Capstone Strategic Plan $($Planning Rounds $35)$

$100$ Points $(10\%$ of the overall grade$)$

Overview

Objectives: Each student will prepare a strategic plan for company Andrews in the Capstone simulation that includes the items listed in this instruction. The objectives of this assignment are to: $(1)$ practice a formal strategic planning process; $(2)$ guide decision$-$making for future rounds; $(3)$ apply course materials in the context of the Capstone simulation. You will reference materials from Chapters $1,3,4,5,$ and $12$ of the textbook to complete this assignment.

Submission and Deadline: The completed strategic plan should be submitted through a submission link in the Capstone Simulation area in Blackboard before round $3$ is processed. Although the simulation is self$-$paced, this assignment must be turned in no later than $11$:$59$ pm central time on Sunday of week $4.$ Papers submitted within a week after the deadline are accepted with a $5-$point$/$day penalty. Papers late for more than a week will not be accepted.

Format: The submitted strategic plan should be a WORD document, double$-$spaced in $11$ or $12$ Font $($texts in tables should be single$-$spaced$).$ Please use subheadings to enhance readability. The paper should be no more than $5$ pages long. The instructions should not be included in your paper; instead, your paper should be a coherent strategic plan that covers the required items. The tables for objectives should be included in the paper. Supporting data$/$statistics should be included in the appendix and will not be counted toward the page limit$.$ Please avoid copying$/$pasting the raw Capstone Courier report or Annual Report as supporting evidence. Instead, relevant data should be constructed$/$presented in tables$/$graphs to support your argument effectively.

Composition: The writing style should be formal and suitable for a business audience $($e$.$g$.,$ company Andrews as opposed to $$I$).$ Papers should conform to the School of Business Fatal Error Policy stated in the syllabus. Papers that have more than $10$ writing errors will receive a zero on the Composition category in the grading rubric attached to the instruction.

Grading Criteria: Please see the grading rubric in the Appendix.

Strategic Plan Content

$1.$ Mission Statement and Objectives

$1)$ Craft a short mission statement that describes Andrews$$ long$-$term purpose or aspiration.

$2)$ In a table $($see Table $1$ as an example$),$ list specific objectives that you would like to achieve for Andrews$$ primary stakeholders $($e$.$g$.,$ customers, employees, investors, etc.$)$ to fulfill Andrews$$ mission statement by the end of round $5.$ Objectives should be specific and measurable $($e$.$g$.,$ achieving $$20$ million profits as opposed to making profits$),$ so that you can use them to evaluate the extent to which Andrews has lived up to its mission by the end of round $5.$

$3)$ Briefly explain why achieving these objectives are critical to fulfill Andrews$$ mission and then describe key actions that you plan to take to achieve each of your objectives.

$($Notes: $(1)$ Please refer to the section titled $$Strategy in Practice: How to Develop a Mission Statement$$ in Chapter $12$ for guidance on how to develop a mission statement; $(2)$ A good mission statement should set the company apart from others, inspire and guide organizational members to act, and be easy to read$/$remember; $(3)$ Please refer to Chapter $1$ for major stakeholder groups.$)$

Table $1$ Objectives for Stakeholders to Fulfill Mission Statement

$($Feel free to add rows$)$

Stakeholders Objectives by Round $5$

$2.$ Business Strategy

$1)$ Specify the customer segments where Andrews will compete and describe the generic business strategy $($cost leadership and$/$or product differentiation$)$ that Andrews plans to follow during rounds $3-5.$ If you use a niche cost leadership or niche product differentiation, specify what you will do with the segments that Andrews does not plan to compete in$.$

$2)$ Describe Andrews$$ expected sources of cost advantage $($if Andrews follows a cost leadership strategy$)$ or differentiation advantage $($if Andrews follows a product differentiation strategy$)$ and explain how Andrews will achieve them in the context of the simulation. If Andrews follows a cost leadership strategy in certain segments and a product differentiation strategy in the other segments, then specify the segment$($s$)$ where each strategy will be implemented and discuss your expected sources of both cost and differentiation advantages. $($Note: $(1)$ You are expected to apply sources of cost advantage from Chapter $4$ and$/$or sources of differentiation advantage from Chapter $5$; $(2)$ This section does not need to be segment by segment discussions; instead, you can discuss how Andrews will achieve cost$/$differentiation advantages as a company$)$

$3.$ Segment Competitive Position

For each product segment where Andrews plans to compete, take the following steps to Andrews$$ competitive position:

$1)$ Analyze the competitive environment by answering the following questions: