Case Study: After completing your MBA at UoPeople and acquiring experience in management in different companies, you decide to start your own business that is environmentally friendly and working towards creating positive social impact.
During the first 6-months, you focus on developing a value proposal (any product or service of your choice) synthesizing it into a Business Plan. After this period the operations of your company formally start. The next 3-years you work very hard and you put all your time and energy toward growing your business and you are successful. You take pride in what you have built, almost single-handedly. Your choices to take the high road in terms of the environment have sometimes worked against you, but you feel good about the work your company does, feeling that you are “doing well while doing good.â€
However, during your 4th year, you become frustrated. You’re experiencing difficulties in winning bigger contracts because you just cannot compete with larger companies and this is hurting your company, your employees, and your reach. In order to increase your competitiveness and to guarantee your long-term sustainability, you decide to involve other organizations and individuals to gain financial support. Obviously, this means turning over the sole control that you have had in your company. Your investors become shareholders of your company with 75% of the shares, and they appoint you as CEO with the expectation of obtaining a level of profitability higher than 15% per year. If the company does not reach this figure, your shareholders will replace you (keeping you out of the general management of the company you started) and this will endanger its continuity. While your shareholders have come aboard fully agreeing with the company’s mission and vision, you are aware that some feel profitability is most important and that you may be asked to sacrifice ideals for money at some point. This is something you have not had to do prior to taking on shareholders.
As CEO of the company, your first order of business is outlining a strategic plan for the next 5-years. The approach that you need to take, to keep shareholders happy, is one that maximizes profitability. However, you firmly believe that your company should be environmentally friendly as well and promote a positive social impact. This other approach will create additional costs that put at risk the profitability required by the shareholders. How would you/could you proactively manage this dilemma?
In 2-3 pages describe your process for creating the 5-year strategic plan, articulate the priorities of the plan and discuss how you would convince the shareholders that this is the best option. Be sure to identify the key performance goals that you would target.
Before you begin writing, please see the General Guidelines for Case Studies and review the assessment criteria below.
Papers will be assessed on the following criteria:
- Description of the Case and Identification/Coverage of Major Issues
- Depth and Scope of Analysis
- Solutions and Strategies
- Writing Clarity and Quality
- APA formatting
General Guidelines for Case Studies
A case study is a short description of a real business situation. Analyzing case studies gives you the opportunity to apply concepts you’re learning to real business problems. Cases are generally written for several types of analysis. Usually, there is not a “right or wrong” answer. Rather, cases provide a vehicle for you to demonstrate your understanding and ability to apply course concepts and theories. You must use appropriate sources (properly cited) to support your position. Check your analysis by assessing how well it demonstrates your subject knowledge. If your answer relies solely on your ‘impressions’ of the topic, it is likely that the analysis is not your best effort.
Simply answering the questions which are part of the case is not enough; consider the questions to be clues to the important concepts and facts. You are strongly encouraged to use the following outline so that your analysis is organized appropriately:
1. Identify both the key issues and the underlying issues. In identifying the issues, you should be able to connect them to the business principles which apply to this situation.
2. Discuss the facts which affect these issues. The case may have too much information. In your discussion, you should filter the information and discuss those facts which are pertinent to the issues identified above.
3. Discuss your tentative solution to the problem and how you would implement your solution. What actions would you propose to respond to the situation, based on the knowledge you have gained in this course? You should draw on knowledge gained in your readings, experience and coursework (in this course and others) to support your response. Be sure to properly cite references in APA format. You should also draw on other references such as business periodicals and relevant journals. Remember that an analysis is more than simply a summary of the Case Study.
4. Discuss follow-up and contingency plans. How will the organization know that your proposed solution is working? What should they do if it does not work?
Evaluation Criteria
• Have you identified the critical issues/problems in the case and analyzed the key facts related to the issues/problems?
• Have you discussed a tentative solution that addresses the issues/problems and how you would implement your solution?
• Is information from the textbook and other sources integrated into your analysis appropriately? For all sources, you must provide complete APA citations.
• Is the paper professionally presented? Remember your audience. It is important to present your information as clearly and succinctly as possible. Do not sacrifice thoroughness for mere brevity.
• Have you read it over carefully and corrected any grammar and spelling errors?
"96% of our customers have reported a 90% and above score. You might want to place an order with us."
