problem statement and analysis for company

Suggested Organization of BA 301 Final Paper

(I) Executive Summary

(II) Situation Analysis

a. Company mission, vision, and values

i. What they state they are

ii. Corporate actions which reflect their values or contradict them

iii. Corporate social responsibility

b. Business strategy and alignment with the vision

c. Stakeholders

i. Key stakeholders / stakeholder groups (a brief one – two sentence discussion of various important stakeholders and what their individual stakes are – a bulleted list works well for this discussion)

d. Financial Performance & Situation

i. 3-5 years financial performance (revenues, net income, key costs, operating cash flow, etc.

ii. Current financial situation (cash availability, debt levels, any relevant balance sheet items like major changes in inventory, or receivables)

iii. Comparison of key or relevant financial performance and financial situation (income statement and balance sheet) items with industry benchmarks or key competitors

iv. Is their financial performance / situation as strength or a weakness? Does it impose any limitations on the company or restrict their abilities in any way?

e. Industry trends, situation, and expectations

i. Discussion of recent industry-wide changes or trends and their impact on the company.

ii. Discussion of expected changes in the industry and how those may impact the company.

f. Competitive / market situation

i. Market share discussion

ii. SWOT and discussion of how strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats impact the company or any limitations imposed by these factors

iii. Comparison of strengths and weaknesses to key competitors

g. Other key external factors impacting the company such as technology developments, regulatory changes, changes in CSR or societal expectations, reputation, legal issues, etc

(III) Problem Identification

a. This section should include brief discussions (ie. a paragraph for each) of all significant challenges, weaknesses, problems, or the company’s inability to take advantage of business opportunities you have found. For each, describe the issue and how it impacts the company and, if possible, give a brief description of key causes.

b. For the “main” problem you have identified, provide an extended discussion of the issue:

i. Nature of the issue

ii. How it impacts the company and what’s likely to happen if it isn’t resolved

iii. Whether or not it’s mission critical and why, urgent and why

iv. Formal Problem Statement

v. Thorough Root Cause Analysis

(IV) Identification of Alternative Solutions

a. This section should include a brief (1-2 paragraphs) discussion of the alternative solutions you have identified including a discussion of the solution itself, how it could help solve the problem, and brief discussion of Pros and Cons for the alternative.

(V) Evaluation of Alternative Solutions

a. Discussion of objective criteria for evaluation of alternatives

b. Comparison of how 3 – 5 alternative solutions meet these criteria

(VI) Discussion of Recommended Solution

a. Clear statement of the recommended solution

b. Cost – Benefit Analysis with discussion of key factors

c. Feasibility Analysis

d. Ethical Screen

i. Alignment of the proposed solution with company values

ii. Discussion of legal or ethical issues related to the proposed solution

iii. Discussion of key stakeholders and how they would be impacted by the proposed solution

(VII) Solution Implementation & Success Measurement

a. Implementation

i. Key steps involved in implementing the required solution

ii. Significant resources required

iii. Timeline

b. Monitoring and Measurement

i. Discussion of key criteria to be used to evaluate the success of the proposed solution

ii. Plan for monitoring improvements following start of implementation

1. Frequency

2. Milestones

3. Expectations