Overview

Write a 4–6-page business analysis of your selected firm's business strategy.Notes: The assessments in this course are sequenced in such a way as to help you build specific skills that you will use throughout your program. Complete the assessments in the order in which they are presented.SHOW LESSAs a business professional, you will need to understand business strategy—the means by which organizations or individuals achieve their business objectives. This assessment allows you to practice analyzing the business strategy of a specific firm.By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Apply strategic theories, models, and best practices to understand and explain an organization's strategy.
  • Explain the generic business strategies for the selected firm.
  • Analyze what business strategies the firm is using in their marketplace approach.
• Competency 2: Analyze the fit of the internal elements (resources, capabilities, goals, structures, systems, and values) with the organizational strategy.
  • Analyze the firm's business model.
• Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is professional and consistent with expectations for members of the business professions.
  • Write coherently to support a central idea (in appropriate APA format) with correct grammar, usage, and mechanics as expected of a business professional.

Competency Map

CHECK YOUR PROGRESSUse this online tool to track your performance and progress through your course.

Context

Grant and Jordan (2015) say that strategy is not a detailed plan or set of instructions; instead, strategy is the means by which organizations or individuals achieve their objectives.In order to achieve objectives, firms have a value proposition—a product or service that is being offered in the market to meet customers' needs or perceived needs. How the firm goes about delivering the value proposition is what Grant and Jordan call a business strategy, or a competitive advantage.SHOW LESSElements of an effective business strategy include a company's products and the markets in which these products will compete. Cost leadership and differentiation are two generic types of business strategies, but some firms may use a combination of these, referred to as a hybrid business strategy. Porter (1996) argues that for businesses to prosper, even nonprofit organizations, they must have a business strategy that fits into these three generic types. Successful firms also develop business models as part of an overall business strategy. These business models describe how the firm will create competitive advantage through the way it executes its business strategy with buyers, suppliers, and key alliance partners.

References

Grant, R. M., & Jordan, J. (2015). Foundations of strategy (2nd ed.). West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons.Porter, M. E. (1996). What is strategy? Harvard Business Review, 76(1), 61–78.

Questions to Consider

As you prepare to complete this assessment, you may want to think about other related issues to deepen your understanding or broaden your viewpoint. You are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community. Note that these questions are for your own development and exploration and do not need to be completed or submitted as part of your assessment.SHOW MORE

Resources

Suggested Resources

The resources provided here are optional. You may use other resources of your choice to prepare for this assessment; however, you will need to ensure that they are appropriate, credible, and valid. The MBA-FP6024 – Organizational Strategy Library Guide can help direct your research, and the Supplemental Resources and Research Resources, both linked from the left navigation menu in your courseroom, provide additional resources to help support you.

Capella Resources

Click the link provided for more background on your selected firm:

• Firm Research Information [DOC].

SHOW MORE

Assessment Instructions

Note: The assessments in this course are sequenced in such a way as to help you build specific skills that you will use throughout your program. Complete the assessments in the order in which they are presented.

Preparation

For the assessments in this course, select one of the companies from the list below to be your focus:

• Ford: Ford is a complex multinational organization that has recently focused on strategic initiatives to address production capacity, supply chain reliability, sustainability, and technological innovation in order to remain competitive in the rapidly changing automotive industry.
• Procter and Gamble: This is a huge multinational firm with products you probably buy every day. This business is interesting because the company is focusing on science and technology to help it revise many of its business strategies and contribute to overall company goals for sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
• Virgin Group: This company is an interesting one because of its high profile owner, Sir Richard Branson, and the many widely diversified companies that are part of the Virgin Group.
• Build Your Own Case: Create a strategic case on the company of your choice. The company must be publicly traded, have multiple strategic business units (a corporation), and be approved by faculty.

Review the resources available in the Company Research Information document (in the Suggested Resources) for understanding the organization, and begin researching the firm's business strategy and business model. Use additional resources from the Capella University Library or your own research as needed. Find at least four current, scholarly, or professional resources for this assessment.

Overview

The vice president of corporate strategy at the headquarters of your selected firm—Ford, Procter and Gamble, Virgin Group, or a firm of your choice—has requested that you provide her with a business analysis of your key findings regarding the firm's business strategy:

• An overview of the generic strategy that seems to best describe the company's strategic approach.
• A discussion of key elements in the overall business strategy.
• A review of the most important components of the company's business model.

Requirements

In 4–6 pages, provide a business analysis of the firm you selected. Your analysis should do all of the following:

• Explain the generic business strategies, including cost, differentiation, and focus or hybrid information, for the selected firm.
• Analyze what business strategies the firm is using in their marketplace approach. Provide examples of how they use the strategy to position itself in a competitive environment.
• Analyze the firm's business model.
  • What are their core products?
  • How does the firm make money?
  • What is the customer value proposition?
  • What is the profit proposition?

Use clear headings and subheadings to organize the key points of your analysis.Your report should be clearly written and communicate effectively to organizational leadership; use correct grammar, spelling and mechanics as expected of a business professional. Cite and reference all sources using current APA style.

Additional Requirements

• References: Support your business analysis with at least four academic resources from the Capella University Library.
• APA Style: Use proper APA style for all citations and references.
• Length: The body of the business analysis must be 4–6 double-spaced, typed pages, not including the references list.
• Written communication: Demonstrate graduate-level writing skills through accurate communication of thoughts that convey the overall goals of the analysis and do not detract from the message.
• Font: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Note: Faculty may also use the Writing Feedback Tool to provide feedback on your writing. In the tool, click the linked resources for helpful writing information.

Research Information

Review the following resources to further your understanding ofa selected firm to use in your coursework. Use additional resources from theCapella University Library, Internet, your text case studies, or your ownresearch, as needed, for completing the course assessments.

Ford

Ford is a complex multinational organization that hasrecently focused on strategic initiatives to address production capacity,supply chain reliability, sustainability, and technological innovation in orderto remain competitive in the rapidly changing automotive industry.

Grant, R. M., and Jordan, J. (2012). Fordand the world automobile industry in 2012. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons.

Currie, A., Larsen, P. T. (2011, Jun 7). Ambitious goals for Ford. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/business/08views…

Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative. (n.d). FordMotor Company manages ethics and social responsibility [PDF].Retrieved from: https://danielsethics.mgt.unm.edu/pdf/ford-motor-c…

Henry, J. (2015). OneFord, part two; Tweaking The master plan. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimhenry/2015/08/30/on…

Miller, D. (2016, April 9). Dispelling3 Ford Motor Company shareholder concerns. The Motley Fool. Retrieved from http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/09/d…

Procter and Gamble

This is a huge multinational firm with products you probablybuy every day. This business is interesting because the company is focusing onscience and technology to help it revise many of its business strategies andcontribute to overall company goals for sustainability and corporate socialresponsibility. Search for the articles by following the instructions in the Library Guide:·Brown, B., & Anthony, S. D. (2011). HowP&G tripled its innovation success rate. Harvard Business Review, 89(6),64–72.·Dillon, K. (2011). I think of my failures as a gift.Harvard Business Review, 89(4), 86–89.·Lafley, A. G., Martin, R. L., Rivkin, J. W.,& Siggelkow, N. (2012). Bringing science to the art of strategy. Harvard Business Review, 90(9), 56–66.·Lafley, A. G., & Tichy, N. M. (2011). Theart and science of finding the right CEO. HarvardBusiness Review, 89(10), 66–74.

Virgin Group

A multinational conglomerate with more than two dozenVirgin-branded companies, Virgin operates in at least 13 regions around theglobe, in seven industries (Virgin, n.d.).It becomes apparent that Virgin’s corporate strategiesinclude diversification and globalization, and some argue there areopportunities for Virgin to vertically integrate companies within certainmarket segments-travel and lifestyle markets, for example. Yet, howeverVirgin’s corporate strategies are labeled, the brand is the dominant resourcethat Richard Branson leverages to acquire and develop new business thatdifferentiates Virgin from the competition (Ankeny, 2012).Branson’s philosophy toward management of Virgin companiesincludes keeping intact the entrepreneurial spirit of firms acquired or merged.He defends his approach to keeping a multitude of individual entrepreneurialcompanies with the Virgin brand as follows: “Often, owning a number ofindividual stand-alone companies run by different people can be more effectivethan having one giant company with lots of people working together” (Maxwell,2014, And what about making the difficult decisions concerning people heading,para. 2).A strategic assessment of Virgin is an assessment of how wellan individual Virgin company fits the Virgin business model. Prahalad andBettis (1986) might define the business model of Virgin as the dominant logicthat describes the rationale for Virgin’s diversification strategy.Choose one of the following Virgin companies to conduct acomprehensive organizational strategic assessment:·Virgin Atlantic.·Virgin Galactic.·Virgin Media.·Virgin Records.

References

Ankeny, J. (2012, June). Richard Branson on buildingand empire. Entrepreneur, 40(6), 30–38. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223639

Maxwell, C. (2014). SirRichard Branson. Retrieved from http://www.director.co.uk/sir-richard-branson/

Prahalad, C. K., & Bettis, A. (1986). The dominant logic: A new linkagebetween diversity and performance. Strategic Management Journal, 7(6),485–501.

Virgin. (n.d.). Find a Virgincompany. Retrieved from http://www.virgin.com/company

Additional Resources

Hunter, M. (2013). Typologies and sources of entrepreneurial opportunity(II). Economics, Management & Financial Markets, 8(4), 69–141.

Altman, W. (2009). Branson: The global brand builder. Engineering &Technology, 4(2), 80–81.

Rubin, E. N. (2013). Assessing your leadership style to achieveorganizational objectives. Global Business & Organizational Excellence,32(6), 55–66.