Title: Strategic Management Research Journal Part 2.

Assignment Content

1. Strategic management includes an analysis of a business’s current state. Continuing with your research of Caterpillar, Inc., you will leverage the business SWOT tool to identify and drive organizational strategic decision making and evaluate problem-solving strategies for the company.
   Review the Strategic Management Project Background document (Info Below)
   Create a Word doc and title it Strategic Management Research Journal Part 2.
   Write a 350- to 525-word response to the following prompts in your journal entry:
   1. Conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of Caterpillar, Inc. Each SWOT quadrant must contain 7-10 items, (this is not included in the 525-word count).
   2. Analyze Caterpillar’s strengths and include specific examples based on your SWOT analysis findings.
   3. Evaluate the weaknesses and threats for any common themes that might be a risk.
   4. Compare Caterpillar’s weaknesses against its opportunities.
   5. Propose problem-solving strategies to address Caterpillar’s weaknesses or threats that could be mitigated by a business opportunity or business decision. Note: You will use information from this entry in your presentation due in week 5.

Strategic Management Project Background

Overview

The intention of the Strategic Management Project is to provide you practical experience with the elements of strategic management. The project is spread across the 5-week period of the course. Weeks 1‑4 provide an opportunity to put key terms into practice by appraising the strategic planning elements of Caterpillar Inc. through documentation in the Strategic Management Research Journal. The Week 5 concluding assignment showcases your understanding of strategic management and improvement in the formulation of a presentation to Caterpillar Inc.’s leadership team.

For purposes of the Strategic Management Project, you will operate as if you are a new hire at the Caterpillar Inc. headquarters in the role of Assistant Strategic Development Analyst.

Assistant Strategic Development Analyst Job Description

·       Maintain a Strategic Management Research Journal in which you:

o   Appraise Caterpillar Inc.’s corporate data, competitors, and associated business information.

o   Document background information to include previous and current strategic management of Caterpillar Inc.

·       Assess the strengths and weaknesses of strategic management of Caterpillar Inc., based on your analyses, and provide information in a presentation to Caterpillar Inc. leadership.

·       Recommend strategic management actions to ensure future success in a presentation to Caterpillar Inc.’s leadership team.

About Caterpillar Inc.

The following is derived from the Caterpillar Inc. website:

Caterpillar Inc. is a leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. Caterpillar’s enterprise strategy focuses on solutions to help customers build a better world and allows the company to deliver profitable growth for their shareholders. The company’s corporate governance program ensures they serve the interests of stockholders and other stakeholders with the highest standards of responsibility, integrity, and compliance with all laws. Caterpillar’s global presence, product breadth, and financial strength enables the company to be competitive in today’s global marketplaces.