“Unilever in the middle east”
The Chosen Company is “Unilever in the middle east”
(Unilever Middle East and then narrow down to a specific product line)
Project:
The Project is a group project to be presented on the last week of the semester. You are required to ask for my approval when selecting a company (so as to avoid a selection of a two small company or to avoid duplications).
In addition, you must write a final report. The final report should be typed, double-spaced on A4- sized document, with equal left and right margins of 3 cm. Times New Roman (font size 12) is required.
Your report should contain 2 parts: Industry Analysis and Company Strategy Analysis.
Part 1 – Industry Analysis
Your group industry analysis should focus on industry trends and on the firm’s competitive environment. Feel free to adjust the outline below in the most meaningful way for the industry you selected. The important point is to cover all essential areas in a clear and concise manner, and to highlight the main external strategic issues the firm is confronted to. The last part will ask you to focus on the firm strengths and weaknesses to elaborate a company strategy. To do so, you must have a clear understanding of the environment in which the firm operates.
Suggested outline
A. Title Page (but no table of contents)
B. Executive Summary (key findings; maximum 1 page)
• The content shall not include any company history.
• The purpose of the executive summary is to inform the reader of the key elements contained in the paper.
C. Industry Analysis
• Relevant industry trends (e.g. segmentation, costs / technology aspects, competitors, and main government/trade regulations) with implications for the firm performance and strategy
• What are the most noticeable changes in the industry environment?
• Strategic Group Map
• Attractiveness of the industry using the Porter 5 Forces model (i.e. analysis of forces’ strengths, changes in forces’ strength, etc.)
– Remember Porter’s analysis is an industry-level (not firm-level) analysis
– Who are the firm’s present/future customers? …competitors?
• Key success factors in the industry
D. Environmental Scan (external forces/stakeholders)
• Most important Opportunities
• Most important Threats
E. Internal Scan (company)
• Key Strengths
• Key Weaknesses What would be your strategic recommendations to the firm based on your SWOT analysis?
Part 2 – Company Strategy Analysis
The purpose of this analysis is to recommend a strategic course of action for the company you selected. You should use analytical techniques and frameworks covered in class to examine the firm’s strategic intent, its strategic position, and viable alternatives/strategic options.
Suggested outline
A.Mission Statement/Strategic intent/Vision.
• Why is this company in this business, and what does it do?
• You can reproduce the company’s published mission statement/vision. You must also include a very brief critique of that mission/vision.
B. Assessment of the firm’s strategy
• What is the firm’s generic strategy, if any?
a. Cost strategy (e.g. value chain analysis, experience curve)
b. Differentiation strategy (e.g. sources of differentiation along the value chain, customer segmentation)
• What resources and/or capabilities does the firm have (or require) to implement its strategy?
– Consider the firm’s key resources that could lead to long term competitive advantages – those that are rare, valuable, non-substitutable and inimitable.
• What is the firm’s competitive position in the industry (e.g. analysis of market share, cost position, resources/capabilities to meet key customer needs relative to key competitors)
• Address the most important challenges of the firm? What is the significance of each?
• Has the firm been successful? Why? Very broadly, where is the firm heading for? Consider a 3-5 years time frame
C. Identify growth options.
• Shall the company grow organically, or through cooperative strategy (e.g. horizontal or vertical alliances) or acquisition?
D. What change or changes in strategy do you recommend?
• In your recommendations, have you taken into consideration any possible competitor responses (i.e. strategic interactions)? What would it be? How would it affect the competitive dynamics ?
• Have you demonstrated the feasibility of your recommendations? What would be the implementation pathway?
E. Endnotes (references)