Applying Management Concepts to a Real-World Business.

This assignment is the first of four assignments that will require you to apply business concepts to a real-world business. You may use the same company in each assignment or you may change companies as you go.

For this assignment, the most important thing is to choose a business for which you can successfully access an online Annual Report. Annual Reports are sent to shareholders each spring. They are almost always in color and contain a number of photographs and graphics.

The easiest way to find a company’s annual report is to go directly to the company’s web site. Start by looking for a link titled “For Investors” or “About Our Company.” It is often at the bottom of the company’s home page. You may have to look around a bit to find the Letter to the Shareholders. Use the most recent Annual Report available. It should be dated 2016 or later.

Sometimes companies will post their 10-K report, which is submitted to the SEC annually, in place of an Annual Report. A company may even label its 10-K as its Annual Report. The 10-K is not in color. Since the 10-K does not include a Letter to the Shareholders, you will need to choose a different company if the 10-K is the only report available.

Check the Discussion 4 – Companies topic for list of companies that you can choose from, although I cannot guarantee that all the companies listed will have the materials necessary to complete this assignment. You may also choose a company that is not on the list. Since each student will report on a different business, you will need to reserve your choice.

Reserve the company you will research in the “Reserve Your Company for Discussion 4 and 6-8” Discussion.

You will be using the following online sources to prepare your report:

• the company’s most recent annual report
• the company web site
• Reuters web site at https://www.reuters.com/

Prepare a report using the headings provided below. Take care to write your report in third person (as a reporter would) rather than in first person (as a company representative would).

• Name of Company and Ticker Symbol: Company Name, Ticker Symbol
• Company Web Site: URL of the company’s web site
• Annual Report: paste the complete URL to the company’s Annual Report
• Review of the Letter to the Shareholder (10 points) – very thoroughly summarize the CEOs (Chief Executive Officer’s) Letter to the Shareholders. It will be located near the beginning of the Annual Report. It could be anywhere from 1-15 pages long. You will be able to tell where it ends by looking for the CEO’s signature at the end of the letter. Do not just tell us the kind of information found there, in general. Include specific information about the company’s core operations including plans for the future.
• CEO’s Background (3 points) – write a paragraph summarizing the CEO’s, Chairman’s, or President’s background, include the age of the CEO if available. This information can be found under the “People” link at https://www.reuters.com/. Use the search icon in the top right corner to enter the ticker symbol for the company you are researching. On the page that follows, select “Companies.” Select the name of the company on the following screen. Select the “People” tab on the page that follows.
• CEO’s Compensation (2 points) Report the CEO’s fiscal year total compensation.

Be sure to provide the name of the company and the URL for the Annual Report.