COMPANY DESCRIPTION AND SWOT ANALYSIS
COMPANY DESCRIPTION AND SWOT ANALYSIS
Overview
In this first course assignment, you will create a description of your selected company and a SWOT matrix that includes trends, strategic positioning, distribution channels, and risks. You’ve already begun this assignment in your discussions.
In the Week 1 discussion, you chose a company (whether your own or the snack food company scenario) and created a description and mission statement for it. In this assignment, you will need to revise your selected company’s description and mission statement based on the feedback you received in the discussion thread. You will also include a brief narrative that provides the rationale for including each component of the mission statement.
Likewise, in the Week 2 discussion, you began work on your SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, threat) matrix. Your task in this assignment is to revise your SWOT matrix based on the feedback you received in the discussion thread. You will also summarize the key learnings from your SWOT matrix.
Reminders and Notes
Before beginning this assignment, you may find it helpful to review textbook Chapter 3, “Making Your Plan Compelling.” This chapter provides useful information about how to organize the information in your business plan.
Your chosen company will operate in a 100-mile radius from your home address. Your goal is to reach $1 million in sales by the end of the second year.
Be sure to follow the guidelines whether you are using the snack food company or the company of your choice.
Snack Food Company Guidelines [DOCX].
Company of Your Choice Guidelines [DOCX].
Requirements
The specific requirements for this assignment are to write a 3–5 page paper in which you:
Describe the product or service on which the company is focusing, including the company’s name and its significance.
Revise the company’s mission statement based on feedback received in the Week 1 discussion thread, including the rationale for each component of the mission statement.
Place the mission statement within quotation marks.
Use the Mission Statement Worksheet on pages 72–73 of your textbook as a guide.
Describe the trends in your specific industry, focusing on your particular type of product or service.
Research and outline industry trends. Be sure to consider the size and growth rate for the overall industry and for the specific product or service on which you are focusing.
Search the Strayer Library, industry associations, and reliable websites for recent data.
Select the strategic position from the course text (pages 146–147) that you believe is the best one for your chosen company and explain how you will implement it to distinguish your product or service from the competition.
Consult Chapter 9, “Strategic Position & Risk Assessment” of your text for help in crafting this portion of your business plan.
Describe the company’s distribution channels and provide the rationale for your selection.
Sample questions to ask when choosing distribution channels:
Will you sell your product in grocery stores, restaurants, or sports venues?
Will you sell your product online or as a subscription?
Where will the service be offered?
Revise your selected company’s SWOT matrix based on feedback from the Week 2 discussion thread and summarize the key learnings from your matrix.
Be sure to use the SWOT Matrix [DOCX] (table) when revising your SWOT matrix.
Formatting
Format your assignment according to these requirements:
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course.
Typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides. You may single-space the information included in the SWOT Matrix.
You must include headings in your paper for each major topic.
Include a cover page containing the assignment title, your name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
Include a source list page. Citations and references must follow Strayer Writing Standards format. All sources used must be listed in the source list page and have a corresponding in-text citation. The source list page is not included in the required page length.
Note: There is no minimum requirement for the number of resources used in this assignment.
Learning Outcomes
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:
Develop a company overview and SWOT analysis that include trends, strategic positioning, distribution channels, and risks.
BUS599 Strategic Management
Week 5 Assignment
Marketing Plan and Budget
Overview
This assignment consists of two sections:
Marketing plan and sales strategy (an MS Word document).
Marketing budget (using the Business Plan Financials Excel Template).
To successfully complete this assignment, you must attach both documents to the submission area as separate files and then click Submit.
Reminders
Your company, whether it’s a startup you created or one based on the snack food company scenario, will operate in a 100-mile radius from your home address. Your goal is to reach $1 million in sales by the end of the second year.
Be sure to follow the guidelines, whether you chose the snack food company or your own startup company.
Snack Food Company Guidelines [DOCX].
Company of Your Choice Guidelines [DOCX].
Section 1: Marketing Plan and Sales Strategy
In MS Word, write the 3–5 page marketing plan and sales strategy section of your business plan, in which you:
Revise the company’s target market based on the feedback received in the Week 3 discussion thread.
Be sure to include demographic, geographic, lifestyle, psychographic, purchasing patterns, and buying sensitivities in the target market description.
Assess your chosen company’s market competition.
Use the factors listed in the graphic in your textbook labeled “Assess the Competition” (page 125), to assess the company’s market competition.
When assessing the competition, specify the exact company and particular product or service you are competing against. For example, Coca Cola offers a portfolio of products, such as water, fruit juice, and cola. Are you competing against Coca Cola’s fruit juice product? Or its cola product?
Be sure to detail your plan to differentiate yourself from the competition.
Outline the company’s value proposition and create a marketing slogan/tagline for the product.
The value proposition tells your customers why they want to do business with you.
You need to know what message you want to convey in your marketing slogan before selecting the marketing vehicles in the next step.
Specify the marketing vehicles you will use to build your chosen company’s brand and justify the key reasons they will be effective.
Marketing vehicles are ways to promote your product. Examples include social media, sponsored events, trade shows, and sampling. You will use a combination of these tactics.
Planning to use online marketing tactics? Consult the “Online Marketing Tactics” worksheet on page 177 of your textbook to guide your response.
Formatting
Format your assignment according to these requirements:
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course.
Typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
You must include headings in your paper for each major topic.
Include a cover page containing the assignment title, your name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
Include a source list page. All sources used must be listed in the source list page and have a corresponding in-text citation. Citations and references must follow SWS format. The source list page is not included in the required page length.
Note: There is no minimum requirement for the number of resources used in this assignment.
Section 2: Marketing Budget
In this portion of your assignment, you will develop a marketing budget. This budget is critical to helping you determine how much it will cost you to reach your market and achieve your sales goals. To create your marketing budget, you will use the Business Plan Financials Excel Template. This is the document you downloaded using the access code you purchased from the Strayer Bookstore.
Reminders
You will complete only the Setup and Marketing Budget worksheets for this assignment; be sure to submit the entire Excel Template, however.
You have already worked on your marketing budget in the Week 5 discussion. Incorporate information from your post and the feedback you received into this section of your assignment.
Instructions
Develop a marketing budget, supporting your marketing plan and sales goals, in which you:
Prepare the Setup worksheet for your selected company based on the appropriate guidelines instructions.
Prepare the Marketing Budget worksheet for your selected company based on the appropriate guidelines instructions. When filling out the Marketing Budget worksheet in the Business Plan Financials Excel Template, do the following:
Begin with the current year and complete a marketing budget for the business’s first two years.
Leave at zero any marketing vehicles you do not plan to use.
Reminder: All marketing activities involve costs. If social media represents a significant portion of your marketing plan, assume you will incur advertising costs; reflect these in your marketing budget. Even if a social media site charges nothing to use it, you will need to use company resources to manage the site, execute your social media marketing campaigns, and most likely pay for ads on that site.
Do not leave the Marketing Budget worksheet blank assuming you will not have any marketing costs.
Do not complete all the rows; only fill in the costs for the marketing vehicles you will actually use. These must match the content you described in Item 4 of Section 1 of this assignment.
Learning Outcomes
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:
Create a marketing plan for a company that identifies a target market, market competition, a company message, marketing vehicles, and a budget.
BUS599 Strategic Management
Week 8 Assignment
Operations, Technology, Management, and Social Responsibility Plan (With Financials)
Overview
In this assignment, you will focus on these sections of your business plan:
Operations.
Technology.
Management.
Social Responsibility.
Financials.
You will revise the Operations, Social Responsibility, and Financials sections based on the feedback you received in the discussion threads and any changes you want to make to your business plan.
The Technology and Management and Organization sections are new. You have not worked on these sections in your discussion threads.
The assignment consists of two parts:
The business plan (an MS Word document).
Business plan financials (using the Business Plan Financials Excel Template).
To successfully complete this assignment, you must attach both documents to the submission area as separate files and then click Submit.
Reminders and Notes
Your chosen company will operate in a 100-mile radius from your home address. Your goal is to reach $1 million in sales by the end of the second year.
Be sure to follow the guidelines, whether you use the snack food company scenario or the company of your choice:
Snack Food Company Guidelines [DOCX].
Company of Your Choice Guidelines [DOCX].
You are not starting this assignment from scratch. You have already worked on these sections of your business plan in the weekly discussions:
Operations (Week 5 discussion).
Social Responsibility (Week 6 discussion).
Financials (Week 7 discussion).
Part 1: Business Plan
Write a 4–8 page paper, in MS Word, in which you provide the specified information in each section.
Operations Section (1–2 pages)
Notes:
Chapter 11, “Operations,” pages 195–218, provides information about developing an operations plan. The chapter also provides a sample operations plan. You’ve already read this chapter in Week 5. Refer to it on an as needed basis as you work on this section of your business plan.
Assign a dollar amount to each operational cost you find; you will need these figures for your financials (Business Plan Financials Excel Template).
If you are working with the snack food company scenario, be sure to use the information and costs provided in the Snack Food Company Guidelines.
Revise your post and the feedback you received on it in the Week 5 discussion thread to create your operations plan.
Instructions:
Create an operations plan for your selected company expanding on each of these topics:
Facilities.
Consider questions such as these regarding facilities:
Will you rent or buy your facilities, or will you outsource production to an existing company?
If you are renting or buying your facilities, what utilities will be required to run the operation?
What will be the costs associated with any necessary utilities?
Production Process or Description of How Your Business Will Operate If Retail or Service Company.
Include any equipment you plan to use, if applicable.
Research needed equipment, such as machines, refrigerators, burners, ovens, and so on.
Will you rent or buy needed equipment?
How will you maintain and clean the equipment?
How will you ensure quality control?
What capacity do you intend to reach?
If you have a retail or service business, consider any equipment you might need in your process.
Explain your approach to inventory, as applicable.
Where do your supplies come from?
What is your turnaround time to produce your product once you have received an order?
Research and Development.
How will you stay abreast of new developments in the industry?
What new products or services are in development?
Personnel Needs in Operations.
How many operations employees do you plan to have?
What will their roles be?
Technology Section (1–2 pages)
Notes:
Chapter 12, “Technology Plan,” pages 225–234, provides information about developing a technology plan. The chapter also provides a sample technology plan. You’ve already read this chapter in Week 5. Refer to it on an as needed basis as you work on this section of your business plan.
Assign a dollar amount to each technology cost you find; you will need these figures for your financials (Business Plan Financials Excel Template).
If you are working with the snack food company scenario, be sure to use the information and costs provided in the Snack Food Company Guidelines.
Consider the type of technology your selected company will use to conduct activities, such as managing personnel; taking, fulfilling, and tracking orders; managing inventory; communicating with customers and providing customer service; and producing your product or providing your service.
Instructions:
Create a technology plan for your selected company expanding on each of these topics:
Software Needs.
Examples of software you might need include: graphics, customer relationship management, accounting, inventory, and office suite.
Hardware Needs.
Examples of hardware you might need include: computers, monitors, servers, routers, and tablets.
Telecommunication Needs.
Examples of telecommunication equipment you might need include: phones, Internet, fax, and mobile phones.
Personnel Needs in Technology.
Will your technology personnel be in-house or outsourced?
Management and Organization Section (1–2 pages)
Notes:
Chapter 13, “Management & Organization,” pages 235–258, provides information about developing a management and organization plan. The chapter also provides a sample management and organization plan. This chapter was part of the assigned reading for this week. Refer to this chapter on an as needed basis as you work on this section of your business plan.
Be sure to include the salary costs associated with the management personnel; you will need these figures for your financials (Business Plan Financials Excel Template).
Instructions:
Create a management and organization plan for your selected company expanding on each of these topics:
Key Management Employees.
List key management team members along with a several sentence description of each person’s relevant business background and responsibilities.
Advisors.
List any people you will use as advisors for your business; include a several sentence description of these individuals’ areas of expertise and their expected contribution to the business.
Management Hierarchy.
Outline your company’s management hierarchy using the flow charts on page 248 of your text as a guide.
Import/include all charts or diagrams into the MS Word document.
Social Responsibility Section (1–2 pages)
Notes:
Chapter 14, “Social Responsibility & Sustainability,” pages 259–270, provides information about developing your social responsibility plan. The chapter also provides a sample social responsibility and sustainability plan. You’ve already read this chapter in Week 6. Refer to it on an as needed basis as you work on this section of your business plan.
Revise your post and the feedback you received on it in the Week 6 discussion thread to create your social responsibility plan.
Instructions:
Create a social responsibility plan for your selected company expanding on each of these topics:
Impact on Stakeholders.
Describe the ways your chosen company will impact stakeholders, such as employees, customers, suppliers, and the community. This is the people section of the triple bottom line.
What types of benefits (such as health care, flexible work hours, and opportunities for advancement and education) will your company offer employees?
What types of opportunities (such as classes, sponsored events, and assistance to causes and charities) will your company offer the community?
Environmental Impact.
Explain how your company’s activities will affect the environment.
Identify the steps you will take to mitigate any negative impacts.
How will you minimize your ecological footprint in your operations? Consider energy usage, waste disposal, recycling, using recycled materials, et cetera.
Formatting
Format your assignment according to these requirements:
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course.
Typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
You must include headings in your paper for each major topic.
Include a cover page containing the assignment title, your name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
Include a source list page. All sources used must be listed in the source list page and have a corresponding in-text citation. Citations and references must follow SWS format. The source list page is not included in the required page length.
Note: There is no minimum requirement for the number of resources used in this assignment.
Part 2: Business Plan Financials
Revise the Business Plan Financials Excel Template based on feedback from the Week 7 discussion thread and changes you make to your business plan.
Be sure the numbers in the Business Plan Financials Excel Template match any numbers included in the Operations, Technology, and Management and Organization sections of your business plan narrative.
Remember that the guidelines, whether for your own startup company or for the snack food company scenario, provide helpful information on completing the worksheets within the Business Plan Financials Excel Template.
Snack Food Company Guidelines [DOCX].
Company of Your Choice Guidelines [DOCX].
BUS599 Strategic Management
Week 10 Assignment
Overview
At this point in the course, you have completed all the necessary sections of your business plan. Your task in this assignment is to create the final version of your plan. You will include all the previous assignments you have been working on and attach the financials.
The key to this assignment is to use the feedback you have received throughout the course to polish your plan to the point that you could confidently show it to investors and potential partners or customers. One new piece you will be including is a 1–2 page executive summary.
This assignment consists of two parts:
Your final business plan (an MS Word document).
Your final business plan financials (using the Business Plan Financials Excel Template).
To successfully complete this assignment, you must attach both documents to the submission area as separate files and then click Submit.
Reminders and Notes
Your company, whether a startup company of your choosing or based on the snack food company scenario, will operate in a 100-mile radius from your home address. Your goal is to reach $1 million in sales by the end of the second year.
Be sure to follow the guidelines, whether you chose the snack food company scenario or the company of your choice:
Snack Food Company Guidelines [DOCX].
Company of Your Choice Guidelines [DOCX].
Part 1: Business Plan—Final
Notes
The executive summary is a critical aspect of this assignment. Your ability to condense and highlight critical information about your chosen company to investors will determine whether they decide to invest in you and your company or not.
Chapter 4, “The Executive Summary,” pages 53–66, provides information about writing the executive summary. You may write either a synopsis or a narrative summary. Pay particular attention to the:
Executive Summary Plan Preparation Forms on pages 58–61.
Sample Plans on pages 62–66.
Instructions
In MS Word, construct a 10–20 page business plan in which you:
Write a 1–2 page executive summary highlighting key aspects of each section of the business plan.
Incorporate feedback to produce a comprehensive business plan for the product or business. Specifically, you will be combining all of the previous assignments and revising them to build your business plan:
Week 3 Assignment: Company Overview and SWOT Matrix.
Be sure to include all the headings from the assignment.
Week 5 Assignment: Marketing Plan and Budget.
Be sure to include all the headings from the assignment; the budget part of this assignment will be addressed in Section 2.
Week 8 Assignment: Operations, Technology, Management, and Social Responsibility Plan (With Financials).
Be sure to include all the headings from this assignment; the financials part of this assignment will be addressed in Part 2.
The written section of the financials from the Week 8 discussion thread.
Be sure to include any financial information that will help to convince the investors.
Formatting
Format your assignment according to these requirements:
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course.
Typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
You must include headings in your paper for each major topic.
Include a cover page containing the assignment title, your name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
Include a source list page. All sources used must be listed in the source list page and have a corresponding in-text citation. Citations and references must follow SWS format. The source list page is not included in the required page length.
There is no minimum requirement for the number of resources used in this assignment.
Part 2: Business Plan Financials—Final
Using the Business Plan Financials Excel Template, incorporate feedback from previous submissions to produce a comprehensive set of business plan financials the business’s first two years.
Be sure to refer to the appropriate guidelines for valuable information about how to complete the business plan financials section of your assignment:
Snack Food Company Guidelines [DOCX].
Company of Your Choice Guidelines [DOCX].
Specifically, you will want review and make sure you’ve thoroughly incorporated feedback you received from:
Weeks 7 and 8 discussion threads.
Part 2 of the Operations, Technology, Management and Organization, and Social Responsibility Plan (With Financials).
Learning Outcomes
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:
Construct a business plan with an executive summary that justifies a clear concept, a management structure, a market need, competitive advantages, and financial projections.
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