The assignments have been designed to help you integrate and apply the concepts you have learned up to this point. These concepts provide a foundation on which other course concepts are built. Assessing your comprehension will help ensure that you are on track to successfully complete the course. Refer to the Course Guide for general guidelines on preparing and submitting assignments. Also, be sure to read your instructor’s introductory postings pertinent to the assignments in the Discussions area of the course.
The activities in this module have introduced key features of the strategic model. This assignment will test your understanding of these features and what you have learned in Module 2. All of the activities done for this module are the foundation for this assignment; a review the readings and the activities should reveal the appropriate answers to the questions posed.
This assignment consists of two parts: Part A requires an analysis of Qualcomm Inc. (as of September 2012), and Part B requires that you submit evidence of your work on the module activities. The assignment is worth 15 per cent of your final grade in the course. Click here to see the Form 10K.
Part A: 80% of the assignment grade
Perform an analysis of Qualcomm Inc. Your analysis will draw on the Form 10K (as of September 30, 2012). Your analysis can include information prior to September 2012 but should not draw on any information that you might come across that is post-September 2012. Bear in mind that as a strategic manager you do not have the benefit of foresight and hence your analysis must be confined to the period defined in the Form 10K as of September 2012 for this assignment.
Address the following in your analysis:
- Read the Qualcomm material carefully and note the industry forces that have shaped the firm’s direction and strategies. Support your assessment with relevant evidence drawn from the case material and strategic management theory.
- Identify and explain the strategic levels that the firm is expressing and assess whether the company has the competencies, resources, and capabilities to achieve its goals? In addition, identify the threats and opportunities confronting the firm and explain fully how the firm is addressing these.
- Prepare a value chain analysis for Qualcomm and identify and explain where it is creating or destroying value.
- Identify and explain whether Qualcomm has competitive advantage and determine where and how this competitive advantage is being created.
- Based on your awareness of the firm as revealed in questions 1–4, provide an assessment on the firm’s strategic options
