Reference no: EM131377074

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PROCESS/VISION, MISSION, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Module 1

Assignment Overview

The Case is an ongoing exercise, meaning that we will be thoroughly reviewing one company throughout our four modules. This session, we will be conducting a strategic analysis of the Coca­Cola Company.

Most companies have something that resembles a vision, mission, or set of values; or stated goals/objectives that define who the company is and how the company plans to do business. However, organizations may not always label these statements properly -calling a vision a mission, or calling their values a set of beliefs. Sometimes, companies do not have a mission statement at all, operating instead on a set of goals.

Required Reading

Hammonds, K. (2001). Michael Porter's big ideas, Fast Company, 44, Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/42485/michael­porters­big­ideas

Case Assignment

In this assignment, you will be critically evaluating the vision, values, mission statement, and goals/objectives of the Coca­Cola Company.

Keys to the Assignment

After studying the background materials and completing the SLP, you are in an excellent position to evaluate a company's published mission, vision, values, and objectives/goals. This Case asks you to begin your strategic analysis of the Coca­ Cola Company by evaluating the company's mission, vision, values, and goals. To do this, observe the following procedure:

Step 1: Visit the official website of the Coca­Cola Company and identify the company's vision, mission, values, and goals. (Hint: You'll need to do some exploring and a certain amount of speculation-as the terms "vision" and "mission" (and sometimes even the term "company goals") are used interchangeably. Explore the "Our Company" and "Investors" links. Also, be sure that you look closely at the most recent Annual Reports.

Step 2: Critically evaluate the mission, vision, values, and goals (again, you'll likely need to make decisions as to which is which). Use the criteria in the background materials to support your assessment of the quality of the company's mission, vision, values, and goals.

Step 3: Determine which (if any) of the elements consider the goals and needs of specific stakeholder groups. Write down any examples.

Step 4: Consider what changes are needed to improve the vision statement, the mission statement, the statement of company values, and the company's objectives and goals.

Step 5: Write a 6­7 page paper addressing the above requirements. You must meet minimum length requirements, by responding to each step above with precision and with depth of critical thinking.

NOTE THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS AS WELL:

1. Use of proper APA style is required in this course. Therefore, prepare your Case with proper documentation of sources, using in­text citations and a complete end reference list. Refer to the Well­Written Papers. guide if you are not familiar with APA style.

2. Consider the Case as a formal business report that you are developing for the Board of Directors and CEO as the Coca­Cola Company consultant. This is a professional document. Follow the format below:

3. Note: You must use section headings to respond to all major requirements in all papers. Your section headings should appear similar to the following:

Executive summary: This is a synopsis of the main points, conclusions, and recommendations made in the longer report. If you have never written an executive summary before, or would like a refresher, check this link: https://www.csun.edu/~vcecn006/summary.html

Introduction: State the main purpose of the paper (thesis statement), what you hope to accomplish, and how you will go about doing it.
Main Body: The "meat" of the paper. Emphasize analysis, not just description. Don't just give me facts - interpret them! Delineate separate topics or sections with appropriate use of headings.

Executive Summary Introduction
Company's Mission Statement and Analysis Company's Vision and Analysis

Company's Values and Analysis
Alignment of Company's Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals with Stakeholders' Interests

Recommended Changes Conclusion

Assignment Expectations

Your paper will be evaluated using the grading rubric. Tips and Suggestions
Note the following tips and suggestions:

Business school case­study assignments are meant to offer practice opportunities for future businesspeople who are earning their MBA degrees. Consider yourself a consultant hired by the company to make these critical assessments. There are no right or wrong answers to the Case question, so long as your position is well­ defended.

Study the theoretical concepts provided in the Background materials section of the module, and identify main strategy concepts.

Analyze the vision, mission statement, etc. according to the criteria presented in the Background materials. Be critical and do not let yourself be influenced by a company's "spin."

Do not hesitate to criticize the current statements. In many instances, you may not be able to find information on the company's website. Many companies do not get this right.

Include a cover page and reference page, in addition to the 6­7 pages of analysis described above.

Include appropriate section headings.

Cite and reference all sources, including those that you paraphrase. This means include citations and quotation marks for direct quotes of more than five words, and citations for information you have "borrowed" or paraphrased from other sources.

Module 1 ­ SLP

Simulation

To begin the sequence, you first need to first run the simulation using the Default Decisions. In other words, use the prices and R&D percentages that are already there (do not change any decisions made by Joe Thomas).

Capture or collect the results for each product (X5, X6, and X7) for each year that you run the simulation. Copy (using Excel, by hand, or some other method) the financial results and marketing results, as well as the information provided by your Advisor.

REQUIRED READING:

Read the following scenario carefully before you proceed:

SCENARIO

It is December 15, 2015. Joe Thomas, the VP of Marketing at Clipboard Tablet Co., is smugly patting himself on the back for how well he has done with pricing and product development on the three products, X5, X6, and X7. Of course, Joe knows his strategy was not creative at all - i.e., he did not change any prices or R&D allocations over the four­year period (actually six years, counting 2010 and 2011). But he is certain that he really did not need to change anything anyway, and that his overall performance is proof of his good work.

Sally Smothers, the CEO of Clipboard Tablet Co., knows better, and she fires Joe (but why did she wait so long?).

You are hired to replace Joe. And now, here you are, on Dec. 15, 2015, as the V.P. of Marketing of the Clipboard Tablet Co. You are ready to move the company ahead into 2016. Your boss, Sally Smothers, expects you to make intelligent and informed product development and pricing decisions (after all, you are an MBA).

Session Long Project

Write a 6­ to 7­page paper (not including cover and reference pages), using Sally's instructions, which follow:

Sally asks you to review the past four to six years to see what was going on in terms of product development, sales, pricing, and performance. You collect all of the data and write a report (your report is due on Sally's desk by January 2, 2016).

Using the default decisions (i.e., make no changes within the simulation), analyze Joe Thomas's decisions and results, and then write the report that Sally is requesting. Access the simulation site and collect the data for each year (or you can download a copy of it ­ see below). Determine where you believe Joe went wrong, and propose a new strategy. Support your revised strategy using financial analysis and relevant business theories.

KEYS TO THE ASSIGNMENT:

The key aspects to this assignment that are required to be covered in your paper include:

1. A review of each product - X5, X6, and X7 - its life cycle, and how each product stacks up in terms of price and performance.

2. Financial review for each product - X5, X6, and X7 - sales, costs, profitability, prices, unit margins, etc.

3. Market review: New Sales, Repeat Sales, Market Saturation, etc.

4. Propose an alternate strategy: A general idea of how you might do better with these products: what pricing and R&D allocations, etc., you would have put in place over the last four years, 2012 - 2015. In short, what would you have done differently than Joe Thomas at each decision point? Be specific!

SLP Assignment Expectations

Your paper will be evaluated using the grading rubric. TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS:

Please note the following tips and suggestions:

Include a cover page and reference page, in addition to the 6­7 pages of written analysis described above.
Use section headings as appropriate. Use graphs, charts, or figures strategically

- but do not use these as "space fillers." Include large tables or graphics in an Appendix instead.

Cite and reference all sources that you use in your work, including those that you paraphrase. This means include citations and quotation marks for direct quotes, and citations for that information which you have "borrowed" or paraphrased from other sources.

Module 2 ­ Case THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT, INTERNAL PROFILE, AND SWOT

Assignment Overview

Remember that the Case in this course is an ongoing exercise, meaning that we will be taking an intensive look at one company over the course of our four modules.

This session, we will be conducting a strategic analysis of the Coca­Cola Company.

The outcome of this Case is use a completed external and internal analysis of the Coca­Cola Company, in the completion of a SWOT.

Case Assignment

In a 7­ to 10­page paper, integrated your external and internal company analysis, completing a formal company SWOT.

Keys to the Assignment

Step 1: Perform research, and complete an industry analysis using each of the Five Forces in Porter's model. Support your analysis with current financial, operational, and marketing data.

Step 2: Complete your external analysis using each of the four elements in the PEST analysis. When considering economic data, use the most current data you can find.

Step 3: Write up the results of your external analysis, and be sure to label the impact of each of the Five Forces as high, moderate, or low. Taken together, the Five Forces analysis and the PEST analysis should lead to conclusions about the overall opportunities and threats facing the Coca­Cola Company as revealed by your research. All data and factual information that you report in your Five Forces and PEST analysis must be properly cited using APA style.

Step 4: Conduct a critical and thorough internal analysis of the Coca­Cola Company, assessing as many of the company's key internal strengths and weaknesses as you can. Consider the operations, customer service, finance, human resources management, and marketing functions. See the following website, as it will help you decide which strengths and weaknesses you might wish to evaluate: https://www.businessballs.com/swotanalysisfreetemplate.htm

Step 5: Discuss the results of your internal analysis, including your conclusions concerning the strengths and weaknesses facing the Coca­Cola Company.

Step 6: Synthesize your internal analysis with your external environmental analysis, formulating a complete SWOT analysis. Provide a SWOT diagram (include as an Appendix - not as part of the written analysis!) in which you show

- in each of the four quadrants - the most important 3­4 company strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Each of these should be discussed thoroughly within your written analysis.

Based on your SWOT, give very specific and informed recommendations as to what the company should do. Give your overall analysis-does the company have more strengths than weaknesses? More weaknesses than strengths?

Whatever you decide, you need to recommend (with strong, convincing support) what you believe should be the company's strategy - in response to your collective assessment of the organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You must demonstrate evidence of critical thinking - don't simply restate facts you've learned about the company! Interpret the data and factual information you've found instead!

Step 7: Consider the Case as a formal business report that you are developing for the Board of Directors and CEO as the Coca­Cola Company's consultant. This is a professionaldocument. Follow the format below:

Executive summary: This is a synopsis of the main points, conclusions and recommendations made in the longer report. If you would like a refresher on writing an executive summary, check this website: https://www.csun.edu/~vcecn006/summary.html

Introduction: State the main purpose of the paper (thesis statement), what you hope to accomplish, and how you will go about doing it.

Main Body: The "meat" of the paper. Emphasize analysis, not just description. Delineate separate topics or sections with section headings.

Conclusion: Summarize your paper in the light of your thesis statement.

Tips and Suggestions

Note the following tips and suggestions:

Business school case­study assignments are meant to offer practice opportunities for future businesspeople who are earning their MBA degrees. Consider yourself a consultant hired by the company to make these critical assessments. There are no right or wrong answers to the Case questions - however, your position must be well­defended.

Study the theoretical concepts provided in the Background materials section of the module, and identify main strategy concepts.

Include a cover page and reference page, in addition to the 7­10 pages of analysis described above.

Include section headings in all papers.

Cite and reference all sources, including those that you paraphrase. This means include citations and quotation marks for direct quotes, and citations for information you have "borrowed" or paraphrased from other sources.

Module 2 ­ SLP - Simulation

SCENARIO

SLP2 - It is New Year's Day, 2016. You have finished analyzing the performance of Clipboard Tablet Co., and you have submitted the report requested by your CEO, Sally Smothers. You are ready to move forward to 2016, but.....

....as you turn on the TV, you notice something very strange. You recognize that the date is January 1, 2012, and that you get to make the decisions for the Clipboard Tablet Co. for the 4­year period beginning with 2012. Your challenge is to do better than Joe Thomas.

At the beginning of each year (2012­2015), you will determine your pricing, your R&D allocations, and whether or not to discontinue any products. You are required to make your decisions for each year, and to report your results to see what happened. You must keep track of your decisions, making specific notes supporting each of your decisions.

Run the Clipboard Tablet Co. simulation through the end of 2015. When you are finished, the date will be December 31, 2015. What is your total Score? Did you do better than Joe Thomas?

You organize your notes about your decisions, your analysis, and your reasoning into a well­written report.

Session Long Project

Run the Clipboard Tablet Co. simulation with your strategy, making decisions year by year for prices and R&D allocations. Write a 6­7 page paper, not including cover and reference pages, in which you discuss the decisions and the results for each year. Discuss why you did better (or worse) than Joe Thomas.

KEYS TO THE ASSIGNMENT

The key aspects of this assignment that should be covered and taken into account in preparing your paper include:

As you run the simulation, keep track of your decisions and the results - both financial and marketing. Copy and paste the results into Excel or into a Word document. You will also want to record the information that you get from the Advisor. Make a note of your Final Total Score.

Include your Final Total Score, some tables, and/or graphs showing key results. Using sound logic, be sure to clearly explain the differences from Joe.

Remember that the key here is quality of analysis. Time Line Summary:

SLP1

2015: You are hired on December 15th.

Turned in first report to Sally on December 30th.

SLP2

You find yourself in a Time Warp that takes you back to January 1, 2012.

You recognize that you can now revise the decisions made by Joe for 2012 - 2015.

January 2, 2012 ­ input decisions for 2012.

January 2, 2013 ­ input decisions for 2013.

January 2, 2014 ­ input decisions for 2014.

January 2, 2015 ­ input decisions for 2015.

December 31, 2015 - You have gone through all four years, and you write your report to summarize how you did.

Module 3 ­ Case - Assignment Overview

The Case in this course is an ongoing exercise, meaning that we will continue to review one company over the course of our four modules. In Module 3, we will be conducting a strategic analysis of the Coca­Cola Company.

Specifically, the Module 3 Case requires that identify the primary business strategy employed by the Coca­Cola Company. You will also be providing a critical, written analysis evaluating that strategy in the context of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats you identified in Module 2.

Required Reading

Refer to the required and optional readings related to strategic choices, the theme of Module 3.

Case Assignment

In a 6­ to 8­page paper, respond to the following:

1. Which of the four generic (Porter) strategies does the Coca­Cola Company follow, and how do you know?

2. Integrate the strategy you've identified above with the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats you identified in Module 2 (this exercise should provide you with some specific actions the company should be taking relative to its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. These actions are referred to as "strategic choices"). Do the Coca­Cola Company's strategic choices align with the firm's generic strategy? If not, what are the specific points of disconnect? Think critically about this step, as no company achieves perfect alignment of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats with its chosen strategy. As the MBA, it is your job to uncover the discrepancies and problems.

3. How can the Coca­Cola Company leverage its strengths and shore up its weaknesses by altering its strategic choices? How can the company take advantage of environmental opportunities and minimize environmental threats by altering its strategic choices? Be specific.

4. Complete the paper by commenting on how your view of the Coca­Cola Company's vision and mission has changed or has been reconfirmed by this process of strategic analysis. Would you make any suggestions to revise the company's vision, mission, or values statements, or to any of its goals/objectives?

5. Consider the Case as a formal business report that you are developing for the Board of Directors and CEO as the Coca­Cola Company's consultant. This is a professional document. Follow the format below:

Executive summary: This is a synopsis of the main points, conclusions, and recommendations made in the longer report. If you would like a refresher on writing an executive summary, check this website: https://www.csun.edu/~vcecn006/summary.html

Introduction: State the main purpose of the paper (thesis statement), what you hope to accomplish, and how you will go about doing it.

Main Body: The "meat" of the paper. Emphasize analysis, not just description. Delineate separate topics or sections with headings.
Conclusion: Summarize your paper in light of your thesis statement.

Tips and Suggestions

Business school case­study assignments are meant to offer practice opportunities for future businesspeople who are earning their MBA degrees. Consider yourself a consultant hired by the company to make these critical assessments. There are no right or wrong answers to the Case question, as long as your position is well defended.

Study the theoretical concepts provided in the Background materials section of the module, and identify main strategy concepts.

Include a cover page and reference page, in addition to the 6­8 pages of analysis described above.

Include section headings as appropriate.

Cite and reference all sources, including those that you paraphrase. This means include citations and quotation marks for direct quotes of more than five words, and citations for information you have "borrowed" or paraphrased from other sources.

Module 3 ­ SLP - Simulation

In Module 3, you will use CVP analysis to inform the pricing of your 3 products.

SCENARIO CONTINUATION:

You've now completed SLP2, and it the date is (once again) January 1, 2016.

You turn on the TV, and once again, the local television news anchor is talking about events that occurred on January 1, 2012.

Your decision­making process will be different this time, as you will be using CVP analysis, a technique with which you recently became familiar.

You analyze the results of the decisions you made in SLP2. But this time, you aim to improve your Final Total Score by using the CVP Calculator to help you determine a new and improved strategy.

You analyze your SLP2 results using CVP and develop your complete four­year strategy, again taking notes, documenting your reasoning.

You finish the report that shows your revised strategy for the next four years. Do not run the simulation yet! Simply turn in your written report.

Session Long Project

Write a 6­ to 7­page paper, not including cover and reference pages, in which you use the results from SLP2 and CVP analysis to develop a revised strategy.

Keys to the Assignment

The key aspects of this assignment that should be covered and taken into account in preparing your paper include:

1. The revised strategy consists of the Prices, R&D Allocation %, and any product discontinuations for the X5, X6, and X7 tablets for each of the four years: 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

2. You must present a rational justification for this strategy. In other words, you must provide clear and logical support for your proposed strategy using financial analysis and relevant business theories.

3. Use the CVP Calculator and review the PowerPoint that explains CVP and provides some examples.

4. You need to crunch some numbers (CVP Analysis) to help you determine your prices and R&D allocations.

5. Make sure all of your proposed changes are firmly grounded in CVP analysis, on the financial and market data provided you, and on sound business principles.

6. Present your analysis professionally, making strategic use of tables, charts, and graphs.

Time Line Summary:

SLP1

2015: Hired on December 15.
Turned first report in to Sally on December 30th.

SLP2

Time Warp 1 begins: January 1, 2016 warps into January 1, 2012.
You realize you have to make decisions for 2012 - 2015, which you do.
December 31, 2015 - You have gone through all four years, and you write your report to summarize how you did.

SLP3

Despite your efforts in SLP2, you are once again taken back to January 1, 2012. You decide to use CVP analysis to revise the four­year plan you developed in SLP2. You analyze the results of your decisions from SLP2, taking detailed notes. You use the CVP Calculator to help develop your revised strategy, taking additional notes explaining the logic your decisions.

Please note the following tips and suggestions:

You might find these downloads and readings useful:

Rehman, A. (2014). Cost­Volume­Profit relationship (CVP Analysis). Accounting for Management. Retrieved on August 27, 2014 from

https://www.accountingformanagement.com/cost_volume_profit.htm

Module 4 ­ Case - Assignment Overview

This final case involves an analysis of strategy implementation at the Coca­Cola Company. You will use the resources you identified in the SLP to gather information about the company and relate that information to your work in the previous four cases.

Required Reading

Refer to the required and optional readings related to strategic implementation and strategic controls, the themes for this module.

Case Assignment

In Module 4, we will conclude the case study process by researching the Coca­Cola Company's strategic controls and their fit with the company's chosen strategy.

Keys to the Assignment

Step One: Review your Case papers from Modules 1­3 so that you are familiar with the mission, vision, SWOT, strategy, and strategic choices you have identified over the course of the class.

Step Two: Research the structure, systems, people, and culture at the Coca­ Cola Company. You will not be able to get answers to every single question, but you will need to answer at least one or two for each component.

Step Three: Describe the Coca­Cola Company's organizational design, key strategic control systems (e.g., budgeting and variance analysis systems), primary human resources concerns, and cultural factors, and the effect that these have had on the implementation of the Coca­Cola Company's strategy.

Step Four: In a 6 to 8 page paper, critically evaluate the fit-or the lack of fit- between the company's mission, strategy, and organizational components crucial to implementation. Do these components complement the strategy? Why or why not?

Step Five: Choose three (3) of the thirteen ethical "prescriptions" included in the following article: https://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/business/strategic­plan.html.

Next, discuss the extent which the company's sense of business ethics has been embedded within its strategic management process, as evidenced by your chosen three indicators.

Step Six: What changes would you-as the CEO-make to better assure the success of the company's strategy? This is the most important section of the Module 4 Case.

Step Seven: Consider the Case as a formal business report that you are developing for the Board of Directors and CEO as the Coca­Cola Company's consultant. This is a professional document. Follow the format below:

Executive summary: This is a synopsis of the main points, conclusions and recommendations made in the longer report. If you would like a refresher on writing an executive summary, check this website: https://www.csun.edu/~vcecn006/summary.html

Introduction: State the main purpose of the paper (thesis statement), what you hope to accomplish, and how you will go about doing it.
Main Body: The "meat" of the paper. Emphasize analysis, not just description. Delineate separate topics or sections with headings.
Conclusion: Summarize your paper in the light of your thesis statement.

Assignment Expectations

Your paper will be evaluated using the grading rubric. Tips and Suggestions
Note the following tips and suggestions:

Business school case­study assignments are meant to offer practice opportunities for future businesspeople who are earning their MBA degrees. Consider yourself a consultant hired by the company to make these critical assessments. There are no right or wrong answers to the Case question, as long as your position is well defended.

Study the theoretical concepts provided in the Background materials section of the module, and identify main strategy concepts.
Include a cover page and reference page, in addition to the 6­8 pages of analysis described above. You must meet minimum length requirements.

Include section headings as appropriate.

Cite and reference all sources, including those you paraphrase. This means include citations and quotation marks for direct quotes of more than five words, and citations for information you have "borrowed" or paraphrased from other sources.

Module 4 ­ SLP

Scenario Continuation:

It is still January 2, 2012. You have just completed your revised SLP3 strategy using CVP analysis, and you are eager to implement your decisions for 2012 through 2014.

Using the CVP analysis from SLP3, run the simulation for a final time. Again, be sure to take notes about your analysis and the document the reasoning behind your decisions.

Finalize your report showing the strategy you have used.

Assignment Overview

Using the strategy that you developed in SLP3, run the simulation. Document your results as you did previously. Review and analyze these results, and develop a final strategy.

Please turn in a 6­ to 8­page paper, not including cover and reference pages. Keys to the Assignment

The key aspects of this assignment that should be covered and taken into account in preparing your paper include:

The revised strategy consists of the Prices, R&D Allocation %, and any product discontinuations for the X5, X6, and X7 tablets for each of the four years: 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

You must present a rational justification for this strategy. In other words, you must provide support for your proposed strategy using financial analysis and relevant theories.

Use the CVP Calculator and review the PowerPoint that explains CVP and provides some examples.

You will need to crunch some numbers (CVP Analysis) to help you determine your prices and R&D allocations.

Make sure your proposed changes in strategy are firmly based in this analysis of financial and market data and sound business principles. Your goal is to practice using CVP and get better at it.

Present your analysis professionally, making strategic use of tables, charts, and graphs.

Time Line Summary: SLP1
2015: Hired on December 15.
Turned in first report to CEO Smothers.

SLP2

You are returned - via Time Warp - to January 1, 2012. You make decisions for 2012 - 2015.
December 31, 2015 - You have revised all four years, and you write up your summary report.

SLP3

Apparently, your SLP2 decisions were not "good enough," as you've again been returned to January 1, 2012.
It is once again January 1, 2012: You decide to use CVP analysis to develop a revised four­year plan for your strategy. You analyze the results of your first decisions from SLP2, taking notes, and documenting your decision­making process. You use the CVP Calculator to help you develop your strategy. Your notes explaining the logic behind your decisions.

SLP4

It is still January 2, 2012. Using your CVP analysis from SLP3, you run the simulation, implementing your revised four­year plan. You keep track of your financial and marketing results year over year.

You submit your final 6­8 page report, which includes your Final Total Score. You compare - and report - your results with previous results.