Project Objective:

The report is to be a situation analysis for the few blocks of buildings on the north side of Front Street between Oak St. and Main St.  Our client is interested in developing a strategy for revitalizing this particular portion of downtown Texarkana. 

Prior classes have assessed Broad Street with regard to customer segments, with regard to SBUs that are necessary to serve the needs of these segments, and with regard to specific buildings that should be targeted as the most immediately important strategic priorities in a revitalization process that will take many years.  You are to continue in the same manner as two previous reports that are being distributed to the class: the first report was a general strategic assessment of Broad Street, and the second carried the results of that strategic assessment to the next step with its focus on specific tactical priorities.  These analyses have apparently been helpful to various local leaders in their own strategic planning and decision making. 

Our current client has asked us to continue both the strategic and tactical ideas from these two reports, but this time with a specific focus on Front Street.  Current interest is in "industrial" sorts of uses for the buildings in this area - this area would presently not be conducive to entertainment or retailing.  That general focus on industrial sorts of uses, however, is still too vague to be of value in understanding how to utilize specific grant opportunities that currently exist with limited windows of opportunity, how to utilize limited volunteer resources that are inventorying and researching downtown assets, and how to market this area of downtown to city leaders, investors, and businesses. 

Importantly, we are interested in identifying buildings that should be given attention in association with Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment, an EPA program.  Volunteer resources are too limited to research every building with regard to potential contamination issues.  If we can identify the buildings with the best potential for revitalizing that area of downtown, however, volunteers can focus on researching just those buildings; those buildings then become potential targets of grant assistance.  Some grants can be helpful in cleanup and in obtaining certification that the building is "clean" with regard to contaminants, and this makes the building much more marketable. 

In your report, then, you need to take stock of resources that our client has indicated are available, of assets that exist in this part of downtown Texarkana, and of the external environment that influences the marketability of this area and these buildings.  (You might find the local research portal TexarkanaMSA.org to be helpful.)  Assess the marketing environment, devise a strategy that is likely to revitalize this area in the current environment, and devise a brief tactical plan that would target specific buildings that should be of the most immediate interest. 

Some Important Rules:

Please take special precautions if you discuss this project with anyone outside of the class.  Some information that has been or will be distributed or discussed in class might be confidential.  Equally important, we do not want anyone outside of the class to be misled by our activities.  We must be especially careful that anyone outside of our class understands that this is a learning exercise for the class and that the university otherwise has no special association with the project or the client.  Please exercise restraint when expressing personal opinions about project issues outside of our class meetings.  Do not make direct contact with our client; all questions and all responses must be funneled through the professor.  Since this has caused problems in the past, you will immediately be dropped from the course if you do so.

For a variety of reasons, you are prohibited from conducting primary research excepting some kinds of observational research that would not reveal the nature of our project.  You might, for example, stand on a street corner to count customer traffic, but you may not call competitors for an interview and you may not conduct a formal survey.  This latter issue has caused serious enough problems in the past that I will immediately drop you from the course if I have reason to suspect that you have interviewed or surveyed competitors, business leaders, or prospective buyers.  (Engaging in these activities could, for example, jeopardize relationships with business school clients, could jeopardize relationships with university donors, or could jeopardize our school's federal funding.)

General Report Structure:

All reports must have some sort of introduction that explains the nature, focus, and objective of the client and of the report to the reader.  The body of all reports must in some way address opportunities and threats in the environment and address the strengths and weaknesses of our client or project.  All reports must also end with some sort of recommendation. That is, the report should lead to some speculation regarding the outlook for our client's project, the direction that should be set, and possibly some suggestions regarding how strategy for this project can be implemented (some issues of tactics).

Although some sort of recommendation is required, most of the text of the report will be associated with a scan and assessment of the current environment that logically leads to a recommendation.  Note that a report that ends with a negative outlook can be as valuable as a report that ends with a positive outlook, although you are charged with finding a solution if one exists.

The Assignment:

1. This is a real world assignment.  The written report will be scored in large part on the professor's perception of the usefulness and acceptability of the report to the real client within the framework that this is to be a situation analysis.  A common problem is that students tend to include irrelevant and inappropriate material in a report to show evidence that some particular concept has been learned in the course.  Note that a minimal requirement is that reports be relatively free of problems of grammar, spelling, typing, and such.  Do not fabricate material for the sake of creating a report.  Again, remember that this is not a creative writing assignment but is a technical writing assignment.

2. The exact format of the finished report is of your own choosing.  Although a suggested format for a situation analysis is attached for guidance, it is not necessary that this be followed exactly.  HOWEVER, the attached outline does cover the major issues that are generally important in such an analysis; whatever format that you choose must be appropriate for this assignment.  Other published formats commonly called "situation analysis," "market analysis," "environmental analysis," "business plan," and such might or might not be appropriate and acceptable.  No two finished reports would be the same, and it is unlikely that a report could ever be constructed to exactly fit an imposed outline.

3. ALL facts in the report must be substantiated except those that are obviously common knowledge.  This necessarily requires that the source of each and every piece information be cited.  Watch for statements that lend themselves to red-ink comments such as, "says who" or "I disagree."  For example, if a statement is made that the local economy is likely to get better or worse over the next five years, then the report MUST indicate the source of this expectation.  Additionally, related questions associated with substantiating this statement might have to be answered, e.g., Who expects this?  How did this person or organization or publication arrive at this expectation?  How many others agree with this expectation?  How many others disagree?  If the speculation is your own, be sure that it is substantiated with charts, graphs, tables, or figures that indicate the source of the information contained therein. 

4. Information sources must be as close to the original source as possible.  For example, reporting population statistics that you found on a Chamber of Commerce or real estate agency Web site is not appropriate in a professional report and these third-party compilations are very often in error.  Such statistics are easily obtained directly from Census Bureau and you have absolutely no excuses for not citing directly to an exact page at this original source.

5. You are required to cite all sources of information.  A less obtrusive method of citing in a business report is to list the references at the end of the report in a numbered list: List all sources at the end of the report in alphabetical order.  Number them in this order, starting the list with number 1.  Whenever a statement is made that must reference that source, indicate the source by a number in parentheses after the statement, like this (12).  Note that the first time in a report that a source is referenced, the number is not necessarily (1), the second is not necessarily (2), etc.  Also note that the same source may appear multiple times in the same report, like this (23).  If several sources support the same statement, they should all be included like this (4, 7, 12, 15); a greater number of sources often strengthens an assertion.  If several statements are made in the same paragraph that use the same source, list that source only once after all such statements within a single paragraph.  That is, do not source this (8) and this again (8) for two separate issues that are included in the same statement.

6. If you cite information that was obtained from a Web site, your reference list must provide a complete URL to the exact page that you cite.  Since Web pages sometimes disappear, you must also indicate the date on which you accessed the page.  (Assume that I WILL look up those references to verify information and that I will seek out cached and archived pages if I cannot find them.  The more work you make for me, the lower your grade.)  For more information on citing Web sources, see a recent style manual such as APA - this information can be found online if your notes and books from a writing course are getting too old.

7. You must submit a folder with your report which contains a copy of any documents that you reference.  For example, if you reference demographic statistics which were obtained from the US Census web site, then you must include a printed copy (clearly identified) of the web page which contained that information.

8. As a point of reference, an environmental report for a large established industry could be 20-30 pages in length.  However, the practical usefulness of an environmental report is not necessarily a function of its weight.  Different people have different writing styles; different perspectives on the organization might require more or less detail in analysis.  Different time constraints and working environments also would necessarily yield more or less detail.  There are times when no stone should be left unturned; this is not one of those times.  Neatness (defined as good grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc.), however, is always important in business writing.  A minimal requirement of the report is that it be free of blemishes in grammar, spelling, and such.  You are asked to submit a report that is no more than 20 pages in length, but you are not asked to necessarily reach that limit.

9. Please do not use any sort of report folders for the report that you submit to me; use plain white paper with a single staple in the top left corner.

1. Introduction and Overview

   • focus of the report
   • objective of the client / project
   • objective of the report
   • brief summary of the report

2. Assessment of Organizational Resources, Strengths, and Weaknesses

   • mission and objectives
   • portfolio analysis
   • resources and competencies
   • organizational weaknesses

3. Assessment of External Environmental Opportunities and Threats

   • demographic
   • sociocultural
   • economic
   • technological
   • competitive
   • political
   • legal and regulatory
   • etc.

4. Product-level Assessment

   • Consumer/customer Assessment

     • who buys?
     • why do buyers buy?
     • how do buyers make choices?
     • what are bases for market segmentation?
     • what are potential target markets?

   • Competitor Assessment

     • who are direct competitors?
     • who are indirect competitors?
     • what is the likelihood of new competition?
     • what is the intensity of competition?
     • what are competitors' advantages and disadvantages?

   • Market measurement

     • estimate market potential
     • determine potential of each geographic area
     • assess trends
     • make forecasts

5. Summary and Recommendations

   • define opportunities and threats
   • define strengths and weaknesses
   • suggest objectives or future direction
   • suggest strategy for reaching objectives
   • suggest tactics to implement strategy

Adapted from Guiltinan and Paul (1990), Marketing Management: Strategies and Programs, New York: McGraw-Hill.