1. The report must be typed using Arial 12.
2. Remember, this work must be your team’s own. Copy and pasting information from textbooks, internet sources or other resources is not acceptable. This report will be run through Turnitin, a software program that ensures originality of students’ work. (Keep in mind that this software also access ANY essay, report or project that has been published anywhere on the internet which includes those essays and reports available for sale.
3. No more than 10% of your material has been copied from various resources AND HAS BEEN CITED USING APA 7^th edition. No more than 10% of your material has been completed using AI. If this percentage is exceeded all group members will receive a zero grade for this assignment, and an Academic Dishonesty report filed.

Please, if you do have questions, please contact the Advanced Writing Centre or speak with me directly. Remember, if it is not your idea, you need to thank the original author.

1. If a team member is not contributing, they can be removed from the group. This person will be then solely responsible to do the project on their own. Please contact me by November 1^st if there is an issue. All changes must be done by November 1^st.

   1. Table of Contents
      
      

      1.   Executive Summary

      A one-page summary that includes the purpose of the report, the overview of the current company position, the company’s current challenges, the research involved with the project, your key findings, and alternate options AND your recommendation. (This is the last item to complete in the report after you have all analysis and the recommendations made.)

      2.   Introduction

      A one-page explanation of the company’s past five-to-eight years and how the company has changed over this period of time. The company’s position in the market should also be included. Finally, the report’s purpose, what was considered during the research stage and sources considered should also be covered.

      3.   Analysis

      3.1.      External Environment Analysis

      ..1         PESTLE (same as PESTEL) Analysis

      Consider the Macro Environment that the company operates in. What factors influence the industry? Analyze the external environment, and carry forward any findings to your SWOT analysis (Opportunities & Threats).

      Environmental factor	Comments
      Political	What is the political situation of the country (or internationally) and how can it affect the industry?
      	How does the government approach corporate policy, corporate social responsibility, and environmental issues? What impact would this have on the industry, and is it likely to change in the future? Are there future elections that could affect the industry?
      	Consider: tax policy, labour law, environmental law, trade restrictions, tariffs, and political stability, level of corruption and bureaucracy, freedom of press. Consider political impact on health, education, and infrastructure.
      Economic	How the economy influences the industry’s performance?
      	How stable is the economy? Are customers’ levels of disposable income increasing or decreasing?
      	Consider: economic growth potential, interest rates, exchange rates, inflation rates, unemployment rates, disposable income levels, labour costs, price fluctuations, stock market trends, level of globalization in the industry and how these factors impacts companies in the industry.
      Socio-cultural	The attitudes, values, norms, beliefs, behaviours and associated demographic trends characteristic of a given geographic area
      	How does a society’s views and beliefs influence an industry? How likely is there to be a shift in views/values? What impact will these expected changes have on an industry?
      	Consider: demographics, generational shifts, society’s levels of health/education/social mobility, social classes, family size and structure, minorities and expatriates, customer buying habits, immigration and emigration rates, gender distribution, employment patterns, job market trends, attitudes towards work, attitudes toward imported goods and services, attitudes towards work, leisure, career and retirement, and saving and investing, social attitudes and social taboos, religion and lifestyle choices and how these factors could influence an industry.
      Technology	Are there any new technology changes that will affect the industry?
      	Consider: new technologies, new technologies available to competitors that are out of reach for your company, rate of technological change, spending on R&D, communication infrastructure, government restrictions (dial-up vs. fiber), infrastructure restrictions (remote working).
      Legal	Legal restrictions in place (or may be in place in the future) that can affect the industry.
      	What is the likely timeline for proposed legislative changes?
      	Consider: human rights, consumer law, antitrust law, commercial law, copyright/patents/intellectual law, data protection, employment law, health and safety law, and international law.
      Environmental	Ecological and environmental factors such as weather, climate, climate change, and how the weather may affect an industry.
      	Consider: weather, climate change, laws regulating environment pollution, air and water pollution, recycling, waste management, “green” products, endangered species, renewable energy, industries such as tourism, farming, and insurance are impacted by the environment. Consumer attitudes also can influence an industry.

      ..2    Industry Environment - Porters Five Forces

      1. Industry Rivalry – How competitive and profitable is the industry?

      Industry Rivalry
      Industry growth rates	Informational complexity	Product differences
      High fixed costs	Concentration & balance	Brand identity
      Intermittent over capacity	Diversity of competitors	Switching costs
      Exit barriers	Corporate stakes

       

      1. The Bargaining power of customers/buyers – How much power do buyers have to demand lower prices or higher quality from the industry?

      The Bargaining Power of Customers (Buyers)
      Differentiation of outputs	Buyer information about supplier products	Importance of volume to buyers
      Switching costs	Buyer profitability	Cost relative to total buyer purchases
      Presence of substitutes	Decision makers incentives	Impact of outputs on the cost of differentiation
      Industry concentration relative to buyer concentration	Threat of backward integration

       

      1. The bargaining power of suppliers – How much power do suppliers have to charge high prices or offer lower quality materials to their buyers?

      The Bargaining Power of Suppliers
      Differentiation of inputs	Information about suppliers products	Importance of volume to suppliers
      Switching costs	Supplier profitability	Cost relative to total purchases in the industry
      Presence of substitute products	Decision makers incentives	Impact of inputs on cost or differentiation
      Supplier concentration relative to industry concentration	Threat of forward integration

       

      1. Threat of new entrants – How easy or difficult is it for new companies to enter a market?

      The Threat of New Entrants
      Economies of scale	Absolute cost advantage	Switching costs
      Proprietary product differences	Government policy	Capital requirements
      Brand identity	Expected retaliation	Access to distribution

       

      1. Threat of substitute products or services – How easy is it for buyers to find substitutes with better prices or quality?

      Threat of Substitute Products or Services
      Relative price performance of substitutes	Buyer propensity to substitute	Switching costs

      ·              Internal Analysis

      3.2.1      Company vision, mission, goal/objectives

      Analyze the company’s vision, mission, goals and objectives. Remember to carry forward the information into your SWOT analysis.

      Note: Mission: A mission statement is a short description of the purpose of the company/organization
               Vision: How do we accomplish the mission? Presentation or prioritized, measurable goals with deadlines.

      Does the company’s mission/vision: clearly define your customers, identify the markets the firm operates in, seem concerned with survival, growth and profitability, outline its economic objectives and its beliefs, ambitions and value, as well as its competitive strengths? Does the statement(s) include a concern for public image, social community and/or the environment? Does the firm publically state how important their employees are to their success?

      3.2.2 Resources – Provide a summary and explain how the company is achieving a competitive advantage using the following resources:

      Tangible Resources	Intangible Resources
      Financial Resources	Technological Resources
      Physical Resources	Innovation Resources
      Human Resources	Reputation
      Organisational Resources

      3.2.3    Capabilities – Provide a summary and explain how the company is achieving a competitive advantage using the following capabilities:

      Corporate	Information Management
      Research & Development	Product Design
      Marketing	Sales & Fulfillment

      3.2.4      Financial Analysis – Choose five (5) ratios to compute and analyze for the last five (5) fiscal years. Enter the details into a chart similar to the example below, and interpret the results – what do the numbers mean?

      Note: Make sure to include your financials and calculations in an appendix. This can be uploaded as a separate file when submitting. A good guide: http://www.investopedia.com/university/ratios/

      	Year
      Ratio	20XX	20XX	20XX	20XX	20XX
      Current Ratio
      Quick Ratio
      Cash Ratio
      Total debit ratio
      Debit Equity Ratio
      Times Interest Earned
      Return on Equity
      Return on total assets
      Net profit / sales
      Expense / sales
      Asset turnover
      Price Earnings Ratio

      3.2.5  SWOT

      Bring together your complete analysis – both internal and external into a summary SWOT table.

      Strengths	Weaknesses
      Opportunities	Threats

      
      

       

       

      4           Strategic Alternatives/Options for the company’s strategic plan

      Using your analysis, create two (2) options for the company to have as a plan for the future.  These options should be in line with your analysis, and should focus on corporate, business, and functional level strategies. They will generally centre on how to change the company – its structure, market, products etc.

      • Option 1
      • Option 2

      5       Recommendation

      Choose one optional strategic plan and provide a rationale for why it is the stronger and therefore more likely to be successful for the company. Your recommendation should be directed at solving whatever issue the company is facing.

       

      6       Implementation or Action Plan for your recommended strategy

      Remember to include a timeline which sequences the steps and resources the company should follow while they implement your recommendation. It is strongly suggested you separate the steps into immediate, medium and long-term action.
      
      This should be outlined in the table format, with accompanying explanation which includes:

      1. Timelines
      2. Steps
      3. Resources required (and functional areas affected)
      4. Any other explanation that may be needed

      7     Evaluation

      Include the key success factors and/or criteria to measure the success or failure of your recommended strategic plan.

       

      8     Works Cited

      • All pages should be numbered.
      • Any reference materials used beyond information provided in MN 2600 slides should follow APA guidelines.
      • DO NOT repeat sentences or phrases from the websites you consult, as this does count as plagiarism. Remember, this will be submitted to Turnitin for originality verification.