Wal-Mart Final Project Example I. Introduction Wal-Mart (WMT) is a variety store founded in 1945 by Sam Walton. Today, their empire consists of supercenters, neighborhood markets, and Sam’s Club. They have over 11,500 stores in 28 different countries with over 2.8 million employees. Performance is reported by U.S., International and Sam’s Club segments on its financial statements. Approximately 62% of sales are in the U.S., 26% of sales are attributed to their international markets, and 12% of sales are from Sam’s Club (Form 10-K 2016). A. Mission / Vision According to their website, their mission is to “save people money so they can live better.” When Sam Walton was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992 by George H.W. Bush, he described the company’s vision that still applies today. “If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone. We’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better life” (corporate.walmart.com). B. Corporate Strategy WMT’s corporate strategy is growth. In 2015, WMT invested over $11 billion globally in new retail outlets, remodeling existing retail outlets, building distribution centers, and new technology (Form 10-K 2016). Further, they are expanding vertically. In 2016 they purchased a dairy processing plant to provide products to its stores (Layne 2016). C. Business Strategy WMT has a cost leadership strategy. This strategy is defined by Wheelan et al. (2014) as a company with a lower-cost competitive strategy that aims at the broad mass market and requires aggressive construction of efficient-scale facilities, vigorous pursuit of cost reductions from experience, tight cost and overhead control, avoidance of marginal customer accounts, and cost minimization. WMT has broad mass market appeal and has developed one of the world’s most efficient organizations in order to offer customers everyday low prices. II. Corporate Governance A. Board of Directors According to WMT’s 2016 Proxy Statement, their BOD currently consists of 12 members, which includes 8 independent and 4 inside directors. Last year, their BOD consisted of 15 members, of which 12 were independent and 3 were inside directors. The company has wisely chosen to decrease the number of directors on their board. Since BOD size has been shown to be negatively related to firm profitability, the smaller BOD should positively affect the company this year (Yermack 1996). However, this year the BOD replaced an independent director with an inside director, thus increasing the proportion of insiders from 20 to 25%. This could be problematic to corporate governance because having more insiders on the board may influence decisions. Diversity on the BOD is limited with only 3 women and one African-American man; the rest are white men. Because board diversity has been shown to increase firm value, this lack of diversity is detrimental to shareholders (Carter et al. 2003). Further, the ave.

1. Wal-Mart Final Project Example
I. Introduction
Wal-Mart (WMT) is a variety store founded in 1945 by Sam
Walton. Today, their empire consists of supercenters,
neighborhood markets, and Sam’s Club. They have over 11,500
stores in 28 different countries with over 2.8 million employees.
Performance is reported by U.S., International and Sam’s Club
segments on its financial statements. Approximately 62% of
sales are in the U.S., 26% of sales are attributed to their
international markets, and 12% of sales are from Sam’s Club
(Form 10-K 2016).
A. Mission / Vision
According to their website, their mission is to “save people
money so they can live better.” When Sam Walton was awarded
the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992 by George H.W.
Bush, he described the company’s vision that still applies today.
“If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for
everyone. We’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s
like to save and have a better life” (corporate.walmart.com).
B. Corporate Strategy
WMT’s corporate strategy is growth. In 2015, WMT invested
over $11 billion globally in new retail outlets, remodeling
existing retail outlets, building distribution centers, and new
technology (Form 10-K 2016). Further, they are expanding
vertically. In 2016 they purchased a dairy processing plant to
provide products to its stores (Layne 2016).
C. Business Strategy
WMT has a cost leadership strategy. This strategy is defined by
Wheelan et al. (2014) as a company with a lower-cost
competitive strategy that aims at the broad mass market and
requires aggressive construction of efficient-scale facilities,

2. vigorous pursuit of cost reductions from experience, tight cost
and overhead control, avoidance of marginal customer accounts,
and cost minimization. WMT has broad mass market appeal and
has developed one of the world’s most efficient organizations in
order to offer customers everyday low prices.
II. Corporate Governance
A. Board of Directors
According to WMT’s 2016 Proxy Statement, their BOD
currently consists of 12 members, which includes 8 independent
and 4 inside directors. Last year, their BOD consisted of 15
members, of which 12 were independent and 3 were inside
directors. The company has wisely chosen to decrease the
number of directors on their board. Since BOD size has been
shown to be negatively related to firm profitability, the smaller
BOD should positively affect the company this year (Yermack
1996). However, this year the BOD replaced an independent
director with an inside director, thus increasing the proportion
of insiders from 20 to 25%. This could be problematic to
corporate governance because having more insiders on the board
may influence decisions. Diversity on the BOD is limited with
only 3 women and one African-American man; the rest are
white men. Because board diversity has been shown to increase
firm value, this lack of diversity is detrimental to shareholders
(Carter et al. 2003). Further, the average age of directors is 54
with an average tenure on the board of 7.6 years. It is noted
that the tenure average calculation is being skewed because of
one board member that has been on the BOD for 38 years. If we
omit this outlier, then the average tenure drops to only 4.8
years. According to the management friendliness hypothesis,
longer term directors are more likely to befriend top
management at the detriment to shareholders, so shorter tenures
of directors is preferred (Vafeas 2003). The Chairman and CEO
positions are separated, which is considered good corporate
governance. It is thought that a CEO who is also Chairman
reduces BOD independence and thus its monitoring capability.

3. However, a study by Daily and Dalton (1997) finds that a CEO
who is also Chairman provides a unified focus and
communicates strong leadership to the public. WMT has a good
corporate governance system in place; however, changes can be
me to improve it.
B. Primary Stakeholders
The primary stakeholders of WMT include its shareholders,
customers, employees, and suppliers because each is directly
affected by actions taken by WMT. Share prices increase or
decrease based on business decisions by WMT; the investors
that hold their shares will either gain wealth or lose money
depending on the outcomes of these decisions. The price WMT
charges its customers is a direct result of good or bad decisions;
thus, a bad decision may increase costs which will then be
passed on to its customers, allowing them to buy less.
Employees may lose their jobs due to bad decisions and a
decrease in sales. Suppliers are dependent on WMT to sell their
goods. They may not be in business if WMT decides to reduce
orders; moreover, if WMT is forced to charge higher prices to
make up for a bad decision, there may be a decrease in sales of
the supplier’s products as a result.
C. Secondary Stakeholders
These stakeholders are those that have an indirect interest in the
company. The secondary stakeholders for WMT include non-
governmental organizations and communities in which WMT is
located. Non-governmental organizations, i.e. ACLU, PETA,
and other environmental groups, may be vocal even though they
do not have a financial stake in the company; women’s rights,
animal rights, as well as pollution may be important to these
groups. Any criticism of WMT by these groups may affect the
company’s stock price which in turn will affect its primary
stakeholders’ financial well-being. The communities where
WMT is located are affected in several ways. They are reliant
on the corporate and sales taxes collected by and from WMT;

4. they are also vested in WMT for employing their residents and
providing them with an affordable place to shop.
III. External Environment
A. STEEP Analysis
Sociocultural
Consumer preferences may negatively affect revenues. An
increase in income may result in customers switching to more
expensive alternatives. Millennials want value-oriented
products, low price and one stop convenience; however, the
buying power of the baby boom generation decreases with age
(Soni 2016). Sales growth in the retail industry is expected to
come disproportionately from middle and upper income
households in the future. Retailers that do not keep these
customers happy will see sales decrease (Howland 2016).
Technological
Cyberattacks and data breaches are a significant threat. Any
release of customer information could result in damage to their
brand and decreased sales. Disruption of information services
on their website, mobile site, or in stores will result in a loss of
sales. Amazon has developed “just walk out” technology,
where customers pick up what they want at the store and are
charged automatically based on what is in their basket (Reda
2017). If WMT does not adapt to new and changing technology,
it may lose sales.
Environmental
Seasonal weather patterns may affect WMT. For example, a
particularly warm winter will decrease sales of coats and other
winter necessities. A drought may increase commodity prices,
which will increase WMT’s cost of goods sold. Catastrophic
events, such as hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes could
negatively affect the company.

5. Economic
Economic conditions, such as a recession can affect the way
customers shop as they search for the lowest price. Interest rate
increases can affect the cost of capital to WMT and thus their
growth opportunities. Interest rate increases also increase the
consumer’s propensity to save and thus spend less. Currency
exchange rate fluctuations can affect the company. For
example, a strengthening dollar makes exports from the U.S.
more expensive and will decrease revenues internationally.
Inflation may have a negative effect on the company as prices
increase; likewise, deflation (or lowering prices of oil) may
have a negative effect on the company as gas prices decrease.
Political
Any unfavorable labor laws, minimum wage increases, or
increases in taxes will hurt WMT’s bottom line. Lawsuits may
be filed against the company for slip and falls, product liability,
and labor law violations. If WMT loses any of these lawsuits,
they could face significant dollar losses. An increase in
regulations by any of the communities that WMT operates in
will result in increased costs of doing business. Trade
restrictions between the U.S. and other countries may
negatively affect their international business.
B. Industry Analysis (Porter’s Five Forces)
Threat of New Entrants
High. Although it would be difficult for another firm to enter
with a low cost, broad market strategy, it is easy for a small
firm to enter competing on differentiation and target a niche
market. WMT competes globally with all kinds of small firms
in many different product markets.
Threat of Substitutes
High. The same products that WMT sells are available at many
different retail outlets, including online. Thus, substitutes are

6. readily available. However, the consumer may have to pay a
higher price if they choose to purchase the product at a different
retailer.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Low. Because of WMT’s size, they make large purchases from
suppliers regularly. For many of its suppliers, WMT is their
biggest customer and they would be negatively affected by
losing the contract with WMT. Further, WMT has over 100,000
different suppliers throughout the world and as a result, can
easily switch suppliers for a product if they choose.
Bargaining Power of Customers
Medium. WMT appeals to a broad spectrum of consumers and
has a large number of customers looking for the lowest price.
Thus, because revenues are not solely based on a few customers,
they are not overly reliant on a few to continue in business.
However, because switching costs are low, customers could take
their dollars elsewhere in search for the lowest price. Thus, the
threat is medium because even though WMT has a lot of
customers, consumers can easily switch to another retailer in
search of lower prices or convenience.
Competitive Rivalry
High. Competition in the retail industry is high. Substitutes
are easily accessible and the threat of new entrants is high.
There are a lot of competitors in the industry that compete on
price, product differentiation and market.
IV. Internal Environment
A. Distinctive Competency
WMT’s distinctive competency is their ability to provide a
broad assortment of quality merchandise at low prices to
customers. Using an everyday low prices philosophy ensures
customers that prices will not change due to promotions. WMT
is able to implement this pricing strategy by controlling

7. expenses, which allows them to pass cost savings to their
customers. (Form 10-K 2016)
B. Business Model
According to Wheelen et al. (2014), a firm with a switchboard
model acts as an intermediary to connect multiple sellers to
multiple buyers. They have a wide range of products for sale to
multiple customers with different needs. Thus, WMT is a great
example of a firm that employs a switchboard model because
they sell a wide range of products to many customers with
different needs.
V. Analysis of Strategic Factors
Strengths
WMT has operations in 27 countries, which includes internet
sales in 11 countries. This has allowed it to diversify sales all
over the world. Thus, its sales worldwide should not be
affected by one country’s recession. WMT has successfully
digitally integrated internet sales and allows for store pickup,
same day pick up, and online grocery sales. They continue to
improve digital integration because e-commerce sales in the
retail industry have grown 15% over the last two years
(Carnette 2016). Their website has over 85 million unique
visitors every month, which ultimately results in increased
sales. Sales in the U.S., their largest segment, grew from 2014
to 2015; this was largely a result of an increase in the sales of
apparel. Moreover, WMT closed 158 non-performing U.S.
stores which helped increase their profit margins. WMT sells
value focused, low cost products and is a place for one stop
shopping. As noted in the STEEP analysis, this helps them
attract the millennial demographic.
Moreover, WMT has over 100,000 different suppliers, so if one
fails to meet expectations, they are easily replaceable.
Suppliers are required to adhere to WMT’s standards of conduct

8. to ensure that the supplier does not employ children or have
poor working conditions for their workers. WMT is also
engaging in joint ventures in order to enter the Chinese market
and has developed a financial institution to provide credit for
consumers in under-banked international markets. In 2016 they
expanded vertically when they purchased a dairy processing
plant. By buying a supplier, WMT may reduce costs even
further. WMT is also working on improving employee
relations. They have changed hiring, training, and scheduling
systems to help reduce turnover. Over 50% of its employees
received a raise in 2015. Further, with a capital investment of
$11.5 billion, they are committed to future growth.
Weaknesses
The U.S. segment accounts for 62% of sales; this makes them
subject to changes in the U.S. economy. In the U.S., about 56%
of sales are from the grocery segment. However, according to
Peterson (2015), they are losing market share because of low
customer satisfaction. Sales in the entertainment segment,
which includes cell phones, electronics, and movies, has also
decreased. All products are shipped to the store from a
distribution center or directly from a supplier. While WMT
owns the majority of the distribution centers, some of them are
owned and operated by a third party. This could lead to reduced
or incorrect inventory being shipped to their stores, and
ultimately lost sales. They also use third parties to provide
data security, content delivery and back office support. A
problem with any of these third party providers can result in a
loss of consumer confidence in WMT and lower sales. WMT
suppliers are required to follow standards of conduct; however,
on the 10-K it says that their suppliers are only required to
follow local labor and worker safety laws. Since some foreign
countries have lax labor and worker safety laws, bad publicity
from an accident or other incident may affect sales due to a loss

9. in brand confidence. Further, WMT may have problems
expanding internationally due to differences in culture, labor
laws, high taxes, and other risks. For example, WMT expanded
into the market in Brazil by buying two Brazilian retailers;
however, they have had to close the majority of them because of
poor locations, inefficient operations, labor troubles and
uncompetitive prices (Haynes and Layne 2016).
Although there is still growth from website sales, the percent of
growth each quarter has fallen over the last year (Layne 2016).
Therefore, in an effort to compete with Amazon, WMT
purchased jet.com, an aggressive start up e-commerce retailer.
However, the cultures of the two companies are very different
and may pose a challenge when integrating (Carnette 2016).
With an array of 8 million different products for sale on their
website, too many choices may paralyze consumers.
Another weakness of WMT is its purchase of the dairy
processing plant. This is not their core business and they do not
have the necessary knowledge to run this plant every day.
WMT may have directed important resources to the wrong
business venture.
There are also several financial weaknesses. First, WMT pays a
high tax rate of 30%; international sales are taxed at that
country’s tax rate and then in the U.S. when profits are
repatriated. With the increase in wages over the last year,
WMT expenses have increased and reduced profit. From their
10-K, WMT says their profitability was down this year because
of the fall in gas prices (a high percentage of sales from Sam’s
Clubs comes from gasoline) and currency fluctuations. The
strong U.S. dollar has resulted in fewer dollars being repatriated
back to the company after conversion. Finally, WMT has only
catastrophic insurance and they self-insure for weather and
other disasters. Any big disaster may cost the company a lot of
money.

10. Opportunities
WMT needs to expand online sales, as this market continues to
grow. Their purchase of jet.com was a smart move to
accomplish this. They can also expand international sales, by
building new stores, acquiring other retailers or developing
strategic alliances. Different cultures and holidays throughout
the world will help reduce portfolio risk and seasonal sales.
They can expand international growth even more by bringing
their consumer credit financial institution to more countries that
are under-banked. Microfinancing has become a fast growing
industry in third world countries, and WMT has the opportunity
to increase sales and provide consumers with needed products.
WMT should also develop a “just walk out” technology similar
to Amazon. The customers will have a wait free experience,
and the store will need fewer employees, which will reduce
expenses. WMT could continue to grow vertically; if they
purchased some of their suppliers, they could control costs even
more.
Threats
The retail industry is very competitive and WMT’s competitors
are both niche and broad market stores. Economic, business and
legal environments may reduce their ability to grow and expand
international markets. Consumer and labor lawsuits not ruled in
WMT’s favor may reduce profits. Bad publicity from a third
party service provider (i.e. a data breach) or a supplier (i.e.
labor) could cause consumer confidence and thus sales to
decrease. Political instability in the U.S. or another country
may cause losses if tax rates are increased or if there is a
change in business laws. A strong U.S. dollar could reduce
international sales and repatriated profits. Consumers could
lose confidence in WMT if there is a food safety issue. Another
threat is that they may not be able to grow because they are not
able to acquire another company or new store sites, or even
build alliances within other countries. Changes in

11. environmental laws may increase costs and decrease profits.
VI. Financial Analysis
The following are 2016 financial ratios for WMT and Target
(TGT), its largest competitor. Data was obtained on
Morningstar.com.
Inventory Turnover
2014
2015
2016
WMT
8.08
8.11
8.06
TGT
6.14
5.84
5.98
Inventory turnover shows how many times the company is
turning over its inventory per year. WMT is turning over its
inventory more than TGT. TGT has more money tied up in
inventory.
Days Sales Outstanding
2014
2015
2016
WMT
5.15
5.06
4.69
TGT
1.40
2.63

12. 2.28
TGT has lower receivables. If WMT could collect money
faster, they could use the freed up cash to reduce debt or
renovate stores.
Days Inventory
2014
2015
2016
WMT
45.19
44.99
45.30
TGT
59.46
62.58
61.04
TGT has a much higher days in inventory. WMT has less
money tied up in inventory.
Days Payables
2014
2015
2016
WMT
38.48
37.90
38.88
TGT
52.58
54.96
53.27
TGT pays its suppliers slower than WMT. Suppliers get paid
faster from WMT.

13. Fixed Asset Turnover
2014
2015
2016
WMT
4.06
4.14
4.14
TGT
2.34
2.53
2.88
This ratio shows how efficiently the company is using its fixed
assets. For every dollar of fixed assets, WMT makes about $4
in sales; this is higher than TGT and signifies better asset
utilization. However, this could also signal that WMT has older
assets that may need replacing soon.
Total Asset Turnover
2014
2015
2016
WMT
2.34
2.38
2.39
TGT
1.57
1.69
1.81
This ratio shows how much sales the company makes off of
every dollar spent on assets. This ratio is different from the

14. FATO because it uses the Total Assets figure in the calculation.
Again, WMT has a higher TATO than TGT, which signals better
asset utilization. This is a result of TGT having more current
assets than WMT, specifically more inventory.
Gross Margin
2014
2015
2016
WMT
24.82%
24.83%
25.13%
TGT
29.53%
29.39%
29.53%
TGT’s gross margin is about 4% higher than WMT. This is a
direct result of TGT being able to charge higher prices for a
perceived better quality product and better customer experience.
Operating Margin
2014
2015
2016
WMT
5.64%
5.59%
5.00%
TGT
5.83%
6.25%
6.65%
TGT’s operating margin is higher than WMT because their

15. selling, general and administrative expenses are lower as a
percentage of revenue than WMT.
Net Profit Margin
2014
2015
2016
WMT
3.36%
3.37%
3.05%
TGT
2.72%
-2.25%
4.56%
WMT’s net profit margin is higher than TGT. After reviewing
each company’s income statements, we can see that WMT paid a
lower income tax rate than TGT for 2014 and 2015. However,
in 2016, TGT paid a lower income tax rate which resulted in a
higher net profit margin than WMT.
ROA
2014
2015
2016
WMT
7.86
8.01
7.29
TGT
4.25
-3.81
8.24
WMT is making a lot more money per dollar of assets than

16. TGT, primarily because of lower selling, general and
administrative expenses, as well as their lower tax rate in 2014
and 2015.
ROE
2014
2015
2016
WMT
21.00
20.76
18.15
TGT
12.02
-10.82
24.95
WMT’s return on equity is much higher for 2014 and 2015.
This is a result of a combination of factors. Using the Dupont
equation for ROE, we can see that WMT's higher net profit
margin and better asset utilization, are contributing factors for
their higher ROE. TGT’s ROE is lower because they had a
lower profit margin and lower asset utilization than WMT in
2014 and 2015. However, TGT’s ROE is higher than WMT in
2016 as a result of increased net profit due to lower taxes, and
more debt. As expected, more debt means more risk, which
means investors will require a higher ROE.
Financial Leverage (Equity Multiplier)
2014
2015
2016
WMT
2.69
2.50

17. 2.48
TGT
2.74
2.96
3.11
Defined as total assets divided by total equity. The higher the
ratio, the more debt is used to pay for the company’s assets.
We can see that TGT’s leverage has increased every year and is
higher than WMT.
From this data we can see that WMT is underperforming in
return on assets and return on equity in 2016. Further, WMT is
has lower profitability in 2016, including a lower gross margin,
lower operating margin and lower net profit margin. Low profit
margins indicate that WMT’s costs are increasing. Since it
cannot pass its increased costs on to its customers and still
follow its mission, their future may be in jeopardy. Moreover,
if it does not improve its financial performance shareholders
may sell their shares, causing their stock price to fall.
Although days sales outstanding is only 4.69 days, because they
have over $482 billion in sales, this means that they have over
$6 billion of cash tied up in accounts receivable. If they do a
better job of collecting on receivables, they could free up some
cash and possibly give them more cash to invest in the business.
WMT’s days in inventory is lower than TGT’s which is
indicative of good inventory control. Their days of payables is
lower than TGT. This means that WMT is paying their
suppliers faster. This should help WMT to negotiate better
contracts and prices with its suppliers because they are getting
paid for their products quicker.
The inventory turnover ratio for WMT is 8x per year, while
TGT’s is only 6x per year. This means that WMT is selling its
inventory much quicker than TGT. Finally, WMT’s fixed asset
turnover ratio is higher than TGT’s. This could be indicative

18. that WMT uses their assets more efficiently and has less wasted
space. On the other hand, this could signal that WMT has older
assets that are in need of replacing or remodeling. Although
some of WMT’s ratios are better than their largest competitor
TGT, ultimately their profitability ratios are not. Costs have
increased and prices have remained the same. In this scenario,
customers are getting low prices, but at the expense of the
shareholders. This makes WMT in worse financial health than
TGT in 2016.
VII. Future Suggestions
A. What can your firm do to improve performance?
WMT needs to reevaluate supplier contracts and stop their
growth initiative. They should renegotiate all third party
provider contracts. They need to close non-performing stores.
Further they should determine whether the company has reduced
turnover and increased customer satisfaction with its wage
increases. If not, then I would renegotiate wages with all
employees, including management. All of these actions should
reduce costs and increase profit margins.
B. Does your firm need to change its directional strategy to
realize its vision?
Yes. WMT’s current strategy is growth; however, it needs to
retrench. Before it can grow, it needs to make its current
business more profitable. If it continues on its current path of
increasing costs, its distinctive competency is in jeopardy.
C. If you were CEO, what are some of the first changes you
would make?
Assuming all of the retrenchment action items are done, WMT
can then continue with its growth strategy. This includes
building new stores, acquiring other companies (including other
retailers and suppliers), and developing more strategic alliances
and joint ventures worldwide.

19. VIII. References
Carnette, Jamal. “There is a Hidden Risk is Wal-Mart’s
Acquisition of Jet.com.” The Motley Fool, 11 August 2016.
Web January 2017.
Carter, D. A., Simkins, B. J. and Simpson, W. G. (2003),
Corporate Governance, Board Diversity, and Firm Value.
Financial Review, 38: 33–53.
Daily, Catherine and Dan Dalton (1997), CEO and Board Chair
Roles Held Jointly or Separately: Much Ado about Nothing?
The Academy of Management Executive, 11: 11-20.
Form 10-K. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. www.sec.gov. Web January
2017.
Haynes, Brad and Nathan Layne. “Insight – Lost in Translation:
Wal-Mart Stumbles Hard in Brazil.” Reuters, 17 February
2016. Web January 2017.
Howland, Daphne. “Who is the New Wal-Mart Customer?”
Retail Dive, 26 January 2016. Web January 2017.
Layne, Nathan. “Wal-Mart Jumps Into Milk Processing, Hits
Dean Foods’ Stock.” Reuters, 22 March 2016. Web January
2017.
Our History. http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/our-
history. Web January 2017.
Peterson, Hayley. “Wal-Mart’s Core Business is Getting
Crushed.” Business Insider, 22 September 2015. Web January
2017.
Reda, Susan. “Stores Trends: January 2017.” National Retail

20. Federation, 4 January 2017. Web January 2017.
Soni, Phalguni. “What’s Shaping Consumer Trends at Walmart
Stores?” Market Realist, 18 March 2016. Web January 2017.
Vafeas, N. (2003), Length of Board Tenure and Outside
Director Independence. Journal of Business Finance &
Accounting, 30: 1043–1064.
Wheelen, T. et. al. (2014) Strategic Management and Business
Policy: Globalization Innovation and Sustainability. Prentice
Hall, 14th Edition.
Yermack, David (1996), Higher Market Valuation of Companies
with Small Board of Directors. Journal of Financial Economics,
40: 185-211.
Individual Project
Points Earned
I. Introduction / Current Situation – 20 points
______
A. Mission / Vision
B. Corporate Strategy (aka directional strategy)
C. Business Strategy (aka competitive strategy)
II. Corporate Governance – 20 points
______
A. Board of Directors
B. Primary Stakeholders
C. Secondary Stakeholders

21. III. External Environment – 40 points
______
A. Societal Environment (STEEP Analysis)
B. Industry Analysis (Porter’s Five Forces Analysis)
IV. Internal Environment – 20 points
______
A. Distinctive Competency
B. Business Model (Slides 16 – 17)
V. Analysis of Strategic Factors (SWOT Analysis) – 40 points
______
VI. Financial Analysis – 40 points
______
VII. Future Suggestions – 10 points
______
A. What can your firm do to improve performance?
(Or to keep getting bigger and better!)
B. Does your firm need to change its directional strategy to
realize its vision?
C. If you were CEO, what are some of the first changes you
would make?
VIII. References – 10 points
______
Total Grade ______
out of 200