The document outlines an assignment to complete a strategy audit and presentation for a chosen company. Students are asked to:
1) Write a 15-page strategy audit report analyzing the company's strategy, performance, strategic issues, and recommendations. This includes sections on strategic issues, recommendations, and appendices summarizing prior analyses.
2) Develop a 10-slide PowerPoint presentation summarizing the audit findings and recommendations in a compelling way to persuade management.
3) The report and presentation will communicate the student's understanding of identifying a company's strategic issues, misalignments, and providing recommendations to address these issues and improve performance.
Interactive Powerpoint_How to Master effective communication
LASA 2 Strategy Audit
1. Assignment 2: LASA 2—Presentation of Strategy Audit
Findings
In this assignment, integrate all the pieces of work you have
drafted and formally turn it into the capstone strategy 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.
Part I: Strategy Audit Report
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
2. 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
3. strategic issue, consider misalignments that might be apparent
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 should be specific in terms of scope and expected impact.
These sections have been completed earlier in the course, and
should appear as appendices:
SWOT analysis (2 pages—completed in
Module 4
): SWOT matrix illustrating strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats.
Balanced strategy scorecard (4 pages—completed in
Module 4
4. ): Develop a Balanced Scorecard for your business unit that
reflects the key drivers for your business strategy.
Organizational assessment (3 pages—completed in
Module 3
)
External environmental scan and five-forces analysis (3 pages—
completed in
Module 2)
Market position analysis (3 pages—completed in
Module 1
)
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.
Submit your 15-page report in Word format. Apply APA
standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming
convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M5_A2.doc.
Part II: Companion Presentation
Finalize the companion with a 10-slide Power Point
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
By
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
, deliver your report and PowerPoint presentation to the M5:
Assignment 2 Dropbox. Apply APA standards to citation of
5. sources. Use the following file naming convention:
LastnameFirstInitial_M5_A2.ppt.
This assignment is worth 300 points and will be graded using
the LASA rubric you can download.
Assignment 2 Grading Criteria
Assignment Components
Proficient
Score
Content Knowledge: Application Component 1
Communicates the ability to summarize the significant findings
of your analyses. A concise and insightful summary of the
significant findings of your analysis findings and the
recommendations you have for your executive team.
CO 1,3
PO 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3
ILO 1, 3, 6
Response demonstrates a working command of the disciplinary
content knowledge.
Response examines the specific issue within the context of the
topic area using relevant details and examples.
Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable
areas within the discipline and their relevance to real world
contexts.
Response is adequately supported by current and relevant
literature.
/ 80 pts
Content Knowledge: Application Component 2
Communicates the ability to identify the most important
Strategic Issues facing your business unit.
CO 1,4
PO 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2
ILO 1, 3, 5, 6
Response demonstrates a working command of the disciplinary
content knowledge.
Response examines the specific issue within the context of the
topic area using relevant details and examples.
6. Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable
areas within the discipline and their relevance to real world
contexts.
Response is adequately supported by current and relevant
literature.
/ 40 pts
Content Knowledge: Application Component 3
Communicates the ability to represent all misalignments found
in the following categories:
Product portfolio
Structure
Organizational culture/behavior
Value chain actions
Performance measures
CO 2,3
PO 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.3
ILO 1, 3, 6
Response demonstrates a working command of the disciplinary
content knowledge.
Response examines the specific issue within the context of the
topic area using relevant details and examples.
Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable
areas within the discipline and their relevance to real world
contexts.
Response is adequately supported by current and relevant
literature.
/ 40 pts
Content Knowledge: Application Component 4
Communicates the ability to provide recommendations for a
Strategic Issue and explain how it will resolve the issue.
CO 1, 2, 3
PO 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.3
ILO 1, 3, 6
Response demonstrates a working command of the disciplinary
content knowledge.
Response examines the specific issue within the context of the
7. topic area using relevant details and examples.
Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable
areas within the discipline and their relevance to real world
contexts.
Response is adequately supported by current and relevant
literature.
/ 40 pts
Content Knowledge: Application Component 5
Communicates the ability to provide an Executive Summary
and Recommendations, Synthesis and Presentation
CO 1, 2, 3
PO 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.3
ILO 1, 3, 6
Response demonstrates a working command of the disciplinary
content knowledge.
Response examines the specific issue within the context of the
topic area using relevant details and examples.
Response analyzes the specific aspect of the issue to applicable
areas within the discipline and their relevance to real world
contexts.
Response is adequately supported by current and relevant
literature.
/ 60 pts
Written Communication/Personal Effectiveness
Conveys through written word understanding and application of
an Executive Summary, Strategic Issues recommendations,
SWOT analysis, Balanced Scorecard, Organizational
Assessment, External Environment Scan, Market Position
Analysis.
CO 1
PO 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.3, 3.3
ILO 1, 3, 6
Writing is concise and clear in content, language use, grammar,
organization, and sentence structure.
Writing is free of major grammatical and usage errors.
/ 20 pts
8. Oral Communication/Personal Effectiveness
Conveys through oral communication understanding and
application of 10-slide Power Point Presentation.
CO 1
PO 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.3, 3.3
ILO 1, 3, 6
Presentation is concise with a logical flow of thought;
Content includes clearly articulated key points that are free of
major errors.
Presentation is visually appealing and addresses audience
considerations adequately.
/ 20 pts
/
300 pts