Coursework is to design a turnaround plan for a business in difficulty.
You are in the senior management team of an incumbent firm in a digital industry that is experiencing trouble. The assignment is to design a turnaround plan. You need to provide a compelling analysis of a business in need of a turnaround and propose a business model aimed at achieving a sustainable improvement in the businesses’ prospects.
Instructions
1) Choose an existing company that you believe is in need of a turnaround. Due to the special characteristics of information goods, digital businesses are often far more volatile than other, more traditional businesses. There are many examples of businesses that were spectacularly successful for a period of time, only to be pushed out of business by competitors soon after.
2) Use all information that you can find on the company to build your case. This information may include annual reports, regulatory information issued by the company, press information (FT, Economist, etc.) and any other information source that you can identify, such as personal contacts.
3) Limit your turnaround plan to a single business – this may be part of a larger company. For instance, if you would like to work on HP, you should work on its computer business only (for instance), rather than the company as a whole (that includes a high-performing printer business).
4) Structure the document as you see fit. It should include:
A clear identification of the digital business that is in trouble. You need to prove that it is in trouble.
A synthesis of these analyses into a diagnosis that explains why it is in trouble.
A turnaround plan for the business that addresses this diagnosis.
An analysis of the current state of this digital business. This should include an analysis of the industry and competitive environment, a review of the existing strategy/business model and an analysis of the current capabilities and resources of the business
5) Outline your turn-around plan. The plan should detail:
The (new or transformed) technology offering
The customers and what problem the product/service will solve for them
Why the new product/service would be a good fit with the company (including how it fits with existing products, the existing business model and the capabilities and resources of the business)
Benefits and risks (including for not taking action)
Execution (how will the product be created or sourced? What are the resources required? What will be the business organisation for the new product/service?).
