Assignment: Strategic Plan
This assignment is the last of three assignments. Students will use the tools and concepts learned in the course and in previous business courses to develop an understanding of how organizations develop and manage strategies to establish, safeguard and sustain its position in a competitive market.
This assignment is a group project. Students will be placed into groups consisting of no more than five students each. Groups will be assigned early, and the expectation is that the groups will work on the various parts of the assignment as relevant material is covered throughout the course. The group will act as a self-directed team, and will therefore determine its own leadership, timetable, and task list, guidelines for communication, goals, and so forth. As an individual, you are expected to participate fully in the project.
Students who actively participate in completing the assignment are assigned the same group grade. However, free-riders who contribute little will receive a different grade than the group grade at the discretion of the instructor. Students who fail to contribute to the project will earn a zero for the assignment.
Phase 1: Assignment Instructions:
Throughout the course, students have learned about the strategic management plan and have practiced the various stages through the completion of assignments and learning activities. In phase 1 of this final project, student will work in a group to create a strategic plan and present the plan in a professional manner. The plan requires a paper submitted to the Assignment Folder.
Students will perform a strategic plan on a company, from the list provided below. However, instructors may elect to assign a company on the list or of his or her choosing or one of their own. Starbucks, Walmart, Amazon and Apple may not be used.
YOU WERE ASSIGNED TO A SPECIFIC TEAM FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT BY THE END OF WEEK TWO. IF YOU ARE UNCLEAR ON YOUR TEAM, PLEASE CONTACT THE PROFESSOR.
In completing the assignment, students will perform research on the company provided, answer the questions below in narrative form and will follow the steps provided below:
Step 1: Create a double-spaced, 12-point font Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document. The final product will be no more than 20 pages in length excluding the title page and reference page.
Step 2: Review assignment grading rubric.
Step 3: Follow this format:
Title page with title, your name, the course, the instructor's name;
Introduction;
Comprehensive Written Analysis:
Reference page
Step 4: In writing the analysis, the writing is in the third person. What this means is that there are no words such as "I, me, my, we, or us" (first person writing), nor is there use of "you or your" (second person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person
Step 5: In writing this assignment, students are asked to support the reasoning using in-text citations and a reference list. A reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa. View the sample APA paper under Week 4 content and How to Cite and Reference, also under Week 4 content.
Step 6: In writing this assignment, students are expected to paraphrase and not use direct quotes unless citing the mission statement of a company. Learn to paraphrase by reviewing this link: https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html
Step 7: Read all course material for weeks 1 and 2 and perform independent research to provide a comprehensive strategic plan.
Step 8: Jot down key facts. Consider making an outline to capture key points in the paper.
Step 9: In the paper, the comprehensive strategic plan will include:
vision and mission
background organization
industry analysis
competitive analysis
financial analysis
technique analysis
alternative strategy generation
SWOT analysis
strategy and prioritization selection
action plan for implementation
evaluative plan
In developing the plan, students will:
Identify strategies;
Discuss strategies used at corporate, business and function levels using the concepts learned in the course;
Recommend specific strategies and long-term objectives;
Recommend procedures for strategy review and evaluation;
Use frameworks and tools discussed throughout the course.
Step 10: Identify strategy recommendations in the following format for the formulation of strategies. View Strategy Content Guidelines.
Goal (The desired outcomes to be achieved)
Objective (Measurable milestone toward accomplishing the Goal)
Strategy (The approach used to achieve the Goal)
Tactic (A specific activity undertaken to implement the Strategy)
Review this resource to differentiate between strategic planning and operational planning: strategy versus tactics
Step 11: Create an introductory paragraph. The Introduction should clearly and concisely convey the main points of the assignment requirements. Review the following website to learn how to write an introductory paragraph: https://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/intro.html
Step 12: Write a summary paragraph. A summary paragraph restates the main idea(s) of the essay. Make sure to leave a reader with a sense that the essay is complete. The summary paragraph is the last paragraph of a paper.
Step 13: Using the grading rubric as a comparison, read through the paper to ensure all required elements are presented.
Step 14: Proofread the paper for spelling and grammatical issues, and third person writing.
Consider submitting the paper to the Effective Writing Center (EWC). The EWC will provide 4-6 areas that may need improvement.