA style paper where you complete the requirements for Part 1 of the Project Proposal. Part 1 must include the following:

Introduction:

Provide an introduction and overview of the selected company along with an initial analysis of the growth opportunity.

Identify the following:

·         Country of choice

·         Mode of entry

In your paper include a title sheet and 2-3 references.  Only one reference may be found on the internet.  The other references must be found in the Grantham University online library.  Only the body of the paper will count toward the word requirement. 

Please see rubric below. You will also find a document below which covers the entire project, please download and keep this document for future reference throughout the course.

BA 490 Week 3 Analyze a Corporation by Using the Internet

Analyze a Corporation by Using the Internet

The "subject/theme" for this discussion is to determine if a corporation can be analyzed by using the internet.

Search through the internet to find resources for corporate 10-K reports, proxy statements and other news related to the corporation (of your choice), you will find that there are free websites that will provide these resources to you.

Select one corporation for the example you will be sharing in the discussion and find an example of the following: web sites for 10-K reports, an example of the selected corporation 10-K report, proxy statement.

Once you have all of this gathered and reviewed, please answer the following in the discussion question: What are the company's strengths and weaknesses? Please be specific.  Use at least 3 examples from the materials you have collected and cite their location. What type of strategy do you think they are following?

BA 490 Week 3 Research Paper: Competitive Intelligence Best Practices

Research the various methods different companies use to gather competitive intelligence and then analyze the most effective methods by which companies should gather competitive intelligence.

In your paper include:

• Examples and also identify where the resources can be found to support your work.

• A rationale for the references that you have selected to support your views.

In your paper include a title sheet and 2-3 references.  Only one reference may be found on the internet.  The other references must be found in the University online library.

BA 490 Week 4 Discussion Companies That Use Porter’s Competitive Strategies

Can you identify companies that use Porter’s competitive strategies?

Before you begin writing your response to your discussion question you will need to do some research.

Using information from the course textbook and from class lectures on Porter's competitive strategies, identify one or more companies that use the strategies listed below:

·         Lower cost strategy

·         Differentiation strategy

·         Cost leadership

·         Differentiation

·         Cost focus

·         Differentiation focus

For each organization, be sure to understand the qualifying factors. How is Porter's Competitive strategy used by the organization (of your choice above) impacting profitability and productivity of the organization?  Based on the research that you did, should the company consider using a different strategy?

BA490 Week 4 Assignment Project Part 2: Cultural Exchange and Marketing Strategy

Now that you have had your Project company/idea approved by your professor, it is time to write the second part of the project, which builds on Project Part 1. Using the same company your chose for Project Part I (the company that is proposing an expansion opportunity overseas), conduct research on the proposed "overseas" country.

Specifically focus on the culture and cultural exchange of the country.

For the culture, review the web site http ://geert -hofstede. com/ or similar resources to compare the cultural differences between the US and the company in your project. Identify the cultural differences and consider the cultural exchange.

In addition, research and choose the best distributions method: Product/Market, Pricing, and Positioning.

To Review: Write a 1000 word, APA style paper entitled "Strategic Audit"

In your paper Identify the following:

• • Cultural differences
  • Cultural exchange
  • Distribution Methods
  • Product/Market
  • Pricing
  • Positioning

In your paper include a title sheet and 2-3 references. Only one reference may be found on the internet. The other references must be found in the Grantham University online library. Only the body of the paper will count toward the word requirement. Please see rubric below.

BA 490 Week 5 Assignment Case Analysis Video Game Console Industry in 2012

Case Analysis: Video Game Console Industry in 2012

Read the case, “Video Game Console Industry in 2012” on page 602-612 and address the following questions:

Consider an opportunity for a new video game company entering into the market, Provide the following analysis for the new company looking to compete:

1. Does the Video Game Console Industry have any opportunity for new entrants?

2. Identify Video Game Console Industry performance surrounding these key issues:

o   Expansion Opportunities

o   Operating efficiency

o   Growth strategy

o   Customer retention

o   Cultural Considerations

o   Overall Sales

o   Competition

3. Conduct additional research as necessary to provide the most up to date perspective on this case. Search for the following information:

o   Annual Report

o   SEC Form 10-K

o   Annual Shareholders Proxy Statement

o   Competitive/Industry Information

4. Identify 3 to 4 key strategies that the new video game company should focus on? Provide examples to support each strategy.

5. Would you invest in a new video game startup company entering under the identified market conditions?  Please explain why or why not.

6. Use the written case analysis format to present findings from the case analysis. The case analysis should :

o   Include the following 5 sections:  I. Executive Summary, II. Statement of the Problem, III.  Causes of the Problem, IV. Decision Criteria and Alternative Solutions, V.  Recommended Solution, Implementation and Justification

o   Be double spaced and the pages should be numbered

o   Have 1inch margins – top bottom left and right

o   Use 12 point font size

o   Be free of spelling errors

o   Use an established referencing system – Including 3 to 5 external sources (in addition to your textbook) should be referenced to support the recommendations or to identify issues.  This information would be ideally sourced in current journals, magazines and newspapers and should reflect current management thought or practice with respect to the issues identified.

o   Present the executive summary on the first page of the assignment along with your name (s), student number(s), course section and due date

BA 490 Week 5 Discussion The Future of Internet Publishing

For this Discussion Question you will need to conduct some research on the topic “What is the future of Internet Publishing?” Read the case, “New York Times: Seeking Salvation within a Declining Industry” on page 619-629. As you are reading this case think about these questions:

1.      What are the pros and cons of Internet publishing?

2.      What is the impact of electronic publishing on the environment?

3.      Should newspaper and book publishers completely convert to electronic publishing over paper?

4.      The Wall Street Journal and others publish in both paper and electronic formats. Is this a success?

5.      Would you prefer this textbook and others in an electronic format?

6.      How would you prefer to read the book?

7.      What business model should publishers use to make money publishing on the Internet?

Answer the following question:

How can technology be used as a business strategy? Does technology really mean computers? Is there a larger definition associated with technology?

BA 490 Project Part 3: Strategic Audit

Now that you have conducted a cultural review along with developing some marketing strategies for entry into the country, it is time to begin the third part of the project, which continues from Project Part 2. Using the same company of choice that is proposing an expansion opportunity oversea, conduct a strategic audit on the following areas:

·         Internal environment

·         External environment

·         Strengths

·         Problem analysis

·         Recommendations and implementation costs

·         Evaluation and Control Processes

·          

Submit a two- to three-page Word document using 12-pt. font and APA format. In your paper include a title sheet and 2-3 references. Only one reference may be found on the internet. The other references must be found in the Grantham University online library. Only the body of the paper will count toward the word requirement.

BA 490 Week 6 Discussion The Dynamics of International Strategy

Read the case, “Danone: Strategy Implementation in an International Food and Beverage Company” on page 727-744.

As you are reading identify and think about the following questions:

1. Does Danone have substantial debt and or challenges that will impact their growth expansion plans?  Please provide examples.

1. Formulate a one- to two-sentence summary identifying Danone’s performance surrounding these two key issues:

o   Operating efficiency

o   Growth strategy

o   Competition

2. Conduct additional research as necessary to provide the most up to date perspective. Search for the following information:

o   Annual Report

o   SEC Form 10-K

o   Annual Shareholders Proxy Statement

o   Competitive/Industry Information

When you have completed your research, answer the following question:

1. Does Danone have substantial debt and or challenges that will impact their growth expansion plans? 

2. Please provide examples from your research.

BA 490 Week 7 Case Analysis: Outback Steakhouse: Going International

W7 Assignment "Case Analysis: Outback Steakhouse: Going International"

1. Does Outback Steakhouse have any substantial impacts for their growth expansion plans?

2. Identify Outback Steakhouse performance surrounding these key issues:

o   Restaurant expansion

o   Operating efficiency

o   Growth strategy

o   Customer retention

o   Cultural Considerations

o   Restaurant sales

o   Com petition

3. Conduct additional research as necessary to provide the most up to date perspective on this case. Search for the following information:

o   Annual Report

o   SEC Form 10-K

o   Annual Shareholders Proxy Statement

o   Competitive/Industry Information

4. Use the written case analysis format to present findings from the case analysis. The case analysis should :

o   Include the following 5 sections:

1. Executive Summary

2. Statement of the Problem

3. Causes of the Problem

4. Decision Criteria and Alternative Solutions, Recommended Solution, Implementation and Justification

◦ Be double spaced and the pages should be numbered

◦ Have 1 inch margins – top bottom left and right

◦ Use 12 point font size

◦ Be free of spelling errors

◦ Use an established referencing system – Including 3 to 5 external sources (in addition to your textbook) should be referenced to support the recommendations or to identify issues.  This information would be ideally sourced in current journals, magazines and newspapers and should reflect current management thought or practice with respect to the issues identified.

◦ Present the executive summary on the first page of the assignment along with your name (s), student number(s), course section and due date

BA 490 Week 7 Discussion The Icarus Paradox

The Icarus Paradox

Read the following information and discuss, "How can a corporation keep from sliding into the Decline stage of the organizational life cycle?" Use examples from "The Icarus Paradox: Trajectories of Decline".

The Icarus Paradox: Trajectories of Decline

In The Icarus Paradox, Miller proposes that companies go into decline because the very characteristics that helped make them successful tend to be taken to extremes over time and eventually cause a decrease in performance. A successful firm develops a theme based on a mission and a mutually supportive configuration composed of strategies, policies, structure, and culture. Success creates momentum, causing organizations to keep extending their theme and configuration until they push too far and eventually start to decline. Based on studying over 100 companies, Miller found four very common "trajectories" of decline.

• • Focusing trajectory turns quality driven Craftsmen with masterful engineers and excellent operations into rigidly controlled, detail obsessed Tinkerers making perfect products with little appeal to the marketplace. By focusing on perfection and not on the marketplace, they alienate customers. By the end of World War II and before Daniel Krumm broadened the company’s product lines, Maytag was probably well on its way to becoming a niche-oriented tinkerer of high quality washing machines.
  • Venturing trajectory converts growth driven, entrepreneurial Builders with imaginative leaders and brilliant financial staffs into impulsive, greedy Imperialists who squander their resources by expanding helterskelter into businesses they know nothing about. ITT under Harold Geneen was first a brilliant success in conglomerate diversification, but eventually could not keep track of all its acquisitions and went into decline.
  • Inventing trajectory turns Pioneers with unexcelled R&D and state of the art products into utopian Escapists, dominated by cults of free spirited scientists in pursuit of interesting inventions with little market appeal. Polaroid under Dr. Land became an escapist firm when it continued to develop wonderfully innovative products, but forgot about the marketplace.
  • Decoupling trajectory converts Salesmen with superior market skills and prominent brand names into aimless, bureaucratic Drifters whose sales orientation ignores product development and produces a stale and disjointed line of "metoo" products. For years, Xerox took advantage of its patented technology to make and sell high quality copy machines. Its focus on current sales and profits allowed it to ignore innovative developments in computers at its Palo Alto Research Center.

Source:

D. Miller, The Icarus Paradox: How Exceptional Companies Bring About Their Own Downfall (New York: Harper Business).

Read The Icarus Paradox: Trajectories of Decline and address the following questions. How can a corporation keep from sliding into the Decline stage of the organizational life cycle? Based on current research, provide an example of a corporation that may be experiencing the Icarus Paradox. Please be sure to explain why.

BA490 Week 8 The Changing Role of Managers

Before writing, think about some of the key attributing variables that are causing managers roles to change?  Could the factors of change be related to: new technology, new workers in the work force, or team environments and remote teams?  Think about what management framework you would use to keep pace of the changing roles of managers.

Here's a model to help you think through this:

Management framework includes the following key components: core values (usually 3 to 4 values) and Basic principles (usually 3 to 4 principles).

A Framework Example includes:

·         Core values: continuous improvement, continuous learning (add a few more)

·         Basic principles: take the initiative, lead by example (add a few more)

Now, in your discussion question address the following questions:

·         What are some of the key attributing variables that are causing a managers role to change?

·         Could the factors of change be related to: New technology, new workers in the work force, Team environment and remote teams? 

·         What management framework would you use to keep pace of the changing role?  Please be sure to explain why.

BA 490: Business Policy & Strategy