Instructions
Step 1 Specific Company for All Four Projects
The company that your instructor has assigned to you for Project 1 is the company you will use for this project. The assigned company must be used for this project and in subsequent projects in the course. Students must complete the project using the assigned company. Deviating from the assigned company will result in a zero for the project.
After reading the course material, you will complete the steps below.
Step 2 Course Materials and Research
You must research information about the specific company and the internal environment for this project. You are accountable for using the course materials to support the ideas, reasoning, and conclusions made. Course material’s use goes beyond defining terms and explains the ‘why and how’ of a situation. Using one or two in-text citations from the course materials and then relying on Internet source material will not earn many points on the assignment. A variety of source material is expected, and what is presented must be relevant and applicable to the topic being discussed. Avoid merely making statements but close the loop of the discussion by explaining how something happens or why something happens, which focuses on importance and impact. In closing the loop, you will demonstrate the ability to think clearly and rationally, showing an understanding of the logical connections between the ideas presented from the research, the course material, and the question(s) being asked.
Note: Your report is based on the research results and not on any prepared documentation. What this means is that you will research and draw your own conclusions that are supported by the research and the course material rather than the use of any source material that puts together any of the tools or techniques whether from the Internet, for-pay websites, or any pre-prepared document, video or source material. A zero will be earned for not doing your own analysis.
Success: The analysis is based on research and not opinion. You are not making recommendations, and you will not attempt to position the specific company in a better or worse light than other companies within the industry merely because you are completing an analysis on this particular company. The analysis must be based on factual information. Any conclusions drawn have to be based on factual information rather than leaps of faith. As stated above, you are expected to use the course materials and research on the specific company’s global industry and the specific company to ensure success. The opinion does not earn credit, nor does the use of external sources when course materials can be used. It is necessary to provide explanations (the why and how) rather than making statements. Avoid stringing one citation after another, as doing so does not show detailed explanations.
Library Resources (Company Required)
All the information needed for your assigned company must be obtained from one of the library’s suggested online company research databases. To use these resources, go to the main navigation bar in the classroom, select Academic Support, and then select Libary. Next, select Databases by Title (A-Z). Since your primary online company research database is Statista, select S from the alphabet list, and scroll down to select Statista Online.
Dun and Bradstreet’s Hoovers Database, among others listed using the link directory below, is another excellent source of company research, competitor and industry information.
You can find relavant and significant additional information required for company project research by using https://libguides.umgc.edu/business-research.
Additional Library Resources
Research for Company Financial Ratios: Financial Research.
Research for Industry Financial Ratios: CSI Market.
Use “OneSearch” to find scholarly articles by clicking Library under Academic Support on the classroom main menu bar and checkmark “Scholarly Journals Only” prior to starting a search.
Library Support Personal Assistance
Extensive library resources and services are available online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week at https://www.umgc.edu/library/index.cfm to support you in your studies. In addition, the UMGC Library provides research assistance in creating search strategies, selecting relevant databases, and evaluating and citing resources in various formats via its “Ask a Librarian” service at https://www.umgc.edu/library/libask/index.cfm.
Step 3 How to Set Up the Report
The document has to be written in Word or RTF. No other format is acceptable. No pdf files will be graded. Use 12-point font for a double-spaced report. The final product is expected to be 10 – 12 pages. The final project may not be more than 12 pages in length, including all tables and matrices, but excluding the title page and reference page. Do no use an Appendix.
Those items identified in the technical analysis should appear under the appropriate heading in the paper. It is important to format the tables/matrices to fit the report and present the analysis clearly and concisely.
Create a title page with the title, your name, date, the course number, the instructor’s name.
Create Topic Headings that correspond to exact sections of the project requirements.
Step 4 Strategic Role of Corporate Strengths/Weaknesses in the Internal Strategy Analysis
There are three levels of strategy: corporate-level strategy, business-level strategy, and functional-level strategy. Corporate-level strategies are related to businesses or markets the specific company successfully can compete within. Corporate-level strategies affect the entire organization and are formulated by top management using middle and lower management input. Decision-making about corporate-level strategies is considered complex, affects the entire company, and relates to an organization’s resource capabilities. Corporate level strategies align with an organization’s mission statement and ideally are designed around goals and objectives.
Perform an analysis on:
Corporate-level strategies.
Create a partial SWOT table, perform an SW analysis, and discuss the strategic inferences/implications. Discuss what strategies would allow the company to capitalize on its major strengths and what strategies would allow the company to improve upon its major weaknesses.
Create an IFE matrix and analysis. Make sure to explain how the matrix was developed and discuss the strategic inferences and implications.
Develop a Grand Strategy Matrix. Explain how the matrix was developed and discuss the strategic inferences/implications at a corporate level and business-unit level.
Step 5 Strategic Role of Internal Resources/Departments/Processes
Perform an analysis on:
Business-level strategies
Evaluate the company’s product line, target market.
Identify and explain business-level strategies.
Functional-level strategies
Assess the company’s organizational structure, the organizational culture, marketing production, operations, finance and accounting, and R&D that can be accomplished by viewing the company’s website, interviews, and surveys.
Explain how these strategies align with the company’s vision and mission statements.
Step 6 Strategic Financial Analysis for the Last Reported Fiscal Year
Use the company’s income statement and balance sheet to calculate four (4) key financial ratios. One key ratio must come from each of the four key categories: leverage, liquidity, profitability, and efficiency. The four (4) specific ratios selection must come from the following categories.
Leverage Ratios (Long term debt ratio, Total debt ratio, Debt-to-equity ratio, Times interest earned ratio, and Cash coverage ratio)
Liquidity Ratios (Net working capital to total assets ratio, current ratio, quick ratio, and cash ratio)
Efficiency Ratios (Asset turnover ratio, average collection period, inventory turnover ratio, and Days sales outstanding)
Profitability Ratios (Net Profit Margin, Return on Assets, and Return on Equity)
The selection of the ratios has to be relevant to the specific company, so it is important to choose wisely.
Quote industry financial average ratios correlate to the four (4) financial ratios selected for the specific company. Explain the importance of the four (4) averages to compare why averages are important to use. You may find the industry averages by going to the library. If you cannot find it on your own, reach out to the librarian as these resources are readily available.
Note: If copied directly from the Internet, a zero will be assigned. When placing any table or figure in a table, it must be explained in detail.
Create a conclusion. The Conclusion is intended to emphasize the purpose/significance of the analysis, emphasize the significance/consequence of findings, and indicate the wider applications derived from the main points of the project’s requirements. Finally, you will conclude the findings of the external environment analysis.
References
Step 7 Review the Paper
Read the paper to ensure all required elements are present.
