Assignment 1: Discussion—Business Metrics

Understanding business metrics as key performance indicators (KPIs) is a key part of business strategy and management. In this assignment, you will look at financial performance measures.

Financial performance measures are vitally important to assessing corporate performance. However, financial measures are primarily backward looking in that they measure the results of past actions, and do not always give a reliable indication of future direction.

Using the module readings, Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, respond to the following:

• For your own organization, give three examples of key performance indicators (KPIs) and how they are measured that are forward looking and more predictive.
• What aspect of the value chain are they measuring?
• How do these measures tie to specific strategies in your business unit?

Write your initial response in approximately 300 words. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

By Friday, June 8, 2013, post your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Through Monday, June 10, 2013, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses.

Assignment 2: SWOT Analysis and Strategic Scorecard

One of the most common business tools during organizational assessment is the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) model. Another is developing a balanced scorecard based on a prescribed or planned set of performance objectives that will be measured and evaluated regularly. In this assignment, you will learn about both and how to apply them in business.

Integrate the research and analysis from the previous three assignments and produce a SWOT analysis and a strategic scorecard for your business unit.

Part 1—SWOT Analysis (2 pages)
Your SWOT analysis should summarize the opportunities and threats from the external environmental scan with the strengths and weaknesses from your organizational assessment or internal environmental scan.

Your output should include a matrix depicting strengths or weaknesses on the horizontal axis and opportunities or threats on the vertical axis. This matrix will reveal a set of strategy forces that can be used to assess the current strategy and identify important potential changes to the strategic direction of the company.

In creating your SWOT analysis, look for natural pairings of internal and external factors that match internal resources and capabilities to the external environment. Internal strengths and external opportunities depicted in the upper left quadrant on your matrix might form complementary pairs that suggest necessary strategic focus for the business unit to pursue opportunities that fit its competitive strengths. Conversely, internal weaknesses and external threats shown in the lower right quadrant of the matrix may combine to illustrate the need for a defensive strategy to avoid becoming highly susceptible to competitive threats.

Your matrix should not simply be a collection of four lists compiled together in a matrix. Your analysis should combine factors and explain why specific strengths complement specific opportunities, and selected weaknesses are amplified by external threats. In addition to your matrix, provide a brief narrative that summarizes the main findings in your analysis and the implications for the current and projected strategy.

Part 2—Balanced Scorecard/KPIs (4 pages)
Use the balanced scorecard or another similar tool to recommend indicators and measurements that will tell you if the company is successful or unsuccessful in progressing toward your vision through execution of strategy.

A balanced scorecard presents organizational performance on four primary groups of measures:

1. Financial
2. Customer (external stakeholder)
3. Learning and Growth
4. Internal Process

You should develop a strategy scorecard that ties the performance of your business unit in these areas to its overall business strategy. The challenge you face is selecting 2–3 measures in each of the four areas that give a measurable and reliable indication of the business unit performance in the key activities that promote strategic fit, customer value, and sustained competitive advantage.

Write a 6-page report in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M6_A2.doc.

By Monday, June 14, 2013, deliver your assignment to the M6: Assignment 2 Dropbox.