UMUC Strategic Management Environmental Analysis Essay

Your report is based on the research results and not on any prepared documentation. What this means is that you will research and draw your own conclusions. The analysis is based on research and not opinion. You are not making recommendations, and you will not attempt to position the focal company in a better or worse light than other companies within the industry merely because you are completing an analysis on this particular company. The analysis must be based on factual information. Any conclusions drawn have to be based on factual information rather than leaps of faith.

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 is expected to be 10 – 12 pages. The final project may not be more than 12 pages in length, including all tables and matrices, but excluding the title page and reference page. Do no use an Appendix.

• Those items identified in the technical analysis should appear under the appropriate heading in the paper. It is important to format the tables/matrices to fit the report and present the analysis clearly and concisely.
• Create a title page with the title, your name, date, the course number, the instructor’s name.
• Create Topic Headings that correspond to exact sections of the project requirements.

• There are three levels of strategy: corporate-level strategy, business-level strategy, and functional-level strategy. Corporate-level strategies are related to businesses or markets the focal company successfully can compete within. Corporate-level strategies affect the entire organization and are formulated by top management using middle and lower management input. Decision-making about corporate-level strategies is considered complex, affects the entire company, and relates to an organization’s resource capabilities. Corporate level strategies align with an organization’s mission statement and ideally are designed around goals and objectives. Perform an analysis on:
  • Corporate-level strategies.
  • Create a partial SWOT table, perform an SW analysis, and discuss the strategic inferences/implications. Discuss what strategies would allow the company to capitalize on its major strengths and what strategies would allow the company to improve upon its major weaknesses.
  • Create an IFE matrix and analysis. Make sure to explain how the matrix was developed and discuss the strategic inferences and implications.
  • Develop a Grand Strategy Matrix. Explain how the matrix was developed and discuss the strategic inferences/implications at a corporate level and business-unit level.
  • Perform an analysis on:
    • Business-level strategies
      • Evaluate the company’s product line, target market.
      • Identify and explain business-level strategies.
    • Functional-level strategies
      • Assess the company’s organizational structure, the organizational culture, marketing production, operations, finance and accounting, and R&D that can be accomplished by viewing the company’s website, interviews, and surveys.
      • Explain how these strategies align with the company’s vision and mission statements….
    • • Use the company’s income statement and balance sheet to calculate four (4) key financial ratios. One key ratio must come from each of the four key categories: leverage, liquidity, profitability, and efficiency. The four (4) specific ratios selection must come from the following categories.
        • • Leverage Ratios (Long term debt ratio, Total debt ratio, Debt-to-equity ratio, Times interest earned ratio, and Cash coverage ratio)
          • Liquidity Ratios (Net working capital to total assets ratio, current ratio, quick ratio, and cash ratio)
          • Efficiency Ratios (Asset turnover ratio, average collection period, inventory turnover ratio, and Days sales outstanding)
          • Profitability Ratios (Net Profit Margin, Return on Assets, and Return on Equity)
        • The selection of the ratios has to be relevant to the focal company, so it is important to choose wisely.
        • Quote industry financial average ratios correlate to the four (4) financial ratios selected for the focal company. Explain the importance of the four (4) averages to compare why averages are important to use. You may find the industry averages by going to the library. If you cannot find it on your own, reach out to the librarian as these resources are readily available.
        • Create a conclusion. The Conclusion is intended to emphasize the purpose/significance of the analysis, emphasize the significance/consequence of findings, and indicate the wider applications derived from the main points of the project’s requirements. Finally, you will conclude the findings of the external environment analysis.

      Note: If copied directly from the Internet, a zero will be assigned. When placing any table or figure in a table, it must be explained in detail……

      Research for Industry Analysis: Total Market Financial Strength, Sales per Employee, Debt to Equity, Quick Ratio, Leverage Ratio by Sector (csimarket.com)