Overview of the strategy papers

You must submit two papers at the end of this course. One is a team paper about Zara, a fashion retailer. The other is an individual paper about either Trader Joe’s, the grocery store chain, or about a firm of your choice (subject to my approval). If you keep Zara and your chosen firm in mind as you study, you will be able to relate many of the course's ideas to them. This should help you to learn more effectively.

The two strategy papers are the centerpiece of this course. They focus on the firm’s overall strategy and on how the logistics and supply chain management strategy (including the logistics technology strategy) supports the success of the firm and its supply chain. Doing well on these assignments shows that you understand the key concepts of both strategic management and logistics and can apply them thoughtfully to a real firm, industry, and supply chain. These two assignments will call upon you to show your understanding of strategic concepts as well as many of the key ideas covered in your earlier logistics and business coursework. That’s what capstone courses are supposed to do – introduce new material in a way that it draws upon many of the concepts learned in earlier courses within your major.

Contents of the papers

Each paper includes several major sections that will be submitted in three parts. I realize that writing a paper in parts rather than in one end-of-course submission may seem a little awkward for some of you. However, it should enable you to focus more intently on the topics as you prepare each part and thus learn those topics more thoroughly. The feedback from Parts 1 and 2 should also help you to develop a more thorough and well organized final complete paper.

Part 1 includes a broad environmental analysis and an analysis of the industry in which Zara and your chosen firm operates. Part I is about the environment and about the industry, not about the firm itself. Think about how you choose to define the “industry”. For example, you could choose to think of McDonalds as being in the restaurant industry or you could choose to think of them as being in the fast-food industry. As another example, is McGraw-Hill in the publishing industry, or the education publishing industry, or the education industry? Think carefully about what industry you choose to define for each firm and then explain that choice to the reader. Part 1 includes the first two of the nine sections;

a. Analysis of the broad environment (using the PEST or PESTLE model) in which all industries and businesses operate.

b. Analysis of the industry in which your organization operates (using the Porter’s Five Forces model). Remember to clearly explain what industry you have chosen and how you chose to define it.

Remember, these assignments exist as a way for you to show that you understand the relevant course material, not merely to answer the specific question that is asked. In this case, your submission must convince me that you understand the PEST/PESTLE model and the Five Forces model, that you understand their purpose, and that you can apply them correctly.

Part 2 includes an analysis of the organization as well as a discussion of the strategies of the various key business functions (excluding the “logistics” function) and how those functional strategies act in concert to support the success of the firm. This part of the paper is about the firm and how it is strategically taking advantage of the environment and industry in which it operates (material from Part I of the paper.). You may find it helpful to do some online exploration to be able to better address the parts of the paper. Part 2 has three sections;

a. Analysis of the firm (using the SWOT model and considering other course material such as the organizational culture.). This is a strategic logistics course so be sure to consider logistics factors as well as other factors. Consider relevant material from earlier logistics courses.

b. Description of the firm’s overall business strategy. Consider the four strategic questions in the Week 1 video clip about strategy. Consider the How We Choose to Compete model. Consider the Balanced Scorecard material. Demonstrate your understanding of how such concepts do, or do not, relate to the industry and firm. The more relevant learning you show, the better your grade.

c. Description of the key business functions (excluding “logistics”) and the functional strategies as they relate to the overall business strategy. You may find that the firm’s functions and strategies are clear and appropriate, but you may find that they are not. Either way, explain the rationale for your conclusions.

Part 3 includes an analysis of the firm’s logistics and supply chain management (LSCM) functional strategy and an analysis of the technology strategy as it relates to LSCM, with recommendations for improvement of the strategies and the key implementation activities for your firm as well as for some of its key supply chain partners. Part 3 is the most important, and longest, part of the paper because it shows how much you recall, understand, and can appropriately apply from all your business and LSCM courses, not just this BBA 435C course.

Include in either subsection a. or b. (described below) a process flow chart of the firm’s LSCM activity. The logistics process flow for Zara is certainly different in many ways than the process flow for Trader Joe’s. Your illustration and description will show how well you understand those differences and their impact on the LSCM function and the overall organization. Your grade will be influenced not by how elaborate your illustration is, but by how well it shows your understanding of the LSCM activity. See sample illustrations at the end of this document – yours may be more complicated than the ones shown.

Part 3 has five sections:

a. Describe the firm’s LSCM organization.

b. Describe the firm’s LSCM strategy and how it relates to the overall business strategy (using material from the reading assignment “Supply Chain Strategies – Which One Hits the Mark”). Does the LSCM strategy support the overall business strategy or does the LSCM drive the overall business strategy (refer to material from Week 1.)?

c. Logistics includes multiple elements including inventory management, warehouse management, packaging and materials handling, transportation, etc. Explain which major elements are most affected by the overall organizational strategy, how they are affected, and how the logistics management team should deal with the impacts.

d. Describe the technology strategy as it relates to the LSCM strategy. Explain which logistics elements are most affected and why they are affected.

e. FOR THE INDIVIDUAL PAPER - Make recommendations for improvement of the logistics and technology strategies (using material from “Supply Chain Strategy”).

e. FOR THE ZARA PAPER – As noted in a Week 7 assignment, Zara is

faced with potentially changing social opinions about the environmental impacts of the concept of fast fashion apparel. Describe the potential consequences for Zara’s overall business strategy and for the logistics organizational strategy. What, if anything, could the logistics organization do to deal with the potential change in customer attitudes?

This is NOT an assignment with 10 Questions

Students too-often want to think of each of the three submissions as three separate assignments in which they are asked to answer specific questions. That is not true and a submission that treats it that way will nearly always receive a poor grade. These papers are your opportunity to show how well you can use the concepts and tools you learned during your logistics studies to understand and analyze Zara and Trader Joe’s (or the firm of your choice). You may address each section correctly but still receive an unsatisfactory grade if you do not show that you understand the interrelationship between the sections. For example;

· Your discussion of the firm’s SWOT elements should have some relationship to the results of your PESTLE and Five Forces analyses.

· Your analysis of the firm’s overall strategy should include a description of how the strategy does, or does not, address some of the key points from the PESTLE, Five Forces, and SWOT analysis.

Submitting the Assignments

You will submit Part 1 and Part 2 separately. Later, you will revise them, using the feedback you receive from me and new insights you will gain as you work on the papers. Then you will combine the revised Parts 1 and 2 with the new Part 3 to create your full paper that will be the final submittal.

On the surface, it looks as if Part 1 and Part 2 are relatively unimportant because each is worth only 5% of the course grade (see the course syllabus for grading information). However, when I grade the final paper I will be factoring in the quality of Part 1 and Part 2 (revised as necessary) as part of the determination of your score for the overall paper. Part 3 on the logistics, supply chain and technology strategies will be the most important section because it is the main purpose behind this course, but the other two parts will be read and compared to your first submissions. Thus Part 1 and Part 2 will affect your grade a second time.

Selecting a firm for your individual paper

Zara is the firm for your team paper, but you have a choice for your individual paper. Make sure that you will have a lot of logistics-related information and/or recommendations to provide – don’t study a firm for which logistics and supply chain management is of trivial importance (examples of poor choices include Allstate Insurance, IBM Consulting, Schwab Financial Services, the branch office of a bank, etc.)

For most students, "your firm" will be your current employer. For these students, the logistics strategy paper assignment is designed to accomplish three goals. First, studying strategy in detail in the context of a real firm operating in a real industry should lead to the development of a much greater level of understanding of many of the concepts in this course. Second, the knowledge you gain about your firm during this assignment should prepare you for career advancement. By developing a sophisticated understanding of the strategic logic of your firm and the various relevant logistics activities you will become a more effective employee in your current position and will also be more fully prepared for promotion. Third, this exercise should provide you with a good opportunity to interact with members of your firm's and/or function’s top management team as you interview some of them about the firm's strategic logic. This interaction with management could also enhance your chances for promotion. However, the paper does not have to focus on your current employer.

Consider one potential danger if you plan to write about your own firm. Top management or government security may prevent you from including various relevant pieces of information in your paper. Check with your firm's leadership in advance if this might be an issue.

If you plan to change employers after graduating or are not currently working you may choose to write your paper about a firm for which you would like to work in the future, including information about the industry and the supply chain(s) in which that firm participates. In this case, view the paper as a way to prepare yourself to dazzle a corporate recruiter from that fie. Given that you would have less ability to obtain detailed information about the chosen firm in this situation because you don't work for that firm, it would be acceptable for your paper to provide more focus on the industry as well as the important upstream and/or downstream industries in the chosen firm’s supply chain to compensate for the lack of detail on the chosen firm.

Note that your "firm" does not have to be a for-profit firm for this assignment to work effectively. Governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations have strategies, even if those strategies are not profit driven. Just be sure that logistics is a relevant part of the business.

It doesn’t matter if the firm you choose is well run or poorly run. Ditto for the supply chain. If well run, I expect you to do a good job of reporting on the firm’s strategic logic and the ways in which its functions, particularly logistics, support the firm’s success. You do not need to provide a lot of recommendations for improvement if little improvement is needed. Conversely, if your firm and/or supply chain are poorly run, not guided by much formal strategizing at all, then you won’t be able to provide a lot of discussion of the strategic logic being used. But you will be able to provide a lot of thoughtful recommendations for improvement.

Some writing-related considerations – writing matters.

Your understanding of logistics concepts is obviously critical, but so are your abilities to think critically in general and your skill at communicating your ideas. Remember that this paper is your opportunity to show relevant course and overall LSCM learning. Show me what you have learned so that I can give you the grade you have earned.

Your writing skill will influence your grade. I will provide some writing-related feedback on your Part 1 and Part 2 submissions, but this is not a writing course and I will not text-edit your submissions. There are many resources available to help you submit a grammatically correct paper. For example;

· You can use the Microsoft Word grammar and spell-checking tools.

· You can use editing apps such as Grammarly or Paper Rater.

· You can obtain tutoring from the NAU- Yuma Writing Center.

· You may find it beneficial to have a proficient writer whom you know to review and edit your submission before you turn them in.

The paper must be written using APA guidelines. This is not a strict requirement for all aspects of the paper, but each submission should have a cover page, an introduction, a closing, and a references section. The text should be 12-point type. You may find it useful, or even necessary, to use figures, tables, or illustrations to help supplement your writing and thus fully show how much you have learned. They should have appropriate and properly formatted titles. The papers should include an introduction and conclusion, as should the major sections.

A typical high scoring Part 1 submission is about 1,200 – 2,000 words long. Part 2 is about the same length. The integrated final paper is about 4,000 – 6,000 words long. (For example, the paper you are reading now is about 3,200 words and 7 pages long including the figures at the end.). These are rough estimates for three reasons. First, organizations differ so sometimes a specific part of the paper may require more explanation or analysis for one organization than would be needed for a different organization. Second, some of you write more clearly and efficiently than others. Third, remember that the goal is to show relevant course learning, and relevant learning from earlier LSCM courses. Some of you will have learned more than others and will be motivated to fully show that learning so that you will likely earn a higher grade.

Checklist:

1. Is my paper well written – grammatically correct, well organized, clearly written, appropriately referenced, and generally APA compliant? Does the paper include an introduction and conclusion? Do all the major sections have introductions and conclusions?

2. Does my paper address all ten sections described above? Does my paper tie together the information from all ten sections to provide a strategic analysis of the firm?

3. Does my paper show all my relevant learning from this and earlier logistics courses? Do I want my grade to be based on the learning shown in this paper?

Please contact me if you want to discuss any aspect of the papers.

Continued on the next page

Four examples of a logistics process flow.