Discussion Question, Assignment & Peregrine Test

Week 9 discussion

“What is important in your elevator pitch?”

Please respond to the following:

• Watch the following Lynda.com videos from the video serious Giving Your Elevator Pitch with Todd Dewett:

• “Benefits to an Elevator Pitch” (2:01)

• “Making an Initial Connection” (2:43)

• “Structuring your Pitch” (3:57)

• Then, rank the following factors in order of importance when developing an elevator speech, and provide a rationale for your response.

• Speech is confident, not arrogant

• Use of positive and compelling words

• Short in duration

• General to the industry in question

• Specific to the company’s mission and company’s values

Assignment 4: Presentation

Due Week 9 and worth 70 points

After you have fleshed out your business plan you will have the information you will need for a slide presentation (e.g., PowerPoint). This 12-slide presentation conveys the most important aspects of your business in a short time. More sophisticated investors, such as angel investors and venture capitalists, will typically not look at your written business plan until they have seen your slide presentation.

Presentation (MS PowerPoint or equivalent)

1 Create a 12-slide presentation. Follow the outline on pp. 343–346 for the critical slides of your presentation and their placement. Click here for help accessing a specific page number in your eBook.

• Hints: Include the highlights of your elevator pitch, which shows that you understand your business. The elevator pitch is a concise description of your company—its product, market, competitive advantages, and so on. Whether pitching your business to an investor or describing it to a potential connection at a networking event, you need to be able explain your business succinctly to someone in the amount of time it would take to ride up a few floors in an elevator. Use the worksheet in the text (p. 362 | Your “Elevator Pitch”) to develop your elevator pitch.

• Hints: You must limit your presentation to twelve (12) slides. You do not want to overwhelm your audience with too many slides or bore them with information they already know.

2 Cite three (3) resources you have used to complete the exercise.

• Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Describe strategic planning techniques used to formulate alternative strategies designed to achieve stated business goals.

• Create a plan to implement a firm’s strategy and manage the change from current operations.

• Analyze strategies for exerting the internal leadership needed to drive the implementation of strategic initiatives and improve operating excellence.

• Use technology and information resources to research issues in strategic management.

• Write clearly and concisely about strategic management using proper writing mechanics.

Peregrine Exam (100 points)

What is the Peregrine Exam and why do I have to take it?

At the end of the course, you will complete a Program Assessment exam called the Peregrine Exam. The exam is designed to assess the foundational business knowledge that you have acquired throughout the duration of your program at Strayer. By completing this exam, you are not only evaluating your competency and understanding on each topic you have learned throughout your program but also helping to ensure that Strayer University maintains the highest quality of education in the business programs that we provide to our students.

This exam can be completed in weeks 9, 10, or 11, but the certificate of completion must be submitted through the "Submit Peregrine Assessment" link located in week 9.

Masters Student Registration Instructions:

1 Click the "Take the Peregrine Exam" link above.

2 Enter your Student ID and select your Program.

3 Click "Confirm"

4 To take the exam:

a Select the hyperlink under "Thank you, your course/exam is ready", then "Begin Exam"

b When finished, save the completion certificate and upload via the Submit Peregrine Assessment link in week 9.