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Step 1: Choose an Organization

The first step is to choose an organization. Choose from the list of organizations provided and note your choice in the Project 3: Choice of Organization discussion area.

As promised, Gustavo sends you a brief follow-up email:

INBOX: 1 New Message

Subject:  Targeting an 8-10% annual revenue increase for our client To:           You From:      Gustavo da Silva, Senior VP

Hi,

Thanks for taking on this task for me on such short notice. Here are the details:

This project will have two parts: an organization profile and an industry analysis.

Your first task is to conduct a thorough analysis of our client organization’s resources and capabilities, including a Porter’s value chain analysis. The organization profile you prepare needs to address their existing strategy, people, skill sets, and what they can do to increase their market share and profitability. We know they may not be able to make that 8 percent target domestically, so we need to advise them to set up shop overseas and tap into foreign customers. The activities you decide to establish outside the client organization’s home base will be derived from your analysis of the organization’s value chain. Keep in mind that cost reduction is important. We'll also need an evaluation of the organization’s capabilities, and an analysis of their current competitors, and their capabilities.

The next part of this project is to conduct an analysis of the industry in which our client organization operates. This includes analyzing current trends such as social, economic, technological, and demographic changes, regulatory requirements, etc.

We have promised to submit your report to our client’s CEO, Rasheed Ali, in two weeks.

Best,

Gus

With these requirements in mind, develop an organization profile of six to seven pages in length. The profile you develop should incorporate the components described here and in Steps 2–4.

The selection of the client organization will be approved on a first-come-first-served basis. Your instructor will approve your choice and post it in the table in the Project 3: Choice of Organization discussion area.

After you have chosen an organization, continue to the next step, where you will research your organization’s background as part of your organization profile.

Step 2: Examine Your Client Organization’s Background

Now that you have chosen a client organization, you need to create an organization profile. As you begin to develop your organization profile, the first step is to gather information about your organization's background. Do some research on your organization's website and using the UMUC library. Write up the background information using the following guidelines:

· Introduce the organization. What business is it in? For help, see Finding Company Information.

· Describe the organization’s recent financial performance. Consult Finding a Company's Annual Report for help.

· State where the organization is located and identify its major customers.

· Provide a brief history of the organization.

· State the size of the organization in terms of employees and revenues.

· Describe the organizational structure and identify major roles or functions of key individuals in the organization. For help, read Finding a Company's Leadership Information.

When you have provided the organizational background, continue to the next step, where you will determine a strategy and competitive position for the organization.

Step 3: Analyze the Strategy and Competitive Position of the Organization

The next step in developing your organization profile is to determine the strategy and competitive position for your organization. Include your findings from the following actions in your profile:

· Perform a detailed assessment of your organization's current business strategy and recommend specific actions for gaining and sustaining superior performance in relation to your organization's competitors.

· Locate and review your organization’s mission, vision, and core values. Apply what you have read to aid your evaluation of the strategic intent of your organization.

· Identify the competitive advantage of your organization. From your analysis of your organization’s competitive advantage, what is the biggest strategic challenge facing your organization?

· Determine the strengths and weaknesses of your organization. In addition, determine the core competencies your organization can build on to create competitive advantage.

· Identify the key organization processes. Use Porter's value chain model to guide your analysis. Draw a diagram of your organization’s value chain. Identify the key processes used. Where does your organization add value as a way of gaining a competitive edge? Only include those processes that are critical to gaining a competitive edge.

· Provide a summary of the core competencies, corporate structure, current leadership of the organization, and its operations.

When you have completed your strategy and competitive position assessment, continue to the next step, where you will examine your client’s financial performance.

STEP 4

In the final step of completing your organization profile, briefly summarize the organization's financials over the past three years. For guidance on finding this information, see Business Research: Finding a Company's Financial Information. (Financial data and tables can be attached in an appendix. Appendices do not count toward the six to seven pages that you are limited to for this profile.)

Submit your organization profile (Steps 1–4) in the dropbox located in the final step of this project for feedback. This profile will be used to write your final Project 3 report. Use the feedback you receive to improve the final graded deliverable. In the next step, you will begin an industry analysis.

Step 5: Analyze Trends in Your Client’s Industry

Understanding your client organization's industry is essential to making useful strategy recommendations to Gustavo. You will develop a six- to seven-page analysis of the industry in which the organization belongs. Your industry analysis should incorporate the components described here and in Step 6.

You should appreciate that whatever happens in the industry will influence your client. Who are the competitors? Is it easy to start a business in this industry? Are there significant entry barriers? What are the dominant characteristics and current trends in your client’s industry?

Discuss industry size in terms of the number of companies, total employment, capital investment, major customers, and annual revenues. What are the driving forces of change in the industry, (e.g., innovation, technology, and buyer preferences and lifestyles)? State how organizations compete within the industry and identify the critical success factors in this industry.

When you have addressed the trends in your industry, continue to the next step, where you will apply Porter’s competitive forces model to analyze the industry.

Step 6: Apply Porter’s Five Forces Model

Complete your industry analysis by reviewing and applying Porter’s five forces model to your analysis. Tailor the Porter model to the industry and integrate the complete figure of the model within the narrative of the Project 3 report. What is the competitive structure of the industry? Describe the following:

· entry barriers—How difficult is it to enter this industry? Are there several players competing for profitability? Are there significant threats of new entrants?

· intensity of rivalry—Identify your client organization's top three competitors. Discuss industry rivalry. Is competition intense?

· bargaining power of buyers—Who are the buyers in this industry? What kind of influence do buyers have on the competitors in the industry? Globalization makes it easier for buyers to source products worldwide. Is this the case in this industry?

· bargaining power of suppliers—Provide a profile of the suppliers. Suppliers with significant industry influence can play a major role in the marketplace. For instance, DeBeers, the world's leading supplier of diamonds, has enormous bargaining power in the diamond industry.

· threat of substitutes—Carefully distinguish between similar products in the same industry. A substitute product for eye glasses would be contact lenses. Train travel is a substitute for travelling by car.

In the next step, you will combine your organization profile and industry analysis into a final Project 3 report.

Step 7: Complete Your Final Report

INBOX: 1 New Message

Subject:  Final Report on Organizational Profile and Industry Analysis

From:      Gustavo da Silva

To:           You

Hello,

I’m overseas again this week and I wanted check in to be sure you had everything you need for the final report. Your final report should include the components outlined in the Project 3 Report template.