Analyze publicly available information about a Fortune 500 Company and develop an assessment of the corporate strategy and its ability to increase competitive advantage.
This assignment requires you to obtain and analyze information at the company, industry and market levels using various databases and reports found in the AIU library, in addition to at least eight (8) professional or academic peer-reviewed articles.
COMPANY WOULD BE APPLE INC.
Your analysis should include an in-depth review of the Company's most recent SEC Form-10k Annual Report and Form DEF-14A Proxy Statement. These SEC filings can be found at the SEC Edgar Database located at the URL http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html. Pay particular attention to the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) sections of the SEC Form 10-K and the DEF-14A Proxy statement. Direct competitors are identified in the "Comparator Group" section of the DEF-14A Proxy Statement.) These SEC filings also contain information relative to external and industry analysis that will be helpful in your assessment of the Company's strategy and competitive position.
A thorough analysis requires evaluation of various external stakeholders:
Competitors
Industry
Vendors
Customers
Governmental entities
Communities
Internal stakeholders that should be considered in the analysis include:
Shareholders
Board of Directors
Management
Employees
A comprehensive SWOT analysis should be performed relative to the Company's ability to improve its competitive advantage.
The comprehensive analysis should include both qualitative and quantitative elements, leveraging information available in SEC Filings, business databases, and peer-reviewed articles.
Your work should demonstrate your ability to:
Evaluate business situations using critical thinking skills
Construct quantitative and qualitative research to analyze business cases
Examine the opportunities provided by technology for businesses
Propose effective communication techniques