Strategic Management Project Phase 1

Choose a specific company or corporation or organization from any industry (i.e., Retail Industry, Pharmaceutical Industry, etc.), conduct and write analyses that will culminate in the development of a strategic plan. Be sure to pick an easily recognizable company, where there is sufficient detailed information.

Key components of Phase I paper (Situational Analysis of the company or corporation or organization):

1. Introduce your paper –

Do not use the word “Introduction” as a heading, instead, type the title of the paper, and must not be in bold (APA Manual, p. 63). In general, your introduction tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion. It is a road map for your paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper. It directly answers the questions (assignment) asked of you.

1. Introduce the Company/Corporation/Organization
2. Provide the general state of the company (i.e., who are the stakeholders, what is the culture of the company, how does the culture influence the interaction of the employees within the company, what are the company’s resources (human assets – ex: special engineers, technologists, bi-linguists, etc.), what are the distinct capabilities of the company – what differentiates the company?
3. Describe the core competencies of the company.
4. Describe the company’s main competitors (specifically talk about what the competition is “up to”, and how their activities will affect your business.
5. Incorporate information about Porter’s Five Forces, and explain how the five forces affect the company.
6. Describe the company’s financial standing. Incorporate applicable data from financial statements, calculate profitability ratios, and explain the relevance to the company’s situation.
7. Provide a summary for your paper and a summary projection of what you will address in Phase II.
8. Not less than 5 references.

Course Project Phase I must be must be in APA format and it is due no later than the specified time (Sunday 11:59 pm).