Author: Joyce

Based upon your research and using Porter’s Five Forces, evaluate the competitive strengths and weaknesses of the Ocala/Marion County area.  2. Strategic Positioning Analysis – Based upon your research, detail your strategy for Ocala/Marion county’s Unique Selling Points (of most value to its current and future viability). What strategies would you recommend to the leaders of the area in order to gain or maintain a sustainable competitive advantage in attracting economic growth, business and industry?  3. Executive Summary – Write a one page Executive Summary of your Strategic Positioning Analysis. (1 page) Compare to at least 2 other surrounding counties (must be close and relevant) Also compare in 4 to 5 areas 1. Demographics 2. Infrastructure 3. Quality of life 4. Education Opportunity 5. Recreation/ Entertainment Use SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats ) Porter’s Five Forces – 1. Competition in the industry; 2. Potential of new entrants into the industry; 3. Power of suppliers; 4. Power of customers; 5. Threat of substitute products. Would like to integrate the following business industries 1. Hospitality 2.Agriculture 3.Health Care (can not be the main focus )

you will decide which of the four elements listed below best expresses the character of that tradition. Then discuss why you feel that element to be more prominent than the others. Consider the ways the four major elements are presented in the specific religion you are addressing and how they have or have not changed over time. Material Religion / Architecture – material objects/artefacts and architecture. Architecture includes both external design and interior decoration. Dogma / Doctrine – While these words have subtle differences, for the purposes of the essays, assume this element to mean the official theology of a religion. Ritual – All the ritual activities associated with faith – from private home-based rituals (either sanctioned or not sanctioned by the official religion) to public rituals such as burials, rituals performed within sacred buildings. Integrate the use of music in this category. Religion & Society – What is the relationship between a formal, institutionalized religion and the surrounding society — and the relationship between private, home-based beliefs and society.

With reference to Hjalager’s (2010) typology of innovation identify and explain how an innovation or set of innovations has transformed or improved the performance and/or competitiveness of a particular tourism industry sub-sector or destination. Reference: Hjalager, A. M. (2010) A review of innovation research in tourism. Tourism Management, 31: 1-12 2. Assignment Instructions Please read the following guidance instructions! • You should pay careful attention to the logic and structure of your essay; examining the relevant literature, identifying relevant concepts and applying them to the analysis of the empirical data from different sources. •

Choose the ethics theory most applicable to the issue in the article you chose (utilitarianism, rights and duties, or fairness and justice) – As a starting point for your investigation, review the organization’s documents and policies on their website. Many organizations have information on their ethics policies available. Identify current policy statement(s) and describe the current environment created by these policies. – Indicate whether the organization has a clear ethics program or if it has only an espoused ethics policy. – Identify at least two areas for improvement to create a strong ethical culture, based on the organization’s ethics program.

Extras ordered: none

Overview: You introduced the organization in Chapter 1, provided some historical highlights, and described its current functions. This chapter offers a more in-depth look into the organization’s operations and business strategies with a focus on problems, issues, weaknesses, or threats described in Chapter 2. You will build upon these problems in Chapter 4 as you conduct a SWOT analysis.

Details: This chapter includes two major sections that offer a thorough discussion of the organization under review. Discussion in this chapter should include insight from the literature search you performed in Chapter 2 as well as support for your research question and hypothesis. Details for preparing each section are as indicated below.

Section I: Current Company Operations

In this section you will provide subheadings and explore the bulleted subjects listed at the end of this

paragraph to help in identifying one or more areas exhibiting weakness or threats for further analysis

(consistent with the research question and hypothesis in Chapter 1). Each item includes a reference to one or more BAS courses so that you can incorporate a discussion of theories or concepts introduced in the program. You should also refer to “A SWOT Checklist” (Table 1 in Appendix C4, of Hill & Jones textbook) to help in defining possible concerns you intend to explore later. Also, refer to the resource guide entitled Theories & Concepts Associated with Learning Outcomes (provided with this course) for assistance in recalling or categorizing this information.

Provide subdivision headings to discuss the financial aspects (the first item below) and at least five other

issues listed below:

• Briefly cover recent historical and current financial aspects of the organization (Course content from

FIN 3400); important note: if you are researching a publicly held company, include financial

information from a recent Income Statement and Balance Sheet. You will need this information if your

thesis addresses financial issues such as profitability, for example. You should also include a financial

data comparison to your organization’s competitors in the industry.

• Organizational hierarchy and structure as well as a preliminary summary of management and

leadership styles in the organization (Course content from MAN 3025, MAN 4120, MAN 3240)

• Human resource aspects of the organization including a review of benefits and pay scales relative to

the market (Is the compensation appropriate? Are the rewards adequate?) (Course content from

MAN3301)

• Labor relations issues (MAN 4401, other concentration courses or electives as appropriate)
• Specific legal or ethical issues relevant during the organization’s recent history (Course content from

BUL3130)

• A summary of technology and information systems employed by the organization (Course content

from ISM 4011)

• Marketing issues (MAN4802, MAN 4162, other concentration courses or electives as appropriate)
• Operations decisions or operations procedures such as quality manufacturing programs (MAN 4504;

other concentration courses or electives as appropriate)

• Industry environment factors that could threaten the organization’s future competitive success

(Course content from GEB 4891)

• Strategic planning or short-term planning issues pertinent to the study (Course content from GEB

4891, etc.)

 

In Section II: Corporate & Business Strategies you will outline some of the company’s strategies.

Provide subdivision headings to discuss at least five of the following issues:

• Define the company’s mission & goals, either from official statements or from the analysis so far
• Define corporate strategy by describing lines of business and acquisitions
• Determine if the business lines are related or just a portfolio of investments
• Define the company’s strategy such as related or unrelated diversification
• Determine if the strategy changed over time
• Discuss the implementation of the strategy to date and explain why it was or was not successful
• Identify the generic competitive strategies such as differentiation, low-cost, focus, etc.
• Identify the investment strategies based on competition & life cycle stages
• Mention any functional strategies that help it achieve competitive advantage such as efficiency,

quality, innovation, customer responsiveness, etc.

• Investigate the impact of production, marketing, and research & development on strategy formulation
• Do the company’s structure & control systems support its corporate/business strategies?
• Does it have the right levels of hierarchy & decentralization if vertically differentiated?
• Does it employ a functional structure when a product structure is more appropriate if horizontally

differentiated?

• Are controls in place to ensure adequate compensation and reward systems?

Section III: Chapter Summary. Briefly summarize chapter 3.