Module 1 –
Case
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PROCESS/VISION, MISSION, GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES
Assignment Overview
The MGT599 Case is an ongoing exercise, meaning that we will
be thoroughly reviewing one company throughout our four modules. This session,
we will be conducting a strategic analysis of Pepsico.
Most companies have something that resembles a vision, mission,
or set of values; or stated goals/objectives that define who the company is and
how the company plans to do business. However, organizations may not always
label these statements properly — calling a vision a mission, or calling their
values a set of beliefs. Sometimes, companies do not have a mission statement
at all, operating instead on a set of goals.
Required Reading
Hammonds, K. (2007). Michael Porter’s big ideas. Fast
Company, 44. Retrieved on August 27, 2014, from https://www.fastcompany.com/42485/michael-porters-big-ideas
Case Assignment
In this assignment, you will be critically evaluating the
vision, values, mission statement, and goals/objectives of Pepsico.
Keys to the Assignment
After studying the background materials and completing the
SLP, you are in an excellent position to evaluate a company’s published
mission, vision, values, and objectives/goals. This Case asks you to begin your
strategic analysis of Pepsico by evaluating the company’s mission, vision,
values, and goals. To do this, observe the following procedure:
Step 1: Visit the official website of Pepsico and identify
the company’s vision, mission, values, and goals. (Hint: You will need to do
some exploring and a certain amount of speculation—as the terms
“vision” and “mission” (and sometimes even the term
“company goals”) are used interchangeably. Explore the “Who We
Are” and “Investors” (and other) links. Also, be sure that you
look closely at the most recent Annual Reports.
Step 2: Critically evaluate the mission, vision, values, and
goals (again, you will likely need to make decisions as to which is which). Use
the criteria in the background materials to support your assessment of the
quality of the company’s mission, vision, values, and goals.
Step 3: Determine which (if any) of the elements consider
the goals and needs of specific stakeholder groups. Write down any examples.
Step 4: Consider what changes are needed to improve the
vision statement, the mission statement, the statement of company values, and
the company’s objectives and goals.
Step 5: Write a 6-7 page paper addressing the above
requirements. You must meet minimum length requirements, by responding to each
step above with precision and with depth of critical thinking.
NOTE THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS AS WELL:
Use of proper APA style is required in this course.
Therefore, prepare your Case with proper documentation of sources, using
in-text citations and a complete end reference list. Refer to the Well-Written
Paper guide if you are not familiar with APA style.
Consider the Case as a formal business report that you are
developing for the Board of Directors and CEO as Pepsico’s external consultant.
This is a professional document. Follow the format below:
Note: You must use section headings to respond to all major
requirements in all papers. Your section headings should appear similar to the
following:
Executive summary: This is a synopsis of the main points,
conclusions, and recommendations made in the longer report. If you have never
written an executive summary before, or would like a refresher, check this
link: http://www.csun.edu/~vcecn006/summary.html
Introduction: State the main purpose of the paper (thesis
statement), what you hope to accomplish, and how you will go about doing it.
Main Body: The “meat” of the paper. Emphasize
analysis, not just description. Don’t just give me facts – interpret them!
Delineate separate topics or sections with appropriate use of headings.
Executive Summary
Introduction
Company’s Mission Statement and Analysis
Company’s Vision and Analysis
Company’s Values and Analysis
Alignment of Company’s Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals
with Stakeholders’ Interests
Recommended Changes
Conclusion
Assignment Expectations
Your paper will be evaluated using the grading rubric.
Tips and Suggestions
Note the following tips and suggestions:
Business school case-study assignments are meant to offer
practice opportunities for future business people who are earning their MBA
degrees. Consider yourself a consultant hired by the company to make these
critical assessments. There are no right or wrong answers to the Case question,
so long as your position is well-defended.
Study the theoretical concepts provided in the Background
materials section of the module, and identify main strategy concepts.
Analyze the vision, mission statement, etc. according to the
criteria presented in the Background materials. Be critical and do not let
yourself be influenced by a company’s “spin.”
Do not hesitate to criticize the current statements. In many
instances, you may not be able to find information on the company’s website.
Many companies do not get this right.
Include a cover page and reference page, in addition to the
6-7 pages of analysis described above.
Include appropriate section headings.
Cite and reference all sources, including those that you
paraphrase. This means include citations and quotation marks for direct quotes
of more than five words, and citations for information you have
“borrowed” or paraphrased from other sources.
Follow TUI Guidelines for Well-Written Papers.
Submit your analysis by the end of this module.
Module 1 –
SLP
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PROCESS/VISION, MISSION, GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES
Simulation
To begin the MGT599 SLP sequence, you first need to first
run the simulation using the Default Decisions. In other words, use the prices
and R&D percentages that are already there (do not change any decisions
made by Joe Thomas).
Capture or collect the results for each product (W1, W2, and
W3) for each year that you run the simulation. Copy (using Excel, by hand, or
some other method) the financial results and marketing results, as well as the
information provided by your Advisor.
REQUIRED READING:
Read the following scenario carefully before you proceed:
SCENARIO
It is December 31, 2016. Joe Thomas, the VP of Marketing at
the Wonder Company, is smugly patting himself on the back for how well he has
done with pricing and product development of the three company products: W1,
W2, and W3. Of course, Joe knows his strategy was not creative at all (i.e., he
did not change any prices or R&D allocations over the past five-year
period: 2012 through 2016). But he is certain that he really did not need to
change anything anyway, and that his overall performance is proof of his good
work.
Sally Smothers, the CEO of Wonder Co., knows better, and she
fires Joe (but why did she wait so long?).
On the same day Joe is fired, you are hired to replace him.
And so…here you are, on December 31, 2016, as the new V.P. of Marketing of the
Wonder Company. You are ready to move the company ahead into 2017. Your boss,
Sally Smothers, expects you to make intelligent and informed product
development and pricing decisions (after all, you are an MBA).
Session Long Project
Write a 6- to 7-page paper (not including cover and
reference pages), using Sally’s instructions, which follow:
Sally asks you to review Joe’s decisions from 2013 through
2016 to see what was going on in terms of product development, sales, pricing,
and performance. Your final report is due on Sally’s desk by January 15, 2017 –
you have only 2 weeks to run the simulation, analyze your results, and write up
the report, so you had best get started on this now!
Using the default decisions (i.e., make no changes within
the simulation), analyze Joe Thomas’s decisions and results, and then write the
report that Sally is requesting. Access the Wonder Company simulation and
collect the data for each year. Determine where you believe Joe went wrong, and
propose a new strategy. Support your revised strategy using financial analysis
and relevant business theories.
KEYS TO THE ASSIGNMENT:
The key aspects to this assignment that are required to be
covered in your paper include:
A review of each product – W1, W2, and W3 – its life cycle,
and how each product stacks up in terms of price and performance.
Financial review of each product – W1, W2, and W3 – 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, 2013 – 2016. In
short, what would you have done differently than Joe Thomas at each decision
point? Be specific.
SLP Assignment Expectations
Your paper will be evaluated using the grading rubric.
TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS:
Please note the following tips and suggestions:
Include a cover page and reference page, in addition to the
6-7 pages of written analysis described above.
Use section headings as appropriate. Use graphs, charts, or
figures strategically – but do not use these as “space fillers.”
Include large tables or graphics in an Appendix instead.
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, and citations for that information which you have
“borrowed” or paraphrased from other sources.
Follow TUI Guidelines for well-written papers.
NOTE: Throughout the SLP sequence, you will be asked to make
business decisions under conditions of incomplete information and uncertainty.
To do so effectively, you will need to make assumptions based on what you have
learned throughout the MBA program as it relates to the ways in which markets
operate. To this extent, you need to rely on models, financial analysis, and
theories from such classes as Organization Behavior, Economics, Finance,
Accounting, and Marketing. In addition, the simulation will give you some
additional market information as you progress.
Be sure that you draw explicitly on concepts and theories
from the courses you have taken throughout the MBA program. That means you must
“think like an MBA” and use the various data you are given. You will
have to crunch the numbers and present your data analysis professionally by
creating some simple tables, charts, and graphs.
