Please ensure you check the Rubric and Instructions for each

assignment on Canvas.
COMPANY ANALYSIS ASSESSMENT
As part of this unit students will complete a Company Analysis Assessment composed of 4
separate items:
 Company Selection Assignment of 250 words

 Marketing Assignment of approximately 1000 words

 Company Management Assignment of 1 approximately 1000 words

Each paper will deal with the same company so it is important that students plan.

Being able to conduct in-depth research, synthesis analysis, write a research paper, and
present the findings is a crucial skill in any discipline.

The company analysis will teach how to do this within the discipline of business.

The company analysis is the best way to practice the concepts learned in this unit. It requires
demonstration that the student can:

o Write in a business voice

o Find and evaluate relevant research from business research sources
o Synthesise research from various sources and objectively evaluate and analyse the
information using concepts learned in this course
o Communicate the analysis and conclusions in writing

Here are some general suggestions on how to learn the most out of the assignment and to ensure
that a good grade:
 Read the entire assignment, review the grading rubrics, and seek clarification of any parts
not understood.
 Research thoroughly. Do not rely on Wikipedia or financial websites. The goal of the
analysis is to be comprehensive and objective.
 Take the time to digest the research. Map out ideas. Search for missing elements.
 Write an outline. What is the main idea? What is the next level of ideas? Is there
supporting evidence? Organise the ideas. The rubrics generally provide much of the
outline.
 Reread the assignment and the rubric. Make sure all the requirements are fulfilled.
 Write the paper without looking at the research. This will prevent unintended
plagiarism. Evaluate the draft using the writing self-assessment.
 Revise the paper.
 Revise the paper again.
COMPANY ANALYSIS Part 1
COMPANY SELECTION ASSIGNMENT
Value: 20 points worth a total of 10%
250 Words

Select a publicly listed company to analyse.

Write a 250-word paper and,
 explain why you selected this company.
 expound upon four reasons. These reasons should not be personal. They should relate to the
attributes of the company that you are familiar with. Make a claim (a reason) and then
provide evidence for your claim.
Common mistakes to avoid on Company Selection paper
1. Do not use the first person. Business papers are more formal and should be written in the
third person. Use a business voice. Look at examples such as articles in the Wall St.
Journal, or Business Week articles to see what a business voice is.

2. Do not use promotions language such as Chevrolet makes some of the most dependable and
longest-lasting trucks on the road today and Cadillac makes some of the most luxurious
sports sedans the world over. This is an objective paper. You are not speaking for the
company but producing unbiased analysis.

3. Do not use slang or colloquial language in a business paper. Some examples of what not to
use are: pretty big, legit company, a ton of, financial wise, etc.

4. Contractions such as don’t and can’t sound informal and should not be used.

5. Organise your paper using the writing self-assessment. Use paragraphs to expound on a topic.

6. Do not use symbols such as #, & or @.

7. When sales or profit is noted, the convention is to use $3 billion for three billion dollars.

8. For numbers over twenty, use the numbers not words as 35 instead of thirty-five.

9. The possessive is their not there. The possessive is its not it’s

10. For the other papers, use subheadings to organise your paper and show that you have
covered the topics.
11. All work in this paper must be your own. Any visuals or graphs must be your own
(students may include the company logo with citation). Do not copy from the company or
any other website.

3
 COMPANY ANALYSIS Part 2 -
MANAGEMENT PAPER

Value: 40 points worth a total of 15%

1000 Words

1. Describe the impact of two or three key managers in the company.

 What style of management do they employ?
 Are they effective?
 What stories are typically told about these managers?

2. Corporate mission, values and culture.

 Describe what these are and how they contribute to the company brand.
 Does the company value diversity?
 What is the diversity of its management and workforce?
 What stories characterise the company culture?
3. Corporate social responsibility.
 Identify a negative incident involving the company and describe how the company handled the
incident. Analyse where the company is in the stages of corporate social responsibility

4. Identify
 the benefits that an employee would get at the company.
 How does this compare to their competitor companies (at least 2)
5. Identify
 the attributes the company seeks in an employee.
 What type of person should be happiest working for this company?

6. Evaluated each source using CARS.

REFER TO THE GUIDE ATTACHED TO THIS DOCUMENT. DO YOUR ONLINE RESEARCH TO FIND
OUT MORE AND ABOUT THE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS OF PRESENTING THIS DATA

7. Referencing
 Appropriate citations and /or references

8. Follows the section headings as shown in the rubric

EVALUATING RESEARCH - CARS
The key to business research is to find recent information. For most business topics, information
older than twelve months may not be very useful. Second, evaluate sources for credibility. If it is
one of the major business publications, it will be fairly reliable (although they have been known to
be wrong) but may be biased. If it is a company publication or industry association publication,
assess how good the information is. The mission of an industry group is to promote the industry.
Their information might paint a much brighter picture than is the case.

CARS (credibility, accuracy, reasonableness and support) is a simple acronym that helps
evaluate research. You can create a rating scale to evaluate each of your sources of information.

A summary checklist is provided in the following table. Students rate their articles on a scale of
1 (lowest) and 4 (highest) of each of the criteria. You must provide reasons for your ratings
when submitting a CARS as part of an assignment.

Check List for Evaluating Research

CREDIBILITY
High Low
Author’s education or experience relevant to Anonymous author
issue
Contact information given No contact information
Organisation the author belongs to or the website Periodical not well-known
belongs to is reputable and unbiased on the issue
The author has a reputable position Reviews are mostly negative
The author has a good reputation The author is not convincing
The periodical is of good quality in content and Writing contains bad grammar and numerous
presentation misspelled words
ACCURACY
Up-to-date information – dates are current No date. Old date.
Looks at the last year of any historical data – Use of vague or sweeping generalisations
Does it include the latest year?
Comprehensive – many sources of data, cites all Limited information or sources. Limited coverage
relevant sources of information of topic
Considers the audience for the information Hidden messages of persuasion; inappropriate for
audience
REASONABLENESS
Fair – presents other sides of the argument etc Angry or spiteful tones
Objectivity – control biases, any conflict of Conflict of interest
interest is disclosed
Moderateness – most truths are ordinary. (Some Sweeping statements
truths are not but check to see if they are real).
Consistency – writer avoids contradictions The writer exaggerates or over claims
World view – writer identifies his/her religions,
political etc point of view The writer obscures his/her biases and viewpoints

The Source of information is cited No identified source for numbers

Corroboration – May want to triangulate – find Absence of documentation when it is needed
three sources of information that agree
Does it agree with outside sources of Cannot find other sources that agree with
information? information
Company Analysis Part 3
Marketing Assignment. Research (15% of the total marks)

1. Analysis – Description of the company brand image including

 attributes,
 benefits and
 values.
 Provide an analysis of how the company manages its brand.

9 Pts 8 Pts 7 Pts 6 Pts 5 Pts 4 Pts 3 Pts 0 Pts

Full No No No No No No No
marks descript descripti descriptio descriptio descriptio description descript
Excell ion on n n n Superficial/ ion
ent Good - Fair Partial lacks lacks detail Omitted
covered response, response, detail but Analysis
most maybe maybe provides a
requireme missing missing descriptio
nts) part of part of n of the
what is what is company
being being and/or
asked asked or product
and/or lacks and may
lacks detail in misunders
some its tand the
detail in explanatio meaning
its n and may of brand
explanatio misunders image
n and may tand the
misunders meaning
tand part of brand
of the image,
meaning attributes,
of a brand benefits
image, and values
attributes,
benefits
and values
9 pts

2. Product Analysis –
 Description of new product development in the company.
 Assess where the company’s products are on the product life cycle.
 How does the company manage its’ products?

9 Pts 8 Pts 7 Pts 6 Pts 5 Pts 4 Pts 3 Pts 0 Pts

Full No No No No No No No
marks descripti descripti descripti descripti descripti description descripti
Excelle on on on on on Superficial/ on
 nt Good - Good Partial lacks detail Omitted
covered response, response, Analysis
most maybe maybe
requireme missing missing
nts part of part of
what is what is
being being
asked or asked
lacks and/or
detail in lacks
its detail in
explanati its
on explanati
on
9 pts

3. Customer Analysis –

 Give 4 or 5 characteristics of the company’s target market.

 Articulate the company customer value proposition.
 How does the company manage the customer life cycle?
 What channels are used to reach the customer

9 Pts 8 Pts 7 Pts 6 Pts 5 Pts 4 Pts 3 Pts 0 Pts

Full No No No No No No No
marks descript descriptio descript descript descriptio description descripti
Excell ion n ion ion n Superficial/ on
ent Good - Good Fair Limited lacks detail Omitted
covered response response response, Analysis
most , maybe , maybe maybe
requireme missing missing missing
nts. It part of part of part of
May what is what is what is
require being being being
some asked or asked asked or
more lacks and/or lacks
detail detail in lacks detail in its
its detail in explanatio
explanati its n and
on explanati provides
on less than 4
characteris
tics
9 pts

4. Compare and contrast

 two to three of the strongest competitors to your company.
 How does your company compete?

9 Pts 8 Pts 7 Pts 6 Pts 5 Pts 4 Pts 3 Pts 0 Pts

 Full No No No No No No No
marks descripti descripti descripti descripti descripti description descripti
Excelle on on on on on Superficial/ on
nt Good - Partial Fair lacks detail Omitted
covered response, response, Analysis
most maybe maybe
requireme missing missing
nts part of part of
what is what is
being being
asked asked or
and/or lacks
lacks detail in
detail in its
its explanati
explanati on and
on compares
less than
2
competit
ors
9 pts

5.
 What marketing strategy is used by your company.
 Summarise key points from the previous sections to articulate how it plans to grow.

9 Pts 8 Pts 7 Pts 6 Pts 5 Pts 4 Pts 3 Pts 0 Pts

Full No No No No No No No
marks descripti descripti descripti descripti descripti description descripti
Excell on on on on on Superficial/ on
ent Good - Covered Fair lacks detail Omitted
covered most response, Analysis
most requireme maybe
requireme nts but missing
nts may lack part of
detail what is
and/or being
explanati asked
on. and/or
Maybe lacks
more of a detail in
comment its
than an explanati
explanati on
on of how
they plan
to grow.
9 pts
6. Referencing –
 References and citations complete and follow the Harvard referencing system
2 Pts 1 Pts 0 Pts
Appropriate citations/references No description Missing or requires attention
2 pts

7. Visual Display

Include one graph or chart that you created yourself. A good graph might be a pie chart of company sales by
product categories. The visual display must relate to marketing. Financial information such as revenue and net
income growth is not appropriate for this visual display. Cartoons and process drawings are not appropriate.

2 Pts 1 Pts 1 Pts 0 Pts

Full marks No description No description No description
Good visual display Provided adequate Visual display tangentially No visual display or
related to marketing visual display related to marketing and/or a copied from other
copy sources
2 pts

8.
Layout Follows the section headings as shown in the rubric
2 Pts 1 Pts 0 Pts
Full marks No description No marks
2 pts

Total points: 51