Assignment Overview

This will be conducting a strategic analysis of Pepsico. The outcome of this paper is to use a completed external and internal analysis of Pepsico in the completion of a SWOT.

This is a continuation of my first assignment. You’ll find the completed first assignment posted separately below (see attached).

Case Assignment

In a 7- to 10-page paper, integrate your external and internal company analysis, completing a formal company SWOT.

Required Reading: Read the following scenario carefully before you proceed.

• I’ll add a separate list of more COURSE MATERIALS to cite below (remember to closely support premises of thought with course material)
• This is a continuation of my first assignment. You’ll find the completed first assignment posted separately below (see attached).
• Note: Reflect on the above—and analyze critically though you will want to consult the library, some websites, and other resources. Cite your sources, and do not copy-and-paste material directly from those resources. Use direct quotations sparingly, if at all.

Keys to the Assignment

Consider yourself a consultant hired by the company to make these critical assessments. There are no right or wrong answers to the questions – however, your position must be well-defended.

Include section headings in all papers.

Cite and reference all sources, including those that you paraphrase. This means include citations and quotation marks for direct quotes, and citations for information you have “borrowed” or paraphrased from other sources.

Step 1: Perform research, and complete an industry analysis using each of the Five Forces in Porter’s model. Support your analysis with current financial, operational, and marketing data.

Step 2: Complete your external analysis using each of the four elements in the PEST analysis. When considering economic data, use the most current data you can find.

Step 3: Write up the results of your external analysis, and be sure to label the impact of each of the Five Forces as high, moderate, or low. Taken together, the Five Forces analysis and the PEST analysis should lead to conclusions about the overall opportunities and threats facing Pepsico as revealed by your research. All data and factual information that you report in your Five Forces and PEST analysis must be properly cited using APA style.

Step 4: Conduct a critical and thorough internal analysis of Pepsico, assessing as many of the company’s key internal strengths and weaknesses as you can. Consider the operations, customer service, finance, human resources management, and marketing functions. See the following website, as it will help you decide which strengths and weaknesses you might wish to evaluate: http://www.businessballs.com/swotanalysisfreetempl…

Step 5: Discuss the results of your internal analysis, including your conclusions concerning the strengths and weaknesses facing Pepsico.

Step 6: Synthesize your internal analysis with your external environmental analysis, formulating a complete SWOT analysis. Provide a SWOT diagram (include as an Appendix – not as part of the written analysis) in which you show – in each of the four quadrants – the most important 3-4 company strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Each of these should be discussed thoroughly within your written analysis.

Based on your SWOT, give very specific and informed recommendations as to what the company should do. Give your overall analysis—does the company have more strengths than weaknesses? More weaknesses than strengths? Whatever you decide, you need to recommend (with strong, convincing support) what you believe should be the company’s strategy — in response to your collective assessment of the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You must demonstrate evidence of critical thinking – do not simply restate facts you have learned about the company. Interpret the data and factual information you have found instead.

Step 7: 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:

• Executive summary: This is a synopsis of the main points, conclusions and recommendations made in the longer report. If you would like a refresher on writing an executive summary, check this website: 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. Delineate separate topics or sections with section headings.
• Conclusion: Summarize your paper in the light of your thesis statement.

Note: Reflect on the above—and analyze critically though you will want to consult the library, some websites, and other resources. Cite your sources, and do not copy-and-paste material directly from those resources. Use direct quotations sparingly, if at all.

Assignment Expectations

This is a continuation of my first assignment. You’ll find the completed first assignment posted separately below (see attached).

In a 7- to 10-page paper (not including the cover page and reference pages), integrate your external and internal company analysis, completing a formal company SWOT. Study the theoretical concepts provided in the Background materials (see attached), and identify main strategy concepts.

Consider yourself a consultant hired by the company to make these critical assessments. There are no right or wrong answers to the questions – however, your position must be well-defended.

I’ll add a separate list of more COURSE MATERIALS to cite below (remember to closely support premises of thought with course material)

Things to pay particular attention to:

• Assignment-Driven Criteria –center your focus on each stated requirement
• Critical Thinking –closely support premises of thought with course material.
• Business Writing – Organize your thoughts. Please consider the MEAL paragraph organizational tool – Main Idea, Evidence(reference support) , Analysis(breakdown and discussion) , Link- refer back to main idea. (area for improvement)
• Effective Use of Information – Application of the key concepts
• Citing Sources – Deployment of in text citations in support of your thoughts

Tips:

• Use section headings as appropriate. Use graphs, charts, or figures strategically – but do not use these as “space fillers.” Include large graphs, etc., as 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.
• NOTE: 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 how it relates to the ways in which markets operate. To this extent, you need to rely on models, financial analysis, and theories. In addition, the simulation will give you some additional market information as you progress. Crunch the numbers and present your data analysis professionally by creating some simple tables, charts, and graphs.