Assessment Brief

Assignment 5: Capstone
Due
Week 10 and worth 400 points
Select
a publicly traded corporation for which you would like to work or are currently
working.
Research
the corporation on its own Website, the public filings on the Securities and
Exchange Commission EDGAR database (http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml), in the University’s
online databases, and any other sources you can find. The annual report will
often provide insights that can help address some of these questions.
Write
an eight to ten (8-10) page paper in which you:

Determine the
impact of the company’s mission, vision, and primary stakeholders on its overall
success.
Analyze the five
(5) forces of competition to determine how they impact the company.
Create a SWOT
analysis for the company to determine its major strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats.
Based on
the SWOT analysis, outline a strategy for the company to capitalize
on its strengths and opportunities, and minimize its weaknesses and
threats.
Discuss the
various levels and types of strategies the firm may use to maximize its
competitiveness and profitability.
Outline a
communications plan the company could use to make the strategies you
recommend above known to all stakeholders.
Select two (2) corporate
governance mechanisms used by this corporation and evaluate how effective
they are at controlling managerial actions.
Evaluate the
effectiveness of leadership within this corporation and make at least one (1)
recommendation for improvement.
Assess efforts by
this corporation to be a responsible (ethical) corporate citizen and
determine the impact these efforts (or lack thereof) have on the company’s
bottom line. Provide specific examples to support your response.
Use at least five
(5) quality references. Note:
Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources.

Your
assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double
spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all
sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with
your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover
page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the
professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the
reference page are not included in the required page length.

The
specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Determine ways in
which the vision, mission, and stakeholders of a firm impact that firm’s
overall success.
Identify how the
six segments of the general environment affect an industry and its firms.
Identify the five
forces of competition.
Analyze the
external environment for opportunities and threats that impact the firm.
Analyze the
internal environment of a company for strengths and weaknesses that impact
the firm’s competitiveness.
Identify various
levels and types of strategy in a firm.

· 
Assess
the ethical implications related to strategic decisions.

Predict ways in
which corporate governance will affect strategic decisions.
Assess the
relationship between strategy and organizational structure.
Use technology and
information resources to research issues in business administration.
Write clearly and
concisely about business administration using proper writing mechanics.