MGT 488 Complete Course

Week 1

Individual Assignment: Internal Risk Assessment

Resources: University Librarys MarketLine Business Information Center

Access the University Librarys MarketLine Business Information Center and look up one of the following companies:

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Jet Blue Airways Corporation

Hewlett-Packard Company

Home Depot

Prepare a 1,050- to 1,750-word paper identifying the key capabilities of your selected company.

Discuss the firms strengths and weaknesses in marketing, human resources, management, research and development, finance, and other applicable areas.

Analyze how internal organizational dynamics influence strategic business continuity.

Access the companys Web site and use the Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, if available, and the most recent company Annual Report as sources.

Reference your readings and at least three other sources, including MarketLine, the Internet, or other properly cited sources.

Format your paper according to APA standards.

Discussion Questions

What is a strategic business plan? Why is this plan important to an organizations long-term success? What role does innovation play in developing a strategic business plan?

Why is the internal organizational analysis important to strategic management planning? What are various sources of internal organization dynamics that influence strategic business planning? How might nonsubstitutable capabilities affect strategic management planning?

What are the components that comprise a sustainable competitive advantage for a firm? How might these components vary for different industries?

What are the risk factors involved if a firm fails to maintain a competitive advantage?

Week 2

Individual Assignment: Competitive Advantage and Pro Sports

Resources: ESPN or Sports Illustrated Web sites

Access ESPN.com or SportsIllustrated.com and select any professional sports team.

Prepare a 500- to 600-word paper analyzing competitive advantage and the business of professional sports.

o Describe the components of sustainable competitive advantage that contribute to the teams success in the competitive sports industry.

o Identify the four criteria of sustainable competitive advantage and classify team characteristics such as coaching, fan base, playing style and tactics, individual players, within each criterion for your team. Describe how these factors contribute to the teams success in the competitive sports market.

o Reference your readings and at least one other source, including the Internet, or other properly cited sources.

Format your paper according to APA standards.

Discussion Questions

What is the importance of an organizations mission? How does the mission affect the way an organization operates? What components do you consider to be critical for an organizations mission?

Who are stakeholders? How do stakeholders influence strategic business planning? What is the significance of their role in strategic business planning? Provide specific examples.

What role do ethics play in competitor intelligence gathering? At what point does the quest for competitor information become unethical? What practices, although legal, might be considered unethical?

From your readings and thoughts this week what are some external influences on organizations? What are some of the implications of these external influences to an organizations strategic business planning? What recommendations do you have for mitigating the negative influences on an organization in which you are familiar?

Week 3

Individual Assignment: External Environment Analysis

Resources: IBIS World Database MarketLine Business Center

Access the IBIS World Database or MarketLine Business Center in the University Library and research the industry for the company you selected for the Internal Risk Assessment Paper.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. dollar and variety stores in the United States or discount, variety, and general merchandisers

Jet Blue Airways Corporation domestic airlines in the United States

Hewlett-Packard Company computer and peripheral manufacturing in the United States

Home Depot home improvement stores in the United States

Prepare a 1,750- to 2,100-word paper regarding the external business environment.

Analyze the external business market and its influence on the firms strategic business continuity plan.

Include analysis of general, industry, and competitor environments.

Explain the role of business ethics in gathering competitor intelligence.

Reference your readings and at least four other sources, including MarketLine, IBIS World, the Internet, the Electronic Reserve Readings, or other properly cited sources.

Format your paper according to APA standards.

Learning Team Assignment: Strategic Business Plan Outline

Your Learning Team is the newly formed Executive Team of the Virtual Organization you selected. Your executive team oversees finance, marketing, human resources, and technology decisions for the organization. The board of directors of your company has requested a Strategic Business Plan Outline indicating the direction your executive team wishes to take the organization.

Create a 2- to 3-page outline identifying the key elements of a strategic business continuity plan for your selected company.

Include a classification of the companys stakeholders.

Create an original Vision and Mission Statement. Consider several examples. Visit the corporate Web sites of major corporations such as CocaCola, Home Depot, and Hewlett Packard, and read their visions, values, and objectives.

Outlines may include financial, managerial, economic, marketing, technological, competition, legal and ethical environment, as well as crisis management areas of your strategic plan.

Reference your readings and at least three other sources, including the Internet, or other properly cited sources.

Refer to the Sample Outline in the University of Phoenix Center for Writing Excellence for formatting guidelines.

Refer to the University of Phoenix Center for Writing Excellent APA Reference and Citation Examples for information on citing Virtual Organizations.

Format your paper according to APA standards.

Discussion Questions

What are the key elements of a strategic business continuity plan? How might these elements vary for different types of industries? How do these elements compare to what you know about your particular business?

What is the role of competitive dynamics within the context of strategic business planning? What types of considerations might be made in a highly competitive business environment where firms are price-takers? What types of considerations might be given in a competitive business environment where firms are price-makers?

Based on your readings and discussions from this week ... What is a business-level strategy? What is the purpose of a business-level strategy? What are the types of business-level strategies?

Week 4

Individual Assignment: Business Competition Strategies

Resources: University Librarys MarketLine Business Information Center

Access the University Librarys MarketLine Business Information Center and select an industry rival to the company used in the Internal Risk Assessment and External Environment Papers from the following:

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. rival Target Corporation

Jet Blue Airways Corporation rival Delta Airlines, Inc.

Hewlett-Packard Company rival Dell Inc.

Home Depot rival Lowes Companies Inc.

Prepare an 8- to 10-slide PowerPoint presentation evaluating the rival companies business competition strategies.

Identify the type of business level strategy each firm is using and evaluate its effectiveness. Consider cost leadership, differentiation, focused cost leadership, as well as integrated cost leadership and differentiation.

Determine the role industry competitive dynamics have in choosing those strategies.

Reference your readings and at least two other sources, including MarketLine, the Internet, or other properly cited sources.

Format your paper according to APA standards.

Discussion Questions

What is the effect of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 on corporate governance? How has the increased focus on corporate governance affected American corporations?

What is the relationship between strategy and structure within the context of strategic implementation? What is a simple structure? What is a functional structure? What is a multidivisional structure?

What is the role of leadership in strategic implementation? What are the key strategic leadership actions? How might these key leadership actions affect strategic leadership in the future?

What is strategic entrepreneurship? How might the leadership of a firm use strategic entrepreneurship to increase firm value? What role would innovation play in creating value through strategic entrepreneurship?

Week 5

Individual Assignment: Case Study Analysis

Read Case Study 26 Tyco International: A Case of Corporate Malfeasance on pp. 321-333 of Strategic Management.

Prepare a 700- to 1,000-word paper analyzing strategic implementation at Tyco that includes the following:

Describe how the lack of corporate governance at Tyco contributed to its downfall.

Explain how Dennis Kozlowski used organizational structure and controls to implement his strategic plan.

Analyze the role of Tyco leadership in strategic implementation.

Evaluate the role of strategic entrepreneurship in creating firm value at Tyco.

Reference your readings and at least two other sources, including the Internet, or other properly cited sources.

Format your paper according to APA standards.

Learning Team Assignment: Strategic Business Plan

The Board of Directors approved your Strategic Business Plan Outline, but now wants your executive team to create a long-term Strategic Business Plan for sustaining organizational performance. For examples of Strategic Plans access any major corporations Web site or MarketLine Business Center in the University of Phoenix Library and refer to the Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Prepare a 2,500- to 3,500-word Strategic Business Plan Paper and a 15- to 20-slide PowerPoint Presentation using your Strategic Business Plan Outline.

In the Business Plan, expand on the areas identified in the Business Plan Outline as critical to the organization and provide an in-depth description of the Strategic Plan for those areas.

Include analysis of internal organizational dynamics and the external environment.

Explain how the plan contributes to the companys long-term success.

Conclude with a description of emerging strategic management issues the organization may face and explain how the Strategic Business Plan might address those issues.

Reference your readings and at least four other sources, including the Internet, or other properly cited sources.

Format your paper and slide presentation according to APA standards.