Homework answers / question archive / First redaction December 23, 2020 Update September 19, 2021 Instructions for Individual Report Proposal Industry Analysis or Organization’s strategy analysis The objective of the Individual Report (IR) is to write a paper on an individual basis, based on a personal research

First redaction December 23, 2020 Update September 19, 2021 Instructions for Individual Report Proposal Industry Analysis or Organization’s strategy analysis The objective of the Individual Report (IR) is to write a paper on an individual basis, based on a personal research

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First redaction December 23, 2020 Update September 19, 2021 Instructions for Individual Report Proposal Industry Analysis or Organization’s strategy analysis The objective of the Individual Report (IR) is to write a paper on an individual basis, based on a personal research. The IR Proposal prepares the work for the IR. This document provides instructions for both IR and IR Proposal. At the end, it also provides a template for the IR Proposal that students must copy and paste (and fill). This template is for the IR Proposal submission. Each student chooses only one of the two options: 1)-the Industry Analysis OR 2)- the Organization Strategy Analysis. Only one of the two. These two options are exclusive and correspond to two different levels of analysis. In Option 1), the unit of analysis is the industry and the tools used relate to an understanding of the situation within the industry, and of the dynamics it is experiencing. Therefore, tools such as the Porter’s Five Force Model of Competition, the Industry Life Cycle; the PESTEL model, and the strategic mapping with its strategic groups are relevant. In Option 2), the unit of analysis is the organization (a for-profit company, a nonprofit, a state agency, etc.). Students have entire freedom to select an organization of any size in any industry. In this option 2, it is possible to study the entire strategy of the organization, with the various levels of strategy (corporate, business, functional, and may be deployment). A SWOT analysis is also a relevant tool. It is also possible to focus on one aspect of strategy (for example internationalization strategy, CSR action, etc.), or one strategic variable of the organization (for example organizational culture, organizational structure, organizational leadership, organizational technology, etc.). For a specific aspect of strategy, the tools vary with the central topic, and relate to the analysis of this central topic. For example, if you study CSR in an organization, you should have a typology of the categories of CSR and analyze their benefits for the organization. You should explain how CSR connects with the overall strategy. For example, if you study the organizational culture of an organization, you should have models that describe and categorize cultures, show the implication of a certain culture, describe the stages of cultural change if relevant, and show the connection with the organization strategy. Instructions Individual Report IR and IR Proposal 19 September 2021 -Vers.01- Page This Proposal for the Individual Report makes you think ahead about this IR, and invites you to plan for its writing. Your proposal is not set in stone, and can always be changed later if you need to do so. The goal of the Proposal is to force you to think ahead, and to avoid the last minute rush that happens when students realize that they do not have enough information for their industry or company of choice. They had often filled the Proposal form quickly and without serious research, not realizing that the available volume of information was not sufficient or that the scheduled interviews evaporated. 1 You must be clear about the precise topic of study. The more precise you get, the more in-depth information you need to collect about a narrow scope. Your choice depends on your interest and on your access to information. The quality (and therefore the grade) of a report is proportional to the effort put in the initial research, demonstrated by the richness of the bibliography and the number of references. A dozen references or so seems a good average. Page 2 The template for the IR Proposal is presented at the end of this document. Please copy and paste and fill only the portion you need to fill. Instructions Individual Report IR and IR Proposal 19 September 2021 -Vers.01- Instructions for Individual Report Common objective to assignments Industry analysis and Strategy analysis The objective of these assignments is to write a paper on an individual basis, based on a personal research and upon students’ choice of an industry or of an organization. Students choose only one of the two assignments. Each student can submit an Individual report alone or with another student. 1-Industry analysis Method The study of the industry explores its strategic characteristics found in the literature or in articles from magazines, and from primary research sources as well. It describes the state of development of that industry and its future. Both primary research (information collected specifically for this research and directly from the sources close to the phenomenon) and secondary research (information collected from repositories of knowledge that preexisted the study, and were not designed specifically for this study) must be used. Secondary research is easier to implement than primary research. Primary research requires an effort of design of the collection plan, and an action to collect this information (typically interview of informants into an organization or interview of actors who have specific knowledge about the organization). Contents The individual report describes and presents the chosen industry. This exercise is part of the strategic management process, which covers the industry analysis. You are acting as if you were a consultant hired by a company in this industry to provide rational elements for the development of the company. The industry that you will study can be a nascent industry, which means that (for) this industry: 1. Is not yet mainstream and at an early stage of development. 2. Products or services are just starting to be commercialized or prototypes exist ready for being used, but there are not commodities. 3. Literature exists on the industry, and people are getting interested in it. Examples of nascent industries include: drones; commercial spatial exploration and travel; small-sat industry; urban mobility and UAVs; robotics; artificial intelligence; flying cars; electrical cars; electrical bikes; nano-technologies in medicine (or other applications); systematic car renting as an alternative to ownership; space habitat; rockets for launching to space; virtual reality devices; etc. The list is not exclusive. The industry needs not to be nascent. It can be a classic and established industry. To see examples of industries, you can consult professional publications such as industry and companies rankings from Fortune. The report provides as much information as possible on that industry that would contribute to better strategic decisions for an incumbent of this industry or for a company that would like to enter the industry. The most critical criteria in the choice of an industry are first your access to information about this industry; and second your interest for this industry. If you like the industry, searching material about it will be a pleasure. Instructions Individual Report IR and IR Proposal Page 3 Tools For industry analysis, the set of available tools is straightforward. It includes: 1. Key Success Factors (of industry). 2. Life cycle analysis. 3. PESTEL analysis 4. Porter’s Five Force Model of Competition (P5Fm). 19 September 2021 -Vers.01- 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Rivalry analysis. Strategic groups mapping. Value chain of the industry. Analysis of competitive advantage. Etc. Deliverables The indicative format of the report is suggested (but not imposed): 3,500 words (around 10-12 pages) of text (cover page, references, and attachments do not count as text). Content of report on industry analysis Section # 1 Cover page Number of pages for section N/A 2 Introduction 1 3 Industry analysis via a set of tools 6-8 4 Synthesis 0.5 5 Capability analysis 1.5 6 Future of industry 1 7 Conclusion 1 8 References N/A 9 Appendices N/A Content of section Title; Course title and ticket; Student name; Table of content; Text count (in words) Introduction of report; precise description of the industry and of what is included in that industry; please identify and use the NAICS classification Each tool is used to analyze the industry in a separate paragraph. Some tools might be developed more than others. It is not mandatory to use all tools. Select your tools wisely. Synthesis of the information collected: is this industry attractive? What are the pros and cons of entering that industry? What are the Key Success Factors of that industry? Which capabilities should a company possess to be able to be successful in that industry? How do you see the future of that industry? What will be the speed of development? What are the obstacles that are in the way? What are large changes necessary for the industry to take-off or to thrive? Who can help? How does the information you have collected help a manager of a company in this industry? How can a manager use these findings? List of references organized with the APA format. This list includes the interviews or other primary sources of information. This list describes all the sources of information used to write the report. Documents that you deem as valuable and proving your point such as graphs, tables, lists, or any other format of information. 12 Page 4 TOTAL Section name Instructions Individual Report IR and IR Proposal 19 September 2021 -Vers.01- 2-Organization’s strategy analysis Method The method emphasizes the gathering of information about the strategy of a specific organization. It implies access to information and access to managers or to organizational members aware of the current strategy and able to explain it. The strategy can be studied globally and as a whole, using the levels of strategy learned in class (corporate, business, functional, etc.). The study of strategy can focus on a specific aspect of the strategic cocktail; for example, marketing strategy; people management; corporate social responsibility; corporate governance; leadership; etc. Both primary research (information collected specifically for this research and directly from the sources close to the phenomenon) and secondary research (information collected from repositories of knowledge that pre-existed the study, and were not designed specifically for this study) must be used. Secondary research is easier to implement than primary research. Primary research requires an effort of design of the collection plan and an action to collect this information (typically interview of informants into an organization or interview of actors who have specific knowledge about the organization). Contents The individual report describes and present an organization’s strategy characteristics and nature based on the whole strategy or on a component of this strategy. You are acting as if you were a consultant hired by a company in this industry to describe the chosen strategic topic in order to clarify and conceptualize it to top decision makers of the organization. These people know well the organization; in fact better than you. But they need your insight on the conceptualization of their strategy or a portion of it. The topic that you must study should have the following attributes: 1. Not being so large that you cannot collect information about it. 2. Enables student to access enough information (primary and secondary research). 3. Be the right combination between the access to information, the size of the organization, and its public visibility. Examples of topics include: strategic process inside the organization; the strategic leadership; organizational structure; organizational culture; the organization’s resources and core capabilities; ethics and corporate social responsibility; competitive level strategy; corporate level strategy; functional strategy; corporate governance; etc.. The report provides as much information as possible on the topic to describe it to top managers of the company. Tools For industry analysis, the set of relevant tools varies with the topic. If you study a specific strategy component or topic, you will have to extract the relevant tools from the literature. Some tools might are relevant if you study the whole strategy: 1. Capabilities analysis and VRIO model. 2. Key Strategic Issues. 3. McKinsey 7S model (representation of a system of strategic variables). 4. Strategic map (description of strategy of the organization via several variables that offer a grid of analysis). 5. SWOT analysis 6. TOWS analysis. 7. Value chain of the organization. 8. Etc. Page 5 If you do not study the whole strategy, but a component of it, you have to select the tools that are relevant for your specific topic. In that case, you may not use the tools just described above. Instructions Individual Report IR and IR Proposal 19 September 2021 -Vers.01- Deliverables The indicative format of the report is suggested (but not imposed): 3,500 words (around 10-12 pages) of text (cover page and attachments do not count as text) Content of report on organizational strategy analysis Section # 1 Cover page Number of pages of section N/A 2 Introduction 1 3 Strategy analysis via a set of tools 4 Synthesis 1 5 Future of industry 1 6 Conclusion 0.5 7 References N/A 8 Appendices N/A 7-9 Content of section Title; Course title and ticket; Student name; Table of content; Text count (in words) Introduction of report; precise description of the company and of the strategic focus (precision about this focus is specifically under scrutiny) The tools vary with the topic. Relevant tools are extracted from the specific literature that studies the topic of focus. If general strategy is the study focus, then the levels of corporate, business, and functional strategies must be described and justified. Tools that are always valid for strategy analysis include: the SWOT analysis, the Key Strategic Issues. Select your tools wisely. Synthesis of the information collected about the organization. Which Key Strategic Issues do you identify? How do you see the future of that organization? What will be the speed of development? What are the obstacles in the way? What are large changes necessary for the organization to prosper? How does the information you have collected help a decision maker of the organization? How can a manager use these findings? What are the pros and cons of the way the organization is handling this strategic component? List of references organized with the APA format. This list includes the interviews or other primary sources of information. This list describes all the sources of information used to write the report. Documents that you deem as valuable and proving your point such as graphs, tables, lists, or any other format of information. 12 Page 6 TOTAL Section name Instructions Individual Report IR and IR Proposal 19 September 2021 -Vers.01- INDIVIDUAL REPORT PROPOSAL Template for document to submit Please answer the following questions in the cells; expand as needed, and submit the document as a regular assignment in Canvas. Do not forget to provide your name. You fill ONLY one table. You have to make a clear choice between the two main options and to be very clear about the scope of your report. Fuzzy or vague scope of analysis leads to a poor report. If a team of two students works an Individual report, only one of the students submits an Individual report proposal. Be aware of the Option that you prefer (1)-Industry Analysis or (2)-Organization strategy, and fill only the relevant Table. When you submit, delete the table that you have not used. It is possible to change your choices later on. Fill TABLE 1 only if your study an industry. Otherwise, go to TABLE 2. Student name: …………………………………….. TABLE 1 Option 1 Industry analysis Question Responses Which industry would you like to explore? What is its NAICS code? What are your sources of information (be precise)? Explore them and do not assume that there is enough material: you have to justify it. Are you sure that these sources will provide enough material for the Individual Report? Which interest do you have in the topic? Which “Table of content” (a simple set of sections in your report at Title level one) would you have (sections, inspired by the Individual Report template)? Page 7 Which models, concepts, or tools will you use (Be precise)? Instructions Individual Report IR and IR Proposal 19 September 2021 -Vers.01- Fill TABLE 2 only if your study a strategy or an aspect of strategy. If you study an industry, go to TABLE 1. Student name: …………………………………….. TABLE 2 Option 2 Strategy or aspect of strategy analysis Question Responses Which organization you are interested into? What is the topic into the strategy field that you want to study? What are your sources of information (be precise)? Explore them and do not assume that there is enough material. Are you sure that these sources will provide enough material for the Individual Report? Which interest do you have in the topic? Which Table of content (a simple set of sections in your report at Title level one) would you have (sections, inspired by the Individual Report template)? Page 8 Which models, concepts, or tools will you use (Be precise)? Instructions Individual Report IR and IR Proposal 19 September 2021 -Vers.01- Organization Strategy Report Google’s Value, Culture, and Social Responsibility Name: Professor: Daniel Degravel Course: Bus 497A Date: May 4, 2021 2 Table of Contents Google Company… ................................................................................................................ 3 Google's organizational culture….......................................................................................... 3 Google's predominant culture… ............................................................................................ 4 Leadership and Google culture… ......................................................................................... 5 Google values….................................................................................................................... 6 Google's social responsibility ............................................................................................... 7 Importance of organizational values on the performance of Google… ................................. 8 Comparison of Google's organizational culture to other companies… ................................. 9 Google's strategy vision… .................................................................................................... 10 Conclusion… .........................................................................................................................11 References… ......................................................................................................................... 12 3 Google LLC Google Company The origin of Google dates back to 1995 at Stanford University when Larry Page was considering Stanford University for his Ph.D. studies, and Sergey Brin was instructed to tour him around the school. The two entered into friendship and developed a search engine that was using links to determine the importance of individual pages on the world web page and called this search engine backrub. The name Backrub was later changed to Google, an idea inspired by the term “googol”, a mathematical term used to refer to 1 followed by 100 zeros. This was a reflection of Google's mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Sergey and Larry chose to name their search engine Google, a variant of 'googol', because it related to the enormity of organizing global information in a way that it was accessible to the public on the internet (Google n.d). As time went by, Google caught the attention of the academic community and other investors who offered money to the two developers. They then upgraded their office...