Final Product Strategic Analysis:Hewlett-Packard
Content:
Use the outline below when preparing your Strategic Analysis. If you cannot find certain information, use your best judgment based on the information you can find. (For example, most companies do not state their exact objectives, but you can usually infer if management is focusing on profits, sales, customer service, product development, employee retention, etc.)
Format:
Your Strategic Analysis has six parts as described below. Include these six parts as the section headings for your final papers, and follow the order exactly. Have a cover page at the beginning of the assignment with your name and the company name (as well as the course code and my name). You must include a page for references and use APA style for citations and internal references. The written paper is to be: typed double-spaced, 1-inch margins, Times New Roman and 12-point font, page length between 12-15, with correct spelling and grammar, proper citation, references, with a cover page and organized with headings. I will not accept papers that are less than 12 pages of content. You must use at least 8 current sources for this paper. Do not use Wikipedia.com as a source; it will not be counted as one of your sources.
I. Abstract: Include a 250 word abstract, summarizing the main points of your strategic analysis (worth 10 points).
II. Corporate Governance:
• Analyze the goals (do not just list them, give me your opinion about them):
• Board of Directors (do you think there is the right mix of insiders and outsiders, do the members participate appropriately, and are there any issues?);
• The company's ownership structure (i.e. is ownership dominated by any single investor, are the largest owners institutional, family, etc.?); and
• The top management team (i.e. do senior executives appear to have the appropriate skills and experience to manage the company into the future?)
III. SWOT Analysis: Analyze all categories of the SWOT explained in your text and in the PowerPoint slides.
• Opportunities & Threats: Separate your analysis of the company's threats and opportunities at the macro (societal) and industry (task) levels.
• Strengths &Weaknesses: Separate your analysis of the company's strengths and weaknesses into the following categories: corporate structure, corporate culture, & resources (also known as functional areas). State whether the company is part of a strategic group and whether it acts similarly or differently from others in that group. Is this a strength or weakness?
• You may choose to put your SWOT into table format. Below is an example of a table to use. Be sure to give enough explanation of the item to be understood (do not just say"high in?ation" or something like that) and provide references for information you include.
Marco Threats
• example • example
• example
Macro
Opportunities
• example • example
• example
Industry Threats
• example • example
• example
Industry
Opportunities
• example • example
• example
Weakness
• example • example
• example
Strengths
• example • example
• example
IV. Strategic posture:
•State the company's mission (if you cannot find it exactly, explain this and write one that you feel best fits the company)
•Explain the company's competitive positioning and cooperative strategies
•Explain three of the company's successful corporate parenting strategies
• State 3 key objectives for the company and explain one strategy the company is pursuing to achieve each of the three objectives.
V. Key issue:
This is the ONE most important issue facing the company!
• Identify the key issue facing the company at this moment. You must state and explain the one issue that you feel is most important to the company's future success (examples could be a competitive threat, a recent strike, lack of cash ?ow, unhealthy corporate culture, etc.)
• In this section, explain what the key issue is, how you identified it, and why it is so important to the company's future success.
VI.Recommendation: Explain the following:
• What is your recommended directional strategy for the company's key divisions or business units?
• What is your recommended competitive positioning strategy for the company?
• What are the skills/professional experiences you feel are most important for the CEO of this company?
Appendices: Relevant financial information, market share data, and references should be presented in appendices and referred to and discussed appropriately throughout the paper.