MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
CSU MBA5101 Full Course latest 2019 JUNE
Question
Unit 1 Assessment
Question 1 What
are the roles and responsibilities of the board of directors? Please provide an
example of a board of directors that did or did not meet its responsibilities
to the company.
Your
response must be at least 200 words in length.
Question 2 What
are the responsibilities of top management and leaders in relation to corporate
governance and strategic planning? What are the benefits of strategic management?
Your
response must be at least 200 words in length.
Question 3 Explain
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and its impact on corporate governance. How has it
changed the way leaders do business in the United States? Conclude with a
discussion of the ways the strategic audit helps corporate governance.
Your
response must be at least 300 words in length.
MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
Unit 2 Mini Project
SWOT
Analysis
After
reading the unit lesson, research a company of your choosing to create a
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. Please note
the importance of picking a company with enough information and sources to
support your analysis. Selecting a publicly held company is recommended. Your
chosen company will be used throughout the assignments in this course. These
assignments allow for a truly comprehensive business analysis, similar to what
you would conduct when working for a major company.
Your
analysis should identify the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and threats. Use Microsoft Word and create four sections for your paper using
the SWOT categories as your headings. Additional headers, such as an
introduction, company background, and conclusion, are acceptable. Add a title
page and references page. You may also use the provided template to complete
the assignment. Click here for a copy of the template.
Each SWOT
category should have approximately 200-300 words describing the issues and the
company’s strategic philosophy that fall within that area. The total length
should be at least three pages. The opportunities and threats should each have
at least ten items identified.
Remember as
you develop a SWOT that strengths and weaknesses are internal and controllable
factors that affect only the individual firm (e.g., finances, marketing,
management and leadership, research and development, corporate culture, human
resources). Opportunities and threats, on the other hand, are external and
uncontrollable factors that affect all industry firms (e.g., politics,
economics, societal and cultural trends, technology, laws and regulations, and
the natural environment, such as climate).
Format your
SWOT Analysis using APA Style. Use your own words, and include citations and
references as needed to avoid plagiarism. The title and reference page do not
count towards the minimum page requirement of three pages.
MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
Unit 3 Project Topic
Instructions
In Unit
VII, you will submit a case study assignment based on the company you chose for
the SWOT analysis in Unit II. Please be sure to review the Unit VII
requirements and work on this case study throughout the term rather than
waiting until Unit VII to commence.
In this
unit, you will complete a project topic in which you present your company and
give a brief introduction to the company. Present some basic information about
the size of the company, its history, and how it is organized. In addition,
present some information about the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of the
company. Does the company follow Friedman’s or Carroll’s view of social
responsibility?
Your
project topic should be at least one page in length, double-spaced, and in 12
pt. Times New Roman font. To complete this assignment, a minimum of two reputable
sources must be used, cited, and referenced. Use APA style guidelines.
MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
Unit 4 Mini Project
EFAS Table
Using the
information gathered from your SWOT analysis conducted in Unit II, create an
external factor analysis (EFAS) table for the company you researched. Use
Microsoft Word, or a similar program, to create your table. It should have five
columns. The first column heading should be titled External Factors, the second
column should be titled Weight, the third column should be titled Rating, the
fourth column should be titled Weighted Score, and the fifth column should be
titled Comments. You may also use the provided template by clicking here.
Click here
to see an example EFAS table.
In the
External Factors column, list at least six opportunities you saw in the company
you researched. Underneath the opportunities, list at least six threats you saw
in the company you researched.
In the
Weight column, assign an importance factor to each of these issues. It is
important to note that whenever working with weighted averages, the weight
column should always total 1.0, or 100%, regardless of how many factors are
included in the EFAS analysis. It is up to the analyst to decide how much
weight each individual external factor is assigned based on the probable impact
on a particular company’s current strategic position. The higher the weight,
the more important the factor to the current and future success of the company.
An important factor may have a weight of 0.5 (50%), while a less important
factor may have a weight of .05 (5%). When all is finished, however, all factor
weights should total 1.0, or 100%. You may not be privy to the exact
information for this company, so in some cases you will need to use your best
judgment. (You will justify your weighting in column five.)
In the
Rating column, assign a rating factor from 5.0-1.0 (5.0 is outstanding; 1.0 is
poor). These ratings are based on the company’s response to that particular
factor. It is your judgment call on how the company is currently dealing with
each specific factor. Once again, you may need to make an estimate in this area
if you are not privy to all of the information. (You will justify your
weighting in column five.)
In the
Weighted Score column, multiply the weight from column 2 by the rating in
column 3 to get the factor’s weighted score.
In the
Comments column, explain why a particular factor was selected and how its
weight and rating were estimated.
At the
bottom of column 4, add the weighted scores for the external factors. Is the
company doing better or worse than others in the same industry? Complete this
answer underneath your table.
Format your
assignment using APA Style. Use your own words, and include citations and
references as needed to avoid plagiarism.
MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
Unit 5 Essay
For this
essay, you will conduct research on corporate strategies and the affect they
have on the decision process. Use the same company you chose in Unit II. As you
explore the decision process, consider how corporate strategies influence these
decisions. In your essay, address the following questions:
What is a
functional strategy?
What are
stability strategies in business? What are the pros and cons of these
strategies?
What are
competitive and cooperative strategies?
What are
the tradeoffs (pros and cons) between an internal and an external growth
strategy? Which approach is best as an international strategy? Why? What about
retrenchment?
Your essay
should be two to three pages in length, double-spaced, and in 12 pt. Times New
Roman font. The title and reference pages do not count towards the minimum page
length. To complete this assignment, a minimum of two reputable sources must be
used, cited, and referenced. At least one reference must come from the CSU
Online Library. Use APA style guidelines.
MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
Unit 6 Essay
Instructions
For this
essay, use the same company you previously used, and analyze how the company
has implemented a corporate strategy or a future policy rollout. Consider
strategy development, and the implementation phase. In your essay, address the
following questions.
What are
the stages of a corporation’s life cycle? How can a corporation’s life cycle be
extended? What stage is your company in?
What is
strategy implementation? What questions must strategy makers consider to begin
the implementation process?
It is
important to assess the strategy-culture compatibility when implementing a new
strategy. Do you think that culture follows strategy, or does strategy follow
culture? In your response, use your company to illustrate your points. Justify
your answer.
What is Six
Sigma? Why would a company want to implement it?
Your essay
should be two to three pages in length, double-spaced, and in 12 pt. Times New
Roman font. The title and reference pages do not count towards the minimum page
length. To complete this assignment, a minimum of two reputable sources must be
used, cited, and referenced. At least one reference must come from the CSU
Online Library. Use APA style guidelines.
MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
Unit 7 Case Study
Instructions
In this
unit, you will complete the case study of the company that you chose in Unit II
and have been researching throughout the course. Respond to the four writing
prompts below. Your responses must include information from academic and
scholarly research, including at least two resources from the CSU Online
Library and at least two other online sources.
Create a
case study summary of the company you have chosen, including a general overview
of the company, its external environment, and a list of its current strategies
and objectives.
If the
company continues with its present strategies and objectives, where will it be
in five years?
If you were
the CEO of the company, what strategies would you recommend, and why?
Describe
the competitive strategies used by the company’s main competitors. Which of
these strategies are the most effective? How can your company combat these
strategies? Support your answers.
If you
paraphrase, quote, or use ideas from any source, you should cite your sources
using APA guidelines. Your case study should be at least three pages in length,
excluding a cover page and references page. Please contact your instructor if
you have any questions, or contact the CSU Success Center should you need more
support.
MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
Unit 8 PowerPoint Presentation
Instructions
Review the
processes of invention and innovation. Then, select a new product that you have
been introduced to in the past 12 months. You are encouraged to research this
new product using outside sources. You can use the same company you have been researching,
or pick a new one.
You are to
create a PowerPoint presentation about future inventions this new product could
help to inspire and what innovations could be developed to enhance and improve
this product. Analyze how these two areas could impact the company. Your
PowerPoint presentation should include the following elements:
Slide 1:
Title page
Slide 2:
Description of the new product
Slide 3:
Description of the importance of R&D to include lead users and market
research
Slide 4:
Discussion of appropriate structure and culture within the company necessary to
support innovative ideas and products
Slide 5:
Exploration of future inventions inspired by the product or analysis of future
innovations of this product (Was this a successful invention leading to
innovation?)
Slide 6:
Prediction of product demand in five years
Slide 7:
List of sources using APA guidelines
Please
ensure that every slide has a title at the top explaining what the slide covers.
To complete this assignment, a minimum of two reputable sources must be used,
cited, and referenced. Add citations in proper APA format, use applicable
pictures or graphics, use a slide template, and avoid wordy slides by focusing
on bullet points. Remember, this is an academic presentation.
MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
Unit 1 Discussion
Part I:
Introduce yourself to your classmates with your name, location, current
employment, and future goals. Tell us one fun (unusual fact about yourself).
Part II: Do
you think that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has been effective in eliminating
corporate scandals? Why, or why not? If necessary, include companies as
examples.
MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
Unit 2 Discussion
A board of
directors (BOD) is a group of individuals who are elected to represent
shareholders in an organization. They mandate policies, provide oversight and
make decisions on major company issues. Complete a mini SWOT analysis of the
pros and cons of serving on a Board of Directors. As you compose your response,
consider: Who should and should not serve on a Board of Directors (BOD)? Should
a BOD strive for diversity in its members? Should the CEO or other insiders be
allowed to serve on the BOD? Is industry experience vital for a successful
Board member? If you were on a committee to form a BOD, what would you be
looking for in your members?
MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
Unit 3 Discussion
Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) is a company’s initiative to assess and take
responsibility for a company’s impact on the environment and social wellbeing
of the planet. It applies to efforts a company instill which goes beyond what
is mandated by laws and regulations. When it comes to corporate social
responsibility (CSR), do you think companies should lean toward Milton
Friedman’s (economic freedom) or Archie Carroll’s (pyramid) ideology? Explain
why you think your answer is better for the company and its stakeholders.
MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
Unit 4 Discussion
When
considering the concept of environmental scanning (or the systematic review and
interpretation of data to identify external opportunities and threats),
investigate a product from two rival companies. As examples, consider Coke
versus Pepsi, Apple versus Samsung, or Ford versus Toyota. Feel free to pick
any two products from other companies. Look for products from two different
companies which are considered substitutes for each other (i.e. diet Coke and
diet Pepsi). What data would you want/need to effectively perform an
environmental scan of these two substitute products? Explain your answer.
MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
Unit 5 Discussion
In today’s
economic environment, which of the five steps in the strategic planning process
(vision, mission, gap analysis, SMART goals, monitoring) do you think is the
most important? Give an example of an industry where this would be the most
important step. Do you think that a different industry might place more
emphasis on another step in the strategic planning process? Why?
MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
Unit 6 Discussion
What are
the advantages and disadvantages of dispersing corporate functions globally
from a strategy implementation standpoint? Is there a need for a corporate
headquarters in one specific location in our virtual business climate? Please
justify your response by including concepts and examples from our readings or
from outside sources.
MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
Unit 7 Discussion
Do you
think benchmarking (i.e. comparing key metrics of companies within the same
industry which are considered best in the industry in order to identify areas
for improvement for your company) is just another fad or is it really useful
for all firms? Why, or why not? How could benchmarking be used in your place of
employment or future entrepreneurial endeavors? Does it rate as a viable tool
for future development?
MBA5101 Strategic Management and Business Policy
Unit 8 Discussion
Discuss how
you can could apply the concepts learned in this course to your current or
future career. Name at least one strategic management model discussed during
this term that you would use, and explain why you selected this model. How
might you incorporate information from this model to your career aspirations
and goals? What areas would you suggest for improvement in this course? Are
there any concepts you wish we could have covered in more depth? We value your
feedback!