Running head: STRAGETY PAPER

Strategy Paper
[Student Name]
McKendree University
[Instructor Name]
[Date]

STRATEGY PAPER

2
Strategy Paper

[Use this template for the strategy paper exactly as written. Do not add an abstract and
do not add additional headings or delete any headings. Note: All required headings are provided
in this paper level 1, level 2 headings and are in APA format. DO NOT delete them; just delete
the text with [ ] and respond to each heading as the weekly assignments require. Subordinate
headings level 3 are also provided just respond to them and do not delete them. In this initial
section, you will provide an introduction of your company. Summarize the relevant back ground
information that will pertain to this case.]
Market Size
[In this section, you will discuss the size of the market, in which this company competes,
or intends to compete. What share of the market does this company have? How does this
position them in the market? Be concise, and do NOT expand on elements that are not related to
this heading.]
Driving Forces
[In this section, you will discuss the forces that companies in this industry and market
have to deal with. These are the factors that contribute to the trends in the industry. These
factors may include new innovations in the market, significant changes in consumer behavior,
significant shifts in societal norms, significant entries/exits of major firms, significant economic
shifts, and significant regulatory shifts. Remember, these factors are those that influence the
entire industry, and are worthy of discussion. These are STANDOUT factors THIS industry.
NOT traditional factors that impact all business. Alsobe sure to note what factors are actually
present for your industry. While this will be expanded upon later in this paper, we are
introducing standout factors here. Please do not add editorial. Just simply state what we are

STRATEGY PAPER

after here. This should start with words such as, Factors the impact companies in the XX
industry include x, y, z. Companies that compete in this industry must consider these factors in
order to be competitive in the market. The strategic objective and generic strategy at ABC
corporation should be mindful of these considerations. NOTE: do NOT use my exact words.
Just make it something like this. This should be 3 to 5 sentences. ]
Strategic Objective
[In this section, you will discuss the overarching strategic goal of the company, as noted
by the Miles and Snow Typology, as well as the Ansoff Matrix. Please refer to the videos on
these topics, as well as the assignment video for this module for instructions on how to complete
this section.]
Generic Strategy
[In this section, discuss which of Porters Generic strategies the company employs. Are
they focusing on a narrow or broad market? Are they competing on the basis of price, or product
differentiation? What is the goal of the organization you have chosen? Use the information that
you have gathered so far. Your final sentence in this section should be like this: The strategic
goal at ABC Company is to this is one of the strategic objectives we talked about above by
employing a this is one of Porters Generic Strategies strategy.]
SWOT Analysis
[Write a brief introductory paragraph about the purpose of a SWOT Analysis. Be sure to
cite any references properly using APA formatting. Refer the Purdue Universitys online writing
lab for pointers on APA.]

STRATEGY PAPER

Goal/Objective
[Restate the goal that you formulated above, and provide an introductory paragraph about
THIS particular SWOT (how it will be focused on THIS goal).]
Environmental Scan
[Describe the purpose of the environmental scan, and setup the Value Chain Analysis, as
well as the P.E.S.T. and Five Force Analyses.]
Internal analysis (Value Chain Analysis). [Briefly discuss the purpose of the internal
analysis and the value of a Value Chain Analysis (VCA), and setup your VCA in this paper.]
Primary activities. [Discuss the purpose of the primary activities that a company
pursues.]
Inbound logistics. [Discuss the how your company brings in all of the resources it needs
to conduct business. Is there a strength or weakness in this area?]
Operations. [Discuss the processes that your company uses in order to turn resources into
the product it delivers to customers. Is there a strength or weakness in this area?]
Outbound logistics. [Discuss the processes your company uses to deliver the
product/service to its customers. Is there a strength or weakness in this area?]
Marketing and sales. [Discuss the methods that your company uses to introduce their
product/service to the market. Is there a strength or weakness in this area?]
Service. [Discuss how your company takes care of its customers. What is their
perception of that service? Is there a strength or weakness in this area?]
Support activities. [Discuss the purpose of the support activities that a company
pursues.]

STRATEGY PAPER

Infrastructure. [What is the culture and structure of the organization? How do they make
decisions? How do they allocate resources? Is there a strength or weakness in this area?]
Human resources management. [How does this company recruit, hire, train, and develop
its employees? Does this impact their strategy? Is there a strength or weakness in this area?]
Technology Development. [How does this company leverage technology to achieve its
strategic and operational goals? Is there a strength or weakness in this area?]
Procurement. [Does the company have a particular advantage with respect to the manner
in which it purchases or acquires the materials and supplies that it needs to conduct business? Is
there a strength or weakness in this area?]
External Analyses (PEST and Five Forces). [ Briefly discuss the purpose of the
external analysis, the PEST Analysis, and the Five Forces Analysis.]
P.E.S.T Analysis. [Discuss the purpose of the PEST Analysis.]
Political. [Text begins here. Some variables of interest might include changes in tax
laws, changes in healthcare, military operations, nation building, arms reduction or buildup,
government regulations or deregulations, green energy development and so on.]
Economics. [Text begins here and continues on to the next line in a left hand justified
manner such as this. For example, a key economics trend facing our industry is . This trend
will have a major affect on our industry because . The timeframe is immediate. This trend is
rapidly increasing and therefore its importance to us is critical and we need to respond
immediately... For example, one economic trend affecting our industry is the amount of
disposable income per person, which has been decreasing by x% over the last three years. This
trend is important to us because . And so on.

STRATEGY PAPER

Consider disposable income to be an economic variable and the trend is its behavior over
time. That is, this variable may grow, shrink, stay the same, or some ups and downs. Other
economic variables include, but are not limited to interest rates, inflation rates, GDP, consumer
price index, and so on. Focus on what is of interest to your industry. ]
Social. [Text begins here. Some variables of interest might include the number of
marriages, number of divorces, birth / death rate, immigration, attitudes toward women working,
attitudes toward education and so on.]
Technology. [Text begins here. Technology includes, but is not limited to biotechnology,
information technology, aerospace technology, manufacturing technology, agricultural
technology, energy technology and so on. Focus on those key variables of interest within the
type of technology of interest. For example, variables of interest in information technology may
include processor speed, disk space, bandwidth, software applications, robotics and so on.]
Porters Five Force Analysis. [Discuss the purpose of the Five Force Analysis.]
Barriers to Entry. [Text begins here. According to Pearce and Robinson (2003), the eight
sources of barriers-to-entry are the following (a) economies of scale, (b) product differentiation,
(c) capital requirements, (d) switching costs, (e) access to distribution channels, (f) cost
disadvantages independent of scale, (g) government policy, and (h) expected retaliation. Address
only those sources/barriers that are most important to your industry. Summarize the overall
threat(s) of entry as high, medium, or low. Are there apparent opportunities/threats that emerge?]
Substitutes. [Text begins here. This section concerns the ready availability of substitute
or alternative products. Substitutes limit the potential returns of an industry by placing a ceiling
on the prices organizations in the industry can profitably charge. The more attractive the price-

STRATEGY PAPER

performance alternative offered by substitutes the firmer the lid on industry profits. Are there
apparent opportunities/threats that emerge?]
Bargaining power of Suppliers. [Text begins here. This section concerns the bargaining
power (high, medium, or low) of suppliers to influence the profitability of the organizations in
the industry. Suppliers can exert power over participants in an industry by threatening to raise
prices or reduce the quality of purchased goods and services. Summarize the overall supplier
power as high, medium, or low. Are there apparent opportunities/threats that emerge?]
Bargaining power of Buyers. [Text begins here. This section concerns the bargaining
power (high, medium, or low) of buyers to influence the profitability of the organizations in the
industry. Buyers compete with the industry by forcing down prices, bargaining for higher quality
or more services, and playing competitors against each other. Summarize the overall buyer
power as high, medium, or low. Are there apparent opportunities/threats that emerge?]
Competitive Rivalry. [Text begins here. This section concerns the major competitors of
the organization and their ability to effect profitability and survivability. The objective of a
competitor analysis is to develop a profile of the nature and success of the likely strategy changes
each competitor might make, each competitors probable response to the range of feasible
strategic moves other organizations could initiate, and each competitors probable reaction to the
array of industry changes and broader environmental shifts that might occur. Some questions to
consider include:

Who are your top three competitors?

How are these competitors business increasing, decreasing, or steady and how
does it compare with yours?

STRATEGY PAPER

What do you know or should you know about their operations, sales, advertising,
customers, and suppliers?

What are their strengths and weaknesses?

How do their products and services differ from your products and services?

What is the normal jockeying and behavior within the industry?

What happens if there is a new entry?

What is the threat of entry? Consider what if analysis. What if your major
competitor lowered prices, bought a key supplier, brought out a significantly new
product? What does your organization do in response? Summarize the
competitive rivalry in the industry as high, medium, or low. Are there apparent
opportunities/threats that emerge?]

Summary of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. [Review your internal

and external analyses, in order to identify:
Strengths. [Summarize the strengths that you identified in your VCA.]
Weaknesses. [Summarize the strengths that you identified in your VCA.]
Opportunities. [Summarize the opportunities that you identified in your PEST and Five
Force Analysis.]
Threats. [Summarize the threats that you identified in your PEST and Five Force
Analysis.]
Matching
[In this section you will discuss how you can leverage the inherent strengths of the
organization in order to exploit the opportunities that you identified in your external analysis. Be
sure to match EACH strength with EACH opportunity.]

STRATEGY PAPER

S1-O1. [In this section, you will demonstrate hoe this particular strength can help you
exploit this particular opportunity.]
S1-O2. [In this section, you will demonstrate hoe this particular strength can help you
exploit this particular opportunity.]
S2-O1. [In this section, you will demonstrate hoe this particular strength can help you
exploit this particular opportunity. ]
S2-O2. [In this section, you will demonstrate hoe this particular strength can help you
exploit this particular opportunity.]
Conversion
[Discuss how your company might leverage its strengths in order to convert weaknesses
to strengths and threats to opportunities?]
Threat/Weakness Management
[Discuss how your company will leverage its strengths in order to
minimize/mitigate/manage those threats and weaknesses that are unable to be converted. ]
Evaluation
[Discuss whether or not you think that this company will be able to achieve its stated goal
or objective. Will the goal need to be amended? What general implementation plan do you they
should employ. What generic strategy will be best for this goal?]
Conclusion
[Summarize the major points of the paper in a couple of concise and well-constructed
paragraphs. You will want you reader to be able to read this conclusion, and essentially
understand the gist of this paper.]

STRATEGY PAPER

10
References

[List all of your references used in creating this paper in APA format here. See examples below.
Note: Only list references actually cited in the body of the paper.]
Beinhocker, E.D. (2006). The Adaptable Corporation. The McKinsey Quarterly. 77-87.
Christensen, C.M., & Raynor, M.E. (2003). The innovators solution: Creating and sustaining
successful growth. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Christensen, C.M. (2004). Seeing whats next: Using the theories of innovation to predict
industry change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Cornish, E. (2004). Futuring: The exploration of the future. Bethesda, MD. World Future
Society.
Crossan, M.M., Fry, J.N., & Killing, J.P. (2005). Strategic analysis and action, 6th Ed. Toronto,
Canada: Prentice-Hall.
David, F.R. (2001). Strategic management: Concepts and cases 8th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall.
Day, G.S., & Reibstein, D.J. (1997). Wharton on dynamic competitive strategy. New York: John
Wiley & Sons.
Fisher, L. (2009). The perfect swarm: The science of complexity in everyday life. New York:
Perseus.
Pearce, J.A., & Robinson, R.B. (2003). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation,
and control. Boston: McGraw-Hill.