The paper should be a detailed analysis and report of the macroeconomic risks faced by Alcoa. Project report is expected to include substantial analysis of Alcoa's:
• Long-term sensitivity to macroeconomic volatility and business cycles
• Historical corporate actions (M&A, divestitures, restructurings) as they relate to macroeconomic volatility
• Corporate financial structural evolution and relations to financial market cycles/innovations
• Corporate Strategy and its evolution over time, and its relations to macroeconomic volatility and business cycles.
Important question to address is how were Alcoa managed before, during, and after the recessions in early 1990s, early 2000s, and the most recent recession in 2007-2009. Did management get better in preparing for the recession and which strategies did the company use to turn business threats into growth opportunities.
Preferred but not limited readings are:
1. Corporate Decision Making with Macroeconomic Uncertainty. Oxelheim, Lars and Wihlborg Clas. Oxford University Press 2008
2. Strategic Management in Action. Coulter, Mary. Pearson. Sixth Edition 2013
3. Shell Global Scenarios to 2025. Royal Dutch/Shell Group 2005
4. 10 Must Reads on Strategy. Harvard Business Review Press 2011
In addition to the above books, a good source of information would be Alcoa's annual reports (10-K, 10-Q) for periods before, during, and after the three recessions referenced above.