1. Internal Assessment (2 page maximum): Financial ratio analysis for five years (firm and two competitors) (use SEC 10K annual reports for this work, not yahoo Finance or similar shortcut); compare and contrast; no definitions and do not highlight all ratios (give all in appendices, but only comment on those worthy of note); outline firm’s operations using value chain analysis chart by conducting an RBV analysis of the firm; discuss firm’s website vs. competitors (is ecommerce important?…assess in relation to competitors); list five each of the firm’s strengths and weaknesses and cover each; show and explain Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) matrix. 2. External Assessment (4 pages): Identify and discuss major competitors using pie charts, maps, tables, figures to show intensity of competition in industry (Porter’s five forces); display competitive profile matrix use at least five factors and two competitors; summarize key industry trends using The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Fortune, and trade journals; highlight key trends in external macro forces (excluding competition); as they impact the firm; discuss markets and positioning of firm and two competitors and discuss map in light of firm strategies vs. competitors; identify marketing strategy of the firm using pros/cons vs. competitors in light of firm strategies; list five each of firm’s opportunities and threats and explain; show and explain External Factor Evaluation (EFE) matrix. 3. Strategy Formulation ( 4 pages): Show and explain SWOT/TOWS matrix (comparisons of all possible combinations of S, W, O and Ts; highlight potential strategies with specific implications for their use; show BCG matrix—focus both on numbers and strategy implications—do multiple BCG, if necessary (domestic and global, etc) -- comment on whether or not different strategies will affect the matrix (make assumptions about profits for different divisions within the firm, do not make wild guesses); present recommendations in this section—be specific in terms of strategies and costs; outline costs of recommendations (minimum of three, maximum of six); divide recommended strategies into two groups: (1) existing to be continued and (2) new to be started. In order to complete the last you must understand what your firm is currently doing! Justify the future course of action.