Real-world Business Analysis Part I
It is a common refrain that "the whole is more than the sum of its parts." In business, as in most areas of life, it is essential for people with complementary skills to work together to achieve a common goal. This week you and your classmates will form collaborative teams. These teams will work together, giving each other advice and feedback for the duration of the course. For this Application, you will choose a "real-world" business-that is, one that you can gain access to current information about (either a business plan you are working on, a company you are conducting a consulting project on, a company you work for, or a publicly held company of your choice). You will use this real-world business as the basis for applying ideas, concepts, and analytic tools that you acquire from the course. You will work on different aspects of this project each week. At the end of the course, you will submit a Real-world Business Analysis that will contain an integration of all of the various analyses you have conducted in this cumulative Application.
This week, you will begin to prepare for the Real-world Business Analysis Application by (1) choosing your company, (2) analyzing your company, and then (3) seeking team members who will become your resident "peer feedback network." Look to build a well-rounded group of 4-5 people (including you) who can assist each other with individual real-world business analyses throughout the rest of the course.
For this week's application, write a 2- to 3-page report about your chosen "real-world" business. First, write a brief summary of your chosen business and why you have chosen it for this assignment.
Then, conduct an analysis and write a summary of the company.
Include a descriptive analysis of at least three of the following features:
A review of the appropriateness and effectiveness of its vision, mission statement, and long-term goals and objectives
Its corporate values and view toward social and corporate responsibility
A financial review with key financial ratios
A market review
An examination of the culture, organizational structure, and staffing models as well as operational policies and procedures of the enterprise
Finally, write a list of the names of 4-5 people to include in your "peer feedback network."