‘real-world’ strategic report in business operating major
The group project is an opportunity to examine and address some ‘real-world’ strategic issues.
The components of the project will be based on research that you do with your group over the course of the term
Group Project Contents
Introduction (should be included in both Presentation I and Final Paper)
Begin your presentation and paper with a short summary section that identifies and briefly describes the company and summarizes its history. Include what businesses it is in if the firm is diversified. In a paper, this section should be less than a page.
External analysis (should be included in both Presentation I and Final Paper)
First, identify the important industries and/or market segments for your firm as well as the key competitors in those industries/segments.
Next, determine the attractiveness of the industry (i.e. is the profit potential in the industry high, medium or low?) by doing the full analysis of Porter’s five forces. Identify the most important one or two key forces that most critically affect the industry’s average profit potential. If your firm is in more than one industry, choose one to analyze here. You can choose to define the ‘industry’ your firm is in more broadly or narrowly, just be clear about the industry or industry segment you have chosen to analyze.
In your presentation, you’re expexted to present the full analysis of five forces. After that, conclude your analysis with what you think is/are the most important one or two key forces that influence the average profitability of the industry. You have to justify your choice.
In your paper, however, do not report the entire five forces analysis of the industry. Based on the full analysis you’ve done for the presentation, include only the most important one or two key forces with a short summary of your justification.
Finally, describe one or two key general environment changes or trends likely to affect the industry in the future, and describe how these will affect industry attractiveness overall and how they matter strategically for your company. Be as specfic as possible here (e.g., not just
“technology” – what specific events or trends and specifically how will they affect the industry broadly as well as your company more specifically). Be sure to provide reasons and evidence to support your claims.
Guidelines specific to Paper
Written strategic analyses are often prepared in business settings as part of planning or consulting projects, and are often conducted in a group. The paper assignment require you to gather, sift through, and integrate information into a coherent written analysis similar to what you would experience in a work setting. Please follow the guidelines below:
Length & format. The paper should be 3 double-spaced pages. Page limits encourage you to distill your ideas and communicate them clearly. The page limit applies to text only and doesn’t include the title page, table of contents, executive summary, and exhibits or references. Please use 11 or 12 point font with 1” margins all around and number the pages.
Style/content tips. When writing the paper imagine you have been hired to be an impartial analyst to deliver an objective assessment of the company for investors or potential acquirers.
In other words, choosing to study a company doesn’t mean you love the company or are expected to make a ‘sales pitch’ for the company. Strive for language that is clear and precise, and strive to make factual, objective statements. Use evidence from more than one source, and not just from the company website. Avoid hyperbole. It can be hard to write this way because much of what we read and hear about business in the media is a counterexample. But do your best – it will make you a more critical consumer of business information as well as a better communicator. Also, please write in sentences and paragraphs, not bullet points. It’s fine to use bullet points in the exhibits, but not in the text. I strongly recommend that one or two group members are given the authority to edit and pull the parts together, in the interests of generating a cohesive and persuasive report. Though grading will be focused on the strength of your analysis and recommendations, style will also be evaluated.
References and appendices. You can add the relevant references for your data sources just by ‘inserting’ an endnote at the appropriate spot in the text and listing the relevant reference.
Use the endnote format (rather than footnote format) so your references are all listed on one page at the end of your paper. For websites, include the URL (so I can click through to see your source) and include a brief description of what the site is and how you used it (a few words is sufficient). If you quote directly from other sources, use quotation marks and cite page numbers. If you paraphrase or use ideas from other sources, please also cite them. You may include appendices (e.g., tables, charts or figures), provided they are explained somewhere in the text. Do not include exhibits that are not integrated into the text in some way.
Data sources. You may use any sources of data as long as you are not restricted from doing so by confidentiality issues. The UB Libraries are a useful source of data. Much of what the library has is available online, although some resources are only available on-site. Business reference librarians are available for assistance.
Grading criteria. The papers will be graded along three main criteria: (1) have the required elements of the assignment been completed? (2) have the key concepts been applied correctly? and (3) are the arguments & explanations clearly expressed and convincing (e.g. coherent and well supported with evidence)
