MGMT 2999 – Business Integration Spring 2017 Assignment 2 – Due May 17th, 2017 External and Internal Environment Scan You will select one company to conduct an environmental scan of both the internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats (SWOT). Based on your research (company and industry) and analysis, you will provide an initial recommendation to the company’s CEO to give her some guidance for strengthening their current internal operations and exploring their best growth and/or expansion opportunities? Instructions: 1. Select a company which operates in Canada and that you are quite familiar with. It is recommended that you use one of the companies from your assignment 1 but if the company does not have a strong internet presence you may choose to select a different company. Your research could include the company’s website and social media pages, news articles, published case studies, company reviews (e.g. Expedia, Yelp, BBB, etc), industry magazines, etc. You may use both written and video sources of information as long as they are cited correctly in your reference section. 2. Provide a brief summary (1-2 paragraphs) to describe the company and the industry in which they operate. Select information that is the most relevant to your analysis. This could include: the products and services they offer, where they are located, the customer segment they serve, size, scope of the company, key competitors, market share, is it private or publically traded, etc. 3. Complete a SWOT analysis on the company making sure you identify the important factors that affect them internally and externally.  Consider using one or more of the models to help you identify the items to include in your environmental scan. This could be: i. External models: PEST and/or Porter’s Five Forces ii. Internal models: Resource-Based Model for Above Average Returns and/or Value Chain Analysis  Include 3-10 items for each category of SWOT. List them in bullet format and rank them from most important at the top to less important on the bottom.  Write a summary (1-2 paragraphs) of your SWOT matrix including the reason why the first item on each list is the most important. Describe the impact it could have on the company if these items are ignored (you might find it useful to explain this by comparing two scenarios). 4. Write a recommendation for the company’s CEO. Make sure you link your recommendation back to the information that you provided in the SWOT and explain why you are making these specific recommendations. Your recommendation must include a recommendation for strengthening the internal operations of the company and a recommendation related to the external environment. 5. Proofread your final report to make sure all your statements flow together and lead to the conclusion that your recommendation is the best course of action for this company at this time and based on the information provided. MGMT 2999 – Business Integration Spring 2017 Assignment 2 – Due May 17th, 2017 Submission Instructions: Submit all written assignments by uploading in the appropriate D2L course assignment dropbox before midnight (MST) on the due date. File name must be in the format of ASSIGNMENT#_FirstLastName (e.g. ASSIGNMENT2_HaidehFarahmand). Late assignments will lose the equivalent of 1/3 letter grade (i.e. A- becomes a B+, C becomes a C-, etc.) for each day (or portion thereof) that it is late. Format Expectations: Correct grammar, spelling, and word usage are not covered as course topics. Their correct use is expected in all assignments and evaluative activities, and marks will be deducted for errors. The report should have 3-5 pages of content. It must be typed and double spaced with good use of headings. Make sure you include your full name, student ID, course number and instructor’s name on the assignment. All assignments must have all their research resources cited using the American Psychological Association (APA) citation style. Failure to do so will result in an automatic grade of zero. For more information, please visit our website at http://bowvalleycollege.libguides.com/citation Grading: This assignment will be marked out of 20 as detailed below. This assignment is 10% of your final grade and is due Wednesday May 17th, 2017. Rubric: Company Description: /2 2 – Well constructed and descriptive, highlights the important facts without providing the details 1 – Missing some key elements External Environmental Scan (Opportunities & Threats): /5 5 – Well detailed and defined, excellent use of the models, strong evidence of critical thinking to identify, select and prioritize the listed items 4 – Well detailed and defined, good use of the models, some evidence of critical thinking in selecting and prioritizing items 3 – Detailed and defined, some use of the models, items appear listed but not necessarily prioritized 2 – Requires more definition, missing some key elements that PEST or Five Forces would have identified 1 – Requires substantially more explanation, missing many key elements that PEST or Five Forces would have identified, some items irrelevant MGMT 2999 – Business Integration Spring 2017 Assignment 2 – Due May 17th, 2017 Internal Environmental Scan: /5 5 – Well detailed and defined, excellent use of the models, strong evidence of critical thinking to identify, select and prioritize the listed items 4 – Well detailed and defined, good use of the models, some evidence of critical thinking in selecting and prioritizing items 3 – Detailed and defined, some use of the models, items appear listed but not necessarily prioritized 2 – Requires more definition, missing some key elements that the Resources-Based Model or Value Chain Analysis would have identified 1 – Requires substantially more definition, missing many key elements that Resources-Based Model or Value Chain Analysis would have identified Summary: /3 3 – Well constructed and relevant, highlights the important facts without providing the details, strong arguments for the priority choices 2 – Well constructed and relevant, includes most of the important facts, includes support for choices of priorities 1 – Missing some key elements from the SWOT lists, lacking clear defense for the priorities, some statements lack relevance Recommendations: /4 4 – Well constructed and relevant, excellent linkage to SWOT, strong evidence of critical and strategic thinking with presentation of new ideas 3 – Well constructed and relevant, good linkage with SWOT, some evidence of critical and strategic thinking with good connection between ideas 2 – Constructed and relevant, could use more explanation to connect to the SWOT 1 – Lacks relevance, little connection between the analysis and recommendations Overall Readability: /1 Good use of headings, proper spelling and grammar, APA formatting. Total: /20