2 assignments
simonsmy
assignment_4_instruction.docxAssignment 4
Company for analysis: Seagate Technology
Objectives
The aim of this assignment is to have you think about how companies make money. A description of this is often referred to as their business model.
Instructor Comments
Often analysts are asked to look at different companies and determine why they are successful or why they are not. That some are profitable and others are not might be obvious but that is probably not the reason for success or failure. An explanation for why Wal-Mart has been more successful in the last two decades than Sears may be easier to formulate if one has a clear understanding of how each company makes money. Lessons associated with Wal-Mart's success may prove to be very valuable for other retailers. How it succeeded may be less relevant to a mining company such as Rio Tinto. It's business model or formula for making money might be somewhat different as might the model followed by the New York Yankees or the giant family owned construction firm Bechtel.
Few businesses are alike though many are similar. An important point of similarity for firms within an industry and a means by which to distinguish these companies from those in other industries can be a common business model. It lies at the heart of what a company does and for many companies such as Dell can serve as a powerful branding tool. In a nutshell, if an observer can determine a company's business model then he or she understands what it actually does to make money.
Assignment
This assignment seeks to help you understand the answer to a broader concern and that is, “How do companies make money?”
In order to complete this assignment you will be using the AIEIS video interview database.
How to get access to AIEIS video database: (click to open/close)
First, go to the web site of the Acadia International Executive Insight Series (AIEIS) http://amcms.acadiau.ca and access
Busi 4913 Online CI for Business Strategy -> Online CI for Business Strategy Collection
View and listen to at least ten of the responses as they discuss the business models of their company.
Second, read the description for "business model" noted on the Wikipedia web site. Many different models are suggested. Once you have undertaken these two tasks, please do the following:
· Match 10 interview responses with business models noted on the Wikipedia web site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_models. Your response should include at least 4 business models. More than one interview response may correspond with a particular business model.
· For each of the ten matches, please summarize the model in one or two sentences, quote a sentence from the video database interview that leads to suggest the match and identify the speaker as well as his or her company.
Hint: Feel free to use other online information sources to clarify your understanding of business models.
Please limit your response to this assignment to three single spaced, typed pages. Cite your sources in the text and please reference them at the end of your assignment. End your write–up with one paragraph that summarizes what you think is the importance of this assignment.
You need to reference each company and each website.
