Presentation of Strategy Audit Findings

Capstone Experience in Integration & Strategy | B6028-T A01

Faculty: Roberto Castaneda

Argosy University

The Education Management Corporation is a business entity that in the recent past has been a victim of various incidences most of them concerning mismanagement of resources. The paper seeks to give an internal environmental scan on the current state of the firm as well as the mechanisms involved to propagate sustenance of the business entity. It will focus on the mission, value and vision of the firm, the clarification of its strategy as well as cultural assessment, the value chain analysis of the firm as well as the SWOT analysis of the firm. Finally the performance and expectations of the firm will be analyzed through the use of a Balanced Strategic Scorecard.

Keyword: Education Management Corporation (EDMC)

Table of Contents Abstract 2 Internal Environment Scan 5 Mission, Vision, and Values 5 Mission 5 Vision 5 Values 5 An Insight on Strategy Clarification and Cultural Assessment 6 An Insight on Views concerning Market Proposition 6 An Insight on Value Proposition 6 An Evaluation of Competitive Advantage 7 Value Chain Analysis 7 Primary Activities 7 An Illustration of Benefits Derived from the Direct Activities pertinent to Enrollment and Growth 8 Indirect Activities 9 Summary of Findings 9 SWOT Analysis 10 An Illustration of a Matrix depicting the SWOT Analysis 10 An Illustration of Online Growth in EDMC 11 Balanced Strategic Score Card 12 References 14

Part 1: Internal Environment Scan

The mission of the Education Management Corporation is the provision of personalities about being members of staff at any business entity. The individuals provided by the corporate conglomerate will have to display traits of the provision of quality, integration of ethics, creativity, increased the ability to solve problems as well as an enviable personality that is attractive to every employer (EDMC, 2010). The organization argues for the utilization of competent personalities who are true to themselves and the particular firm(s), show dedication, high levels of proficiency and professionalism and who are subject to becoming role models.

The vision of the EDMC is aiming for the improvement of the levels and standard of education pertinent to the standards of quality as well as improvement in the percentile of job availability and employability of the candidates. It will be done through improving their quality of output at the workplaces (EDMC, 2010).

The values of the corporation depend largely on their mantra in which the organization prides itself in that its level of success is quantified by the success of the students. The values attributed to this phenomenon include integrity as well as the integration of mutual respect between EDMC and all the relevant stakeholders associated with the Corporation (EDMC, 2010).

Strategic clarification of the Education Management Corporation is subjective to the views derived from an interview with one of the administrative assistants, and we owe our findings from her contributions (EDMC, 2010).

One of the strategies under which the corporation integrates as she posits was the inclusion of modern marketing techniques to attract a huge number of clientele concerning the students. The modern technology amalgamated includes utilization of online marketing mechanisms and have proven their efficacy due to the large number of students handled by the business magnate and conglomerate (EDMC, 2010; US Department of Education 2014; US Department of Education 2001). Regarding the issue of the predicament faced by EDMC in the marketing sector as well as its market proposition, she argued that there is indeed a problem a façade formulated to cover up the existence of affairs at the corporation in terms to risen levels of mistrust.

Concerning other marketing methods integrated, she says that EDMC has delegates who represent the positive social image of the organization as well as marketing itself through billboards and television media platforms.

In the interview, the attributes derived as part of the value proposition include the ability to integrate mutual respect, integrity, and discipline for the success of the students. She argued that despite the many cases facing the entity, EDMC was committed to guarantee employment opportunities to all its students.

The corporation owes its competitive advantage to its market capitalization as well as resources present under which many such organizations fail to have. Such has seen an increase in the profit in the year 2010 ranging from about four hundred millions of dollars which are relatively large in comparison to profits in 2007 of roughly two hundred million dollars as illustrated by EDMC, (2010). The firms in which it has a competitive advantage to include; American Public, Universal Technical Institute as well as Strayer Education (US Department of Education 2014; US Department of Education 2001).

They the main activities of the organization are the recruitment patterns achieved through acquisition mechanisms. The modus operandi of the firm includes 4brands as well as cohesion and partnership to an ABA school of law. The school is already subject to accreditation. The brands include the Art Institute; it focuses on media, media personalities concerning fashion and design music and other art-oriented programs (EDMC, 2010). Most of the students here undertake undergraduate programs. The Argosy brand has students dealing with medicine as well as education programs. The students here mostly conduct master's programs. The students at the Brown Mackie College take courses in health, law as well as business and finance which are Associate in nature. Finally, the students at South University often take health sciences oriented programs as shown by the EDMC, (2010). Most of these students under which the corporation prides it take bachelor’s programs.

Source: (EDMC, 2010)

The graph is an indicator of increased trajectory. The owning of many brands on acquisition enables EDMC to have a wider market niche to its competitors. It is also cheaper for the organization as each entity provides its fair share regarding capital to actualize marketing and enrollment as illustrated comprehensively by (EDMC, 2010; US Department of Education 2014; US Department of Education 2001).

These includes a broad range of activities such as the use of delegates in marketing endeavors, use of online marketing and advertising as well as venturing in politics. The latter is to guarantee that the plight of the students regarding access to loans by private students is heard. However, these activities and the use of micromanagement techniques by the organization has led to declining in performance and hence the decline in the stock as well as numerous cases in the law courts. These activities are hence expensive for the entity and hence the limitation of capital and registration by the years following 2010 (US Department of Education 2014).

The strengths of the corporation about EDMC are associated to EDMC are majorly as a result of its interrelationship to its primary affiliate institutions of higher learning. These enable the creation of capital to carry out its numerous day to day expenses as well as marketing of its systems. However, the main weakness of the system lies in the number of allegations against the business entity regarding ignorance, as well as poor utilization of resources. Many cases involving the not meeting of stipulated objectives, failure to compensate the relevant personnel and staff have led to the decline in the number of students enrolled in the organization. (Asif et al. 2011) insists that in such a case, rival competitors will see this as strength and use it against EDMC leading to losses for the corporation.