Strategic Review

First, run the simulation using the Default Decisions. In other words, use the prices and R&D percentage that are already there. Capture or collect the results for each product (X5, X6, X7) as you run each year. Copy (using Excel, by hand, or some other method) the Financial results and Marketing results, as well as the information provided by the Advisor.

REQUIRED READING:

Refer to the reading on the SLP in the Module 1 Background. Then read the following scenario before you proceed:

SCENARIO

It is December 15, 2015. Joe Schmoe, the VP of Marketing at Clipboard Tablet Co., is smugly patting himself on the back for how well he has done with pricing and product development on the three products, X5, X6, and X7. He knows his strategy was not very creative, since he did not change any prices or R&D allocations over the four-year period (actually six years, counting 2010 and 2011). But he is certain that he did not need to change anything, and that his overall performance is proof.

However, Sally Smothers, CEO of Clipboard Tablet Co., has a different opinion, and she fires Joe.

You are hired. You applied for the position a few weeks ago and interviewed, unaware of the fate of Joe Schmoe at the time. So here you are, Dec. 15, 2015, VP of Marketing at Clipboard Tablet Co., and ready to move the company ahead into 2016. Your boss, Sally Smothers, is expecting you to take over and move the company forward in terms of product development, and smart pricing.

Session Long Project

Write a 4- to 6-page paper, not including cover and reference page, according to Sally’s directions as follows:

Sally wants to make sure that you are ready to move ahead and asks you to review the past four to six years to see what was going on in terms of product development, sales, pricing, and performance against the competition. You collect all of the data and write a report which is due on Sally’s desk January 2, 2016.

Analyze the results of Joe Schmoe’s decisions and then write the report that Sally is requesting. Run the simulation of the Clipboard Tablet Co. using the default decisions. Access

the simulation site ( https://forio.com/simulate/qin.sun/tablet-development-sim/simulation/#p=page0 ) and collect the data for each year. Make a case for your proposed strategy using financial analysis and relevant theories.

KEYS TO THE ASSIGNMENT:

The key aspects to this assignment that should be covered in your paper include:

• A review of the products, their life cycles, and how they stack up in terms of price and performance.

• Financial review for each product: X5, X6, and X7 – sales, costs, profitability, prices, unit margins, etc.

• Market review: New Sales, Repeat Sales, Market Saturation, etc.

• Propose an alternate strategy: a general idea of how you might do better with these products: what pricing and R&D allocations, etc., you would have put in place over the last four years, 2012 – 2015.

SLP Assignment Expectations

Your paper will be evaluated on the following seven points:

• Breadth – Is the full breadth of the subject, that is, the Keys to the Assignment, addressed?

• Depth – Does the paper address the topic in sufficient depth and include the background reading and other background resources as references?

• Critical thinking – Is the subject thought about critically, that is, accurately, logically, relevantly, and precisely?

• Clarity – Is the writing clear and are the concepts articulated properly? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of responding to the questions or are points conveyed through excessive use of quotations?

READ ALSO : Distribution methods

• Organization – Is the paper well written? Are the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary appropriate for graduate-level work? Are headings included in all papers longer than two pages?

• Referencing (citations and references) – Does the paper include citations and quotation marks where appropriate? Are the references from the background reading and assignment present and properly cited? Are all the references listed in the bibliography present and referred to via citation?

• Application – Are the concepts of the module appropriately applied to the subject?

TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS:

Please note the following tips and suggestions:

• Include a cover page and reference page, in addition to the 4-6 pages of analysis described above.

• Include headings for all papers greater than two pages (basically all papers), but do not use headings as “space fillers.”

• Cite and reference all sources that you use in your work, including those that you paraphrase. This means include citations and quotation marks for direct quotes of more than five words, and citations for that information which you have “borrowed” or paraphrased from other sources.

Hints for success!

Throughout this SLP, you will be asked to make business decisions under conditions of incomplete information and uncertainty. To do so, you will need to make assumptions based on what you have learned throughout the MBA program about how markets operate. Thus, your strategies in approaching this decision need to rely on models, financial analysis, and theories from such classes as Economics, Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Strategy, and Quantitative Analysis. In addition, the simulation will give you some additional market information as you progress.

Be sure to explicitly draw on concepts and theories from the courses you have taken throughout the MBA program. That means you need to “think like an MBA” and use the financial data you are given. You will have to crunch some numbers and present your data analysis professionally by creating some simple tables, charts and graphs.

Module 1 – Background

Strategic Review

OVERVIEW OF CASES

The Integrative Case Project (which you learn more about in the Case) focuses mainly on using Organizational Diagnosis (OD) models to analyze Whole Foods Market. For purposes of the Case studies, you will assume the role of a consultant for the Excellent Consulting Group. You will need to study Whole Foods Market and prepare reports for your boss, Art Epance, who is the Senior Project Manager at the Excellent Consulting Group. Essentially, the ABC Company has determined that it will require an outside review of Whole Foods Market to assist the company in determining how to proceed relative to integrating Whole Foods Market into ABC Company.

Each Case will be a separate analysis task in which you will prepare a report. The details of these assignments are explained in the Case assignments in each module.

The five cases in this course include the following:

• Case 1 – Strategic Review of Whole Foods Market.

• Case 2 – An analysis of Organizational Diagnostic models and identifying a model to use for diagnosing Whole Foods Market.

• Case 3 – Diagnosing the Inputs and fit with the strategy of Whole Foods Market.

• Case 4 – Diagnosing the Outputs and Performance of Whole Foods Market.

• Case 5- Analyzing critical feedback loops and the opportunities for organizational learning at Whole Foods Market.

The SLP for this course involves participating in a simulation exercise. Unlike cases, which are static, simulations are interactive and you can see the results of your decisions. Additionally, you can repeat the simulation to improve the quality of your decisions.

GENERAL SLP SCENARIO:

Joe Schmoe is the current VP of Marketing for Clipboard Tablet Co. He has a pricing and R&D strategy that he intends to use for the next four years: 2012 through 2015. The performance of the company is pretty lackluster and Joe gets fired on Dec. 15, 2015. You get hired to replace him as the company is about to move forward into 2016. But for some strange reason, you get caught in a Time Warp, much like the guy in the movie, “Groundhog Day.” You are doomed to repeat the last four years, 2012 through 2015, until you can improve the performance of Clipboard Tablet.

In particular, you will be looking at income statements and marketing reports and making decisions about pricing, product development (R&D expenditure), and product life cycles for a company that sells Tablet Computers.

This is a brief summary of what you will do in each SLP:

1. In this first SLP it is Dec. 15, 2015, and you are getting ready to make a Marketing strategy for 2016. But you want to review the performance of the company over the last four years, so you review the Financial and Marketing data, as well as the product data and how it stacks up against the competition. You have a great New Year’s Eve celebration thinking you are ready to move ahead.

2. In SLP2, you experience a Time Warp. You are back on January 1, 2012. You realize that you will have to go through 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, but you think you can do better than Joe Schmoe. You work your way through each year, trying to make better decisions and generate more profit and an overall better performance than your predecessor. As you do this, you keep track of your decisions, your reasoning and results, which turns into a final report that you hope will be useful as you move ahead into 2016.

3. In SLP3, the Time Warp strikes again. Once more you are at January 1, 2012. This time you decide to develop a complete strategy for all four years and use CVP analysis to help you. You analyze the results from your first Time Warp and develop another strategy, this time for all four years being predetermined.

4. In SLP4, it is the next day. You begin to implement your new strategy. You do so at the beginning of each year and time flows quickly. At the end of each year you review the results and collect the data. At the end of 2015, you note your overall performance, hoping that you will now move ahead into 2016. But once again, the Time Warp strikes and you have to do it again. This time you vow you will do it better. You analyze the results and use CVP analysis. You now have another strategy ready to go, having spent all of New Year’s day putting it together.

5. In SLP5, on January 2, 2012, you begin the same four-year journey again. You implement your strategy at the beginning of each year and get the results as time flies by. New Year’s Eve, 2015, you note your final results. How did you do? When you wake up on New Year’s Day, it is 2016. You celebrate. Then you understand that you had lessons to learn. So you decide to compare the results of this last Time Warp to the results that you got in the previous Time Warp. You will explain how the results are different and why they are different.