RECENT ASSIGNMENT

SPRING 2019 MGMT4308
CASE STUDY PROJECT TWO INSTRUCTIONS Dr. Charlie Huang
Case Subject:
Grocery Stores in U.S.A. (SIC: 5411 NAICS: 445110)
Industry Description:
“Stores, commonly known as supermarkets, food stores, and grocery stores, primarily engaged in the retail sale of all sorts of canned foods and dry goods, such as tea, coffee, spices, sugar, and flour; fresh fruits and vegetables; and fresh and prepared meats, fish, and poultry.” (SIC definition)
“This industry comprises establishments generally known as supermarkets and grocery stores primarily engaged in retailing a general line of food, such as canned and frozen foods; fresh fruits and vegetables; and fresh and prepared meats, fish, and poultry. Included in this industry are delicatessen-type establishments primarily engaged in retailing a general line of food.” (NAICS definition)
Project Tasks
Please analyze the external environment of the Grocery Stores in U.S.A. based on the following six segments: Demographic, Economic, Political/Legal, Socio-Cultural,
Technological, and Global. You will need to search in UHV library and other reliable sources from the Internet for data, reports, and other resources as references of your project report.
The outcome of your analysis is an essay with 5-7 pages (double-spaced, 12 pt “Times New Roman” font, 1-inch margins, excluding cover page, exhibits, and references) in “Word” or “PDF” format.
The case analysis will be extremely helpful to your capstone case analysis in MGMT4309 (strategic management) class.
Guideline and Requirements
A. Read this whole document twice.
B. Read the sample essay in the case project folder to get a rough idea about what to include and how to analyze. But keep in mind that you need to follow the length requirement specified in this document.
C. Read the related book chapters AND the three documents provided in the case project folder.
D. Structure: Your essay should include the following components:
a. Cover page;
b. Executive summary (less than one page);
c. Main body of analysis including the six segments. Read the structure guide in the project instructions. You need to follow that structure in your writing, but you can add more sections and details if you think necessary.
d. Summary and integration (about one page)
e. A reference list (with at least five entries).
E. You need to do research on data and reports on the industry through UHV online library and the Internet. See the following section for details.
F. Format: You need to follow APA writing style. Here is a guide for APA format:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/.
G. Submission deadline: May 15th (Wednesday), mid-night through Blackboard project folder. No draft submission before the deadline required. Please submit your final paper a few days before the deadline so that you can have time to revise if the similarity rate is high. You can have multiple submissions but only your last attempt will be graded.
Some Important Data Sources
A. We need external data, reports, and other resources to make our analysis a quality work. UHV Library (http://libguides.uhv.edu/c.php?g=155282&p=1019315; UHV account logon required.) offers more specific and proprietary research databases that are normally not publicly available:
One Source Global Business Browser;
Business Source Complete
Business Insights Global IBISWorld
Regional Business News
LexisNexis Academic
B. Please find a sample industry report I downloaded and posted in the same folder as this document.
C. Scholar.google.com, Google.com, and possibly Yahoo.com can give you a lot of information, but you need to verify the sources, only academic sources or those from serious trading journals can be trusted.
D. If you want to narrow down your data search, you can get resources from scholar.google.com. Most of resources from that site are reliable.
Detailed Instructions and Hints
1. Executive Summary Hints:
A. Keep in mind that an ES is not an abstract. Many resources on how to write a good summary are available by searching on the Internet.
B. Length suggestion: Half to one page (APA writing style)
2. Main body General Environmental Analysis General Hints:
A. Read the readings in the case study folder. Also refer to the sample essay for some hints.
B. The structure of your analysis for each segment should be:
a. A few sentences about what the factors are, in each segment, that may have significant impact on our industry and related industries.
b. For each segment, please follow this sequence to analyze: 1) use a few sentences briefly describing all the factors that you think critical; 2) for each factor use 1-2 paragraphs discussing general relationship between the factor and our focal industry (and related industries), the trend of the factor (e.g., increasing/decreasing, more/less important, etc.); and then the expected resulting changes in our focal industry.
c. Please start your analysis on those factors using “the first factor in this segment is….”, “the second factor…” to make your analysis logical and organized. C. The unit of your analysis should be industry.
Hints for Demographic Segment:
You are expected to analyze the impact of demographic factors on our industry and related industries. You need to some historical (longitudinal) data to show the correlation and also estimate the future trend.
Topics you may discuss include changes in population and demographic characters, and so on. Please read the provided articles for more guidance.
Hints for Economic Segment:
Topics you may discuss include the impact of economic development (and fluctuation) on the growth of our industry (directly and indirectly); please read the provided articles for more guidance.
Hints for Political/Legal Segment:
This is about the direct and indirect impact of political and legal environment on our industry. Possible topics include political climate, regulations and laws, and their evolution over time and resulting impact on the industries in question. Please read the provided articles for more guidance.
Hints for Socio-Cultural Segment:
Socio-cultural environment refers to the societal and cultural values of a population and their changes related to our industry. Please read the provided articles for more guidance.
Hints for Technological Segment:
This is about the technological development in general and its impact on our industry and related industries. Please read the provided articles for more guidance.
Hints for Global Segment:
This is about the status quo of globalization of our industry and the future trends of our industry because of the increasing globalization. You can start with the following aspects: globalization of the market (i.e., international trade); globalization of the production and outsourcing; and also localization and community engagement as anti-globalization advocate. Please read the provided articles for more guidance.
3. Summary Hints:
A. You should try to integrate the different segment together besides a good summarization.
B. Offer some implications of your analysis.
C. Length suggestion: one page (APA writing style).
4. References Hint:
Please follow APA format to list the references. Also you need to cite them properly in your text.
Academic Honesty
1. The University’s policies related to academic honesty will be strictly enforced.
2. Your work on this assignment must be entirely your own. Your submission is subject to the similarity check by Turnitin.com. A submission with 20% or higher similarity rate will receive a failing score.
3. Situations in which 2 or more students are alleged to have been involved in a conspiracy to cheat will be referred to the Provost and/or Academic Council as discussed in the Student Handbook.
4. By completing and submitting this assignment, you acknowledge that you have read, and have agreed to, the above rules relating to Academic Honesty.