Required Assignment 1—Organizational Assessment

As a manager, you have to continually evaluate the organization and its strategy and consistently adapt the business model to ensure that the overall business plan is one step ahead of the competition.

In this assignment, you will get an opportunity to learn, from actual experiences, how an informed manager would assess the current overall health of an organization and make decisions regarding future opportunities and performance.

Tasks:

Select an industry relevant to your career. If you lack work experience, you can base your selection on real-life market situations or business areas that you may have knowledge about. You can also consult sources such as the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Bloomberg Markets, the Economist, US News and World Report resources.

• Research the growth opportunities in the industry, competitive strategies that were employed, typical customers, and other relevant information related to the industry. Specific opportunities will differ depending on the industry selected, but be sure to consider current economic events and news relating to the industry that may influence the future direction of your industry.
• Within this industry, select a midrange-performing company that provides goods or services. Then, address the following:
  • Analyze why this company maintains the level of success it does from an economic and financial perspective. Develop at least two visual aids (e.g., charts, graphs, or tables) to support your argument.
  • Evaluate whether the company”s pricing and positioning decisions contribute to or hinder that success.
• Evaluate whether the strategy currently used by your industry, as discussed in previous sections, appears to be sustainable over time.

Create a 4- to 5-page research paper. At the end your paper, include a reference page and cite scholarly sources in APA style.