Here’s the setup.  You have accepted a position as CEO of this company:

  • Apple – Recently, Apple’s stock price has been quite volatile. Investors are concerned that Apple may not have a long-term growth strategy.

For your first act as CEO, you must write a report to the Board of Directors outlining your first 90 days on the job.  While the report should focus on the company’s short-term needs (i.e., your first 90 days), you should outline a vision for your company’s strategy for the next 5 to 10 years.

Think of this report as a follow up to the SWOT analysis you did in Week 4.  This assignment requires you to conduct a SWOT analysis, but then take the next step and define a vision for the company–a vision that will address short-term and long-term needs.  There is not one correct answer, so use creativity!  For example, I could imagine one of you writing a report that your company should be liquidated.  Liquidation might be the best way to maximize value to shareholders! Please write this as a professional report using third person.

You should find and reference 5 websites to give background on the company’s current situation.  Please follow these guidelines when writing your paper:

  • Use APA formatting which includes Times New Roman, 12 pt font, double-spaced, first line of each paragraph is indented one-half inch, 1-inch margins on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right), citations in the body of the paper like this (author’s last name, year of publication), and references.
  • Use proper grammar. Please write in third person. That means use only third person pronouns (he, she, it, they, them, those). Do not use first person pronouns (I, me, my, we, us, our) or second person pronouns (you, your).
  • 6 pages of text
  • List all references you use in APA style. For examples see here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/.