...Unit 8 Assignment MBA 5101 1. In this case study; the firm Williams-Sonoma has exhibited great models of developing of his organization in a short period of time using a wide variety of strategies. That can provide benchmarks for firm to follow. They outlined the organization’s objective strategies that aligned with the business’s mission and helped the firm reach it objectives. This was the foundation that proved to successfully grow William-Sonoma. This business started by providing high-end culinary and serving equipment. Over time they started diversifying into other business areas. The modern William-Sonoma offers specialty products such as decoration and furnishing for the home. Over the next five year, Williams-Sonoma has the opportunity to capture a variety of markets, by providing superior products to increase shares in the industry. The company would be able to satisfy the needs of every consumer and potential consumer in all segments of decoration and home furnishings home. The company would be able to dominate the market and would achieve its target in both channels, retail and direct to customers. It would bolster Williams-Sonoma brand image and will achieve and maintain the competitive advantage in the home decoration market by his applying a distinctive strategies ties in the company’s mission with the organization’s goals and results in growth. 2. In the case, proves that Williams-Sonoma is constantly increasing its organization’s growth with its distinctive...
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...Williams-Sonoma is a nationwide specialty retailer that sells high quality, upscale products for the home through its 478 retail stores and various direct-to-customer channels. Its retail concepts are comprised of Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, Chambers, West Elm and Hold Everything. Williams-Sonoma, a San Francisco based company, generated $2,361 million in revenue dollars. The company employs approximately 6,000 people nationwide. The organization rates a 10 in job satisfaction because it pays well and offers excellent health benefits; however, opportunities for advancement are limited locally due to employee loyalty and long tenures. It rates a 12 on the functioning of small groups due to its commitment to customer service and its ability to maintain a 98% service level of a two day product delivery within its direct-to-customer channels. Company culture rates an 11 because of high employee loyalty. Its employees are highly committed and loyal to the company in partly due to its "Friends and Family" referral program, in which employees are allowed to refer friends and family for work during peak shipping seasons. The average tenure in the distribution center is between 6-10 years. Finally, Williams-Sonoma rates a 12 in organizational performance because of its high product delivery rate, high customer service level and high customer. Analyze key elements of training and development geared toward improving the performance of the specific...
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...Valued at 1 April, 2007 Matthew Lewis: matthew.lewis@ttu.edu Tyler Page: tyler.page@ttu.edu Alex Segreti: alexander.l.segreti@ttu.edu Andrea Spencer: andrea.spencer@ttu.edu Stephen Wiggins: stephen.wiggins@ttu.edu Table of Contents Executive Summary Business & Industry Analysis. Five Forces Model Rivalry Among Existing Firms Threat of New Entrants Threat of Substitute Products Bargaining Power of Buyers Bargaining Power of Suppliers Competitive Advantage Analysis Key Success Factors Accounting Analysis Key Accounting Policies Accounting Flexibility Accounting Strategy Quality of Disclosure Revenue Manipulation Diagnostics Expense Manipulation Diagnostics Potential “Red Flags” Undo Accounting Distortions Ratio Analysis Forecast Financials Liquidity Analysis Profitability Analysis Capital Structure Analysis Extended Ratio Analysis SGR and IGR Analysis Forecasting Valuation Analysis Cost of Equity Cost of Debt WACC Method of Comparables Intrinsic Valuation Models Altman Z-Score Analyst Recommendation Appendix Works Cited 1 3 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 14 16 16 18 20 21 23 26 29 30 31 31 37 44 46 47 47 61 61 66 67 68 72 78 79 80 84 2 Executive Summary Investment Recommendation: Overvalued, Sell BBBY – NASDAQ $40.40 52 week range $30.92 - $43.32 Revenue (2006) $5,809,562,000 Market Capitalization $11.75 Billion Shares Outstanding 283,380,000 3-month Avg. Daily Trading Volume 2,332,640 ...
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...Valued at 1 April, 2007 Matthew Lewis: matthew.lewis@ttu.edu Tyler Page: tyler.page@ttu.edu Alex Segreti: alexander.l.segreti@ttu.edu Andrea Spencer: andrea.spencer@ttu.edu Stephen Wiggins: stephen.wiggins@ttu.edu Table of Contents Executive Summary Business & Industry Analysis. Five Forces Model Rivalry Among Existing Firms Threat of New Entrants Threat of Substitute Products Bargaining Power of Buyers Bargaining Power of Suppliers Competitive Advantage Analysis Key Success Factors Accounting Analysis Key Accounting Policies Accounting Flexibility Accounting Strategy Quality of Disclosure Revenue Manipulation Diagnostics Expense Manipulation Diagnostics Potential “Red Flags” Undo Accounting Distortions Ratio Analysis Forecast Financials Liquidity Analysis Profitability Analysis Capital Structure Analysis Extended Ratio Analysis SGR and IGR Analysis Forecasting Valuation Analysis Cost of Equity Cost of Debt WACC Method of Comparables Intrinsic Valuation Models Altman Z-Score Analyst Recommendation Appendix Works Cited 3 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 14 16 16 18 20 21 23 26 29 30 31 31 37 44 46 47 47 61 61 66 67 68 72 78 79 80 84 1 2 Executive Summary Investment Recommendation: Overvalued, Sell BBBY – NASDAQ $40.40 52 week range $30.92 - $43.32 Revenue (2006) $5,809,562,000 Market Capitalization $11.75 Billion Shares Outstanding 283,380,000 3-month Avg. Daily Trading Volume 2,332,640 Institutional Ownership 83.40% Insider Ownership 3.70% Book Value Per Share (mrq) $9...
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...gonzaga.edu URL: http://barney.gonzaga.edu/~chen Office: to be announced Office hour: to be announced and by appointment Required text: 1. Pearlson, K.E. and Saunders, C.S, Managing and Using Information Systems, Wiley, 2006 (3nd edition) 2. A package of Harvard Business School Case Studies Additional Readings and Cases: Class handouts as needed. Course Description and Goals This course is designed to provide the current and future managers with understanding and appreciation of the issues that are related to the organization’s information technology assets. The course is not to educate technical specialists, rather, it is to give students a managerial perspective on the use of, design of, and evaluations of information systems that exist in organizations today. The objective of this course is to prepare students to manage information services in both today’s and tomorrow’s environment with its managerial, social, political, ethical and global issues. Conduct of the Course All students are expected to read the assigned materials (text, end-of-chapter discussion board questions (DBQ) and Harvard Business School case studies- HBC) before coming to the class. Some days we will discuss the materials in the text book. You are expected to be prepared to actively participate in this discussion, answering questions such as “What are the issues involved in ...?”, “What do the authors mean by ...?”, and “Give an example...
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...global position in a highly saturated and competitive industry by analyzing their financial portfolio, corporate culture and competitive environment. Based upon our analysis we will suggest strategies to maintain a competitive advantage and for future expansion. 3. Mission and Vision RR Donnelley’s mission is to become the industry leader by providing high quality products and services. The company aims to deliver these products and services with a 100% customer satisfaction. This is achieved by RR Donnelley’s superior customer feedback initiatives. The company’s vision is to become an industry leader in the “go green” effort by providing products and services to consumers in digital format and recycled stationary. RR Donnelley also aims to become the leader in the printing industry on a global scale while keeping its competitive advantage in dynamic, hi-tech printing. RR Donnelley’s primary strength is their strong innovative capabilities. These capabilities have allowed the company to be the first to introduce many new products, such as a 60 foot wide speed ink jet digital press which was released in October, 2010 (DataMonitor 2010). Another important strength is a result of the company’s size. With recognition and operations worldwide, RR Donnelley has created a strategic portfolio for nearly every business solution. This allows the company to win more contracts, leading to company...
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...winery’s proactive commitment to environmental policies and the significant environmental advances it had already made. Matt believed that considerable progress had been made on the company’s EMS. With Cal/EPA’s assistance, BFW had developed a formal environmental policy, identified and prioritized its environmental impacts, and established objectives and targets. However, there were still many steps to be carried out in establishing a full-fledged EMS. Further development would require time-consuming efforts in writing standardized operating procedures and in establishing document control and recordkeeping procedures. Also, because Matt and Chris Copyright © 2003 by Murray Silverman and Tom Lanphar. The authors gratefully acknowledge a Business and International Education (BIE) grant from the U.S. Department of Education and a...
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...Assignment A – Northern Rush Date: Oct 2, 2015 To: Mr. Murray James and his partners From: External Consulting Group Subject: Macro and Micro Analysis of Northern Rush Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to work with your company. As requested, we have evaluated the your business plan using PESTE and Porter’s five forces in order to give you a deeper understanding of the industry your company will be working in. We take a strategic and marketing view in this analysis and we will be following this up with a more accounting and finance focused analysis of your company. From our research, we would like to highlight the following conclusions: 1. The strategy of Northern Rush should be cost leadership. 2. There exists a substantial amount of competition in this industry. 3. Northern Rush has a unique advantage due to its marketing strategy and social benefits. The remaining of this memo will make a complete analysis of PESTE and porter’s five forces, their effect on Northern Rush, and the key factors that will lead to Northern Rush’s success. PESTE There are no significant political or environmental issues that affect Northern Rush. Economic: * The Canadian market for home furnishing has recovered more quickly than their US counterpart. * The recent reduction in oil prices has lowered delivery costs for firms. * The cost of borrowing is low if Northern Rush decides to seek external financing. * The home furnishing industry...
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...Restoration Hardware is a retailer of furniture, hardware, and home accessories such as bathroom fixtures and decorative furnishings. The company is based in California; it started operations in 1979 and incorporated in 1987. The company sells through multiple channels: a network of 103 retail stores and six outlet stores across the United States and Canada, a print mail-order catalog, and its Web site. Restoration Hardware is a major player in an industry that includes competitors such as Pottery Barn, Pier 1, and Williams Sonoma. Restoration employs 3,800 workers, 1,600 of those full-time. Restoration's business strategy puts the company in a unique sector of the marketplace. Restoration focused from the start on merchandise that honors classic America. The company's original furniture and fixtures were designed to match the d'cor and form of older houses. Today, when you walk into a Restoration Hardware store, the merchandise clearly evokes images of the past. Many products, such as portable record players or wooden toys, are intent on inspiring feelings of tradition, if not nostalgia, in older generations of customers. The younger generations may recognize these products from reruns of old television shows and movies set in the times of their parents and grandparents. Many of these products are difficult to find elsewhere and they are very appealing. Up front, the company knows what it wants to do and has maintained a consistent vision. According to Ed Weller, an analyst...
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...Thompson−Strickland−Gamble: Crafting and Executing Strategy: Concepts and Cases, 14th Edition Benziger Family Winery Case © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2004 1 case Benziger Family Winery Murray Silverman San Francisco State University 36 Tom Lanphar California Department of Toxic Substances Control had been the primary participants developing the system, the rest of the organization would have to become involved and staff training would be required. In light of the financial investments and time that would be required from management and employees, Matt and Chris had to decide whether to aggressively pursue ISO 14001 certification. The alternative was to continue to develop an EMS as time and resources permitted, leaving open the possibility of eventually pursuing ISO 14001 certification. M att Atkinson, ranch manager at Benziger Family Winery (BFW), was overseeing the development of the winery’s environmental management system (EMS). Matt was working with Chris Benziger, partner and national sales manager, to ensure that development of the EMS was consistent with BFW’s operational and strategic direction. It was February 2003 and Matt and Chris had already invested countless hours in the EMS, which was being developed with assistance from the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA). Through its EMS winery pilot project, Cal/EPA hoped to design an EMS template that eventually could be made available to other wineries. Furthermore,...
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...Definition: SWOT analysis is not only limited to profit-seeking organizations but also may be used in any decision-making situation when it is desired for an organization. It is use to develop a plan that takes into consideration many different internal and external factors, and maximizes the potential of the strengths and opportunities while minimizing the impact of the weaknesses and threats. This remarkable technique was provided by Albert S Humphrey, one of the founding fathers of what we know today as SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis came from the research conducted at Stanford Research Institute from 1960-1970. A strategic planning method which is used to evaluate the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats involved in a project or in a business or in an organizations venture. The team members and the managers mainly use this analysis on behalf of an organization. It specifies the objective of any business venture or project to identify both the external and internal factors which are sometimes favorable and unfavorable to achieve that objective. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT): It is the first stage of planning and helps marketers to focus on key issues. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Opportunities and threats are external factors. The factors (internal and external) may include all of the 4P's; as well as personnel, finance, manufacturing capabilities...
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...JOHN A. QUELCH HEATHER BECKHAM Culinarian Cookware: Pondering Price Promotion On November 6, 2006, the vice president of marketing of Culinarian Cookware (Culinarian), Donald Janus, and the senior sales manager, Victoria Brown, met to discuss whether or not the company should offer a price promotion for the company’s line of premium cookware in the coming year. These two executives had very different views on the value of a price promotion and the role it could play in the company’s marketing strategy. Janus expressed his opinion first: Brown knew that Janus was determined above all else that Culinarian should remain known as a high-quality product and an elite brand—“an American icon” was Janus’s term—and that all good things would flow from that status. He grew wary when he perceived, rightly or wrongly, a hint of a threat to that status. Still, Brown was obliged to be candid. She said: Do No I believe we need to be bolder with our price promotions. The number one complaint that my sale force hears from the trade accounts is the lack of consistent and meaningful price discount events. Providing a 30% discount promotion will increase commitment and support from the trade and will boost our overall brand awareness. It’ll also provide us with new customers who would otherwise not purchase because they feel the suggested retail is too high and encourage current customers to immediately purchase additional pieces. And yes, I think if the data in the consulting study...
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...OXO Kitchen Gadgets – Developing marketing strategy on a budget 1. SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis is the cornerstone of any successful strategic plan. A business should be evaluated from all angles before mapping its future and a good way to do that is by looking at its internal and external resources and threats. Identifying the positive and negative influencing factors inside and outside its business, will help navigate and implement a sound marketing strategy. Figure 1.1 shows the internal and external factors affecting the marketing opportunities for OXO International. Pairing external threats with internal weaknesses highlights the most serious issues OXO faces. After identifying risks OXO can decide whether to use company resources to eliminate the internal weakness or reduce the external threat by abandoning that area of business until the company is stronger (Kotler and Armstrong 55-57). 2. OXO target market. Before targeting comes market segmentation – dividing an entire market up into customer segments. There are various variables used in segmenting consumer markets (Kotler and Armstrong 193). In a marketing strategy video, Larry Witt, Senior Vice President of Sales and Market Development for OXO International said while they skew toward older consumers, OXO also attracts younger consumers with their design and innovation. Here the demographic, psychographic, and behavioral segmentation variables are discussed in relationship to three of OXO’s U.S. market segments:...
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...Strengths 1. Core competency/Cost Leadership- Walmart is known for their “everyday low prices.” This sets them aside from their major competitors such as Target. Walmart strives for "saving people money so they can live better." With the cost leadership strategy in effect, Walmart is ensured a steady and returning flow of customers to their stores. That understood, Walmart has a comparative advantage over their competition. Consumers are able to feel better about their purchases knowing they are at a discounted price. Walmart is therefore given a rating of 4 and weighted score of 1.0 in this category. 2. Economies of Scale- Walmart is rated a 3 with a weighted score of 0.3 in this particular category. Being the giant that Walmart is, they have a very large scale of operations. This therefore gives them strong supplier purchasing power and the opportunity to reduce prices. With their vast amount of products they can spread their fixed costs out lowering the price of the products. “Higher economies of scale results in lower prices that are passed to consumers” (http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/swot-analyses/walmart-swot-analysis.html) 3. Wide Range of Products- Walmart has one of the largest ranges of products providing ease for their customers. Customers are able to have that “one-stop-shopping” experience they so desire. Consumers certainly like this aspect for the convenience it entails. Although Walmart’s discount stores do in fact provide...
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...Opportunities for Action in Consumer Markets Trading Up: The New Luxury and Why We Need It Trading Up: The New Luxury and Why We Need It In the history of man, there have always been goods reserved for the upper classes. In ancient Rome, the elite built lavish marble baths for entertaining friends and allies, while the masses waited in line at public baths. In late-eighteenth-century France, the aristocracy turned to saddle maker Hermès for the perfect seat, while commoners had to walk through wet and muddy streets. But today we are witnessing a different phenomenon: the democratization of luxury. We define it as middlemarket consumers selectively trading up to higher levels of quality, taste, and aspiration. The democratization of luxury is occurring across a surprisingly broad set of categories, and it is destabilizing competition, creating new winners and losers, and offering new rules for brand strategy. Already, this force has transformed a score of markets. (See Exhibit 1.) Many more categories are ripe for the taking. The question for established marketers is, Who will be first to bring the new luxury to my category? To understand this movement, you must first appreciate the differences between the new luxury and the old, as well as the powerful emotional and economic forces behind consumers’ propensity to trade up and seek quality. It’s Not Your Father’s Luxury Old luxury is expensive. Only the really rich—a small segment, typically over 50 and conservative—can...
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