COMPANY ANALYSIS PROJECT
Overview
This project will give students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in this and previous
courses to the analysis and evaluation of an organization of their choice. Students will select an
organization facing a current or impending strategic challenge. This challenge must be a situation that
upper management will have an opportunity to act upon. Keep in mind, this project must address a
major strategic issue, but this does not necessarily mean the organization is currently ‘in trouble’. Please
utilize the ‘Company Analysis Project Selections’ discussion under the ‘Course Home’ module to
identify your organization and give a brief overview of the issue you will be addressing. Be sure that the
issue you are addressing is a strategic issue based on the discussion in class. The instructor will provide
feedback and guidance on the issues identified in the threaded discussion if submitted by the deadline
listed in the discussion. In general, larger, publicly traded companies are ‘easier’ for this assignment as
more information and financial data is available, but any company that has not been chosen by another
student is an option as long as an appropriate strategic issue is identified.
Written Component
The written component should be at least 10 pages in length (not including Table of Contents, Executive
Summary, and appendices), double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt font, 1” margins. The written
component should include all of the following:
Table of Contents and Executive Summary – Give a brief overview of the most
important points from the project. Include a prognosis for the organization’s future. (10
points possible)
Background of the Company – Give a brief background of the company including
relevant history. This should also include the structure and mission of the organization. (5)
Company Research – Information about the company including, but not limited to, the
following should be provided: (40)
A. Value-added activities and value chain analysis
B. Customer profile
C. Competitive situation (include competitor analysis, market info, etc.)
D. External Analysis (environmental and economic factors, Five Forces, Market Life-
Cycle, opportunities/threats)
E. Internal Analysis (competitive advantage, strengths/weaknesses)
F. Analysis of current financial situation (financial ratios, graphs/charts displaying the
current situation, opinion on the organization’s financial health)
Situation Analysis – Give an in-depth analysis of the strategic issue you believe the
company is facing. What is the issue? How did this situation develop? What response has
the company had so far? (15)
Alternatives – Provide at least three strategic alternatives the company could use to
successfully navigate the situation in question based on the previous sections of the paper
and pros/cons of each. These must impact the entire organization, be a long-term
commitment, and be mutually exclusive. (15)
Recommendations – Recommend which alternative should be pursued. This should
include reasons based on previous portions of the paper or information from previous
courses. Make sure this section stays consistent with prior sections and explains why the
one you chose is better than the other two. (10)
Implementation – Provide a plan for effective implementation of the recommended
alternative. This should include potential obstacles and how to overcome them. What
changes will be required in the organization? What resources will be needed and how will
these be allocated? How will success or failure be measured? (15)
Contingency – How should the company respond to potential issues that could arise or if
conditions change before the recommendations can be implemented? Utilize the process
discussed in class. (10)
Additional Information (Points will be deducted if not effectively addressed):
At least five outside sources in addition to company websites must be used (do not use
Wikipedia). All sources must be appropriately cited in the paper. You should include
both in-text citations and a bibliography at the end of your paper. Please use APA
format for your citations. Failure to do so will result in a larger deduction of points or
a case of academic dishonesty being filed. The paper should be well-organized and
include a table of contents. All information should flow and not have obvious distinctions
between sections. However, each section should have a heading. These can follow the
outline above and sub-headings should be included. Do not take an entire section of your
paper from a single source. For example, do not find a source that provides a Five Forces
analysis then and use that information for your entire Five Forces analysis. The paper can be
longer than 10 pages if all of the information contributes to the analysis. However, don’t use
space on filler such as definitions or lists prior to discussing topics; if the terms are applied
correctly to the company being analyzed, definitions are not necessary. Proper grammar,
punctuation, etc. should be used.
The project will be graded on content, application of terms as utilized in class, depth of
research, viability of alternatives, use of logical reasons for decision-making, and
appropriate use of written language. The point values for each section are noted above and
should be used to determine the relative length across sections. Keep in mind that none of
the topics can be addressed effectively with only five or six sentences. Please start working
on this project ASAP, as no extensions will be considered for any reason.
