WAL-MART IS THE COMPANY

1- INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ANALYSIS

Creating an effective strategic management plan relies heavily on analysis of both your existing company and factors in the business environment that impact decision making. This is an essential part of the business process because it allows management to keep informed on changes and the information gathered is used to set goals and determine the future for the company. This assignment will require you to analyze the internal and external environment of your company and then use the information you’ve gathered to set strategic goals for the business.

For the assignment this week, write a paper that’s  two pages in length and completes the following:

• Create a SWOT analysis for you company that is specific and explains choices thoroughly. Avoid being generic with your choices. Relate them directly to the industry and business that you’ve chosen. A minimum of four points should be present under each heading.
  • The internal portion of the SWOT could include quality of human capital, product lines, employee relations, and current internal business processes. Outside research is recommended.
  • The external portion of the SWOT could consider sociocultural factors, competitors, technology trends, suppliers’ potential legal issues, and even changes in the economy. Again, outside research is recommended.
• Based off of the information that you’ve gathered, create three strategic goals for your chosen company.

The strategic goals that you create here will set the stage for all of the course project assignments ahead. It’s extremely important to choose long-term goals that fit with where you think the company should be headed and make use of the information you’ve gathered. Feel free to reach out to your instructor for guidance about creating the strategic goals, since they’re essential to the ongoing course project.

2-MARKET ANALYSIS

The material this week reiterated what a market analysis is and how it can be used by companies. Market analysis is essential for a business looking to make decisions about their industry and potential customers. This assignment will be the creation of a miniature market analysis for your course project company. It’s important that your choices reflect the strategic goals set in your previous course project assignment. None of these assignments are created in a vacuum. All decisions should be related as this is really one large strategic management plan document. Look back in the course material and at your past assignment if you need to remind yourself. By the deadline this week, you’ll need to write a market analysis for your company that’s two pages in length and completes the following:

• Industry Description Create a general industry description. If your business operates in multiple industries then choose the one you’d like to focus on.
  • Is the industry shrinking or growing and how much money is spent in that industry annually?
  • What stage is your company’s product at in the product life cycle? Explain your answer.
  • What are three possible target markets for your business in this industry and what reasons did you have for choosing each?
• Target Market Choose one target market from the three you identified in the industry description and define it.
  • What are the basics characteristics of your target market?
  • What features and benefits is this target market looking for from your business? Explain your answers.
  • Is this target market a niche or more of a main topic for companies in your industry? Explain your answers.
• Competitive Analysis Identify the most successful business that you’ll be competing against.
  • What are two strengths and weakness of your competitor?
  • Who is the target market that they pursue and what do you see to support this opinion?
  • How is your strategy and target market the same or different than theirs? Defend your choices.
• Regulations Research at least one legal trend or specific law that will impact the way you do business in this industry. It can be something that already exists or something that may be coming in the near future. Discuss the law and why/how it impacts the way that you do business.

Senior ProjectTo start, select one of the following approved topics for your Senior Project. You may also have a topic of your choice approved by the instructor in Week One.  Many of the approved topics have specific subtopics outlined and, while these topics are not all-inclusive, they do provide insight into specific areas to consider. Approved Topics: 

1. Examine how participative leadership functions in today’s modern health care organization and compare it to other types of leadership styles. Evaluate how each type of leadership style may impact organizational culture, employee performance, and how it may help or hinder the legitimacy of authority.
2. As an administrator, address the challenges of employee recruitment and retention of health care professionals. Additional subtopics may include trends in the nursing workforce, shortage of primary care physicians, staff turnover, retention, and staffing patterns.
3. Analyze the dual role of a manager and healthcare professional. Examine challenges that the health professional compared to those of a non-health professional, may face in terms of leadership style, and the impact these challenges have on organizational culture. The benefits of a health professional manager as an organizational resource may also be included. Explore the career trends of health professionals in organizational leadership positions, such as the types of health professional training that leaders tend to have in common, and the typical demographic background of health professional managers.
4. The health care industry must anticipate and monitor trends that could possibly affect its overall survival. Analyze how regulation of the health care industry impacts a health care organization. Explore some of the possible survival organizational strategies such as, but not limited to, mergers, and affiliations, achieving accreditation status, professional licensure.
5. Analyze the impact of technology on how health care services are delivered. The impact of technology on employee performance, organizational structure, and management planning may also be considered.
6. Analyze the impact of any recent social and/or ethical trends on the health care industry. Discuss at least two issues.

After identifying your topic, choose a health care organization in your area. This organization may be small or large and may provide single inpatient health service or multiple outpatient services; it is your choice. Consider your topic in light of the leadership of this organization and research the challenges and successes it has faced in managing operational effectiveness.  You are welcome to use as many research methods as possible to obtain information for your organization and its managers (e.g., web-based resources, electronic articles, or personal interviews). The more informed you are, the better prepared you will be to complete your project.  Finally, develop a management training program that includes relevant guidelines and information to combat the issues identified in the selected topic, as well as recommendations for managers to more effectively lead health care organizations. Your training program should be in the form of a 20 to 25 slide PowerPoint presentation (excluding title and reference slides) that includes comprehensive speaker’s notes (i.e., at least 150 words) for each slide. Utilize at least three to five scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library and two to three current, scholarly web sources (total of five to eight references required). All sources must be cited according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Your presentation must be engaging and relevant to your audience. Lines of text on a slide will not be sufficient for this project. It should contain at least five images, graphics, and/or multimedia that communicate your training clearly to your audience. For tips on creating an excellent presentation, read this overview. 

Creating the Senior Project

The Senior Project:

1. Must be 20 to 25 PowerPoint slides (excluding title and reference slides) in length. There are 20 content criteria worth a total of 10 points.  
2. Must include a title slide that contains the following:
   1. Title of project
   2. Your name
   3. Course name and number
   4. Instructor’s name
   5. Date submitted
3. Must include an introduction with a succinct thesis statement.
4. Must address the topic of the project with critical thought in the areas of:
   1. Organization details
   2. Challenges and opportunities
   3. Training program outcomes
   4. Impact on at least three stakeholder groups involved delineated by cost, quality, and access to service
   5. Suggested actions
5. Must include a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
6. Must use at least five supporting graphics (images, graphics, and/ or multimedia) are included and relevant communicating the training content (two points).
7. Must include speaker’s notes that have evidence of critical thinking and application (content analysis, synthesis, evaluation) related to the research methodology used to develop (six points):
   1. Project content
   2. Practical and relevant solutions to the organizational challenges/opportunities
   3. Appropriate evaluation of individual stakeholder groups involved
8. Must use at least three to five scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library and two to three current, scholarly web sources.
9. Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
10. Must include a separate reference slide, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.