Research and Analysis of an Organization: Assignment Overview

Assignment Overview
Learners will research and analyse an organization of their choice and is designed for you to apply the concepts learned in the course (modules 1-4), and involves the application of:
 Management and organizations.
 Environmental constraints on management (PESTEL).
 Planning and strategic management.

Learning Outcomes
 Identify key functions and skills required of management within an organization.
 Identify and analyze leadership approaches in a variety of situations.
 Analyze constraints managers encounter within the external environment.
 Identify the steps involved in the strategic planning process.

Academic Honesty
Ensure you are aware of the College policies on Academic Honesty and also Plagiarism.
Academic dishonesty and plagiarism are taken very seriously at the College even if the dishonesty or plagiarism is unintentional. Please also know that taking credit for work you did not contribute to as it is also considered Academic Dishonesty and will be reported.

Turnitin
This assignment will be submitted to Turnitin. Turnitin is a web-based service that checks the assignment against its database of materials that contain other learner’s work as well as electronic academic materials.
Learners find the Turnitin report useful for editing papers. The report will include incorrect use of referencing, too many quotes, and paraphrases. If the Turnitin report, for your first draft, shows a high percentage of matching text, this will give you an opportunity to review and edit your assignment for proper citations and more original analysis. Once you make your edits, it is possible to submit your work to Turnitin again. Turnitin will know not to match the text in your second draft with text in your first draft, and so on. It is advisable to wait at least 24 hours before you submit the second draft.

Turnitin results must be LESS than 20%.
Faculty finds Turnitin useful as a tool to teach learners proper citation practices and highlight the need for more learner originality. Faculty can also use Turnitin as a tool to detect possible instances of plagiarism and academic dishonesty.
Academic dishonesty can lead to a zero for this. Ensure you have read the Chiu School of Business Learner Handbook for more information about the Academic Honesty Policy. If you have any questions, contact your instructor.

Summary of the Organization (8 marks)
 Provide a brief overview of the organization you have chosen.
 The summary should include the organizations; name, industry/market they are in, location, history and description of the organization’s products or services offered, values, and any other information about the organization you feel is important and relevant.
 The summary should include the major themes which you’ll be addressing in your paper. You may not find all the information you would like, so you may need to make some assumptions based on your research.
 Research must be evident throughout.

Academic Honesty

Customer Base (5 marks)
 Describe the customers your organization serves. What type of information should be included when researching their customers? Information may include, but is not limited to, factors such as age, gender, income, ethnicity, occupation, location (do they live in urban, suburban, or rural areas?), values and interests, etc. Essentially, you’ll need to research who your company targets and provide a description of their perfect customer.

Mission and Core Values (5 marks)
 Describe the mission of the organization (purpose of the organization/ why they exist).
 In addition to providing the organization’s mission, interpret the organization’s corporate culture and core values.
 Your personal insights/ideas/perspectives are evident throughout.
 Research must be evident throughout.
 If you cannot find the organization’s mission statement you’ll need to identify their “purpose” on your own and explain, based on your research, why they exist and what you feel their mission is.

Vision (5 marks)
 Describe the vision of the organization. Based on your research, where do the want to be in the future?
 If you cannot find the organization’s vision statement you’ll need to identify their vision on your own and explain, based on your research, where they see themselves in the future/ what they aspire to be.
Corporate-Level Strategies (8 marks)
 Identify the organization’s corporate level strategy (growth, stability, or renewal)?
 Justify your response and provide examples. Note: If the organization uses growth, be sure to identify which growth strategy they use. If they use renewal, which
renewal strategy do they use?
 Your personal insights/ideas/perspectives are evident throughout.
 Research must be evident throughout.

Business-Level Strategies (8 marks)
 Which business level strategy does the organization use in order to gain ‘competitive advantage’ (cost leadership, differentiation, or focus)? Justify your response.
 Your personal insights/ideas/perspectives if the business strategy is effective. Why or why not? Research must be evident throughout.

Organized & Structured (2 marks)
 Assignment is well organized/ structured as per assignment instructions (e.g. divided into sections, proper bolded headings are used as per instructions, etc.). Looks professional and illustrates evidence of pride taken.
 The paper is the required length of 6-7 pages.

Spelling, Grammar, & Sentence Structure (3 marks)
 Writing is clear, concise, and well organized with excellent sentence/paragraph construction. Thoughts are expressed in a coherent and logical manner.
APA Formatting (3 marks)
 Be formatted in accordance with APA guidelines. You must include a separate reference page listing your sources as well as a title page (these are not included in the 6-7-page requirement for the body of the paper). Please refer to Bow Valley College’s Learning Resource, APA Formatting Guide