final report

Final Report – StarTech.com

Prepared by Prof. Dawn Rovers

Last Revised March 21, 2018

 

A. Overview :

This report allows students to go beyond the Case and delve into the company in greater depth to explore areas and opportunities for CRM.

· This report will be completed in groups of 4 or less. No more than 4.

· This report is graded out of 100 and is worth 20% of your final grade.

· You must use CRM theory throughout this entire report. Failure to demonstrate understanding of CRM theory could result in a mark of zero for the whole report.

· This report will be based on Case #4 CRM at StarTech.com, the Client briefing held April 17th, your CRM textbook (Williams), and any additional research the teams feel is warranted.

You will apply the concepts learned to assess Startech.com’s current position with their CRM integration plan and make some relevant moving forward recommendations. Please consider all learning in this course and demonstrate concepts as they apply. This report is based on the case methodology as practiced in the 4 cases evaluated throughout this semester. However, this final report focuses much more heavily on recommendations and implementation tactics. The creation of cCRM based recommendations for better CRM integration and/or better customer experience management will be rewarded.

Your final submission Formatting requirements:

1. Approximately 6 pages

2. References, including those form your textbook, should be correctly cited using APA citation including in-text citations. Failure to use citations is considered Plagiarism and will be punished under college policies. You should quote the client from the client briefing. You should never quote the case directly or make statements such as, “in the case…”. Finally, your professor or your Professor PPT is not a credible source. Do not quote me! Find the original source, very likely from your textbook.

3. 11 pt. Times Roman (or equivalent) font

4. Must include cover sheet with name of group members, professor’s name and date

B. Timeline:

a. Case 4 worksheet, discussion and critique Week 12

b. Client Briefing Tuesday, April 17th from 4:00 to 5:00 pm in D1060

c. Week 13 and 14 classes are dedicated to the completion of this report

d. The Group Final Report is due Wednesday, April 25th before midnight

C. The Question:

If you were in the position of CRM consultant to StarTech.com, what would your analysis be of their current situation be, what would you recommend they do to continue to work toward their Client Centric goals, and why? Your report will be loosely based on case analysis methodology with the evaluation as follows.

D. Evaluation:

Statement of Issues _________/ 15 points

· Broad corporate perspective of issues

· States level of urgency/importance of the issues

· Which strategic problem/challenge do you recommend they address next (should relate to one or more areas of CRM theory)

· Conclude: relate the problem/challenge to its key cause & the likely effect on organization if not addressed

Analysis __________/ 20 points

This section forms the ‘meat’ of your analysis of the case and should be a methodical and logical progression presenting data to support the argument you are building. Note that this section should be much expanded from your Case 4 worksheet as you will have had the benefit of the client briefing, which will provide you with further insights.

The bulk of your referencing should occur in this section. Although you may choose to do further research, the only required source of research for this case is your CRM course textbook and the client meeting. If you refer to any of the charts and graphs from case #4, these should be copied and pasted from the actual case into your report, labeled as Appendices, and cited correctly using APA citation.

The Analysis section follows the same format as we have used in our weekly case discussion, except that you also need to include an introduction and conclusion for this entire section.

· Introduction to Analysis

· Relevant CRM Theory – discussion justification of why important

· Internal Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses and Constraints

· External Analysis: Opportunities and Threats

· Analysis Conclusions

NOTE: The discussion of CRM theory is not restricted to this one point in this one section. You must use CRM theory throughout this entire report. Failure to demonstrate understanding of CRM theory could result in a mark of zero for the whole report.

A strong analysis is a must and if not done effectively, will negatively impact your marks in the recommendations sections. The recommendations (which come next) must be solidly based on the conclusions you draw in this section. The conclusions must be drawn from the facts, which means you will PROVE your position. In this section, you will make significant inferences from the case & client briefing. Also, our textbook is your best resource. You MUST cite any concepts you use. Make sure you support your argument and that you draw conclusions for the information you present. Anything you use from outside of the case MUST be cited and citations are critical, including in-text!

You sum this entire Analysis section up with a powerful concluding paragraph which summarizes the most critical observations you have made throughout the environmental analysis. The reader should clearly see the company’s key issues, how they impact the company’s future, and how they relate to CRM theory. This conclusion opens the reader’s mind to consider your recommendations to follow.

Recommendation(s) _____/ 20 points

· State your overall strategic recommendation(s). A good way to ensure you are proposing a strategic direction would be to go back to our cCRM models

· Explain how your recommendation will help this company solve the overall corporate challenge you posed above

· Provide reasoning for your selection

· Explain which areas in the cCRM Framework your recommendation addressed and why? Which areas are not addressed in your recommendations and why?

Implementation Plan _____/ 40 points

Your implementation Plan answers What? Why? Where? How? This section is all about the specific step by step tactics supporting your overall recommendation. They are all based on your assessment of the situation and they should all address the main problem/challenge you identified above. Make sure you have a comprehensive set of actionable tactics as follows:

1) Detailed Implementation Plan (35 marks)

a. Describes specific CRM projects, campaigns and/or workflows (at least 2)

b. specific, actionable tactics with a timeline attached to each

c. Includes plans for people, processes and software

d. Reflects CRM Theory

e. Relates all activities back to cCRM Framework

2) Conclusion of Implementation Plan (5 Marks)

a. Solves the problem (above)

b. Aligns with company’s culture or identifies changes to company’s culture

c. Is supported with solid CRM theories

Concluding Comments _____/ 5 points

· Summarizes major issues/problems

· Summarizes recommendation

· Is supported by CRM theory

· Reasoning for acting (i.e. Positive ‘Call To Action’ )

Format and Structure _____/ Marks Deducted

· Use of subheads, margins, fonts, spacing etc (up to 10 marks deducted)

· Cover sheet includes name of case, group (up to 5 marks deducted)

members, date and Professor’s name.

· Proper grammar and spelling (up to 15 marks deducted)

TOTAL POINTS EARNED _____/ 100 points