THE FORD COMPANY
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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1
Industry Overview
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Main Competitors
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Porter’s Five Forces
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PEST-D Analysis
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Industry Statistics
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Company Analysis
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SWOT Analysis
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Current Ratios
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Recommendations
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REC 1: Decrease Music Section,
Add a Textbook Section
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REC 2: Restructure Marketing Strategy
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REC 3: Offer Monthly Plan for Nook
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Conclusion
References
Appendices
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APPX A: Comparing Current Ratios
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APPX B: Explanations of Financial Impacts
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APPX C: 5 Year Forecast
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………1
Industry Analysis……………………………………………….…………………...2
External Environment…………………………………………………3
Porter’s Five Forces…………………………………………………….4
Key Industry Issues……………………………………………………..5
Key Success Factors…………………………………………………….6
Opportunities and Threats………………………………………….7
Company Analysis…………………………………………………..………………8
Company Overview…………………………………………………….9
Company Structure…………………………………………………..10
Sales……………………….………………………………………………..11
Organizational Structure…………………………………………..12
Suppliers and Customers…………………………..……………..13
Marketing Strategies………………………………………………..14
Competitor Profile: Borders Group, Inc…………………….15
Competitor Profile: Books-A-Million…………………………16
Competitor Profile: Amazon.com, Inc……………………….17
Market Share……………………………………………………………18
Benchmarking……………………………………............…………..……..…19
Liquidity Ratios………………………………………………..….……20
Profitability Ratios………………………………………..…………..21
Debt Ratios………………………………………………………….……23
Strengths and Weaknesses………………………………..….….24
SWOT Summary…………………………………………………….….25
Recommendations…………………………………………………..…………..26
Recommendations Overview……………………………….……27
Print on Demand…………………………………………......……...28
Improve Customer Loyalty Program…….….………………..32
Expand Marketing With Text Message Alerts…….……….36
Expanding the Digital Bookstore…………………….….………40
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….…..44
Works Cited and Appendices (Should be listed with
titles)……………………………………………..…45
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Introduction to the topic:
INTRODUCTION
12 pt font
The purpose of the report
An overview of how you will go about presenting the material
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Overview of the section about to cover
12pt font
Intro to topic of the section. You may state your thesis for the section.
Why you are covering it
How you are covering it
Example:
The auto industry is plagued by high executive pay, operations inefficiencies, high healthcare costs etc etc. Industry profit margins have
declined steadily in the last 2 decades. In this section we analyze the auto industry by conducting a PEST analysis to identify the factors
contributing to the auto industry’s decline and utilizing Porter’s Five Forces Model to understand the competitive nature of the industry.
We conclude this section by summarizing the findings from our analysis and indicating the key success factors critical to the success of
industry’s players.
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
Fiscal Year 2005 Annual Report
1st Qtr.
Quarter Ended
2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr.
4th Qtr.
Total
Fiscal year 2003
Revenue
$7,746
$8,541
$7,835
$8,065
$32,187
Gross profit
6,402
6,404
6,561
6,761
26,128
Net income
2,041
1,865
2,142
1,483
7,531
Basic earnings per share
0.19
0.17
0.2
0.14
0.7
Diluted earnings per share
0.19
0.17
0.2
0.14
0.69
$8,215
$10,153
$9,175
$9,292
$36,835
Gross profit
6,735
7,809
7,764
7,811
30,119
Net income
2,614
1,549
1,315
2,690
8,168
Basic earnings per share
0.24
0.14
0.12
0.25
0.76
Diluted earnings per share
0.24
0.14
0.12
0.25
0.75
$9,189
$10,818
$9,620
$10,161
$39,788
Gross profit
7,720
8,896
8,221
8,751
33,588
Net income
Fiscal year 2004
Revenue
Fiscal Year 2004
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
Market Risk
Fiscal year 2005
Revenue
2,528
3,463
2,563
3,700
12,254
Basic earnings per share
0.23
0.32
0.24
0.34
1.13
Diluted earnings per share
0.23
0.32
0.23
0.34
1.12
(1) Includes charges totaling $750 million (pre-tax) related to the Fabrikam settlement and
$1.15 billion in impairments of investments.
(2) Includes stock-based compensation charges totaling $2.2 billion for the employee stock
option transfer program.
(3) Includes charges totaling $756 million (pre-tax) related to Contoso subsidiaries and other
matters.
Narrative should be in 12 pt font
Add narrative to summarize
your interpretations of data and
what you are concluding. The so
what question.
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INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
1st Year Sales Figures
Market Distribution
Financial Summary
Our perennial 3rd Quarter boost was larger than expected
contributing to an exceptionally strong year. Distribution of sales
across the geographic markets looks fairly steady.
Our new product line, released this year, is early in its adoption
phase. We expect to see substantial revenue contribution from
these products over the next two years.
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and full justify
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Product Division
Business Process Model
2002
2003
2004
2005
10.3 %
12.1%
13.2%
17.0%
1.3%
2.3%
2.2%
2.7%
Services
12.0%
11.0%
8.9%
9.2%
Widget Sales
78.0%
82.3%
82.5%
84.0%
Installations
5.3%
7.9%
12.2%
15.1%
Electronics
Consumer Goods
Operating
Changing
Supporting
(1) Percentages based on domestic comparison to competitors in directly related
industries.
(2) Percentages based on standing at the end of each fiscal year.
(3) Values provided by a third party agency.
Optimizing
On the last page of each section include a summary of the main
lessons learned. The lessons learned would carry over to other
sections and be linked to your recommendations. This helps the
flow of the argument throughout the report.
Contoso
Design
Manufacturing
Quality
Assurance
Section
Summary
Summary
Organizational Structure
Product
Development
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
Market Share by Division
Human
Resources
Headquarters
Subsidiaries
Finance
Summaries of industry analysis may include opportunities and
threats.
Example:
In summary, it is clear that environmental concerns and the
fluctuating prices of oil have affected consumer demands for
American cars and changed the focus of automakers on producing
more fuel efficient cars. IT innovations present further
opportunities to enhance consumer experiences and increase
demand.
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Overview of the section about to cover
12pt font
Intro to topic of the section.
You may state your thesis for the section.
Why you are covering it
How you are covering it
Link the section to the previous section
Example:
The previous section identified key success factors necessary for success in the auto industry today. In this section we analyze the Ford
company in light of these factors. Our analysis will include a review of Ford’s current performance and plans. We conclude this section by
identifying For’s main strengths and weaknesses. (you may list the strengths and weaknesses here too).
COMPANY ANALYSIS
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Make sure these
headings are 14
pt font (heading
level 2)
COMPANY ANALYSIS
Company background
Cost
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INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
Summary
Summarize the company analysis by highlighting the main
strength and weaknesses. Particularly, the main weakness they
are facing and must address. You may reiterate the main issues by
presenting the SWOT summary.
Summary of
section
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S
W
O
T
COMPANY ANALYSIS
Summary of
SWOT
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Overview of the section about to cover
12pt font
Link the analysis to the recommendation:
Restate the main problems and opportunities identified through your analysis (and listed in the SWOT).
State that you will provide a number of recommendations to address problems and opportunities.
You may list your recommendations
Example:
As identified in our analysis, the Ford company suffers from a number of problems and opportunities. We identify inefficiencies in
operations and high executive pay to be the most significant of their problems. In the following section we provide two recommendations
to address these problems. Our following section will illustrate that our recommendations will decrease operation costs by 20% and
company moral. Each recommendations section will conclude with a detailed financial forecast to illustrate the impact of each
recommendation.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Problem
Recommendation
High Executive Pay
Restructuring Reward System
Inefficient Operations
Business Process Reengineering
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i. What it is
ii. Why (situate in the SWOT)
iii. How
iv. Implications: financial and overall benefits
v. Limitations
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation 1: Restructure Reward System
Why
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation 1: Restructure Reward System
Summary
Reiterate the problem and solution. Also restate the financial
impact.
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i. What it is
ii. Why (situate in the SWOT)
iii. How
iv. Implications: financial and overall benefits
v. Limitations
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation 2: Business Process Reengineering
Why
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation 2: Business Process (cont.)
Reengineering
Summary
Reiterate the problem and solution. Also restate the financial
impact.
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CONCLUSION
Restate the purpose of the report.
Restate the main findings of your analysis.
Identify your recommendations and how they might impact the company.
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REFERENCES
Refer to communications quick guide
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APPENDICES
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