The objective of this assignment is to demonstrate the importance of good competitive research in a business venture. It is also intended to help you with your group project by identifying the competitors your venture might come up against.
Part 1 - The Academic (Individual)
Submit a brief (less than 5-page) written report of the following:
- Define what is meant by "competitive research" in a business context. Does it go by any other names?
- Clarify the different types of competition a business might face (e.g. direct, indirect). Compare and contrast your findings.
- Provide one (1) outstanding example of a competitive analysis. Briefly note why you feel this is a particularly good example. (Please include the example as an appendix to your assignment. This will not be included in the page count.)
- Indicate and evaluate at least five (5) ways by which you found the competitive research you used in this assignment.
- Grade: 15%
- Format: Hard and soft copy (email as a MS-Word attachment to ehj@sfu.ca)
- Due date: start of class on Tuesday 3 November
Part 2 - The Practical (Team)
- Using what you learned from Part 1, write the competitive analysis for your team project. (1 per team)
- circulate to your board of advisors (and to me) in a business report format. Ask for advice. Incorporate into your term project.
- Grade: 0% (contributes toward class participation grade)
- Format: Soft copy (email as a MS-Word attachment to ehj@sfu.ca)
- Due date: start of class on Tuesday 3 November
Notes:
- Be sure to cite your sources!
- A thorough competitive analysis could be 100's of pages long. Aim to keep your team analysis to 2 pages or less. I recommend you use a table to summarize the key competitors and evaluation criteria. If you make any assumptions, be sure to state them clearly with footnotes. Since you are limited by space, be sure to focus on the issues that are most important to the viability of your business
Questions? Recommendations for your classmates?
- Please use "Add new comment" below.
