Costco Case Study

Complete a case study of ABC Corporation (your instructor will assign the specific company for the case study at the beginning of Module/Week 2) . You will find the case in the case section of the text.

A formal, in-depth case study analysis requires you to utilize the entire strategic management process. Assume you are a consult asked by the ABC Corporation to analyze its external/internal environment and make strategic recommendations. You must include exhibits to support your analysis and recommendations.

The case study must include these components:

· A total of 10–12 pages of text plus the exhibits (Part 1 and Part 2)

· Cover page (must include the company name, your group name, the date of submission, and a references page; the document must follow current APA guidelines)

· Matrices, which must be exhibits/attachments in the appendix and not part of the body of the analysis (The Strategy Club has excellent templates/examples for exhibits and matrices: http://strategyclub.com/free-student-template/)

Case study deliverables (text must follow this order with current APA level headings for each component):

1. Existing mission, objectives, and strategies

2. A new mission statement (include the number of the component in parenthesis before addressing that component)

Great mission statements address these 9 components:

· Customers: Who are the firm’s customers?

· Products or services: What are the firm’s major products or services?

· Markets: Geographically, where does the firm compete?

· Technology: Is the firm technologically current?

· Concern for survival, growth, and profitability: Is the firm committed to growth and financial soundness?

· Philosophy: What are the basic beliefs, values, aspirations, and ethical priorities of the firm?

· Self-concept: What is the firm’s distinctive competence or major competitive advantage?

· Concern for public image: Is the firm responsive to social, community, and environmental concerns?

· Concern for employees: Are employees a valuable asset of the firm?

3. Analysis of the firm’s existing business model

4. SWOT Analysis (comes from researching the firm, industry, and competitors)

It is important to know the difference between causes and effects in the SWOT analysis. Causes are important, not effects. Once the SWOT Analysis is created, each group needs to construct the SWOT Bivariate Strategy Matrix.

Deliverables for this section include:

a. SWOT Analysis

b. Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) Matrix

c. External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix

d. SWOT Bivariate Strategy Matrix

5. Historical Financial Statements (Income Statement (I/S), Balance Sheet (B/S) and Statement of Cash Flows) from the 3 most current years for the firm

The financial statements must include horizontal and vertical analysis between years.

Ratios from the most current and available 3 years with analysis