swot

MKT 322 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric

Overview The final project for this course is a paper that will provide a detailed situational analysis of an international or global retail company. The project is comprised of a topic proposal, rough draft, the final paper, and participation in the final project discussion topic.

Main Elements To complete your project, you will chose a multinational retailer from the list below and write a situational analysis on the international retail operations of the company. A situational analysis is part of a marketing plan and includes information about the company, competitors, and collaborators. As part of the assignment, you will also complete SWOT and PEST analyses on the company you choose to focus on.

Choose one of the following companies for your term-long project: Wal-Mart, Tesco, Audi, Brooks Brothers, Dunkin’ Donuts, Versace, H&M, Zara, Carrefour, or McDonald’s.

The final paper should include the following elements:

 Company overview: This overview should including information about the objectives or goals of the company’s international retail division, a description of the product lines sold through the international retail division, and a description of how the company is performing overall and in the international retail division. It should also include the SWOT analysis completed in Milestone One.

 Competitive analysis: In this section, review one or two of the company’s closest competitors in the international retail division and create an assessment of how your company compares to these competitors when it comes to product lines, distribution channels, pricing strategies, and marketing approaches.

 Collaborator analysis: In this section, look at the third-party vendors or partners the company uses. These could include raw materials suppliers or inventory distributors. Describe the types of collaborators the company uses and identify potential challenges the company may encounter when working with international collaborators.

 PEST analysis: In this section, discuss the international retail environment as it pertains to your company. This should include information on the political and regulatory environment, the economic environment, the social/cultural environment, and the technological environment.

 Recommendations: Based on the situational analysis completed, make three to five marketing recommendations that your company should take under consideration in order to best meet the company’s objectives or goals identified in the company overview section.

Milestone One: Topic Proposal

Format

Your topic proposal should include a brief overview of the company chosen and specific insights into its international retail business. It should include a detailed SWOT analysis of your company, including the company’s strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities.

Milestone Two: Rough Draft of Final Paper

Milestone Three: Final Paper This should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the main elements of the final project. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This milestone will be graded using the Final Product Rubric.

Milestone Four: Final Project Discussion Topic Presentation Share your final project in the discussion topic, following the same participation rules as all discussion topics, and give students meaningful feedback on their presentations. Please refer to the project description and scoring guide to review the guidelines for this part of your Final Project.

Deliverable Milestones

Milestone Deliverables Module Due Grading

1 Topic Proposal Three Graded separately; Final Project Rubric

2 Rough Draft of Final Paper Five Graded separately; Final Project Rubric

3 Final Draft of Final Paper Seven Graded separately; Final Project Rubric

4 Discussion Topic Presentation Eight Graded separately; Discussion Topic Rubric

Rubric Guidelines for Submission: Submit assignment as a Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins.

Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value

Main Elements Includes almost all of the main elements and requirements and cites multiple examples to illustrate each element

Includes most of the main elements and requirements and cites many examples to illustrate each element

Includes some of the main elements and requirements

Does not include any of the main elements and requirements

25

Inquiry and Analysis Explores multiple issues through extensive collection and in-depth analysis of evidence to make informed conclusions

Explores some issues through collection and in-depth analysis of evidence to make informed conclusions

Explores minimal issues through collection and analysis of evidence to make informed conclusions

Does not explore issues through collection and analysis of evidence and does not make informed conclusions

20

Integration and Application

All of the course concepts are correctly applied

Most of the course concepts are correctly applied

Some of the course concepts are correctly applied

Does not correctly apply any of the course concepts

10

Critical Thinking Demonstrates comprehensive exploration of issues and ideas before accepting or forming an opinion or conclusion

Demonstrates moderate exploration of issues and ideas before accepting or forming an opinion or conclusion

Demonstrates minimal exploration of issues and ideas before accepting or forming an opinion or conclusion

Does not demonstrate exploration of issues and ideas before accepting or forming an opinion or conclusion

20

Research Incorporates many scholarly resources effectively that reflect depth and breadth of research

Incorporates some scholarly resources effectively that reflect depth and breadth of research

Incorporates very few scholarly resources that reflect depth and breadth of research

Does not incorporate scholarly resources that reflect depth and breadth of research

15

Writing (Mechanics/Citations)

No errors related to organization, grammar and style, and citations

Minor errors related to organization, grammar and style, and citations

Some errors related to organization, grammar and style, and citations

Major errors related to organization, grammar and style, and citations

10

Total 100%