Project 1: Starting an External Environmental Analysis
Instructions
BMGT 495 – Project 1: Starting an External Environmental Analysis (Week 2)
NOTE: All submitted work is to be your original work (only your work). You may not use any work from another student, the Internet, or an online clearinghouse. You are expected to understand the Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism Policy and know that it is your responsibility to learn about your Instructor and general academic expectations concerning proper citation sources as specified in the APA Publication Manual, 7th Ed. (You are held accountable for in-text citations and an associated reference list only).
Purpose
This project is the first of four projects. This project provides the first steps in completing an external environmental analysis of your focal company’s strategic management plan. You will use tools and apply concepts learned in this and previous business courses to demonstrate an understanding of how organizations develop and manage strategies to establish, safeguard and sustain their competitive position in the 21st century You will use tools and apply ideas from this and other business classes to show that you understand how organizations create and manage strategies to establish, protect, and keep their competitive position in the 21st century. (rapidly evolving/shifting/changing), uncertain hyper-competitive business environment.
Completing a company overview and assessing the general environment is key in performing an external environment analysis. This project allows you to evaluate the competitive position of one of the organizations listed below and integrate that information into the beginning of an external environmental analysis.
The company you will be analyzing operates within the global market. Therefore, you will assess the company in terms of the global industry. Industries differ widely in their economic characteristics, competitive situation, and future profit potential.
In this project, you are presenting a report document. The expectation is that the report provides details to help the audience grasp the main topics and understand the business climate.
“Analysis” is the operative word. In analyzing the external environment, you are expected to thoroughly research the company. As part of that effort, you will need to take that research and break it into small parts to understand better what is happening in the external environment of the business. In researching an industry, it is important to understand that every company within an industry is different, so gathering information on one company does not mean that the collected information is relevant to other companies. When researching, parsing the material is critical to an accurate analysis. Avoid presenting just any information as that may lead to using irrelevant information.
You will then write the report in your own words to share the external analysis. You are expected to present information with supporting ideas and reasoning using the course material and your research. You will not lift any information from source documents without properly citing and referencing. For the technical analysis aspect of the project, you must create the technique on your own and may not use any source material that you happen to find. No work from a clearinghouse or similar website may be used or cited as a credible source.
Outcomes Met With This Project
Utilize a set of useful analytical skills, tools, and techniques for analyzing a company strategically;
Integrate ideas, concepts, and theories from previously taken functional courses including accounting, finance, market, business, and human resource management.
Instructions
In completing the report, you will use the chapters in the eBook and other course material. Moreover, you will research the company and its industry before responding, in narrative form, to the information provided in the steps (see below).
Step 1 Specific Company for All Four Projects
In this project, you will complete a Company Overview, an Assessment of the General Environment, and a conclusion.
You will be assigned by your instructor one focal company to complete the analysis. The assigned company must be used for all four projects in this course. You cannot write a report on any other company different from the company specifically assigned by your instructor. If a company other than that assigned to you is used, a zero will be assigned.
The instructor will assign you a company from the list below. After your company is assigned to you, see Library Resources below.
Apple Inc.
Students must complete the project using the assigned company. Deviating from the assigned company will result in a zero for the project. You will look for the company assigned to you in the Announcement area of the classroom.
Step 2 Course Materials and Research
You are required to research information about the focal company and the external environment for this project. You are accountable for using the course materials to support the ideas, reasoning, and conclusions made. Course material’s use goes beyond defining terms and explains the ‘why and how’ of a situation. Using one or two in-text citations from the course materials and then relying on Internet source material will not earn many points on the 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.
Note: Your report is based on the research results 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 of any source material that puts together any of the tools or techniques whether from the Internet, for-pay websites, or any pre-prepared document, video or source material. A zero will be earned for not doing your own analysis.
Success: 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. To ensure success, as stated above, you are expected to use the course materials and research on the focal company’s global industry and the focal company. An opinion does not earn credit, nor does the use of external sources when course materials can be used. It is necessary to provide explanations (the why and how) rather than making statements. Avoid stringing one citation after another, as doing so does not show detailed explanations.
Library Resources (Company Required)
All the information needed for your assigned company must be obtained from one of the library’s suggested online company research databases. To use these resources, go to the main navigation bar in the classroom, select Academic Support and then select Library. Next, select Databases by Title (A – Z). Since your primary online company research database is Statista, select S from the alphabet list, and scroll down to select Statista Online.
Dun and Bradstreet’s Hoovers Database, among others, is another excellent source for company research, competitor, and industry information.
You can find relevant and significant additional information required for company project research by using https://libguides.umgc.edu/business-research
Additional Library Resources
Research for Company Financial Ratios: Financial Research.
Research for Industry Financial Ratios: CSI Market.
Use “OneSearch” to find scholarly articles by clicking Library under Academic Support on the classroom main menu bar and checkmark “Scholarly Journals Only” prior to starting a search.
Library Support Personal Helpance
Extensive library resources and services are available online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week at https://www.umgc.edu/library/index.cfm to support you in your studies. In addition, the UMGC Library provides research Helpance in creating search strategies, selecting relevant databases, and evaluating and citing resources in various formats via its “Ask a Librarian” service at https://www.umgc.edu/library/libask/index.cfm.
Step 3 How to Set Up the Report:
The document must be written in Word or RTF. No other format is acceptable. Pdf files will not be graded. Use 12-point font for a double-spaced report. The final product should be 7 – 8 pages. It may not exceed 8 pages, including all tables and matrices, but excluding the title and reference pages. Do not use an Appendix.
Create a title page with the title, your name, date, the course number, and the instructor’s name.
Create Topic Headings that correspond to the exact sections of the project requirements.
Step 4 Company Overview
Provide a company overview, which is an essential component of the strategic management process. The company overview includes the purpose(s) for the founding of the company (i.e., what problem(s) was it formed to solve and/or opportunities it was formed to exploit, who are the founders, home country or state, current management, employee headcount, last year’s revenue, etc.).
Step 5 Evaluate the General Environment
Identify the global industry in which the company operates. After your company is assigned to you, see Library Resources above.
Discuss the company’s general environment by developing a PESTEL analysis.
First, use the course material to identify the elements of the PESTEL and what components make up each element. Then, complete the analysis using research on the industry and the focal company. Be sure to present and support the reasoning for what is presented thoroughly. You may not use a PESTEL analysis that is already completed and available on the Internet. A zero will result if used as the analysis has to result from your research and your own development.
NOTE: A PESTEL analysis is not a table, and it is not a bulleted assessment.
Identify and discuss one key trend for each letter of the PESTEL for the industry. Key trends are separate from the PESTEL analysis.
Select one of the six trends identified in the previous requirement and discuss how the selected trends could affect the focal company.
Discuss key areas of uncertainty related to the identified trend for the focal company that could potentially impact the company’s strategy.
Perform strategic analysis of the company’s mission, vision, and objectives.
Step 6 Conclusion
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.
Step 7 Review the Paper
Read the paper to ensure all required elements are present.
The following are specific requirements that you will follow. Use the checklist to mark off that you have followed each specific requirement.
Checklist
Specific Project Requirements
Proofread your paper.
Read and use the grading rubric while completing the paper to ensure all requirements are met to lead to the highest possible grade.
Third-person writing is required. Third-person means that there are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us” (first-person writing), nor is there use of “you or your” (second-person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person.
Contractions are not used in business writing, so do not use them.
Paraphrase and do not use direct quotations. Paraphrase means you do not use more than four consecutive words from a source document. Removing quotation marks and citing is inappropriate. Instead, put a passage from a source document into your own words and attribute the passage to the source document. There should be no passages with quotation marks. Using more than four consecutive words from a source document would require direct quotation marks. Changing words from a passage does not exclude the passage from having quotation marks. If more than four consecutive words are used from source documents, this material will not be included in the grade.
You are expected to use the research and weekly course materials to develop the analysis and support the reasoning. Therefore, there should be a robust use of the course material. The material used from a source document must be cited and referenced. A reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa. Changing words from a passage does not exclude the passage from having quotation marks.
Use in-text citations and provide a reference list that contains the reference associated with each in-text citation.
You may not use books in completing this problem set unless it is part of the course material. Also, do not use a dictionary, Wikipedia, or Investopedia, or similar sources.
You may not use Fern Fort University or any other for-fee website.
Provide the page or paragraph number in every in-text citation. For the eBook, you must include the chapter title, section heading, and page number.
For citations using a video, you must provide the minutes and second of the cited material.
Step 8: Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder
The assignment submitted to the Assignment Folder will be considered the student’s final product and therefore ready for grading by the instructor. It is incumbent upon the student to verify the assignment is the correct submission. No exceptions will be considered by the instructor.
NOTE: All submitted work is to be your original work. You may not use any work from another student, the Internet, or an online clearinghouse. You are expected to understand the Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism Policy and know that it is your responsibility to learn about instructor and general academic expectations concerning proper citation sources as specified in the APA Publication Manual, 7th Ed. (Students are held accountable for in-text citations and an associated reference list only.)
Rubric Name: Project #1 15% – Fall 2021
Print Rubric
Criteria Equivalent to an A Equivalent to a B Equivalent to a C Equivalent to a D Equivalent to an F Criterion Score
Company Overview 0.9 points
Thoroughly and correctly presents a company overview describing why the company was formed, its headquarters home country or state, its founders, and its ownership, management, employee headcount, last year’s revenue and revenue sources, all clearly supported by thorough research.
(0.81 – 0.9)
0.765 points
Missing one identified element of company overview; uses research that supports the reasoning and conclusions; needs some development.
(0.72 – 0.80)
0.675 points
Missing two identified elements of company overview; uses research that supports the reasoning and conclusions; needs significant development.
(0.63 – 0.71)
0.585 points
Information presented but is missing at least three elements, superficial, vague, or incorrect; little or no evidence of research and course material; needs major development.
(0.54 – 0.62)
0 points
Fails to discuss company overview.
(0) Score of Company Overview,
/ 0.9
Identify industry in which focal company operates. 0.3 points
Correctly identifies the global industry using an appropriate library database.
(0.27 – 0.3) 0.26 points
No option to select. 0.22 points
No option to select. 0.2 points
Incorrectly identifies the global industry or fails to use an appropriate library database.
(0.18 – 0.20) 0 points
Fails to identify the global industry in which the focal company operates.
(0) Score of Identify industry in which focal company operates.,
/ 0.3
General Environment – PESTEL analysis 3 points
Thoroughly and correctly uses the course material to identify elements of each letter in PESTEL and thoroughly and correctly discusses both the general environment of the industry and the focal company using research to support reasoning and conclusions.
(2.7 – 3.0)
2.6 points
Uses the course material to identify elements of each letter in PESTEL and discusses both the general environment of the industry and the focal company using research to support reasoning, but some development is needed.
(2.4 – 2.69)
2.25 points
Uses some course material to identify elements of each letter in PESTEL and discusses both the general environment of the industry and the focal company using little research to support reasoning; significant development is needed.
(2.1 – 2.39)
1.95 points
Attempts to discuss the general environment OR the the focal company, but not both; OR presents superficial, vague, or incorrect information; little to no evidence of research AND course material; needs major development.
(1.8 – 2.09)
0 points
Fails to discuss the general environment.
(0) Score of General Environment – PESTEL analysis,
/ 3
Identify and discuss one key trend for each letter of PESTEL 1.65 points
Thoroughly and correctly identifies and discusses one key trend for each letter of PESTEL using research to support reasoning and conclusions.
(1.48 – 1.6)
1.4 points
Identifies and discusses one key trend for each letter of PESTEL using research to support the reasoning made, but some development is needed.
(1.32 – 1.47)
1.24 points
Identifies and discusses one key trend for each letter of PESTEL using little research to support the reasoning made, but significant development is needed.
(1.16 – 1.31)
1.07 points
Information presented on trends, but is superficial, vague, or incorrect; little to no evidence of research; may not provide trends for each letter; needs major development.
(0.99 – 1.15)
0 points
Fails to identify one key trend for each letter of PESTEL.
(0) Score of Identify and discuss one key trend for each letter of PESTEL,
/ 1.65
Select one of the six trends identified in the previous requirement and discuss how the focal company could be affected by the selected trends. 1.65 points
Selects one of the six trends identified in the previous requirement and thoroughly and correctly discusses how the focal company could be affected by the selected trends using the research to support reasoning.
(1.48 – 1.6)
1.4 points
Selects one of the six trends identified in the previous requirement and discusses how the focal company could be affected by the selected trends using research to support the reasoning, but some development is needed.
(1.32 – 1.47)
1.24 points
Selects one of the six trends identified in the previous requirement and discusses how the focal company could be affected by the selected trends and attempts to uses research as support, but support is not strong; needs significant development.
(1.16 – 1.31)
1.07 points
Information presented, but is incorrect, superficial, or vague; little to no evidence of research; needs major development.
(0.99 – 1.15)
0 points
Fails to select or discuss how industry in which the focal company operates could be affected by one of the trends.
(0)
Score of Select one of the six trends identified in the previous requirement and discuss how the focal company could be affected by the selected trends.,
/ 1.65
Discuss key areas of uncertainty related to the identified trend for the focal company that could potentially impact the company’s strategy. 1.65 points
Thoroughly and correctly discusses key areas of uncertainty related to the identified trend for the focal company that could potentially impact the company’s strategy using research to support reasoning.
(1.48 – 1.65) 1.4 points
Discusses key areas of uncertainty related to the identified trend for the focal company that could potentially impact the company’s strategy research to support the reasoning, but some development is needed.
(1.32 – 1.47)
1.24 points
Attempts to discuss key areas of uncertainty related to the identified trend for the focal company that could potentially impact the company’s strategy and attempts to uses some research as support, but support is not strong or needs significant development.
(1.16 – 1.31)
1.07 points
Information presented but is incorrect, superficial, or vague; little to no evidence of research; needs major development.
(0.99 – 1.15)
0 points
Fails to discuss key areas of uncertainty related to the identified trend for the focal company that could potentially impact the company’s strategy.
(0) Score of Discuss key areas of uncertainty related to the identified trend for the focal company that could potentially impact the company’s strategy.,
/ 1.65
Perform a strategic analysis of the company’s mission, vision and objectives. 1.65 points
Thoroughly and correctly performs a strategic analysis of the company’s mission, vision and objectives using the course materials, AND research to support reasoning.
(1.48 – 1.65) 1.41 points
Performs a strategic analysis of the company’s mission, vision and objectives using course materials and research to support the reasoning, but some development is needed.
(1.32 – 1.47) 1.23 points
Attempts to performs a strategic analysis of the company’s mission, vision and objectives and attempts to uses some course materials and research as support, but support is not strong; OR needs significant development.
(1.16 – 1.31) 1.08 points
Information presented but is incorrect, superficial, or vague; little to no evidence of research AND course materials; needs major development.
(0.99 – 1.15) 0 points
Fails to performs a strategic analysis of the company’s mission, vision and objectives.
(0) Score of Perform a strategic analysis of the company’s mission, vision and objectives.,
/ 1.65
Conclusion 0.45 points
Thoroughly and correctly presents conclusion that emphasizes the purpose/significance of the analysis, the consequences of findings, and indicate the wider application derived from main points using the course material and research to support reasoning.
(0.40 – 0.45)
0.38 points
Presents conclusion that covers most of the main points using course material and research to support the reasoning; some development is needed.
(0.36 – 0.39)
0.34 points
Presents conclusion that covers a general overview of the main topics covered with little to no evidence of the research; significant development.
(0.31 – 0.35)
0.29 points
Attempts to present a conclusion, but only addresses some of the main topics; needs major development.
(0.27 – 0.30)
0 points
Failed to provide a conclusion.
(0) Score of Conclusion,
/ 0.45
Attention to Instructions 1.5 points
Demonstrates exceptional understanding of requirements responding completely to each aspect of assignment including minor aspects of the assignment such as using third person writing, no use of direct quotes, lack of page/paragraph numbers, required use of course material, and submission of WORD/RTF document, etc.
(1.35 – 1.5)
1.28 points
Demonstrates excellent understanding of requirements; missed one minor elements such of not using third person writing, lack of page/paragraph numbers; used direct quotes, lack of course material; OR failed to submit a WORD/RTF document, etc.
(1.2- 1.34)
1.12 points
Demonstrates satisfactory understanding of requirements; missed a key element or two minor aspects of assignment.
(1.05 – 1.19)
0.98 points
Fails to show a firm understanding of requirements missing two key elements or three minor aspects of assignment.
(0.975 – 1.04)
0 points
Fails to demonstrate understanding of assignment requirements.
(0 – 0.974) Score of Attention to Instructions,
/ 1.5
Writing Mechanics 1.5 points
Strictly adheres to standard usage rules of written English using paragraphs and sentence rather than bullets, including but not limited to capitalization, punctuation, run-on sentences, missing or extra words, stylistic errors, spelling and grammatical errors. No contractions or jargon used. Few errors noted.
(1.35 – 1.5)
1.28 points
Excellently adheres to standard usage of mechanics: conventions of written English, including capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. One to four errors noted.
(1.2- 1.34)
1.12 points
Satisfactorily adheres to standard usage rules of mechanics: conventions of English, including capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Five to ten errors noted.
(1.05 – 1.19)
0.98 points
Minimally adheres to standard usage rules of mechanics: conventions of written English, including capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. More than ten errors found.
(0.975 – 1.04)
0 points
Does not adhere to standard usage rules of mechanics: conventions of written English largely incomprehensible, or errors are too many to count.
(0 – 0.974) Score of Writing Mechanics,
/ 1.5
APA Style (7th ed.) 0.75 points
Excellent use of APA. Few APA style or usage errors; Proper citation of source material is used throughout; Provides citation every time with use of source material. Reference titles follow APA with only the first word, the first word after a colon and proper nouns capitalized.
(0.68 – 0.75) 0.64 points
Attempts in-text citations and reference list, but one or two APA style errors noted or fails to use APA citations when citations are required 1-2 times.
(0.6 – 0.67) 0.56 points
Attempts in-text citations and reference list; APA style errors are noted throughout; Fails to use APA citations 3 times in document.
(0.53 – 0.59)
0.49 points
Attempts in-text citations and reference list; Fails to use APA citation 4-5 times; or presents only a few in-text citations throughout document, and reference list that requires APA citations throughout the document.
(0.45 – 0.52) 0 points
No attempt at APA style; OR attempts either in-text citations or reference list, but omits the other; Uses books or obscure articles not related to subject.
(0 – 0.44) Score of APA Style (7th ed.),
/ 0.75
