Assignment
This is an ongoing exercise, meaning that we will be taking an intensive look at one company over the course of our four modules. This session, we will be conducting a strategic analysis of Pepsico.
The outcome of this Case is to use a completed external and internal analysis of Pepsico in the completion of a SWOT.
In a 7- to 10-page paper, integrate your external and internal company analysis, completing a formal company SWOT.
Keys to the Assignment
• Step 1: Perform research, and complete an industry analysis using each of the Five Forces in Porter's model. Support your analysis with current financial, operational, and marketing data.
• Step 2: Complete your external analysis using each of the four elements in the PEST analysis. When considering economic data, use the most current data you can find.
• Step 3: Write up the results of your external analysis, and be sure to label the impact of each of the Five Forces as high, moderate, or low. Taken together, the Five Forces analysis and the PEST analysis should lead to conclusions about the overall opportunities and threats facing Pepsico as revealed by your research. All data and factual information that you report in your Five Forces and PEST analysis must be properly cited using APA style.
• Step 4: Conduct a critical and thorough internal analysis of Pepsico, assessing as many of the company's key internal strengths and weaknesses as you can. Consider the operations, customer service, finance, human resources management, and marketing functions. See the following website, as it will help you decide which strengths and weaknesses you might wish to evaluate.
• Step 5: Discuss the results of your internal analysis, including your conclusions concerning the strengths and weaknesses facing Pepsico.
• Step 6: Synthesize your internal analysis with your external environmental analysis, formulating a complete SWOT analysis. Provide a SWOT diagram (include as an Appendix - not as part of the written analysis) in which you show - in each of the four quadrants - the most important 3-4 company strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Each of these should be discussed thoroughly within your written analysis.
• Based on your SWOT, give very specific and informed recommendations as to what the company should do. Give your overall analysis-does the company have more strengths than weaknesses? More weaknesses than strengths? Whatever you decide, you need to recommend (with strong, convincing support) what you believe should be the company's strategy - in response to your collective assessment of the organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You must demonstrate evidence of critical thinking - do not simply restate facts you have learned about the company. Interpret the data and factual information you have found instead.
• Step 7: Consider the Case as a formal business report that you are developing for the Board of Directors and CEO as Pepsico's external consultant. This is a professional document. Follow the format below:
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.