Corporate Strategy Analysis Project

This assignment focuses on understanding your company’s corporate strategy and how it creates value. Here’s what you’ll analyze:

  1. Corporate Portfolio:
    • Describe your company’s corporate portfolio, including all organizational units operating in distinct product and geographic markets.
    • Apply the “better-off,” “ownership,” and “organizational” tests (explained in the assigned corporate strategy reading) to explain why these units belong together.
    • Compare your company’s portfolio with its competitors, providing a critical commentary on the differences and similarities.
  2. Impact on Competitive Advantage:
    • Revisit the “willingness-to-pay” (WTP) and “supplier-opportunity-cost” (SOC) drivers you identified in the previous competitive advantage analysis.
    • Analyze the net effect of your company’s portfolio on these WTP and SOC drivers.
  3. Historical Analysis:
    • Identify 3-5 landmark corporate events in the company’s recent history.
    • Focus on events such as acquisitions, divestments, spin-offs, mergers, alliances, and new geographic and product market entries and exits.
    • Critically evaluate the rationale and performance review that management offered to investors and analysts for these events.
  4. Organizational Structure:
    • Analyze your company’s organizational structure choices (centralization, decentralization, shared services, etc.) and how they connect the business units.
    • Explain how these choices affect the WTP and SOC drivers.

Key concepts & examples:

Review the assigned readings on Corporate Strategy and Competing Globally for helpful explanations and examples.

Research & Tools:

  • NotebookLM: Conduct your analysis using NotebookLM, populating your notebook with relevant source materials. Share a read-only link to your notebook with me.
  • Authoritative Sources: Stick to credible sources like:
    • Company 10-K reports
    • Earnings call transcripts
    • Analyst reports from reputable investment banks
    • Industry data providers (e.g., Capital IQ)
  • Summaries: Use your NotebookLM skills to summarize information from these sources into a submission-ready format.

Submission Details:

  • Format: Submit as a .docx or PDF file, approximately 5 pages long.
  • Deadline: April 8th
  • Points: 100 points

Rubric for Corporate Strategy Analysis Project (100 points)

Criteria Excellent Good Fair Needs Improvement
Application of Corporate Strategy Tests Accurately and insightfully applies the “better-off,” “ownership,” and “organizational” tests to explain why the units belong together in the portfolio. Applies the corporate strategy tests, but the analysis may lack depth or clarity in some areas. Attempts to apply the corporate strategy tests, but the analysis is superficial or shows limited understanding of the concepts. Fails to effectively apply the corporate strategy tests or demonstrates a misunderstanding of the concepts.
Impact on WTP & SOC Provides a comprehensive and well-supported analysis of the net effect of the corporate portfolio on the company’s “willingness-to-pay” (WTP) and “supplier-opportunity-cost” (SOC) drivers. Analyzes the impact of the portfolio on WTP and SOC, but the analysis may lack depth or clarity in some areas. Attempts to analyze the impact on WTP and SOC, but the analysis is superficial or incomplete. Fails to analyze the impact of the corporate portfolio on WTP and SOC.
Historical Analysis Identifies and critically evaluates 3-5 landmark corporate events, providing a well-reasoned assessment of management’s rationale and performance review. Identifies landmark corporate events, but the analysis of management’s rationale and performance may lack depth or critical evaluation. Identifies some corporate events, but the analysis is superficial or incomplete. Fails to identify or analyze landmark corporate events.
Organizational Structure Analysis Provides a thorough and insightful analysis of the company’s organizational structure choices and their impact on WTP and SOC. Analyzes the organizational structure, but the analysis may lack depth or clarity in explaining the impact on WTP and SOC. Attempts to analyze the organizational structure, but the analysis is superficial or incomplete. Fails to analyze the company’s organizational structure or its impact on WTP and SOC.

Total Points: 100