analyze a company (Alibaba)

Group project (30%)

Group Project (30%) The group project asks you to analyze an industry and how a company competes in that industry. The objective of the group project is to help you prepare for your career upon graduation and job interviews. It can be an industry you want to learn more about and/or a company you want to work for. The more you put into the process, the more rewarding the experience will be for you. Form a group of 3 students and decide what industry and company you want to study for the group project. I advise you to get started on this assignment as early as you can. Email me your industry/company choice as soon as you can, so no other group will duplicate the same effort for our collective learning. The deliverable takes the form of answering the following three questions, by applying the frameworks/tools learned from this course. 1. Apply the five forces model to the industry in which your company is based. What does this model tell you about the nature of competition in the industry? 2. Identify whether your company has a competitive advantage or disadvantage in its primary industry. 3. What strategies has your company used to manage entry and manage rivalry in the industry. In addition, you will develop a Final PowerPoint Presentation that will address the key points of both industry-level and firm-level analyses. This presentation will be done at the level of which it would be presented to key people in the decision-making process. The final paper should not exceed 20 pages except appendices and references. Penalty points will be assigned to the project for late submissions. Inadequate or poorly prepared submissions will be considered a failure of submission. Remember, while the project is industry analysis, it is still a formal document that should demonstrate your seriousness. All groups are required to run a draft by the CBPA Writing Center.

Tips for Write-Up:

Your primary deliverable for the project is a professional-quality industry analysis reports. The content of your report should contain the elements presented in this ‘assignment’. Personalization and customization of your report is generally applicable. Tables should be formatted as follows: Arrange the data so that columns of like material read down, not across. The headings should be sufficiently clear so that the meaning of the data is understandable without reference to the text. Tables should have titles and sufficient detail in a legend immediately following the title to be understandable without reference to the text. Each column in a table must have a heading, abbreviations, and when necessary, should be defined in the legend or footnote. Note that a straight Excel file or screen capture is not an acceptable format. Excel files should be converted to a Word document. Images or graphics must be included as figures in an acceptable format.

FORMAT FOR ALL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS Written assignments will be evaluated on content, analysis, clarity of expression, and your writing and grammar. Success in a professional career is truly impacted by your ability to clearly and professionally communicate your ideas and relevant information, whether it is to employers, executives, investors, customers, suppliers, or employees. All assignments are to be the students’ original work. All written assignments will use the following format and are to be posted in Blackboard. Must be a WORD document. • Always include assignment or project title, name of students, and the date of submission. • Always use headings and sub-headings when appropriate. • Always include a title page. • Always include a table of contents. • Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper and bring to the class session in which the assignment is due. • Single-space the text of your paper, and use Times New Roman. The font size should be 12 pt. • Leave two spaces after periods or other punctuation marks. • Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides. • Do not indent the first line of paragraphs. • Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, ½- inch from the top and flush with the right margin. • Always cite your resources in text and on a reference page at the end of your paper.