MBA 599 – Strategic Management Case Project
This capstone course requires each student to construct a detailed and well-thought-out analysis of a
usiness employing all the relevant strategic analysis tools studied in the course. This project will take the
full term to complete. It is our sincere hope that you will find this project to be the most rewarding effort in
your educational career.
Project Overview
This course is designed to help you develop strategic skills that can be used in management. The
process of strategic planning is an iterative cycle of research and analysis, ending with a series of choices
about what will be attempted and how it will be approached. The most tangible output is the strategic
planning document. The most important output is the increased understanding that the participants
acquire. Accordingly, the assessment of the final project will be heavily dependent on the quality of the
strategic thinking inside that polished report. Students that focus on the expeditious completion of the
steps may find that they have shortchanged the important and time-consuming exploration and thinking
that is necessary to create a quality strategic case. Since not all tools can tell the planner which factors
and alternatives are important to consider, the planner should pull in as much diverse information and
perspectives as possible. Additionally, you should put yourselves in the competitor’s shoes and consider
how the “game” will play out. Your homework and subsequent improvements are intended to become a
primary basis for the exploration and questioning that drives your strategic understanding and creative
ideas. In addition, it is important to test your strategic thinking and your use of analytical tools in
preparation for your final project.
Tips for Selecting an Organization
As you select an organization for your class project, it is important that you select one that is interesting,
possibly useful to you in your career, industry, or interests, and allows you to explore strategic challenges
in a meaningful way. If you select the industry in which you cu
ently work, you must address two critical
issues: (1) integrating and clearly citing existing information. (You will need to delineate work you’ve
contributed as opposed to pre-existing information), and (2) succinctly presenting existing information
while adding new insight, analysis, and plans that substantially add to strategy development,
implementation, and/or assessment of the organization. An organization or industry you are interested in
should give you better access to information although you need to pay careful attention to the points
made above.
Do not underestimate the degree to which you will need to be an expert in the selected industry and
elated areas. It is impossible to create a strategy without understanding the terms, technologies, market
changes, and so forth in great depth. As soon as you select a topic, you should establish (or monitor)
news feeds from several major sources of business news to keep a
east of actions in your industry.
Public companies are prefe
ed for these plans as SEC filings and investment analyses are available
through research. Some of the firm’s main competitors will likely be public so that you can research them
as well. Large, diversified, companies can be difficult for purposes of this course (unless their
diversification is relatively na
ow, and largely in one “solutions space”). Large organizations (e.g. GE)
may file consolidated reports, and you may not have access to dis-aggregated information on the division
that you are analyzing. Additionally, it’s better to select a company/industry under “duress” or at least
struggling. The reason is its very difficult to add new strategic ideas for a company that is doing well.
You may select any form of organization including profit, non-profit, and government organizations.
However, please take into consideration that within these various organizations, the strategic thinking can
e quite different and some can pose challenges for the planner. Most organizations have some type of
customer base and opportunities for improvement. Charitable organizations compete against other
nonprofits for time and money. Educational organizations compete for students. Regulated utilities
compete for customers among themselves (e.g., gas versus electric) and in conjunction with governments
to attract new industry. Units of governmental entities may be the most difficult, but even those
organizations have customers who can choose to live in a different locality or elect government officials
willing to change the status quo. If you are undecided, medium or small-size competitive, profit-oriented
organizations may provide the best platform for applying course concepts.
Project Deliverables
Phase 1 – Modules 1-3 (Outline for Strategic Management Case)
• Introduction of the company (limit to a maximum of three single-spaced pages).
o Description of the firm and its products
o Company history (
ief history, critical events, competitors, leadership), including strategic
elements of its history
o Vision and mission statement o Assessment of mission and vision
• External assessment o EFE and CPM with strategic implications
o Analysis of competitive position, opportunities, and threats
• Internal assessment o IFE with strategic implications o Financial ratio analysis with key
conclusions and implications for strategic choice o Overall analysis of internal capabilities
and implications for your strategic decisions
Module 1: Select company and secure instructor approval. Once approved, create plan outline, insert
cu
ent mission and vision.
Module 2: Complete an EFE and CPM for your company (including analysis and conclusions) and insert
in your working draft which you will hold until you submit Phase 1 during Module 3. .
Module 3: Complete an IFE and calculate financial ratios (including analysis and conclusions) for your
company and insert in your plan to submit at the end of Module 3.
Submit all of Phase 1 to the Dropbox no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EST of Module 3. (This
Dropbox basket is linked to Turnitin.)
Phase 2 – Modules 4-6 (includes revisions to Phase 1 based on the instructor's feedback)
Internal assessment (continued from Phase 1—include IFE and financial ratios) o
Cu
ent strategy (
ief description of the firm’s cu
ent strategies), including cu
ent
use of technology
o SWOT matrix with strategic implications for the company o BCG matrix with strategic
implications for the company o Space or other matrices with strategic implications for
the company o Possible strategic alternatives
o Evaluation of cu
ent organizational structure
o Recommendation changes (if needed) to the structure, culture (including values), processes,
ewards, or technology
Module 4: Integrate instructor feedback from Phase 1.
Module 5: Develop SWOT, BCG, SPACE, and IE matrices with strategic implications for the company.
Module 6: Develop alternative strategies for your company with strengths and weaknesses of each.
Submit all of Phase 2 to the Dropbox no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EST of Module 6. (This
Dropbox basket is linked to Turnitin.)
Phase 3 – Modules 7-8 (includes revisions to Phase 2 based on the instructor's feedback)
Strategic analysis, choices, impact, and measurement o
Product-positioning map
o Evaluation of strategies and objectives to achieve most favorable market position o
Description of how you would implement your strategies o Milestones (steps for
each major initiative with their timelines
o Specific results you want to achieve including market, financial, and product or service goals
o Financial projection (minimum three years) o Presentation with audio – see below
o Executive summary – see below
Presentation with audio
The final submission for your project includes developing a PowerPoint presentation with
embedded audio files. Each slide must contain an audio file in which you offer insight to the
material in the slide and key points the professor should take away from the visual
information in the PowerPoint. You should minimize repeating points made in the slide other
than emphasizing important components. To put this simply, please do not read the slides
ve
atim but make sure to add value to what is presented on the slide to improve the
understanding of your work. The presentation with audio is a significant component of the
final submission, so please makes sure to offer your best work, speak clearly, emphasize the
strategic implications of your work, and engage the viewer.
Executive summary (compiled with concise and critical elements from the detailed work)
While done as a last step, this goes in front of the report, after the index. A final and
allencompassing analysis is presented, along with the recommendations that you would
make to the firm’s board of directors. This includes identifying what you recommend, and
iefly outlining alternatives considered, key implementation steps, and the impact of the
implementation on the company’s performance and competitive position.
Module 7: Develop a product-positioning map with strategic implications for the company.
Conduct final evaluation of alternative strategies and detailed description of selected strategy.
Module 8: Develop detailed implementation and assessment plan.
Complete financial projections.
Create presentation with audio.
Complete the executive summary and insert into the plan.
Complete all editing, verification, and citing of all sources, and insert graphs and illustrations.
Submit all of Phase 3 to Chalk and Wire no later than Thursday 11:59 PM EST/EST using the link in
the Module 8 folder. Students that do not submit the assignment to Chalk and Wire will receive a
zero. This is a key program assessment; the results are used to ensure students are meeting program
goals. Video and PDF instructions can be found on the course home page. PDF instructions are also
located in the Start Here folder. (Chalk and Wire is linked to turnitin).
Project Submission
Please do not jeopardize completing your MBA! Before you begin, read the plagiarism policy in the
syllabus and catalogue. There is zero tolerance for plagiarism in this course. Any case of plagiarism will
e taken seriously. All assignments will be submitted to Turnitin and be subject to additional validation by
the professor. Work from prior classes cannot be used in this course without prior, written permission
from the professor.
Project Evaluation
All sections of the plan are evaluated based on:
1. Co
ectness and completeness: models/matrices used in the case are reasonably sound/accurate
and thorough.
2. Strategic analysis and conclusions: points made are insightful and clear with relative importance
distinguished (not just a “rehash” of the facts).
3. Logical sequence and continuity of writing: the reader can seamlessly move from paragraph to
paragraph or section without losing