Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ)
Strategic Management Paper
MBA519
(Structure of Paper)
1. Title Page
2. Table of Contents Page (see page two)
3. Proper Section Headings
4. Content Section (See Below)
a. Introduction
b. Content
c. Summary and Conclusions
5. Appendix
6. Reference Page
7. Other Issues to Consider
a. Page numbers,
b. Justify text,
c. Font size 12
d. Single line spacing
e. Single-sided (if possible),
f. Use of Graphs,
g. Stapled,
h. Overall: this needs to be a very tidy/organized paper.
8. See Example
9. Must exceed 3,500 words not including tables, graphs, quotations,
etc.
Strategic Management MBA519
Strategic Plan – Individual Class Project
1. Company Introduction
Provide background information about the company such as when and who established it, where it is
headquartered, what kind of products and/or services it offers, where it does business, when it went
public, and who are its key competitors.
2. Vision Statement: Examine the vision statement. Is this a good vision statement? Discuss. How would
you modify the vision statement? Modify the vision statement according to new information gathered
from strategic analysis.
3. Mission Statement: Examine the mission statement. Is this a good mission statement? Discuss. How
would you modify the mission statement? Discuss. Modify the mission according to new information
gathered from strategic analysis.
4. Corporate Governance (see corporate governance handout)
5. Business Model
A. Discuss how the company makes money.
B. Discuss revenue stream by business unit.
6. Competitor Analysis/Benchmark Company: decide on a reasonable Company (competitor) for which
to compare your company and discuss why you selected this company as a benchmark. Do not use an
industry average.
7. Situation Analysis – External Environment – changes in the external environment often present new
opportunities and new ways to reach predetermined objectives. An environmental scan is performed to
identify any available opportunities. The external environment has two components:
1. Macro – environment
~. PESTEL Analysis
2. Micro – environment
~. Porter’s Five Forces model
~. What does the Five Forces model tell you about the nature of the competition in the
industry?
3. How dynamic is the industry for which your company operates?
4. Does the firm have a competitive advantage? Provide support and discuss.
8. Situation Analysis – Internal Analysis
1. Analyze the firm’s internal resources via a VRIO analysis. What about the Resourced Base
View (RBV) of the Firm?
2. Does the firm have a core competency(s)? If so, does this core competency provide for a
competitive advantage?
3. Review: Competitor Analysis/Benchmark Company: Have you selected a suitable
benchmark/competitor.
4. Ratio Analysis. Included with an internal analysis are key ratios. Ratio Analysis: Provide a
discussion of the firm’s key Ratios, especially in comparison to a Benchmark Company (include
DuPont Analysis). Collect 5 years of data for analysis. Include an Altman Z-Score graph (5 years)
in the analysis. Use most recent Annual Report (do not use Quarterly report). Discuss what the
numbers suggest about your company’s financial health. You must use Excel to generate graphs,
tables, etc. Please note: anything copied from internet sites (including graphs, tables, etc.) will
not be accepted. You must also attach your Excel spreadsheet to your final paper for
verification.
Example Walmart Inc. http://financials.morningstar.com/competitors/industrypeer.action?t=WMT
9. SWOT Profile – construct a table from your External and Internal Analysis research:
(1) List of Strengths
(2) List of Weaknesses
(3) List of Opportunities
(4) List of Threats
10. Discuss in detail each SWOT point in the table.
11. Problem Statement – Develop a problem statement as a result of your SWOT Profile. A problem
statement summarizes and prioritizes the key issues facing the company. All firms have problems but for
well-run firms like Apple it’s not always obvious. You will, therefore, need to do a considerable amount
of research. Prioritize problems.
12. Strategy Formulation – Formulate strategies around those points listed in the Problem Statement.
Focus on the most important problems which could have an impact on sustaining and/or creating a longterm competitive advantage? Again, from your analysis, formulate strategies which will address the
most important problems.
a. Strategy formulation normally has two/three levels or aspects, with the resulting
recommendations in each level being consistent in order to ensure the formulation of strategies
are cohesive, realistic and viable.
1. Corporate Level Strategy
2. Business Level Strategy
3. Functional Level Strategy
b. Will the recommendation require financing? If so, how will it be financed? Conduct an
analysis to identify whether the strategies should be financed using common stock, debt, or a
combination (i.e. 70% stock- 30 percent debt or 30% stock and 70% debt financing). Should you
consider a recession, normal or boom scenarios.
13. Strategy Implementation and Assessment and Control –How will this strategy(s) be implemented?
a. Discuss your implementation plan for the strategy(s).
b. Does the firm need a change in any aspect of organization design and corporate governance?
c. How will you monitor i.e. evaluate and control the implemented strategy(s) and firm
performance?
14. Conclusion – make some final remarks about the future of your company, the competitive
environment in which it finds itself, and the extent to which the formulated and implemented strategies
will work as designed.
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Verizon Communications Inc. is a telecommunications company based in (VZ)
Paper on Strategic Management
MBA519
(Structure of Paper)
1. Title Page
2. Table of Contents Page (see page two)
3. Proper Section Headings
4. Content Section (See Below)
a. Introduction
b. Content
c. Summary and Conclusions
5. Appendix
6. Reference Page
7. Other Issues to Consider
a. Page numbers,
b. Justify text,
c. Font size 12
d. Single line spacing
e. Single-sided (if possible),
f. Use of Graphs,
g. Stapled,
h. Overall: this needs to be a very tidy/organized paper.
8. See Example
9. Must exceed 3,500 words not including tables, graphs, quotations,
etc.
Strategic Management MBA519
Strategic Plan – Individual Class Project
1. Company Introduction
Provide background information about the company such as when and who established it, where it is
headquartered
