should Ecco continue to be a vertically integrated company?

      

•  Th e paper should provide  a brief   analysis of the industry in which the company  is working similar to those we have completed in class   and that you did for your  midterm papers . For example, it should include  a brief history of the industry ,  competitors,  Porter ’ s  forces analysis,  sources of profitability,  future  trends , etc.   

  

•  The  bulk of the paper   should include  an analysis   of   the company,   or a particular  division or group in the company,  its  markets, product and/or service offerings,  business model, etc.  simila r to those we have developed in class.   

  

•  Follow ing the outline of the course, your c onsiderations should in clude detailed  strategic analyse s, strategy development, and implementation considerations.   

   

•  The core of the paper should analyze the key  strategic and  economic tradeoffs   among the various options you have identified AND  make a strong case for one  of those options   as a solution   

   

o  T his is similar to the structure of  many   of our  class discussions .   

  

o  Be sure to include potential limitations of your recommendatio n.    

  

o  Be sure recommendations are realistic,  especially from a financial  standpoint .   

  

•  Please do not feel compelled to apply as many course f rameworks as possible .  Aim for  depth not breadth .   

   

•  Please be sure to include   a proper bibliography acknowledging your  references  and all sources.   Use footnotes  or endnotes  as appropriate where you refer to  specific data or quotes.   

   

o  Sources should be established, reputable, and credible   business - related  publications   (e.g.,  New York Times, Wall Street Journal,  Financial Time s,  Bloomberg, Business Week, Economist,  Forbes, Fortune,  etc.).   They can  also be specific to an industry as long as they are credible in that industry  (e.g., TechCrunch).   

  

o  Sources  may include books and personal interviews as appropriate.   

  

  

Format:   

  

The final  paper should be 5 - 8 pages, single - spaced, with 12 - point font and 1 - inch  margin s , and up to 5 pages of supporting data/exhibits   (either within the paper or at the  end) .   Overall , aim for brevity and conciseness in your writing. The paper   should  includ e a short (half a page at most) executive summary  on the first page .    

   

•  B e sure to include your name, date, and course information on the paper   and in  the filename .   

  

•  Please use page numbers.   

  

•  The paper should adhere to professional standards of English  business writing.