Strategic Management Real-Time Case Review Project
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CapstoneIndividualProjectMGT401_Spring2018.pdf
INDIVIDUAL PROJECT
Capstone Strategic Management Real-Time Case Review Project
Individual Effort
Instructions:
1) The final project should be typed in Microsoft Word
2) The final project should be submitted no later than on May 3rd 2018, by 6pm
3) The final project should be submitted via Blackboard not via email
4) The final project should be single spaced
5) The final project should clearly state at least 7 sources that have been used
for your research
6) The final project should be organized by the sections listed below
7) The content of the final project should be original individual thoughts
leveraging the theory from the text book (not copying verbatim from the
book) and applying it to the diagnostic of your organization. Your analysis
should be both descriptive and prescriptive. The analysis should contain
financial data where applicable and latest trends in your organization and
its industry
8) The final project can contain as many pages as you feel necessary to show
your strategic perspective
1. Strategic
Management
Framework
1. What is the name of your selected organization? What is the
one thing that interested you most about this organization?
2. What is the mission and vision of the organization you
selected? How has these impacted the organization’s
strategic path to success? Please explain in detail.
3. Describe the Strategic Management Process in your
organization. Please provide detailed examples.
4. Define strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in
your selected organization. How do strengths become
sources of sustainable competitive advantage?
5. Do you suppose that the Broad Environment or the Task
Environment has more influence on the organization you
selected? Please explain.
6. What are the characteristics of strategic thinking and how
does it apply to you personally?
7. How does Strategic Thinking apply to your organization?
Explain in detail and provide examples.
8. What does it mean to “manage for stakeholders and value
creation” in your organization? Please provide detailed
examples.
9. Describe the 5 categories of resources that your
organization possess that may lead it to a sustainable
competitive advantage? Provide examples from your
organization.
2. External
Environment
Assessment
1. Why is analysis of social trends important to your
organization? Please provide examples from the
organization you selected.
2. What are some of the most critical economic factors for your
organization to track? Why are they important? Provide
some financial statistics where applicable.
3. Which industries have been transformed by the Internet
including social and mobile technologies? How is your
organization taking advantage of these technological
trends?
4. When do customers exhibit a powerful force on competition
in your industry and how does this relate to your
organization?
5. How is your organization taking advantage of technological
trends such as social media, big data, cloud, AI, AR and etc?
6. According to Michael Porter, what are the conditions that
create advantages for your selected organization? Please
provide details.
7. What are strategic groups? Are there strategic groups in
your selected organization? Please gives examples.
3. Internal
(Organizational)
Environment
Assessment
1. In your organization, what are the basic categories of
organizational resources and capabilities and how are they
interconnected? What is likely to happen if your organization
neglects one of the resource areas?
2. Provide examples of tangible and intangible resource in your
organization? Which of these types of resources is most
likely to lead to competitive advantage? Why?
3. If your organization is involved in multiple countries, how is
organizational learning affected?
4. How can the value chain analysis be used to help your
organization develop competitive advantages?
5. Which performance measure does your organization utilize
to evaluate and communicate success? Please provide
details from the following perspectives: Employees,
Customers, Suppliers, Shareholders and Community
4. Organizational
Strategic
Leadership and
Direction
Assessment
1. Who is the CEO of your organization and what are the four
primary leadership responsibilities of that role?
2. What is your biggest take away from the CEO of your
organization?
3. What can the CEO of your organization learn from Daniel
Goleman’s conclusions on emotional intelligence?
4. Is there a difference between a leader and a manager? Does
a CEO of your organization need to be a leader, a manager,
or both?
5. How does corporate governance look in your organization?
What are the functions of a board of directors?
6. What are some of the advantages of having a homogeneous
top management team? Which one applies to your
organization? Please explain.
7. What is meant by “business with integrity” and does your
organization have it?
8. Which leader would you like to emulate and explain why this
leader inspired you – it could be anyone.
9. Is it possible to teach someone to be an effective leader?
10. Why is society more interested in business ethics today?
Does your organization have codes of ethics? Please give
examples.
11. Does your organization have a corporate values statement,
is it a “better” organization? If so, why? If not, then why do
it?
12. What are the four areas of a business definition? Why is it
important to periodically review your organization’s
business definition? Please provide examples from your
organization.
13. How can understanding a firm’s business definition be
helpful to managers and employees in your selected
organization?
14. Discuss the components of social responsibility in your
organization. Why would you expect a trustworthy firm to
have higher profits over the long term? Please explain.
5.Strategic
Formulation:
Business Level
Strategies
1. Does your organization pursue a differentiation strategy or a
cost leadership strategy? Please explain.
2. Describe your organization’s business model?
3. What is a cost leadership strategy? How does your
organization pursue it? What are some of the risks
associated with this strategy?
4. Is strategic flexibility tactic pursued in your organization?
Please explain.
5. When does a global approach to an international
product/market strategy make the most sense? How does
this apply to your organization?
6.Strategic
Formulation:
Corporate Level
Strategies
1. Discuss your organization’s corporate-level strategy and
business-level strategy formulation responsibilities.
2. Why might your organization choose to diversify? Please
give examples of diversification in your organization.
3. What are the requirements for achieving synergy through
the combination of businesses in your organization?
4. In your organization, which factors have been found to lead
to unsuccessful mergers and acquisitions? Which factors are
related to success? Provide examples.
7.Strategy
Implementation
1. What are the characteristics of a well-developed functional
strategy in your organization?
2. Conduct a Functional Strategy Audit for your selected
organization by applying at least 3 variables from each function
– Marketing, Operations, R&D/Tech, Human Resources,
Financial and Information Systems to your organization
3. How are marketing strategies affected by your organization’s
business-level strategy?
4. What is a matrix structure? When should it be used? How
does it apply to your organization?
5. Describe the three roles played by foreign subsidiaries in
your organization?
6. What are some of the features found in your organization
that have high levels of innovation and entrepreneurship?
Provide Examples.
8.Strategic
Restructuring
1. What is a strategic control system? What is the difference
between feedforward and feedback controls? Provide
examples from your organization.
2. What is restructuring? Why would your selected
organization restructure? What are some of the common
restructuring techniques?
3. Some management scholars argue that major restructuring
efforts are an indication of management’s failure to correctly
employ strategic control systems and to effectively manage
the organization. What do you think as it relates to your
organization
4. What is a divestiture? Describe the two common types of
divestitures. What types of businesses should be divested?
5. Has your organization ever divested?
6. What issues create the greatest challenges for future
managers in your organization?
Evaluation Criteria for Individual Project
Professionalism, clarity, persuasiveness, effectiveness and timeliness
Depth and breadth of analysis that includes reasoning, research, evidence
to support your original assertions that should be descriptive, prescriptive,
insightful and forward looking
Leveraging business sources and recent trends for your research and
analysis – all sources must be cited
Clear and comprehensive application of Strategic Management concepts
Creativity, innovation and enthusiasm
Critical thinking and problem solving
Comparison of your deliverables and delivery to other executives in your
classroom
