Be creative! It can be a company you want to work for.
As consultants, you must thoroughly evaluate your client’s competitive situation and prepare (a) a 3-page summary report for the client’s senior executive team and (b) a presentation outlining your analysis and strategic recommendations. Both the report and the presentation must address the following:
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
How is the client’s industry defined? How has the industry evolved?
What are the critical drivers of success in this industry?
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
Identify the client’s primary competitors and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.
CLIENT ANALYSIS
What are your client’s sources of competitive advantage and/or disadvantage?
How have they evolved over time?
STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS
Deliver 1-2 concrete strategic recommendations for improving the client’s competitive position that addresses the strategic question you identified.
Based on what you have learned in the course, you should clearly deliver and support your recommendations for improving the client’s competitive position.
Include a timeline for implementation and specific criteria for defining “success.”
Clearly identify key assumptions and potential obstacles.
Deliverables
Each group will deliver (a) a 3-page executive summary report, (b) electronic and paper copies of all presentation materials and (c) a comprehensive reference list of all sources, including but not limited to books, databases, articles, websites, individual interviews and correspondence, television programs, etc.
Logistics
There will be 6-9 groups in each section. When each group presents, everyone else in the class serves as the Board of Directors of the client companies. You will be evaluated not just on your presentation, but also on your role as board member.
The presentation, including Q & A, will last 20 - 25 minutes total (15 minutes for presentation + 10 minutes for Q & A).
Articles from the print and online editions of The Economist, the world's weekly newspaper. With searchable archives back to the mid-1990s. (Use the Economist Historical Archive for older issues.)
Access to Economist.com is website only -- excludes apps, audio edition, or specialized newsletters.
Eastern edition; New York. The Wall Street Journal is the financial newspaper of record. It offers in-depth coverage of national and international finance as well as first rate coverage of hard news. Updated daily.
No online access to FT.com. There is an ONE MONTH EMBARGO for electronic access in these sources. The past 30 days newspapers can be found in Pierce Reading Room of Lauinger Library.
Type in the name of the magazine/journal you need. We don't have access to the publication, use Inter-Libary Loan (ILL) to request the article. ILL is a free service paid for by your tuition, thank you.
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