Business & Finance Homework Help

BMGT 495 – Project 4: Strategy Selection, Implementation and Evaluation

Company: ACACIA COMMUNICATION INC.

PAGES: 13-16 (Excluding Cover and Reference Pages)

Purpose:  

This project is the last of four projects.  You will generate a pool of alternative strategies, evaluate these alternative strategies, and select the best strategy using the tools and concepts learned throughout the course.  You will develop implementation plans, evaluative plans to control the implementation process, and plan for post-evaluation measures. You will also draw from previous business courses to develop an understanding of how organizations develop and manage strategies to establish, safeguard and sustain its position in a competitive market.  

Instructions: 

Step 1:  Course Material and Research

Although you are required to research information about the focal company, you are also accountable for using the course material to support the ideas, reasoning and conclusions made.  Course material use goes beyond defining terms but is used to explain the ‘why and how’ of a situation.  Using one or two in-text citations from the course material and then relying on Internet source material will not earn many points on an assignment.  A variety of source material is expected and what is presented must be relevant and applicable to the topic being discussed.   Avoid merely making statements but close the loop of the discussion by explaining how something happens or why something happens, which focuses on importance and impact.  In closing the loop, you will demonstrate the ability to think clearly and rationally showing an understanding of the logical connections between the ideas presented from the research, the course material and the question(s) being asked.

Step 2:  Research 

In completing the report, you will use the chapters in the eBook as a guide and perform research on the same company as in Projects 1 and 2, answer the required elements below in narrative form following the steps. 

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

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.   You may also use Market Line and should be looking at the focal company’s Annual Report or 10K report.  You are not depending on any one resource to complete the analysis.  It is impossible to complete a Porter’s Five Forces, competitive analysis or OT by using only course material.

You should not be using obscure articles, GlassDoor, or Chron or similar articles.  

Research for Financial Analysis:  Financial Research

Research for Industry Analysis CSI Market

UMUC library is available for providing resources and services. Seek library support for excellence in your academic pursuit.     

Step 4: Preparation for the Project

Step 5:  How to Set Up the Project 

Use this template to complete the project: Project 4 Template.  The document has to be written in Word or rtf.  No other format is acceptable.  No pdf files will be graded.  Use 12-point font for a double-spaced report.  The final product cannot be longer than 16 pages in length, excluding the title page and reference page.  Those items identified in the implementation and action plans should appear under the appropriate heading in the paper.  Do no use an Appendix. 

Step 6:  Introduction 

Create an introductory paragraph.  The Introduction should clearly and concisely convey the main points of the project’s requirements. Review the following website to learn how to write an introductory paragraph: http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/intro.html.  

Step 7:  Alternative Strategy Generation

Step 8:  Strategy Prioritization

Step 9:  Strategy Selection

Step 10:  Strategy Implementation

Step 11:  Strategy Evaluation

Step 12: 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. Review the following website to learn how to write a concluding paragraph: http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/concl.html.