At least 6 page paper of company analysis related business strategy of Apple and its iPhone
COMPANY ANALYSIS (6 pages per person):
• Sources of competitive advantage (or disadvantage) for your company: what are the key cost and value drivers? Which resources and capabilities are most important, and what are the links among them?
• Financial performance: Take a close look at the company’s balance sheets and income statements over the past five years, and make at least two graphs or charts highlighting either key strengths or crucial challenges.
• Company-specific topics: Choose the two most important topics for your company from the list below, and explain in detail how these areas determine performance.
· Strategic planning and execution, and corporate governance at your company: discuss the organizational structure, corporate culture, board of directors, etc.
· Boundaries of the firm: discuss vertical integration and partnering, either in terms of past decisions or future opportunities.
· Scope of the firm: discuss new business development and the management of multi-business firms if your company operates in multiple industries.
· Global Strategy: does the firm take advantage of suppliers or customers outside of its home country? What are the key challenges and benefits of doing so?
• Strategic recommendation for your company: A good recommendation (i.e., one that follows from your analysis) is essential for a good grade on the project. The strategic recommendation should be large enough to have a material impact on the company. Be sure to include an estimate of size of the resulting benefit(s).
Suggestions
Some helpful hints for the written paper:
• Use multiple analytical techniques and frameworks taught in this course. Try to demonstrate broad-based knowledge of the topics of competitive strategy.
• You are not writing a case. A case lays out the company’s problem, and leaves the solution for the class discussion. In this project, you should lay out the problem and provide a solution.
• Be sure to footnote or otherwise cite the source of all factual information. In general, all numbers in the text and the exhibits should be accompanied by the name of their source.
• Numerical analysis is usually a good idea. Please be sure that the analysis has something interesting to say (for example, simply calculating a one-year growth rate in sales or a reporting numbers from a single income statement is not particularly interesting).
• Please be sure to include dollar signs, percent signs, etc. Numbers should have identifying information attached, including the type of information (e.g., sales, income, assets), the year of the information; and the company to which this information applies.
Company Analysis Draft Rubric