what kind of organizational structure the company uses and defend their choice.

Minimum Pages: 4 pages
Grading Scale (Total Possible Points): 150 points
Preparation
Before doing this project, I would encourage you to check out a set of annual reports from the campus
library or Internet. (If that is not feasible, at least research the latest annual report for the company you
want to work on and make lists of the various divisions.)
Each student should have an identical, or quite similar, stack of annual reports, business magazines, or
similar business publications pertaining to their company of preference. This material should be appropriate
for the sort of research tasks assigned to this assignment. In conjunction, each student should review the
company website to address and incorporate the following items as outlined below:
I. Executive Summary
Each student will provide an executive summary, which is an overview. The purpose of an executive
summary is to summarize the key points of a document for its readers, saving them time and preparing
them for the upcoming content.
Think of the executive summary as an advance organizer for the reader. Above all else, an executive
summary has to be clear and concise. In business, the most common use of an executive summary is as
part of a business plan. The executive summary in a business plan serves the same purposes as an
executive summary in any other document and one more – in a business plan, an executive summary also
has to entice the reader to read the rest of the business plan.
For this reason, the executive summary is often called the most important part of the business plan. If it
doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do, the business plan will be set aside unread. (Source: Susan Ward, About.com)
II. Pick a Structure
Each student will research one well­known company of interest to the student (e.g. Starbucks, Nike,
Apple, Wal­Mart, Google, Toyota, Capital One, etc.). For your selective company, students should decide
what kind of organizational structure the company uses and defend their choice. Each student will need to
consider the company’s industry, operations, need for innovation, type of workforce, and so forth. The
companies may or may not publish organizational charts for you to use as “answers” to this assignment.
For example, Starbucks does not publish a chart, but lists its executives on a company fact sheet against
which students can compare their own deductions.
III. Corporate Culture Analysis
After you select a well­known company of interest to the team; now define what types of symbols,
statements and other tools do they use to communicate their culture to their employees, customers and
investors?
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If you had to rate how strong their corporate culture is on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the weakest and
10 being the strongest how would you rate them? Why did you rate it the way you did? Be specific.
IV. Vision and/or Mission Statements
Go to the company web site and find their vision and/or mission statements. How does each company set
its mission statement? What can you tell about the company from the mission/vision statements alone?
V. S.W.O.T. Analysis
Each student must conduct a SWOT analysis of the company, considering its internal and external
environment.
VI. Changing Environments
Each student should identify which environments their company operates in, which may include the
following: stable, dynamic, simple, and complex. Each student will need to justify their choices and share
their ideas with the instructor and highlight in your paper.
VII. Framework for Direct Competition
Each student should now diagram (outline) the framework of direct competition for the industry your
company resides in; such as the movie industry, wireless industry, retail industry, etc. At this point, you
should create the list of companies to plot. What are the short­ term and long­term strategy to compete
against your competitors in the industry?
VIII. Social Responsibility (SR)
Each student may have a distinct or limited view of SR, such as environmentally sound practices or
donating time to community outreach. I would like each student to expand your thinking of corporate social
responsibility to include things like buying existing facilities for company operations rather than building
new, allowing workers to telecommute (less use of energy for transportation), using electronic invoicing
and bill­pay options to reduce paper consumption and transportation costs, and so forth. In short, I would
like each student to think beyond environmentalism, which in many ways has become a synonym for SR.
So, with the company you selected; what are their SR to the community and society. Be specific.
IX. Diversity Case (as applicable)
Each student should thoroughly research a dilemma that your company has had with discrimination. The
discrimination can be related to sex, ethnicity or race, physical or mental disability, or deep­level
differences. Did the company successfully resolve the dilemma? The research should culminate in the
paper.
X. Corporate Communication
Each student should go to the website of your company and evaluate its external communication on the
following attributes: (1) How user­friendly is the website? (2) What kinds of information are
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communicated? (3) Does the website allow people to communicate with corporate officers? (4) How
honest is the company regarding information, especially negative information? and (5) How would you rate
the website overall on its communication (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being excellent)?
XI. Conclusion
The conclusion of the research paper is the most valuable single part of it. All the material you have
gathered means nothing to your reader until you present the conclusion you have reached as a result of
your research. Restate your thesis and show what the material you have presented adds up to. Analyze
and evaluate your main points for your reader; also consider the consequences and general implications of
them to your conclusion. Although no actual new information is usually introduced in the concluding
paragraphs, the conclusion is the only “original” contribution you offer in your paper. It manifests the value
of your research as well as your understanding of the material that you have presented. It should be a
strong recapitulation of your major ideas

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