Module Readings

Complete the following readings early in the module:

Module Overview

Business Strategy, Investment, and Financial Decisions

Imagine taking a trip with no prior planning. Following will be some of the major concerns:

• Where will you go?
• How will you get there?
• What will you do there?
• Where will you stay?
• How much money will you need?

Effective planning is the key to answer these questions and to have a successful trip. A start-up or an existing company faces similar concerns while managing its operations.

In this module, you will discover the components that are necessary for an effective planning process. You will also be introduced to sources of funding and the way management decides on funding a new project and evaluates the introduction of a new product or service.

Module Conclusion

In a previous module, you learned about the concept of planning. One of the primary objectives of planning is developing a strategy to reach the company’s short- and long-term goals.

Financing is an essential component of the planning process. Financing decisions start with addressing questions such as how much financing will be needed to develop and introduce a new product. The answer depends on understanding the product life cycle and understanding how the product is expected to move through the cycle, depending on the industry. Once the foundation is determined, the next question is to determine what type of financing would be most appropriate.

In this module’s assignments, you will demonstrate your understanding of the necessary aspects of a business plan. You will also consider and evaluate the considerations necessary to determine a business form.

Assignment: Project Financing Instructions

Investing in products and services should produce returns so that stockholders, stakeholders, and others are interested in the organization.

In this assignment, you will learn about a new product or service.

Tasks:

For Assignment Titled: (“Understanding the Numbers for Better Decisions”), you chose a publicly-traded company and analyzed its financial statements. Use that company to do the following:

1. Identify a new product or service—either recently rolled out or about to be rolled out—in the company you chose in Assignment Titled:(“Understanding the Numbers for Better Decisions”) (Note: Information about new products or services can be found on a company’s website or in the management’s discussion and analysis section of the company’s annual report.If you cannot locate a new product or service introduced by the company please invent something.)
2. Analyze the quality of the company’s existing products or services. Try answering the following questions about returns on the new product or service of your choice.
   • What is the return on equity earned by the company? Based upon this return, is the company picking good products or services?
   • What is the return on capital earned by the company? Based upon this return, is the company picking good products or services?
3. Discuss how the company financed the initiative and why it was perceived to be advantageous. To answer this question, you might want to look at the following:
   • How sensitive has this company’s value been to changes in macro-economic variables such as interest rates, currency movements, inflation, and the economy?
   • How sensitive has this company’s operating income been to changes in the same variables?
   • How sensitive is the sector’s value and operating income to the same variables?

 Write a 2- to 3-page paper. Submit your paper to the Submissions Area by Monday December 10, 2018. 

Format:

Present your paper in Microsoft Word document format. All written assignments and responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources. 

Assignment: Project Financing Grading Criteria & Maximum Points

Turned-in on time, Grading criteria followed All assignment qualifications addressed correctly, Grading Criteria followed, Include Question followed by the answer  Reference Page Included Cover page Included, Paragraphs  Indented,  Running-head included, main heading should be centered; all  new  paragraphs should be indented;  paper should be right ragged,   not right justified; references,  should always go on a standalone  page. abstracts are not usually indented; acronyms should be spelled out when using them  for  the first time, for example HR. references as listed are APA  standard.   When you  submit your papers through turnitin.com, your overall  similarity  index  score should not be exceedingly high, with   ten to  fifteen percent  being  the maximum,  Please make sure your APA  formatting of citations. I have provided the  APA resource cite for you. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01, Please work on using literature within the span of the last 5 years,  keep in mind there should not be any one, two, or three sentence  paragraphs 

Your response should be thorough and address all components of the discussion question in detail, include citations of all sources, where needed, according to the APA Style, and demonstrate accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Demonstrated proficient understanding of the new products and the quality of existing products or services as student addresses tasks posed in the assignment. 28pts.

Analyzed the return on equity and return on capital earned by the company. Provided the conclusions about the quality of the company’s existing projects. 28pts.

Discussed the funding sources of the initiative. Analyzed the sensitivity of this company’s operating income from micro- and macroeconomic factors. 28pts.

Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation. 16pts.

Total: 100pts.