In this group case study project, you will join forces with three of your peers to make an investment recommendation on either of two corporations: Pfizer or McDonalds Corporation. The task for your team will be to compare the two companies based on both the supporting information and any external research that you conduct, and ultimately recommend one over the other as having stronger investment potential.
As a further twist, your team will have some competition. Other teams will be given the same opportunity to prepare their information package on the same two companies using the same case studies as a starting point. Consequently, your team should try to package your information and recommendation that is the most engaging, creative, and persuasive.
• Part 1 – By the end of Unit 3, students will have been assigned to a group which will meet online in the Group Case Study Project Discussion Forum (found in Unit 1) and brainstorm a strategy (ungraded, but with feedback).• Part 2 – In Unit 4, the group will submit a Learning Team Agreement, which will spell out who is responsible for what in the packaging of the information, and a list of their research sources (ungraded, but with feedback).• Part 3 – In Unit 8, the group will submit a draft of their project report, but without their recommendations (ungraded, but with feedback).• Part 4 – In Unit 9, the group will submit their final package (project report [8 pages, APA format, and double-spaced] and presentation), including their recommendation about which company the team recommends. The final package should incorporate feedback from Parts 2-3 (Weight 20% of project total).
Report Content
The report should not exceed EIGHT content pages (excluding cover page, table of contents, references, appendices, etc.). Do not exceed the page limit. Use only the following SIX titles for your report’s content:
1. Introduction2. Company profile, product and industry position3. Financial performance4. The Market: Demand, Competition, Rival and Complement products, and consumer target segments5. Strategies and initiatives for efficiency, profitability, and sustainability6. Future outlook and investment recommendation
Guiding Questions for this Assignment
As your team conducts research on the companies to obtain appropriate information for making a financial investment in either company, here is a list of relevant questions to improve your comparative analysis between the two companies:
• What is the current financial situation of the company?• What kind of market/industry structure (Perfect Competition, Monopolistic Competition, or Monopoly) does the company belong to?• What is the Price Elasticity of Demand for the goods that the company sells? Is the demand elastic or inelastic?• What kind income elasticity the product(s) of the company face?• Who are the company’s closest competitors?• Are there any close substitutes or complements?• Is the demand for the product of your chosen company growing? Explain why.• Can the labor force of your chosen company be trained further to increase productivity and lower cost of production?• As a business is your chosen company profitable? Will it be able sustain profitability?• How can it make its profit grow?• What is the price elasticity of demand for brand name drugs? Is it elastic or inelastic? How about fast food?• What is the Income Elasticity of demand for these products? Which one has the higher income elasticity and why?• What is the cross price elasticity of demand (if any) between the main products of the two companies? What about among Pfizer’s main products and related products, and among McDonalds’ main products and related products?• Which company has higher fixed costs? Which has higher marketing costs? Why?• What other issues with regards to the social, political, labour, legal or environmental practices of these two companies might you include that could impact your decision?• What specific innovations or strategies is each company pursuing and how might this impact the investment decision?
