(a) Select a company that has some strategic issues or will likely face strategic issues in the future. This can be a company you know, one you’ve studied, or one that you find interesting. Each student must select a unique company, so get your Facilitator’s approval for your choice. Your selected company needs to be one where you can gather a broad array of information and must be listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ and must be the ultimate parent company. Analyzing a subsidiary will result in a 25% deduction in point before grading the paper. This assignment is more challenging to complete successfully on complex conglomerates and holding companies. I suggest you avoid these in favor of smaller companies with simpler product or service offerings. In the next assignment, you will have to analyze a competitor of this company. Ensure that is has a proper competitor.
(b) Summarize the business your company is in and the strategy being pursued by the company. Consider the four key strategy questions as a way to present your strategy.
(c) Assess the business the company is in using the tools discussed in the Lecture Notes and in the Reading and present your findings.
(d) Identify and describe the key strategic risks it is facing. Discuss their impacts and their potential upside/downside implications.
(e) Categorize the risks as either avoid, mitigate, transfer or accept. To the extent appropriate, justify your categorization. For those that must be mitigated, recommend approaches to mitigate them.
(f) It is possible that the company’s strategy cannot be pursued successfully. Opine on whether its strategy is fundamentally sound or not, and if its risks are manageable.
