ISFM-300 Case Study, Stage 1: Business Environment Analysis
Before you begin this assignment, be sure you:
1. Have
completed all previously assigned readings, particularly those assigned in Week
1 of the class
2. Read the
“Kelly’s Salon Case Study” and review the “Walmart Example.”
Overview of Business Environment Analysis for Kelly’s Salon
Kelly’s Salon has been in business since 1995 and has seen
an increase in competition from a variety of competitors, as described in the
Case Study. With the news that a Hair
Cuttery is likely to open only five miles away, Kelly, the owner of Kelly’s
Salon, is concerned and has begun analyzing her situation and what could be
done to remain competitive in this changing environment. She has recognized that scheduling her
employees and her customers is causing her problems, and she thinks she should
focus on that first, as it is fundamental to her business.Kelly also believes
that there must be a technology solution that could help her run her salon, but
she has no idea where to start.
You are a Systems Analyst, and Kelly has asked you to help
her with determining how she can improve her business. Kelly has requested, specifically, that
youverify and provide added support to her own analysis that has resulted in
the identification of a Strategy for Competitive Advantage and a Business
Process for Improvement. This will be
the basis for defining business and systems requirements for an IT
solution.This Strategy and IT Solution will help to bring Kelly’s Salon into
the 21st century and take advantage of current technology. You will analyze her
business environment using Porter’s Five Forces Analysis. Then, you will use the results of that
analysis to explain how it supports Kelly’sStrategy for Competitive Advantage,
and the business process that she selected for improvement through the use of
technology.
It is important to note that a business owner has many areas
where improvements can be made, such as:
staff, building facility, supplier agreements, advertising, etc. There are also many possible solutions that
could improve the business strategy and processes. Since time and costs are involved, the owner
should address basic problems first in choosing the strategy and which
processes to improve. (Consider a lemonade stand; while it would be nice to
have a chair to sit behind a table to serve the lemonade to customers, that is
not crucial;however,having lemonade and cups are crucial to the business.)
A second important concept for this class is that, among all
the ways that competitive advantage and processes can be improved, the focus is
on information technology solutions. In
your role as a Systems Analyst, you will be supporting Kelly’s selected
strategy and process for improvement, and proposing an appropriate IT
solution. This work begins with an
analysis of Kelly’s Salon using the Five Forces Model.
Five Forces Analysis:
You know that Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model is a useful
tool for analyzing a business. The Model
is used to help understand the importance of the five competitive forces and
determinea strategy to develop and maintain a competitive advantage. The Five Forces are described and discussed
in Chapter 7 of the e-textbook. They are:
• Buyer
Power (buyer refers to customers of Kelly’s Salon)
• Supplier
power (supplier refers to vendors Kelly’s Salon purchases from)
• Threat of
substitute products or services (this is not the same as direct competition)
• Threat of
new entrants
• Rivalry
among existing competitors
Strategy for Competitive Advantage:
After reviewing Porter’s Generic Strategies for competitive
advantage, as shown in the table below, Kelly has decided on the Cost
Leadership Strategy because she wants to provide a variety of services at a cost
that is lower than her competitors and thereby attract more customers. She knows that she can offer lower costs than
the HairCuttery that is opening nearby, but she will need to make some
improvements to do that.
Target Scope Advantage
Low
Cost Product Uniqueness
Broad
(Industry Wide) Cost
Leadership Strategy Differentiation
Strategy
Narrow
(Market Segment) Focus
Strategy
(low cost) Focus
Strategy
(differentiation)
Business Process:
Following a Five Forces Analysis and selection of a strategy
for competitive advantage, the next step is to identify a process for
improvement that will support the strategy and provide the most benefit, and
position the business for future improvements.
While there are severalareas in need of improvement, Kellyhas decided
that Customer and Employee Scheduling is the most important process to be
improved.
In your role as Systems Analyst, Kelly wants you to provide
solid justification for the strategy for competitive advantage and the business
process that she has selected, and help her determine if an information
technology solution can help.
Assignment: Kelly’s
Salon Stage 1:Create a document that includes:
I. Introduction
Brief introduction providing the background of the case, why
you are writing and what is to come in your paper. This should only be 3-5 sentences.
II. Five
Forces Analysis
Perform a Porter’s Five Forces analysis for Kelly’s Salon,
addressing each of the five forces in two or three sentences. For each of the five forces, your analysis
should include:
• Explanation
of the forceand what it means to Kelly’s Salon
• Assessment
of the force’s impact (Positive, Negative or Neutral) on the business
• A
statement as to whether it should affect Kelly’s strategy for a competitive
advantage (yes or no).
You will copy the table below into your paper and use it as
the framework for this analysis.
FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS
FORCE EXPLANATION
(Minimum 2 good sentences) IMPACT(POSITIVE,
NEGATIVE, or NEUTRAL) AFFECT
STRATEGY? (YES/NO)
BUYER POWER
SUPPLIER POWER
THREAT OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES
THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS
RIVALRYAMONG EXISTING COMPETITORS
Note: Do not identify solutions or things that Kellyis doing
or should do to address the force’s impact. (The idea is to simply provide an
assessment of the impact and if the force will affect Kelly’s Salon’s Strategy
for Competitive Advantage.)
III. Justification
of Selected Strategy for Competitive Advantage
• ExplainhowKelly’sselected
strategy for competitive advantage – Cost Leadership Strategy –is justified
and supported by the Five Forces Analysis.
• Relate
the strategy back to each of Porter’s five forces discussing the impact of the
strategy based on your assessment of the force (positive, negative, or
neutral).
IV. Business
Process
• Explain
how the process Kelly has identified to be improved – Customer and Employee
Scheduling — is related to and supports the strategy for competitive advantage
Kellyselected.
• Explain
generallyhow a technology solution could help improve the process. (Do not
provide any specific solution.)
References:
Incorporate at least two resources correctly; one reference should be
from the course materials and one reference should be external. An external resource is a resource other than
those provided in the class or textbook.Incorporate properly formatted APA
citations in the text of your document for each reference used. Then, place an APA style reference page at
the end of your document.
Formatting:
For academic writing, the writer is expected to write in the
third person. In third person, the writer avoids the pronouns I, we, my, and
ours. The third person is used to make the writing more objective by taking the
individual, the “self,” out of the writing. This method is very helpful for
academic writing, a form in which facts, not opinion, drive the tone of the
text. Writing in the third person allows the writer to come across as unbiased
and thus more informed.
• Write a
short concise paper: 2-3 double spaced
pages of content; table entries for the Five Forces analysis should be single
spaced.
• Useat
leasttwo resources with APA formatted citation and reference. Use at least one
external reference and one from the course content.
• Compare
your work to the Grading Rubric below to be sure you have met content and
quality criteria.
• Submit
your paper as a Word document, or a document that can be read in Word.
• Your
submission should include your last name first
in the filename: Lastname_firstname_Stage_1
GRADING RUBRIC:
The “right” and “wrong” answers have to
do with whether or not you correctly incorporated the course vocabulary and
concepts from the textbook to support your choices and have addressed all parts
of the assignment.
?
ISFM-300 Case Study, Stage 1 Rubric: Business Environment
Analysis
Criteria
90-100%
Far Above Standards
80-89%
Above Standards
70-79%
Meets Standards
60-69%
Below Standards
< 60%
Well Below Standards
Possible Points
Five Forces Analysis
41-45 Points
Analysis covers all 5 forces, explaining them and their
impact on the business in the case study (Positive, Negative or Neutral) and
whether it should affect the strategy (Yes/No); and strongly demonstrates
understanding of course vocabulary and concepts, analysis and critical
thinking. 36-40 Points
Analysis covers all 5 forces, explaining them and their
impact on the business in the case study (Positive, Negative or Neutral) and
whether it should affect the strategy (Yes/No); and demonstrates understanding
of course vocabulary and concepts, analysis and critical thinking. 31-35 Points
Analysis covers all 5 forces, explaining them and their
impact on the business in the case study (Positive, Negative or Neutral) and whether
it should affect the strategy (Yes/No).
Minimal use of course concepts and vocabulary. 27-30 Points
Analysis covers 1-4 forces, and/or lacks explanations and/or
strategy; may be lacking in demonstration of understanding of course concepts,
analysis, and/or critical thinking. 0-26
Points
Analysis not included, or does not address many of the 5
forces. 45
Justifica-tion of SelectedStrategy for Competitive Advantage 18-20 Points
The selected strategy for competitive advantage is
exceptionally well supported based on the explanation of the results of the
Five Forces Analysis of the business, and is fully explained demonstrating a
strong understanding of course vocabulary, concepts, analysis and critical
thinking. 16-17 Points
The selected strategy for competitive advantage is well
supported based on the explanation of the Five Forces Analysis of the business
and is adequately explained demonstrating understanding of course vocabulary,
concepts, analysis and critical thinking.
14-15
Points
The selected strategy for competitive advantage is supported
based on the explanation of the Five Forces Analysis of the businessand
explained demonstratingsome understanding of course vocabulary, concepts,
analysis and critical thinking. 12-13
Points
The selected strategy for competitive advantage is not
adequately supported based on the explanation of the Five Forces Analysis of
the business, does not come from analysis of the Case Study, and/or is lacking
in demonstration of understanding of course vocabulary, concepts, or analysis. 0-11 Points
No analysis and/or discussion of strategy for competitive
advantage selected is provided or little effort is shown. 20
Process to Improve 9-10
Points
Theexplanation of how the selected business process is related
to and supports the strategy for competitive advantage and the explanation of
how technology could improve the process are clear, complete and convincing;and
demonstrate a strong understanding of course vocabulary, concepts, analysis and
critical thinking. 8 Points
The explanation of how the selected business process is
related to and supports the strategy for competitive advantage and the
explanation of how technology could improve the process are clear and complete;
and demonstrate a good understanding of course vocabulary, concepts, analysis
and critical thinking. 7 Points
The explanation of how the selected business process is
related to and supports the strategy for competitive advantage and the
explanation of how technology could improve the process are both provided; and
demonstrate an understanding of course vocabulary, concepts, analysis and
critical thinking. 6 Points
The explanation of how the selected business process is
related to and supports the strategy for competitive advantage and the
explanation of how technology could improve the process may not both be
provided, or may not be clear or relevant; and may demonstrate a lack of understanding of course vocabulary, concepts,
analysis and critical thinking.
0-5
Points
The explanation of how the selected business process is
related to and supports the strategy for competitive advantage and the
explanation of how technology could improve the process are not provided; or
little effort is shown. 10
Research 9-10
Points
Two or more sources–one source from within the IFSM 300
course content and one external (other than the course materials)–are
incorporated and used effectively. Sources used are relevant and timely and
contribute to the analysis. References
are appropriately incorporated and cited using APA style. 8 Points
At least one source is incorporated and used effectively.
Source(s) are relevant and contribute to the analysis. References are
appropriately incorporated and cited using APA style. 7 Points
At least one resource used and properly incorporated into
the text. Reference is cited using APA style. 6
Points
A reference source is included, but is not properly
incorporated or used and/or is not effective or appropriate and/or is not
relevant or timely; and/or does not follow APA style for references and
citations. 0-5 Points
No research is incorporated or reference listed is not cited
within text. 10
Report Format 14-15
Points
Report is very well organized and is easy to read. An appropriate introduction is included that
sets the context, why you’re writing, and what’s to come. Very few or no errors
in sentence structure, grammar, and spelling; double-spaced, written in third
person and presented in a professional format. 12-13
Points
Report reflects effective organization; has few errors in
sentence structure, grammar, and spelling; double-spaced, written in third
person and presented in a professional format. An appropriate introduction is
included that sets the context, why you’re writing, and what’s to come. 10-11 Points
Report has some organization; may have some errors in
sentence structure, grammar and spelling and/or lacks effective introduction.
Report is double spaced and written in third person. 9 Points
Report is not well organized, and/or contains several
grammar and/or spelling errors; and/or is not double-spaced and written in
third person. 0-8 Points
Report is extremely poorly written, has many grammar and/or
spelling errors, or does not convey the information. 15
TOTAL
Points Possible 100
