LASA 2—Capstone Strategic Audit In this assignment students integrate all the pieces of work they have drafted and formally turn it into the capstone strategic audit. In previous assignments, you performed multiple, specified analyses of your company (or any company of your choosing). Those individual analyses provide the needed research to successfully complete the following LASA: Directions: Using the tools and framework learned in class and throughout the program, prepare a 15-page strategy audit of your company with a companion presentation. The strategy audit is a comprehensive analysis of the company’s business strategy and operating performance, and culminates in a series of recommendations for improving your company’s performance based on the findings and conclusions of your analysis. A strategy audit involves assessing the actual direction of a business and comparing that course to the direction required to succeed in a changing environment. A company's actual direction is the sum of what it does and does not do, how well the organization is internally aligned to support the strategy, and how viable the strategy is when compared to the external market, competitors, and financial realities. These two categories, the internal assessment and the external or environmental assessment, make up the major elements of a strategy audit. In your strategy audit: · Provide a high-level analysis of the company’s business strategy and operating performance. Be sure to complete the following: · Analysis of the company value proposition, market position, and competitive advantage · External environmental scan/five forces analysis · Internal environmental scan/organizational assessment · SWOT Analysis · Balanced scorecard/strategy scorecard · Recommend specific tactics for improving your company’s strategic alignment and operating performance. · Recommendations can include but are not limited to tactics in marketing, branding, alliances, mergers/acquisitions, integration, product development, diversification or divestiture and globalization (if you recommend your company go global, you must include a supply chain analysis and an analysis of your firm’s global capabilities). · Explain how the recommendations will help the company achieve its strategy and vision. You are to write this report as though you are a consultant to your company, and are addressing the executive officers of this company. You will collect and analyze a large amount of data in producing your report, but your final product will be condensed and focus on presenting your analysis findings and conclusions. Your report should consist of the following sections in the given order. · Executive Summary (1 page): A concise and insightful summary of the significant findings of your analysis and the recommendations you have for your executive team. · Strategic Issues and Recommendations (5 pages): Identify 5–7 most important strategic issues facing your business unit. Strategic issues aris ...

1. LASA 2—Capstone Strategic Audit
In this assignment students integrate all the pieces of work they
have drafted and formally turn it into the capstone strategic
audit.
In previous assignments, you performed multiple, specified
analyses of your company (or any company of your choosing).
Those individual analyses provide the needed research to
successfully complete the following LASA:
Directions:
Using the tools and framework learned in class and throughout
the program, prepare a 15-page strategy audit of your company
with a companion presentation. The strategy audit is a
comprehensive analysis of the company’s business strategy and
operating performance, and culminates in a series of
recommendations for improving your company’s performance
based on the findings and conclusions of your analysis.
A strategy audit involves assessing the actual direction of a
business and comparing that course to the direction required to
succeed in a changing environment. A company's actual
direction is the sum of what it does and does not do, how well
the organization is internally aligned to support the strategy,
and how viable the strategy is when compared to the external
market, competitors, and financial realities. These two
categories, the internal assessment and the external or
environmental assessment, make up the major elements of a
strategy audit.
In your strategy audit:
· Provide a high-level analysis of the company’s business
strategy and operating performance. Be sure to complete the
following:
· Analysis of the company value proposition, market position,
and competitive advantage
· External environmental scan/five forces analysis
· Internal environmental scan/organizational assessment

2. · SWOT Analysis
· Balanced scorecard/strategy scorecard
· Recommend specific tactics for improving your company’s
strategic alignment and operating performance.
· Recommendations can include but are not limited to tactics in
marketing, branding, alliances, mergers/acquisitions,
integration, product development, diversification or divestiture
and globalization (if you recommend your company go global,
you must include a supply chain analysis and an analysis of
your firm’s global capabilities).
· Explain how the recommendations will help the company
achieve its strategy and vision.
You are to write this report as though you are a consultant to
your company, and are addressing the executive officers of this
company. You will collect and analyze a large amount of data in
producing your report, but your final product will be condensed
and focus on presenting your analysis findings and conclusions.
Your report should consist of the following sections in the
given order.
· Executive Summary (1 page): A concise and insightful
summary of the significant findings of your analysis and the
recommendations you have for your executive team.
· Strategic Issues and Recommendations (5 pages): Identify 5–7
most important strategic issues facing your business unit.
Strategic issues arise from a mismatch between internal
capabilities and external trends such that important
opportunities are not being pursued or significant external
threats are not being addressed under the current strategy.
The strategic issues list should integrate your SWOT analysis,
your Five Forces analysis, and the organizational assessment
and external environmental scan completed earlier during the
course. These detailed analyses are the foundation for your final
set of findings and recommendations presented to the executive
team.
In developing your recommendations for addressing each
strategic issue, consider misalignments that might be apparent

3. in different operating areas:
· Product Portfolio: Are there changes to the target market
segment, value proposition, or positioning of the product or
service line needed?
· Structure: Are the organizational roles and responsibilities,
decision-making authority, skill requirements, and work
assignments properly configured and aligned to support the
strategy?
· Organizational Culture or Behavior: Does the organizational
culture inspire behaviors that support the strategy? Are the
mission, vision, and values clearly articulated and aligned with
the strategy? What new behaviors are needed?
· Value Chain Activities: Does the organization value chain
fully align with the strategy? Are their activities that should be
added, eliminated, or modified significantly?
· Performance Measures: Do the organization’s performance
measures focus on the key drivers of strategic success? Is there
a strategy scorecard that ties the main elements of the strategy
to specific operating capabilities, including goals and key
performance indicators (KPIs) that give an indication of
incremental or predictive progress toward reaching strategic
goals?
Your recommendations should fall into these general categories,
but be specific in terms of scope and expected impact.
These sections are completed earlier in the course, and should
appear as appendices:
· SWOT Analysis (2 pages—completed in Module 6): SWOT
matrix illustrating strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats.
· Balanced Scorecard / Strategy Scorecard (4 pages—completed
in Module 6): Develop a Balanced Scorecard for your business
unit that reflects the key drivers for your business strategy.
· Organizational Assessment (3 pages—completed in Module 5)
· External Environmental Scan and Five Forces Analysis (3
pages—completed in Module 3)
· Market Position Analysis (3 pages—completed in Module 2)

4. Write your report in Word format. Apply APA standards to
citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention:
M7_A2.doc.
Finalize the companion PowerPoint presentation that
summarizes the audit and recommendations in a compelling
manner that persuades senior management to explore and
possibly implement your recommendations. The elements of the
presentation should include the following:
· Title
· Agenda
· Summary of audit
· Recommendations
· Key measurements
· Risks and benefits
· Call to action
· Next steps
Develop a 10-slide presentation in PowerPoint format. Apply
APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file
naming convention: M7_A2.ppt.
Use information from your previous assignments to support
your conclusions and recommendations and conduct additional
research when needed. Make sure you properly reference and
cite so that the location of information is clear.
Due by Tuesday, 10 PM PST, August 13, 2013
This assignment is worth 360 points and will be graded using a
rubric. Please review the attached rubric to understand the
expectations.
I'll include instructions. I've written the paper and need
revision. I need MLA format and sources mentioned.
Articles I choose were:

5. http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/prelude/md_go-
ahead_nation.html
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/war/communications.ht
ml
and
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/aftermath/vast_new_terr
itories.html
Teacher wrote:
US-Mexico War Internet Assignment
For this assignment, you are to examine online articles
about the US-Mexican War from the website devoted to the PBS
documentary that first aired in 1998. Click here for the link to
the website. The assignment is to be 5-6 pages in length. Please
submit your assignment through WebCT. This assignment is
worth 15% of your final grade.
In terms of the content of the review, you must review a
total of three articles from the website. There are 3 sections to
the website: Prelude to War, War (1846-1848), and Aftermath.
In each section are a variety of different articles devoted to
important issues regarding the war. The articles have been
written by reputable scholars, both American and Mexican, such

6. as Sam Haynes, Robert Johannsen, David Weber, Antonia
Castañeda, and Jesus Velasco-Marquez. Choose one article from
each of the three sections. If you select three articles from one
section, such as Prelude to War, but nothing from the War and
Aftermath sections, you will only receive credit for one article.
The objective of this assignment is to gain a broader of
understanding of issues not only about the war, but also about
the factors leading to, and the legacy of, the US-Mexico War.
After you select your 3 articles, please provide a summary
and commentary about each of the articles. Essentially, all you
need to do is follow the same basic guidelines for the book
review assignment. After you complete your summaries and
commentaries, please indicate how these articles assisted you in
your understanding of the US-Mexico War, and also provide
your own perspective about how the US-Mexico War was a
significant event in Chicano history.
Here is a partial list of some of the articles you may use
for this assignment. There are many more to choose from than
what is listed here, but these are some of the articles that have
been used by students in previous classes:
Prelude to War:
“A Go Ahead Nation,” by Robert Johanssen
“”The Power of an Idea,” by Miguel Angel Gonzalez Quiroga
“Native American Displacement,” by R. David Edmunds
“Trade Routes,” by Linda K. Salvucci
War:
“Life in the US Army,” by James M. McCaffrey

7. “Communications,” by Donald S. Frazier
“Newspapers: Mexican Press,” by Jesus Velasco-Marquez
“Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,” by Richard Griswold del
Castillo
note: if you wish to read an article from the “Battles of the
War” subcategory, please be sure to select at least two articles
for your discussion
Aftermath of War:
“Violence and Violations,” by Antonia Castañeda
“Crucible for Greatness,” by John C. Waugh
“Vast New Territories,” by Robert Johanssen