Books and Resources
Tracy, B. (2015). Business strategy (The Brian Tracy success library). New York: AMACOM.
American Airlines Group Inc. SWOT Analysis. (2015).
Cisco Systems, Inc. (2016). Cisco Systems, Inc. SWOT Analysis.
Ebara Corporation. (2016). Ebara Corporation SWOT Analysis.
Markides, C. (2012). Think again: Fine-tuning your strategic thinking.
Sysco Corporation SWOT Analysis. (2016). Sysco Corporation SWOT Analysis.
Conscious Business Institute (Producer). (2015). Creating a purpose-driven business: Part 1 – Making a difference: Positioning yourself as a leader…
Instructions
So far, you have learned about the reasons for a strategy and key tactical/operational questions to ask when learning to think strategically. For this assignment, you must initially address the following:
• Select a company that you currently work for or a company that you previously worked for.
OR
• Select a business in which you would eventually like to work (see the Week 1 resources for the SWOT analysis of several options to choose from).
Be sure to only choose one of the options listed above.
You will use this company in each of your subsequent assignments; so carefully consider choosing a company that you are interested in and want to research. It is also recommended that you choose a company with which you are familiar and you know you have the ability to research because of your personal experience with the company or because there is information readily available (e.g., Apple, Walmart, Target, Ford, etc.).
For this assignment, examine the reasons for strategic planning for your chosen company, and then identify the possible answers to the strategic questions. You may have more than 1 answer for each question, but limit yourself to the 2 most likely or promising answers. You may not have answers to all your questions at this time, you will have the opportunity to add clarity and detail in future weekly later assignments. For now, keep your answers real, but don’t be afraid to stretch for what might be possible!
By way of review, strategic questions are those that we ask regarding what the organization primarily does and who are the primary beneficiaries. We also consider our key strategic advantages and how those relate to our success.
Support your paper with a minimum of five scholarly resources. In addition to these specified resources, other appropriate scholarly resources, including older articles, may be included.
Length: 5-7 pages, not including title and reference pages
Your paper should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course by providing new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.
NOTE:
a. All paper assignments should include a properly formatted APA title page. Via the Academic Success Center I have provided a link to Academic Writer to help you see how a title page should look: https://academicwriter-apa-org.proxy1.ncu.edu/
b. All papers are run through TurnItIn.com. It is imperative that you understand the university’s academic integrity policy. Unintentional plagiarism is still plagiarism; make sure you properly cite your sources….when in doubt….cite! A good resource regarding citations is the Purdue OWL: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/