09 Apr BUSU 640 Week 3 Assignment 2 Strategic Positioning and Product/Service
BUSU 640
Week 3/Assignment 2
Sections 4 & 5
Strategic Positioning and Product/Service
100 Points
Length: Up to 10 pages, double-spaced (Times New Roman, 12-point font with standard 1” margins).
Due: Sunday of Week 3 by 11:59pm. Be sure to run your draft past your writing partner before submitting your work.
Addresses Learning Outcomes: 3, 4 & 5
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- Apply what you learned in your MBA program, specifically classes MKTU 605, BUSU 630, OLCU 632 and BUSU 650.
- Cite your references. You may use your textbooks from these and other core classes in the MBA.
- Do not cut and paste from your past assignments and papers.
- This assignment includes two sections of the business plan in one paper. Apply section headers to separate the two sections in one paper.
- Be sure to fully explain your illustrations. You do not want your reader to interpret the illustrations, you must control the message. Provide an in-depth explanation of any illustrations you embed in your paper.
Section 4: Strategic Positioning
This section covers the strategic intent (measurable SMART goals) and competitor strengths and weaknesses. Last week’s situation analysis was a high-level discussion. This section calls you take it to a deeper, more granular, level.
Strengthen the situation analysis from Assignment 1 by expanding on these elements:
- Where the innovation will fit into the current marketplace
- How the strategy will be developed for success
- Provide evidence of strategic & critical thinking
- Discuss how your strategic intent will influence the business and will be assimilated into the workplace
- Describe how you will apply flexibility and agility for strategic changes through the product life cycle.
- This section should include three to four graphs describing the industry, competition, and industry evolution, all with cited data from academic and business sources. Be sure to fully explain your graphs. You do not want your reader to interpret the graphs, you must control the message.
This section should be at least five pages in length.
The narrative should also include the following:
- The history of the industry (or industries)
- Size of the industry
- Industry evolution
- The trend–where the industry is expected to be in five to ten years
- The key players in the industry (those who do something like this well and those who do not, something different)
- Perform a competitive advantage analysis (what is currently available so in the next section it can be shown how the competition)
- Barriers and challenges to entering the market
- Environmental scan
Other issues to include, as applicable:
- Copyrights, patents, & intellectual property rights
- Research & development activities
- Failures in the industry
- Opportunities
- Changes in the market
- Description if the innovation is a product or a service or a products & a service, what this product means for the industry
- Research & development activities
Section 5: Product/Service
This section covers your product/service. In the week 1 discussion forum, when you were brainstorming the product/service, you thought through your concept within the framework listed below. This section calls you to develop a narrative that takes your product/service concept to a deeper, more granular, level. Use the discussion from Week 1 to help inform this section.
Discuss your product/service in this section, include details and specifics:
- What is the problem/need the product/service solves or addresses?
- How will be product/service solve or address the customer’s need?
- What are the features, advantages and benefits of the product/service?
- Who is the customer, in demographic terms?
- What is the customer’s psychographic?
- Where is the customer located — what is the geography?
- What is the proposed marketing mix?
- How is the product/service innovative?
This section should be at least five pages in length.
Rubric
|
Criteria |
Exemplary |
Proficient |
Developing |
Emerging |
|
Industry Trends, Strategic Positioning & Product/Service Description |
40 There is strong evidence and detail, of strategic positioning, industry trends and product/ service description. There is a clear, easy to understand flow to the work. This assignment builds on Assignment 1.
|
32 There is substantial evidence and detail of strategic positioning, industry trends and the product/ service. There is a clear, flow to the work. This assignment builds on Assignment 1. |
28 There is evidence and detail of strategic positioning, industry trends and the product/ service to be offered. There is a somewhat clear and easy to understand how the product is needed. This assignment builds somewhat closely on Assignment 1. |
24 There is little evidence of strategic positioning based upon data. There is a lack of clarity about the viability of the new venture. |
|
Application (Theory to Practice) (20% of total) |
30 There are citations from the following text books in the paper: MKTU 605, BUSU 630, and BUSU 650. The concepts in the textbook and other graduate sources are clearly applied to the innovation using creative and interesting writing. |
24 There are citations from the following text books in the paper: MKTU 605, BUSU 630, and BUSU 650 The concepts in the textbook and other graduate sources are clearly applied to the innovation. |
21 There are citations from the following text books in the paper: MKTU 605, BUSU 630, and BUSU 650, but they are used as glossary terms rather than application. This means that concepts (like innovation) are described using the textbook, but not applied. |
18 There is little evidence that research was performed. There is a lack of clarity about how key concepts from core classes are applied. The paper is full of opinion and could have been written before taking the core classes in the MBA. |
|
Critical Analysis and SWOT (20% of total) |
10 Consistently employs critical analysis in discussing the issue(s). Effectively synthesizes and integrates data from research and the SWOT to draw valid conclusions, identify options, and make specific recommendations. The SWOT clearly shows research and analysis and gives clarity to strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats. |
8 Fairly consistently employs critical analysis in discussing the issue(s). Fairly effectively integrates data to draw valid conclusions, identify options, and make recommendations.. The SWOT shows research and analysis and gives some clarity to strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats which are based upon research. |
7 Somewhat employs critical analysis in discussing the issue(s). . Somewhat uses data to draw somewhat valid conclusions and make general recommendations. May not identify options The SWOT shows some research but must be reworked before going to the next assignment. |
6 Limited if any critical analysis in discussing the issue(s). Limited if any use data findings to draw conclusions, identify options and/or make recommendations. The SWOT does not show graduate level research and analysis. |
|
APA and Sources (10% of total) |
10 Uses at least ten sources scholarly sources including the text books. Accurately adhere to APA standards; reference page and citations are correct. All sources listed in References are cited in paper. |
8 Uses at least eight scholarly sources. Adheres to APA standards; reference page and citations are correct with minor (1-3) errors. All sources listed in References are cited in paper. |
7 Uses at least six scholarly sources. APA standards are somewhat followed; the work of others is cited but with numerous (4–7) errors. Sources listed in References and citations may not match. |
6 Uses less than five scholarly sources. Limited adherence to APA standards in the paper and Reference page; work of others may be cited but with multiple (8+) errors. Sources listed in References and citations do not match. |
|
Writing Mechanics (15% of total) |
10 The paper is logical and well-written; spelling, grammar and punctuation are accurate. Paper is the required length of content, and includes correctly prepared title page. |
8 The paper is logical and well-written but with minor (1 – 3) errors in spelling, grammar and/or punctuation. The content may be 5% too long or short; includes a correctly prepared title page. |
7 The paper is somewhat logical and well-written but with several (4–7) errors in spelling, grammar and/or punctuation. The content may be 10% too long or short, and may not include a correctly prepared title page |
6 The paper lacks clarity and may be confusing with numerous (8+) errors in spelling, grammar and/or punctuation. The content may be 15% too long or short, and may not include a title page |
