Research Proposal on "Strategic Audit of a Corporation"

Quoted Instructions for "Strategic Audit of a Corporation" Assignment:

PLEASE MAKE IT CUSTOM

Analyze a (global) FORTUNE 500 company (other than Nestle, Proctor & Gamble, Levi Strauss, Starbucks, Merck, Kraft, Apple, or Dell)

I. Current Situation

A. Current Performance

How did the corporation perform the past year overall in terms of return on investment,

market share and profitability?

B. Strategic Posture

What are the corporation*****s current mission, objectives, strategies and policies?

1. Are they clearly stated or are they merely implied from performance ?

2. Mission: What business(es) is the corporation in? Why?

3. Objectives: What are the corporate, business, and functional objectives?

Are they consistent with each other, with the mission and with the internal and

external environments?

4. Strategies: What strategy or mix of strategies is the corporation following?

Are they consistent with each other, with the mission, objectives, and

strategies, and with the internal and external environments?

5. Policies: What are they? Are they consistent with each other, with the

mission, objectives and strategies and with the internal and external

environments?

6. Do the current mission, objectives, strategies and policies reflect the

corporation*****s international operations, whether global or multidomestic?

II. Corporate Governance

A. Board of Directors

1. Who are they? Are they internal or external?

2. Do they own significant shares of stock?

3. Is the stock privately held or publicly traded? Are there different classes of

stock with different voting rights?

4. What do they contribute to the corporation in terms of knowledge, skills,

background, and connections? If the corporation has international operations,

do board members have international experience?

5. How long have they served on the board?

6. What is their level of involvement in strategic management? Do they merely

rubberstamp top management*****s proposals or do they actively participate and

suggest future directions?

1. Source: Essentials of Strategic Management Thomas L. Wheelen and J. ***** Hunger

Prentice Hall

B. Top Management

1. What person or group constitutes top management?

2. What are top management*****s chief characteristics in terms of knowledge, skills,

background and style? If the corporation has international operations, does top

management have international experience? Are executives from acquired

companies considered part of the top management team?

3. Has top management been responsible for the corporation*****s performance over

the past few years? How many managers have been on their current position

for less than three years? Were they internal promotions or external hires?

4. Has it established a systematic approach to strategic management?

5. What is its level of involvement in the strategic management process?

6. How well does top management interact with lower-level managers and with

the board of directors?

7. Are strategic decisions made ethically in a socially responsible manner?

8. What role so stock options play in executive compensation?

9. Is top management sufficiently skilled to cope with likely future challenges?

III. External Environment: Opportunities and Threats

(SWOTs)

A. Societal Environment

1. What general environment forces are currently affecting both the corporation

and the industries in which it competes? Which present current or future threats?

Opportunities?

a. Economic

b. Technological

c. Political-legal

d. Sociocultural

2. Are these forces different in other regions of the world?

B. Task Environment

1. What forces drive industry competition? Are these forces the same globally or

do they vary from country to country?

a. Threat of new entrants

b. Bargaining power of buyers

c. Threat of substitutes products or services

d. Bargaining power of suppliers

e. Rivalry among competing firms

f. Relative power of unions, governments, special interest groups, etc.

2. What key factors in the immediate environment (that is, customers,

competitors, suppliers, creditors, labor unions, governments, trade associations,

interest groups, local communities, and shareholders) are currently affecting the

corporation? Which are current or future threats? Opportunities?

C. Summary of External Factors (List in EFAS Table)

Which of these forces and factors are the most important to the corporation and to the

industries in which it competes at the present time? Which will be important in the

future?

IV. Internal Environment: Strengths and Weaknesses

(SWOTs)

A. Corporate Structure

1. How is the corporation structured at present?

a. Is the decision-making authority centralized around one group or

decentralized to many units?

b. Is it organized on the basis of functions, projects, geography, or some

combination of these?

2. Is the structure clearly understood by everyone in the corporation?

3. Is the present structure consistent with current corporate objectives, strategies,

policies, and programs, as well as with the firm*****s international operations?

4. In what ways does this structure compare with those of similar corporations?

B. Corporate Culture

1. Is there a well-defined or emerging culture composed of shared beliefs,

expectations, and values?

2. Is the culture consistent with the current objectives, strategies, policies, and

programs?

3. What is the culture*****s position on important issues facing the corporation (that

is, on productivity, quality of performance, adaptability to changing

conditions, and internationalization)?

4. Is the culture compatible with the employees***** diversity and backgrounds?

5. Does the company take into consideration the values of each nation*****s culture in

which the firm operates?

C. Corporate Resouces

1. Marketing

a. What are the corporation*****s current marketing objectives, strategies,

policies, and programs?

i. Are they clearly stated, or merely implied from performance

and/or budgets?

ii. Are they consistent with the corporation*****s mission, objectives,

strategies, policies and with internal and external environments>

b. How well is the corporation performing in terms of analysis of market

position and marketing mix (that is, product, price, place and

promotion) in both domestic and international markets? What

percentage of sales comes from foreign operations? Where are current

products in product life cycle?

i. What trends emerge from this analysis?

ii. What impact have these trends had on past performances and

how might these trends affect future performance?

iii. Does this analysis support the corporation*****s past and pending

strategic decisions?

iv. Does marketing provide the company with a competitive

advantage?

c. How well does this corporation*****s marketing performance compare with

that of similar corporations?

d. Are marketing managers using accepted marketing concepts and

techniques to evaluate and improve product performance? (Consider

product life cycle, market segmentation, market research, and product

portfolios.)

e. Does marketing adjust to the conditions in each country in which it

operates?

f. What is the role of the marketing manager in the strategic management

process?

2. Finance

a. What are the corporation*****s current financial objectives, strategies,

policies, and programs?

i. Are they clearly stated or merely implied from performance

and/or budgets?

ii. Are they consistent with the corporation*****s mission, objectives,

strategies, policies and with internal and external environments?

b. How well is the corporation performing in terms of financial analysis?

(Consider ratios, common-size statements, and capitalization structure.)

How balanced in terms of cash flow is the company*****s portfolio of

products and businesses?

i. What trends emerge from this analysis?

ii. Are there any significant differences when statements are

calculated in constant versus reported dollars?

iii. What impact have these trends had on past performance and

how might these trends affect future performance?

iv. Does this analysis support the corporation*****s past and pending

strategic decisions?

v. Does finance provide the company a competitive advantage?

c. How well does this corporation*****s financial performance compare with

that of similar corporations?

d. Are financial managers using accepted financial concepts and

techniques to evaluate and improve current corporate and divisional

performance? (Consider financial leverage, capital budgeting, ratio

analysis, and managing foreign currencies.)

e. Does finance adjust to the conditions in each country in which the

company operates?

f. What is the financial manager*****s role in the strategic management

process?

3. Research and Development (R&D)

a. What are the corporation*****s current R&D objectives, strategies, policies

and programs?

i. Are they clearly stated, or merely implied from performance or

budgets?

ii. Are they consistent with the corporation*****s mission, objectives,

strategies, policies and with internal and external environments?

iii. What is the role of technology in corporate performance?

iv. Is the mix of basic, applied and engineering research

appropriate given the corporate mission and strategies?

v. Does R&D provide the company with a competitive advantage?

b. What return is the corporation receiving from its investment in R&D?

c. Is the corporation competent in technology transfer? Does it use

concurrent engineering and cross-functional work teams in product and

process design?

d. What role does technological discontinuity play in the company*****s

products?

e. How well does the corporation*****s investment in R&D compare with the

investments of similar corporations?

f. Does R&D adjust to the conditions in each country in which the

company operates?

g. What is the role of the R&D manager in the strategic management

process?

4. Operations and Logistics

a. What are the corporation*****s current manufacturing/service objectives,

strategies, policies and programs?

i. Are they clearly stated, or merely implied from performance or

budgets?

ii. Are they consistent with the corporation*****s mission, objectives,

strategies, policies and with internal and external environments?

b. What is the type and extent of operations capabilities of the

corporation? How much is done domestically versus internationally?

Is the amount of outsourcing appropriate to be competitive? Is

purchasing being handled appropriately?

i. If the corporation is product-*****, consider plant facilities,

type of manufacturing system (continuous mass production

intermittent job shop, or flexible manufacturing), age and type

of equipment, degree and role of automation and/or robots, plant

capacities and utilization, productivity ratings, availability and

type of transportation.

ii. If the corporation is service-*****, consider service facilities

(hospital, theater, or school buildings), type of operations

systems (continuous service over time to same clientele or

intermittent service over time to varied clientele), age and type

of supporting equipment, degree and role of automation and use

of mass communication devices (diagnostic machinery,

videotape machines), facility capacities and utilization rates,

efficiency ratings of professional and service personnel and

availability and type of transportation to bring service staff and

clientele together.

c. Are manufacturing or service facilities vulnerable to natural disasters, local or

national strikes, reduction or limitation of resources from suppliers, substantial

cost increases of materials, or nationalization by governments?

d. Is there an appropriate mix of people and machines, in manufacturing firms, or

of support staff to professionals (in service firms)?

e. How well does the corporation perform relative to the competition? Is it

balancing inventory costs (warehousing) with logistical costs (just-in-time)?

Consider costs per unit of labor, material, and overhead; downtime; inventory

control management and scheduling of service staff; production ratings; facility

utilization percentages; and number of clients successfully treated by category

(if service firm) or percentage of orders shipped on time (if product firm).

i. What trends emerge from this analysis?

ii. What impact have these trends had on past performance and how might

these trends affect future performance?

iii. Does this analysis support the corporation*****s past and pending strategic

decisions?

iv. Does operations provide the company with a competitive advantage?

f. Are operations managers using appropriate concepts and techniques to evaluate

and improve current performance? Consider cost systems, quality control and

reliability systems, inventory control management, personnel scheduling,

TQM, learning curves, safety programs, and engineering programs that can

improve efficiency of manufacturing or of service.

g. Does operations adjust to the conditions in each country in which it has

facilities?

6. Information Systems (IS)

a. What are the corporation*****s current IS objectives, strategies, policies and

programs?

i. Are they clearly stated, or merely implied from performance and/or

budgets?

ii. Are they consistent with the corporation*****s mission, objectives,

strategies, policies, and with internal and external environments?

b. How well is the corporation*****s IS performing in terms of providing a useful

database, automating routine clerical operations, assisting managers in making

routine decisions, and providing information necessary for strategic decisions?

i. What trends emerge from this analysis?

ii. What impact have these trends had on past performance and how might

these trends affect future performances?

iii. Does this analysis support the corporation*****s past and pending strategic

decisions?

iv. Does IS provide the companu with a competitive advantage?

c. How does this corporation*****s IS performance and state of development compare

with that of similar corporations***** Is it appropriately isomg the Internet,

intranet and extranets?

d. Are IS managers using appropriate concepts and techniques to evaluate and

improve corporate performance? Do they know how to build and manage a

complex database, establish Web sites with firewalls, conduct system an*****s,

and implement interactive decision-support systems?

e. Does the company have a global IS and Internet presence? Does it have

difficulty moving data across national boundaries?

f. What is the role of the IS manager in the strategic management process?

D. Summary of Internal Factors (List in IFAS Table)

Which of these factors are core competencies?

Which, if any, are distinctive competencies?

Which of these factors are the most important to the corporation and to the industries in

which it competes at the present time? Which might be important in the future?

V. Analysis of Strategic Factors (SWOT)

A. Situational Analysis (List in SFAS Table)

What are the most important internal and external factors (Strengths, Weaknesses,

Opportunities, Threats) that strongly affect the corporation*****s present and future

performance? List eight to ten strategic factors.

B. Review of Mission and Objectives

1. Are the current mission and objectives appropriate in light of the key strategic

factors and problems?

2. Should the mission and objectives be changed? If so, how?

3. If changed, what will be the effect on the firm?

VI. Strategic alternatives and Recommended Strategy

A. Strategic Alternatives (See Towns Matrix)

1. Can the current or revised objectives be met by the simple, more careful

implementing of current strategies? (for example, fine-tuning them?)

2. What are the major feasible alternative strategies available to this corporation?

What are the pros and cons of each? Can corporate scenarios be developed

and agreed upon? (Alternatives must fit societal environment, industry and

company for next 3 to 5 years,)

a. Consider stability, growth, and retrenchment as corporate strategies.

b. Consider cost leadership and differentiation as business strategies.

c. Consider any functional strategic alternatives that might be needed to

reinforce an important corporate or business strategic alternative.

B. Recommended Strategy

1. Specify which of the strategic alternatives you recommend for the corporate,

business and functional levels of the corporation. Do you recommend

different business or functional strategies for different units of the corporation?

2. Justify your recommendation in terms of its ability to resolve both long- and

short-term problems and effectively deal with the strategic factors.

3. What policies should be developed/ revised to guide effective implementation?

4. What is the impact of your recommended strategy on the company*****s core and

distinctive competencies?

VII. Implementation

A. What kinds of programs and action plans (for example, restructuring the corporation

or instituting TQM) should be developed to implement the recommended strategy?

1. Who should develop these programs?

2. Who should be in charge of these programs?

B. Are the programs financially feasible? Can pro forma budgets be developed and

agreed upon? Are priorities and timetables appropriate to individual programs?

C. Will new standard operating procedures need to be developed?

VII. Evaluation and Control

A. Is the current information system capable of providing sufficient feedback on

implementation activities and performance? Can it measure strategic factors?

1. Can performance results be pinpointed by area, unit, project, or function?

2. Is the information timely?

B. Are adequate control measures in place enable the recommended strategic plan?

1. Are appropriate standards and measures being used?

2. Are reward systems capable or recognizing and rewarding good performance?