Purpose:
The purpose of the Analysis Exercise is to provide you with the opportunity to learn how to do a thorough analysis in preparation for the three main projects covered in this course. In completing the analysis, you will complete a Porter's Five Forces analysis applying the concepts and tools learned in week 2.
Skill Building:
In this project, you are developing critical thinking, research,, writing and analytical skills
Outcomes Met With This Project:
- utilize a set of useful analytical skills, tools, and techniques for analyzing a company strategically;
Instructions:
Step 1: Research
In completing the report, you will use the chapters in the eBook as a guide and perform thorough research on the company and industry in which the company operates and answer the required elements below in narrative form following the steps provided.
Note: Your report is based on the results of the research performed and not on any prepared documentation. What this means is that you will research and draw your own conclusions that are supported by the research and the course material rather than the use any source material that puts together any of the tools or techniques whether from the Internet, for-pay websites or any document, video or source material. A zero will be earned for not doing your own analysis.
Library Resources
You will be using scholarly material and Mergent Online to research privately held and public companies. On the main navigation bar in the classroom select, Resources and then select Library. Select Databases by Title (A - Z). Select M from the alphabet list, and then select Mergent Online.
UMUC library is available for providing resources and services. Seek library support for excellence in your academic pursuit.
Library Support
Extensive library resources and services are available online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week at https://www.umuc.edu/library/index.cfm to support you in your studies. The UMUC Library provides research assistance in creating search strategies, selecting relevant databases, and evaluating and citing resources in a variety of formats via its Ask a Librarian service at https://www.umuc.edu/library/libask/index.cfm.
Scholarly Research in OneSearch
Step 2: Read & Include Statement on Title Page
Go to the classroom and select Content on the main navigation bar. Review the modules:
- Learn How to Use APA
- Learn How to Support What Your Write
On the title page of this analysis exercise, write an acknowledgement that you have read these modules and that you understand you are expected to cite and reference all source material even when presenting a table, tool or technique, and that you understand how to support the ideas presented using the course material.
Step 3: Specific Company for Analysis Exercise
You will be specifically assigned by your instructor to write your independent report on one focal company. The assigned company must be used in this exercise. You are not allowed to write the report on any other company different from the company specifically assigned by your instructor. If a company other than that assigned to you is used, a zero will be assigned.
The companies that your instructor may assign include those companies listed below. Assignment of the company should be on Friday or Saturday of week 1.
- Diamond V http://www.diamondv.com/
- Synovus Financial Corporation https://www.synovus.com/
Students must complete the project using the assigned company. Deviating from the assigned company will result in a zero for this analysis.
Step 4: Research
Library Resources
You will be using scholarly material and Mergent Online to research privately held and public companies. On the main navigation bar in the classroom select, Resources and then select Library. Select Databases by Title (A - Z). Select M from the alphabet list, and then select Mergent Online.
UMUC library is available for providing resources and services. Seek library support for excellence in your academic pursuit.
Library Support
Extensive library resources and services are available online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week at https://www.umuc.edu/library/index.cfm to support you in your studies. The UMUC Library provides research assistance in creating search strategies, selecting relevant databases, and evaluating and citing resources in a variety of formats via its Ask a Librarian service at https://www.umuc.edu/library/libask/index.cfm.
Scholarly Research in OneSearch
To search for only scholarly resources, you are expected to place a check mark in the space for "Scholarly journals only" before clicking search.
Step 5: The Analysis
After reading the course material, you will complete a Porter's Five Forces analysis using the company assigned to you. The focus should be on factors related to the company's industry and the environment that the company and its competitors operates within. The expectation is that the analysis is thorough so plan on digging deep into the research.
Porter's Five Forces is a strategic planning tool that is based on the concept that five forces exist in the industry and determine the competitive strength and attractiveness of a market. An analyst can use Porter's Five Forces to assess an organization's current competitive position and the position that the organization can move into. In doing so, an organization can use its strengths to improve weaknesses and to avoid potential errors. The five forces include supplier power, buyer power, competitive rivalry, threat of substitution, and threat of new entrants.
A table is a good way to present the information but it is necessary to discuss each item within the table and to cite the information within the table. A good way to approach this assignment is to identify what each force means and then identify the impact the force has on the industry in terms of strong, moderate or modest.
When doing the analysis and not the table, avoid limiting the discussion to statements or a string of citations. The analysis is the explanation of 'why and how,' which you are expected to provide. If unclear about how to do this, review the module under Content, "Learn How to Support What You Write."
| Threat of Substitution |
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Step 4: How to Set Up the Report
Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document using 12-point font and double-spacing. The final product cannot be longer than 5 pages in length, which excludes the title page and reference page so make sure you write clearly and concisely.
Create a title page with title, your name, the course number, the instructor's name
Step 6: Company Overview
Provide an company overview that provides an overview of the company, the industry in which the company operates and a thesis statement of what is covered in the paper.
Step 7: Conclusion
Create a concluding paragraph. The Conclusion is intended to emphasize the purpose/significance of the analysis, emphasize the significance/consequence of findings, and indicate the wider applications that are derived from the main points of the project's requirements. You will draw conclusions about the findings of the external environment analysis.
Step 8: Submit the Report in the Assignment Folder
Submitting the project to the Assignment Folder is considered the student's final product and therefore ready for grading by the instructor. It is incumbent upon the student to verify the Project is the correct submission. No exceptions will be considered by the instructor.
Report Requirements to Follow
In writing the report,
- Use the grading rubric while completing the project to ensure all requirements are met that will lead to the highest possible grade.
- Third person writing is required. Third person means that there are no words such as "I, me, my, we, or us" (first person writing), nor is there use of "you or your" (second person writing).
- Contractions are not used in business writing, so do not use them.
- No direct quotes except for mission statement and vision statement. For all other source material used in the analysis, you will not use direct quotation marks but will instead paraphrase. What this means is that you will put the ideas of an author or article into your own words rather than lifting directly from a source document. You may not use more than four consecutive words from a source document, as doing so would require direct quotation marks. Changing words from a passage does not exclude the passage from having quotation marks. If more than four consecutive words are used from source documents, this material will not be included in the grade and could lead to allegations of academic dishonesty.
- Use in-text citations and provide a reference list that contains the reference associated with each in-text citation.
- You may not use any printed material (that is, books, encyclopedias, magazines, periodicals, etc.) in completing this analysis exercise.
- Provide the page or paragraph number in every in-text citation presented.
- You may not use Fort Fern University, Ibis World or any other for-fee website.
Self-Plagiarism: Self-plagiarism is the act of reusing significant, identical or nearly identical portions of one's own work. You cannot re-use any portion of a paper or other graded work that was submitted to another class even if you are retaking this course. You also will not reuse any portion of previously submitted work in this class. A zero will be assigned to the assignment if self-plagiarized. Faculty do not have the discretion to accept self-plagiarized work.
