Strategic Planning

CASE STUDY: APPLE ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

OVERVIEW

Strategic planning is an important exercise to formulate appropriate, meaningful recommendations for action within an organization. In order to develop relevant execution strategies, students must have a thorough understanding of how to identify internal and external factors, the ability to utilize analytical tools (e.g. SWOT, Porters 5 factor analysis) to organize findings into an actionable template, and how to translate these tools into a foundation for formulating recommendations. It is also important to understand how to measure the results of implemented strategies to verify they are working as planned, or if corrections/adjustments are required.
The ability to formulate effective, sound strategies is a critical skill for real-world business operations – whether to launch a new business or generate/maintain growth and/or competitive advantage in an existing one. This is the second of three assignments that provide the student hands-on practice in completing the strategic planning sequence.

INSTRUCTIONS

Each student should review the case information as provided in the course text, and based on the results of that review, identify the organizational problem(s) that need to be solved. Note that the case study will not provide an explicit prompt or specific organizational problem; part of the assignment is deciphering, based on the reading and other research, what organizational issues are present. Analysis should then be conducted to formulate recommendation(s) for the problems posed; included in that analysis should be an evaluation of the business environment, based upon appropriate research and industry best practices. The business environment review should be reminiscent of a SWOT analysis; be sure to evaluate and discuss internal & external factors. At least 3 scholarly sources should be used to conduct your analysis and substantiate your ultimate recommendation(s). A plan for evaluating the results of the recommendation(s) once implemented should be included as well- i.e., what sort of metrics, measurements, improvements, etc. should be anticipated should the recommendation(s) be successful? Include a Biblical integration discussion relevant to the content within the composed paper. Reference the rubric for detailed requirements.

• Identify organizational problem(s) based on case study reading and research.
• Conduct research & analysis to determine a solution to the problem(s), making sure to include an evaluation of the business environment as part of this exercise. Ensure internal & external factors are evaluated and discussed as part of this review.
• Develop strategic recommendation(s) to solve for the problem(s) posed based on the results of your total analysis.
• Identify how success of your recommendations(s) will be measured or evaluated.
• Incorporate Biblical integration discussion into your paper; Biblical discussion should tie to the themes presented in the paper.
• Incorporate direct results of your analysis into your case study prompt responses.
• Cite specific examples to support your position.
• Consider the firm and its challenges holistically when crafting your response.
• Use proper grammar, spelling, and APA format if appropriate; at least 3 scholarly sources must be used to support your analysis & recommendations.
• A 5-page content minimum is required; cover page and references page do not count towards page minimum. Content can exceed 5 pages at discretion of the student.

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.