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Your first assignment will involve industry and company research. I will give you a table that you will complete and turn in on the second class meeting. This project will be completed using Google Drive.

Strategic direction requires insights in the form of market intelligence, market size, market growth rates, competitor analysis and other key variables. Industry reports are available for: Telecommunications, Healthcare, Energy and many other industries.

Your Research will be an organized effort to gather information about markets, customers and industries. It is a crucial component of our class. This exercise will offer important information that will allow you to identify and analyze the market and the competition.

You will systematically gather and interpret information about your organization. You will harness the power of research during the semester to support your decision-making and presentation efforts.

Watch this video about Industry analysis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9Fa6XMSTko&feature=share&list=ULH9Fa6XMSTko

ProQuest search results (Photo credit: The Shifted Librarian)

Your research will be conducted using the Library Databases. You will also create a stock portfolio on Yahoo Finance. At the end of the semester, you will submit your data in a “Market Study” Binder.

For example, go to the website “academics” and click on “library”. Then go to EBSCO and click on Business Searching Interface. Type in “Global Wine Industry” and you will find the MarketLine pdf report. It includes the following information: Executive summary, market overview, market data, market segmentation, market outlook, five forces analysis and leading companies.

You can also search for a “company profile” that will provide the following information: company overview, key facts, business description, history, key employee biographies, major products and services, revenue analysis, SWOT analysis, top competitors, company view and locations and subsidiaries.

Then you will search the Lexis Nexis database for companies. Click on “Company Profile”. Enter the company name and put a check in the Worldscope box. Enter search and you will get a company description, key financials, income statement information, information regarding foreign assets and income margin. The “Ratio” section will provide three years of ratios for your company. At the end of the report, you will find a geographic sales breakdown and sales and operating income by business unit.

Use the snipping tool to enter some of the diagrams into your industry table. To find this tool, go to all programs, accessories and “snipping tool”.

If you were researching Apple, these are some of the resources that you would use to conduct an industry analysis:

EuroMonitor Passport: Mobile Phones in the US

IBIS World: Computer Pheripheral Manufacturing #33411B; Computer Manufacturing #31141A; Operating Systems and Productivity Software #51121A; and Internet Publishing and Broadcasting in the US #51913B

In Lexis Nexis, under company profile search Hoover’s, Disclosure and Worldscope

In EBSCO, find Company Profiles:  look at the SWOT Analysis, Key Executives, and Company overview. Gather global information in the ”Global Industry Reports” including: Global Computer and Electronics Retail; Global Mobile Phones and Global Computer Storage and Peripherals.

Get the Company’s 10K and look for: Company background, business strategy, products, risk factors, stock performance and “Management” discussion of financial issues and segment operating performance. Pay attention to the Corporate Governance Issues.

Fo to Yahoo Finance and generate a Stock Portfolio. Include as many competitors as possible so that you can get a customized daily news bulletin. Buy 100 shares of stock in each company.

Go to the website and get the annual report under “Investor Relations”

Use Proquest to find articles on strategic alliances, joint ventures, acquisitions and divestitures.

If you wanted to conduct research on a global food company like Sara Lee; look at some of the following reports:

IBIS Meat, Beef and Poultry Processing #31161

Baking Mix and Prepared Food Manufacturing #31181

Cookie, Cracker and Pasta Production in the US #31182

Coffee Production in the US #31192a

For Global information, use:

1. Packaged Foods and Meat;

2. Global Meat , Fish and Poultry

3. Global Hot Drinks

4. Global Frozen Food

5. Global Bread and Rolls

When you have gathered all of your data, you can complete your Team SWOT Analysis and start your TOWS Matrix.

Use these templates:

1. This worksheet will help you visually organize information about the external environment:

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/worksheets/PESTAnalysisWorksheet.pdf

2. After completing a SWOT analysis, you will engage in a matching and converting process using a TOWS Matrix. Matching strengths to opportunities to leverage competitive advantages. Develope conversion strategies to convert or mitigate weaknesses or threats by dinding new markets, diversifying or developing new products. Generate a TOWS Matrix for your project using this format:

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/worksheets/TOWSAnalysisWorksheet.pdf

3. Generate a Porter’s Model Worksheet:

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/worksheets/PortersFiveForcesWorksheet.pdf

Here’s a Rudyard Kipling Quote to think about:

“I keep six honest serving , they taught me all I knew. Their names were What, Why, When, How , Where and Who.”

Dr. EveAnn Lovero teaches Strategic Management and International Business at Lewis University in Illinois.

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