iMBA Operations Strategy
Module Summer 2024
Group Project
One submission per group
Only include your group name on the submission (points are deducted if individual group member names
are included) .
Please submit a Microsoft Word document. Limit of 20 pages, excluding title sheet, references, and
appendices.
1. Overview of the Plan
a) Product/Service
Identify a product or service for which you will be developing a long-term plan or strategy in the
Mississippi Delta Region. This product or service should be part of the offerings or future offerings
from an existing company or institution. For example, you could choose to develop a plan to help the
College of Business and Aviation increase the number of majors for its BBA degree in Marketing or
Management, or propose a plan that helps Delta State University attract more out-of-state (including
international) students.
b) Target Market
Identify and discuss your target market (Hint: Limit your target market to one specific group; do
not state your target market is anyone who wants the product.).
c) Value Proposition
State your value proposition or a position statement that outlines the perceived benefits this product
will provide to the target customer in order to differentiate it from similar services.
d) Briefly discuss the product’s suggested competitive advantage
e) Identify critical success factors.
f) Objectives. Specifies the goals to be accomplished in terms of sales volume, market share, and profit.
2. Analysis of the current situation and trends
a) The Customer:
(i) Identify the relevant trends in demographic, social, and cultural environment
(ii) Identify the unmet or poorly served customer needs and wants that your strategy will
address, once successfully executed.
(iii) Provide critical insights into the behavior of the target consumers
(iv) Estimate the size of the target market
(v) Indicate the current and anticipated growth rate of your target market.
(vi) Discuss relevant demand/supply elasticities
b) The Industry
(i) Relevant company and industry background information
(ii) Identify relevant trends in economic, regulatory, technological, and the natural
environment
(iii) Assess Porter’s Five Forces
c) The Competition
(i) Identify the main direct and indirect competitors that currently satisfy the needs of your
proposed target market
(ii) Discuss the competitors’ advantages and disadvantages
3. Marketing Strategy
(i) Describe how you will position the brand in the minds of the target consumers.
(ii) Describe briefly how you will achieve your objectives
4. Action plans
a) Discuss each of the 4 Ps; make sure to add enough detail for the business to be able to implement
your suggestions
(i) Product
(ii) Price
(iii) Promotion
(iv) Place
b) Detail the steps necessary to complete your plan (meet your objective)
c) Provide a projected Profit-and Loss Statement
d) Upon the activation of your plan, discuss the anticipated response of your competition and how you
intend to respond.
e) Discuss how progress will be monitored (and measured where possible)
5. Human Resources Strategy
a) Discuss how human resources plays a major role in influencing your business strategy.
b) Discuss the key talent needed for your strategy and provide job descriptions for these key positions
(specific roles/duties are required).
c) Discuss how you plan to recruit, attract, develop quality employees needed for your strategy.
d) Include salary ranges for these positions (they should be influenced by demographics &
sociocultural environment identified in the marketing section). Remember, you need to justify the
recommendation and recognize the cost of your plan to be further discussed in the economics
section.
e) Discuss how you plan to evaluate performance for these positions.
6. Ethical issues
Discuss ethical issues currently affecting the industry (or that your proposal may raise), including issues of
social responsibility.
7. The Macroeconomy
a. Identify and discuss relevant macroeconomic economic variables (inflation, unemployment,
economic growth, etc.) that may impact the success of your product/plan/any strategies discussed
in previous sections.
b. Provide detailed trends and forecasts of these macroeconomic variables.
References
Additional Notes:
We expect each part of the integrated project to be informed and shaped by the other parts. For example,
when you discuss marketing environment and the industry information, as well as pricing and analysis of
consumers, personnel costs, and wherever else applies, you are supposed to put the information and thoughts
that you developed in the economics section; insights from marketing analysis should inform your personnel
decisions.
- iMBA Operations Strategy Module Summer 2024 Group Project
- 1. Overview of the Plan
- 2. Analysis of the current situation and trends
- 3. Marketing Strategy
- 4. Action plans
- 6. Ethical issues
- 7. The Macroeconomy
