BUS 485 Strategic Management GCU
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BUS 485 Strategic Management GCU
BUS 485 Full Course Discussions GCU
BUS 485 Topic 1 DQ 1
In your own
words, describe the differences between the industrial organization (I/O) and
the resource-based models of above-average returns. As an analyst, how would
you determine the significance or validity of these models with respect to a
given industry?
BUS 485 Topic 1 DQ 2
How do vision
and mission statements affect the strategic management process? Select an
example of strong vision and mission statements and include them here. Why do
you think these are strong statements? How do the statements contribute to a
perception of company’s overall competitiveness? Cite any sources used to
support your answer.
BUS 485 Topic 2 DQ 1
Why does
scanning the external environment play such a significant role in strategic
analysis? How do unexpected daily events warrant significant analysis, and how
would you determine their significance? As a strategic analyst, how would you
approach and be prepared for their inevitable occurrence?
BUS 485 Topic 2 DQ 2
Describe a
historical situation where a failure to assess and correctly interpret the
external environment resulted in a business’ failure. What elements of the
external environment were missed? How might the company have corrected this
oversight? Cite any sources used to support your answer.
BUS 485 Topic 3 DQ 1
What
is value and
how is it determined and measured? In your opinion, does business generally
determine and measure value appropriately? In a free market, what happens when
value is not properly assessed by a business and its leaders? Give a historical
example and your thoughts about how and why a disconnect occurred. Cite any
sources used to support your answer.
BUS 485 Topic 3 DQ 2
What makes a
competitive advantage sustainable, and why is sustainability a critical
strategy-making consideration? Is sustainability knowable in the medium and long
term? Why or why not? Give an example to support your conclusion. Cite any
sources used to support your answer.
BUS 485 Topic 4 DQ 1
Describe the
relationship between business level strategy and value chain activities. How do
disruptive business models alter a value chain? What are the implications for
the business and for its competitors?
BUS 485 Topic 4 DQ 2
Why do you
think competing businesses endeavor to differentiate? How can external factors
regulate the nature of competition within an industry?
BUS 485 Topic 5 DQ 1
How do firms
use horizontal, vertical, and related types of acquisitions to increase their
market power? Provide an example of a company that has used multiple types of
acquisitions to increase its market power and describe how the firm is now a
greater competitor in the market as a result. Cite any sources used to support
your answer.
BUS 485 Topic 5 DQ 2
Discuss the
three types of restructuring strategies and provide real-word examples of
instances when each has been used. Cite any sources used to support your
answer.
BUS 485 Topic 6 DQ 1
Discuss how
the three internal governance mechanisms are used to align the interests of
managerial agents with those of the firm’s owners. Why is this so critical in
today’s business climate where the ethics practiced by firms are constantly
being scrutinized?
BUS 485 Topic 6 DQ 2
What can
strategic leaders do to develop and sustain an effective organizational
culture? What actions can a strategic leader take to establish and maintain
ethical practices within a firm?
BUS 485 Topic 7 DQ 1
How do an
organization’s vision, mission, and goals affect its approach to strategic
management and measurement? Discuss how top management teams affect a firm’s
performance and its ability to innovate, design, bring about effective
strategic change.
BUS 485 Topic 7 DQ 2
Business
metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) are useful in determining the
success of change management efforts by providing a measurable value against
which the company can then compare its desired business goal or outcome.
Research three business metrics and describe how each is used to measure
performance and how a business can use the results from each metric to improve
its performance.
BUS 485 Topic 8 DQ 1
Discuss how
the material you have learned in this course can be applied to creating a
strategic plan for your life, personal goals, professional career, etc. What
would that plan entail? Would you need to conduct a SWOT analysis or perform an
environmental scan? Describe how you can apply strategic management principles
to your personal plan.
BUS 485 Topic 8 DQ 2
Discuss how
your personal core competencies help you create value for the business where
you work, your life, your school, or your family. What can you do to expand or
improve your core competencies?
BUS 485 Full Course Assignments GCU
BUS 485 Topic 1 Cornerstone to Capstone Diagnostic
Log into MindTap and complete the five quizzes contained
in the Cornerstone to Capstone Diagnostic. You will have 60 minutes to complete
the assignment.
BUS 485 Topic 2 Personal Value Assessment (Online/TO)
The purpose of this assignment is to assess personal
value in light of professional goals.
In the same way that an organization performs with
greater intention and cohesiveness when its employees and stakeholders are all
working with a communal sense of purpose toward a shared goal, you will be able
to better and more successfully shape your future when you have a clear idea of
who you are, the value you offer, and what you ultimately want to achieve. Your
personal vision provides the framework for your goals by reflecting your
aspirations for the individual you hope to become. And more concretely, your
personal mission defines the areas in the industry where you intend to compete
and the customers you intend to serve.
Together, your vision and mission statements offer a
foundational identity, defining who you intend to serve and in what capacity
(your mission), and how those elements will help you shape your intended future
(your vision).
Based on what you have read in the study materials,
develop your own personal vision and mission statements from the perspective of
yourself as a business professional, supported by a goal plan that will enable
you to achieve your vision in the next 5 to 10 years.
Include the following in your 1,000-1,250-word response:
- Define your personal vision and mission statements.
- List a minimum of five SMART goals you will need to achieve to
reach your vision and describe how these relate to your overall personal
strategy.
- Identify significant personal standards or principles you hold and
discuss how they guide, limit, or circumscribe your stated vision,
mission, and goal plan.
- What do you need to do (or keep doing) to ensure that you reach
your vision and achieve your mission? How will you monitor and modify your
plan to measure success in achieving your outlined goals?
- How do the vision, mission, and values you have outlined create a
competitive advantage for yourself in the job market? How would the leader
of a business organization use these same elements to create competitive
advantage in the industry?
- How is the process of setting, measuring, and
modifying your personal vision, mission, and goal plan different from that
required by the leader of a small company? How does this process differ
from that required by the leader of a large corporation?
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found
in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is
not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric
prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for
successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.
BUS 485 Topic 3 CLC Environmental and Industry Analysis
This is a Collaborative Learning Community (CLC)
assignment.
The purpose of this assignment is to conduct an
environmental scan and industry analysis on a company and identify how external
and industry environmental factors impact the operational and competitive
landscapes of your corporation.
Consult Table C-2 and C-3 in the Case Studies section of
the textbook and choose a publicly traded company to research in this
assignment and throughout the course. If you choose not to use one of the
companies listed, identify an industry in which you are interested and select a
publicly traded company and operating unit therein to study. You will need to
obtain instructor approval before moving forward with this assignment and confirm
that sufficient information on your selected company exists and is available
for you to research.
Perform an external environmental scan and industry
environmental analysis on this publicly traded company from the perspective of
a business unit. Begin your analysis with the seven segments of the general
environment (Figure 2.1) and the five forces of competition model (Figure 2.2)
as presented in the text, and then complete a detailed outline of the
meaningful trends, issues, and factors that impact or are likely to impact the
overall competitive landscape for your company in the future. The purpose of
this multilevel analytical approach is to break down macro trends and issues
until you identify how exactly they affect your company and business unit.
This analysis will require significant research. Although
the framework suggested is structured, this assignment is not intended to be a
linear exercise. Be creative in your research—the entire idea of strategy lies
in having information or insight that your competition may not have, so this
assignment may require a little digging. Tables C-2 and C-3 in the textbook
indicate where each of the listed companies are mentioned within the text, but
these references will only serve as a starting place. You may want to look for
standardized SEC corporate filings and industry analyses through the GCU
library, or you could also begin your research by consulting online NAICS
databases, SEC filing databases (such as EDGAR), or sources like business and
industry periodicals.
The format of your analysis is limited only by your own
creativity, though the “Environmental and Industry Analysis Framework” resource
may be referenced as one method of organizing your research. While you may
choose to use an Excel spreadsheet to show your thought process and research,
it is not required, and the attached framework is intended to serve as an
example rather than a template.
However, you choose to present your material, your
analysis should include the following components:
- Sectors of the external environment and the five forces of
competition.
- Concepts to research in each category. (Note: This list is intended
to be used as a springboard and should not be considered exhaustive in any
individual case.)
- Macro trends related to the issues noted in section B. (Note: There
may be more than one trend or issue identified for each section B
concept.)
- Impact of the trends and issues identified in section C on your
corporation.
- Impact of the trends and issues identified in section D on your
operating business unit.
- Conclusions about how and why these assessments are relevant to the
company overall. (These conclusions may be your own personal suppositions,
or they may be provided from external sources.)
- Sources referenced in each section of your analysis.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found
in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is
not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric
prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for
successful completion.
You are
required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.
BUS 485 Topic 4 Midterm Exam
Log into MindTap and complete the Midterm Exam. This exam
will cover material from Chapters 1-6 in the textbook and you will have 65
minutes to complete the test.
BUS 485 Topic 5 Benchmark – Strategic Alternatives Assessment
The purpose of this assignment is to analyze a company’s
strengths and weaknesses in order to recommend feasible value-enhancing
alternatives.
Consider the publicly traded company your CLC group
analyzed in the Environmental and Industry Analysis assignment. In a paper of
1,000-1,200 words, discuss potential growth opportunities and strategies for
your selected company and compare the advantages and disadvantages of each
opportunity.
- Conduct a SWOT analysis for your selected company and discuss your
findings. What advantages does your company have over its competition?
What opportunities exist in the industry from which your company can
benefit? Who is your company’s competition, and what types of risks might
they pose? What weak areas could your company improve to compete with its
strongest competitors?
- Identify strategic alternatives that create value for the company.
Which ones are focused on internal growth and what do they offer to the
company? What are the drawbacks of these strategies? Which ones are
focused on external growth and what do they offer the company? What are
the drawbacks of these strategies?
- How would you use a decision matrix to identify the leading
alternative? Explain how you determined the values used to distinguish
between each option. What about the matrix, if anything, may be limiting
in its use value to an analyst or decision maker?
- What factors might inhibit the success of the optimal strategic
alternative identified? How can the issues you identified be addressed and
corrected?
- Growing an organization is not always about
increasing the size of the firm. If expansion is not the main focus, what
other elements lend themselves to growth of the firm? How might each be
achieved?
You will be required to incorporate instructor feedback
from this paper into the Assessing and Managing Risk assignment in Topic 7.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found
in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is
not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric
prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for
successful completion.
You are
required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for
assistance.
Benchmark
Information
This
benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:
BS Business
Analytics; BS Business Management; BS Finance
1.2 Apply
techniques for creative problem solving and encouraging innovation within
organizations.
BS Business
for Secondary Education
6.1 Develop
an innovative and entrepreneurial solution for a specific business problem.
BUS 485 Topic 6 CLC – Organizational and Operational Plans
This is a Collaborative Learning Community (CLC)
assignment.
The purpose of this assignment is to assess the
effectiveness of a company’s operational and organizational strategies and
processes.
Previously, your CLC group conducted an extensive
assessment of your selected firm’s external and internal environment and of the
elements influencing both. Reflect on this research and analysis as you move
forward assessing the next steps for the firm and how to increase value for the
shareholders and stakeholders involved. This question of value is largely
influenced by the firm’s ability to be optimally organized and operated.
Compose a written assessment of your selected firm’s
organizational strategies and operational processes, evaluating what changes
need to be made and what procedures need to be maintained in order to outfit
the firm for increasing success.
Address each of the following issues in a
1,250-1,500-word paper:
- How does the current organizational and operational structure,
including the system of corporate governance, benefit the firm? How does
the current organizational and operational system challenge the firm’s
success? What would have to change to reverse how structural issues are
impeding the firm’s success?
- How might the firm benefit from a strategic alliance? What are the
risks of a strategic alliance and how might those risks be managed?
- How might the firm utilize a business-level cooperative strategy to
create a competitive advantage? Of the four business-level cooperative
strategies presented in section 9-2 of the textbook, which is most likely
to be of significant value to your team’s firm? Why? What are the risks
associated with this strategy and how might they be managed?
- What internal governance mechanisms would you propose to monitor
managers’ decision making?
- Section 11-2 of the textbook states that strategy
and structure have a reciprocal relationship. Explain how this is true
within your selected firm. If it is not true, how might the situation be changed
for the better?
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found
in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is
not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric
prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for
successful completion.
You are
required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for
assistance.
BUS 485 Topic 6 Benchmark – Financial Analysis
The purpose of this assignment is to evaluate the
financial condition and performance of the firm you and your CLC group members
have selected for analysis.
Refer to Tables A-1 through A-5 in Appendix II of the
text for the operational definitions of and formulas for numerous common
financial ratios, including profitability, liquidity, leverage, activity, and
shareholders’ return. Using these formulas, complete at least one ratio from
each of the five categories, though you may apply as many of the ratios for
which you can find the required information in the firm’s financial reports. On
your calculations page, specify for which formulas you are solving.
In an assessment of approximately 750 words, address the
following:
- Determine which of the ratios provide the most key insights into
the firm’s current level of performance. How can you assess whether the
results of your calculations are positive or negative? Explain which of
the ratios give you reason to be concerned with the organization’s current
strategy and why.
- The Organizational and Operational Plans assignment references the
possible benefits and risks of forming a strategic alliance. What would be
the risks of forming a strategic alliance in terms of the firm’s
profitability ratios? Which of those five ratios is most likely to reveal
immediate information for analysis of the alliance’s effectiveness?
- Considering today’s financial climate, how likely is
it that the organization could acquire the capital necessary to support an
aggressive value-enhancement strategy? From where would that capital
originate? Compared to current interest rates, what do you believe is a
realistic interest rate the firm might incur? Which of the liquidity
ratios will be impacted by the influx of capital, if borrowed?
Submit your calculations with your written response.
You will be required to incorporate instructor feedback
from this paper into the Assessing and Managing Risk assignment in Topic 7.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found
in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is
not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric
prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for
successful completion.
You are
required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for
assistance.
Benchmark
Information
This
benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:
BS Business
Analytics; BS Business Management; BS Finance
2.2 Apply
strategies for analyzing and synthesizing data and evaluating risk in making
business decisions.
BS Business
for Secondary Education
6.6
Demonstrate skills for the effective communication of business information and
concepts.
BUS 485 Topic 7 Assessing and Managing Risk
Honors
Students: Complete this assignment according to the directions provided in the
“Honors Addendum,” located in Course Materials.
The purpose of this assignment is to assess how potential
value-enhancing strategies may pose risk to a firm.
Review your instructor’s feedback on the Strategic
Alternatives Assessment and the Financial Analysis assignments. Use that
feedback to guide your analysis of the strategies that you believe will provide
the most significant opportunities for your firm to manage risk and add value.
Keep in mind that increasing value for the firm does not
necessarily mean expanding the business. Acquiring other firms, conducting
research and development, or introducing new products and services might fall
under the umbrella of value enhancement, while in other cases it may mean
downsizing, rightsizing, or even refining the products and services the firm
offers.
In a paper of approximately 1,500 words, revisit the
strategic alternatives and financial analysis recommendations that offer the
greatest opportunities to add value to your firm and assess the risks of each.
Use the information you have learned about your company’s business model,
industry, competition, and target market in conjunction with the feedback you
received on your work in the previous two topics to assist you in addressing
the following.
- In the Strategic Alternatives Assessment, you evaluated potential
growth opportunities and strategies for your firm, using a SWOT analysis
to assess the advantages and disadvantages of each. Recapitulate your
findings here in conjunction with any instructor feedback received,
identifying how you determined your proposed strategic alternative(s) and
calculated potential inhibitors to each. Expand upon your initial proposed
alternatives to include financial considerations.
- Throughout the course, you have developed and submitted reports for
your firm based on information that you and your CLC group have acquired
and assessed. However, it is equally important to consider what other
information, had you been able to locate it, would have been of value in
formulating recommendations. What information are you lacking that might
assist you and your team in developing and suggesting value-enhancing
strategic alternatives? What information are you lacking that would assist
you and your team in better assessing and managing possible risks of the
proposed alternatives?
- When it comes to making strategic recommendations to management,
financial considerations weigh significantly on the feasibility and
viability of the available options. Revisit the Financial Analysis assignment
and, with the incorporation of any instructor feedback received, reiterate
your findings on the financial condition and performance of the firm
respective to the risks and benefits of forming a strategic alliance,
profitability ratios, and possible value-enhancing strategies.
- Given your instructor’s feedback and considering how the financial
markets have changed since you submitted your Financial Analysis
assignment, how would you refine or update your assessment of the
organization’s current performance and financial strategies?
- How would you use a decision matrix to determine the risks of your
suggested strategic alternative and the potential financial implications
for your company of pursuing this alternative? Is the decision matrix an
effective tool for predicting risk? Why or why not? How does the
application of the decision matrix alter what you previously chose as the
most advantageous strategy?
- Utilizing a risk matrix, identify a minimum of 10
unique risks associated with the strategic alternative you believe will
provide the most significant opportunity for your firm to add value.
Choose two or three of the most critical risks and discuss their potential
impacts on your selected alternative.
Submit your risk matrix with your written response.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found
in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is
not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric
prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for
successful completion.
You are
required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for
assistance.
BUS 485 Topic 8 Benchmark – Situation Analysis Presentation
The purpose of this assignment is to create a
presentation that synthesizes and analyzes research conducted on the team’s
selected company to determine optimal strategic alternatives.
Create a 10-12 slide PowerPoint presentation that
highlights the research and analysis you have conducted throughout this course,
both as an individual and in the CLC, regarding how your selected company’s
external and internal environments influence or affect its strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Speaker notes should be included for
each slide.
For guidance in creating an effective strategic profile
and case analysis, refer to Table 1 in the Case Studies section of the
textbook.
Use the following outline to structure your presentation:
- Strategic Profile and Case Analysis Purpose
- Situation Analysis: (a) General Environmental Analysis –
Focus on the trends in the seven segments of the general environment and
predict which segments you expect to have the most significance to your
company in coming years; (b) Industry
Analysis – Reference the five forces of competition
model to judge the attractiveness of the industry (or segment of the
industry) in which your company is competing; (c) Competitor Analysis –
Identify your competitor’s strategies so your company can learn to predict
their responses; (d) Internal
Analysis – Analyze your company’s value chain to
assess the organization’s overall strengths and weaknesses.
- SWOT Analysis (Environmental
Opportunities and Threats and Firm Strengths and Weaknesses) – How will
the findings identified in the Situation Analysis enable the company to
maximize its strengths and capitalize on advantageous opportunities while
minimizing its weaknesses and evading environmental threats?
- Strategy Formulation – Synthesize
the results of your Situation and SWOT Analysis to develop alternatives
that make use of environmental opportunities while avoiding environmental
threats. Evaluate which alternative is the best option and defend the
selection: (a) strategic alternatives, (b) alternative evaluation, and (c)
alternative choice.
- Strategic Alternative
Implementation – Design your proposed
implementation of the chosen strategy. Consider and evaluate a variety of
potentially critical implementation issues: (a) action items and (b)
action plan.
Refer to the resource, “Creating Effective PowerPoint
Presentations,” located in the Student Success Center, for additional guidance
on completing this assignment in the appropriate style.
While APA style is not required for the body of this
assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources
should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the
APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric
prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for
successful completion.
You are not required to submit this assignment to
LopesWrite.
Benchmark
Information
This benchmark
assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:
BS Business
Analytics 1.3; BS Business Management 1.4; BS Finance 1.4
Design and
deliver persuasive business presentations.
BUS 485 Topic 8 Benchmark – Executive Summary
The purpose of this assignment is to summarize two
strategic alternatives for your selected corporation based on individual
research and team analyses.
Assume that you work as an analyst team lead at the
company you have been studying throughout this course, and you are issuing a
high-level communication to company CEO that summarizes your analysis. Based on
what you have discovered regarding environmental scan issues, financial
analysis issues, industry trends, etc., communicate a plan for implementing two
strategic alternatives in an executive summary of 750-1,000 words.
Include the following in your response:
- Based on your work this semester, synthesize and present key
analytical findings about where the company is exceling and how or where
it can improve. Refer to both your CLC and individual analysis in your
summary.
- Propose two creative yet viable corporate-level strategic
alternatives. Critique the pros and cons of each alternative utilizing
your analytical findings.
- Select and defend the pursuit of one of your two viable
alternatives. How does this alternative align with the firm’s mission,
vision, and values? How can management employ this alternative to create
competitive advantage for the firm? Suggest next steps.
- Based on your analysis, identify a business unit or activity within
the corporation that you would suggest defunding in order to finance your
strategic alternative, or provide an alternate funding source. Defend your
selection.
- Given your overall proposal, how do you suggest the
company promote its culture, vision, and mission to maximize its chances
for success in the industry? How might the company develop its servant
leaders to endorse and exemplify tenets of the Christian worldview (CWV)
in the workplace? Propose and defend at least one significant leadership
initiative.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found
in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is
not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric
prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for
successful completion.
You are
required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for
assistance.
Benchmark
Information
This
benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:
BS Business
Analytics; BS Business Management; BS Finance
3.3 Examine
the role of leadership in creating competitive advantage through aligning
strategy with an organization’s mission, vision, and values.
4.3
Determine how servant leaders develop leadership capacity in others and a
shared value of service within an organization.
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