Corporate Research Paper

Corporate Research Paper
(15% of the course final grade)
Assignment Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to apply your familiarity with nonmarket forces affecting businesses to
a currently active corporation. This assignment is focused on researching and analyzing broad
strategies which lead to positioning options for a firm in its market and nonmarket environments. You
will have the basic knowledge to begin your paper after completing Module A. However, subject matter
from Modules A, B and C is expected to be used in completing the research and analysis for this
assignment.
Please choose one of the following businesses as your assignment focus:
Nutrien Ltd.
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited
Due Date
4:30 p.m. MT, Tuesday, April 6th, 2021
Assignment Specifications
Your report should be double-spaced and should contain six or seven pages of essay text. In addition,
add a title page which contains the course name, course section, your name, the title of the paper, the
name of the instructor, the date, a table of contents, and finally, a reference list page using APA format.
(If citing a report of a legal case, legal citation may be utilized for the case in the reference list.) The
table of contents should include all headings and sub-headings used in your paper and their respective
page numbers. Corresponding headings should be included in the body of your paper. Page numbers
must appear on each page in the page footer of text starting on page 2. Your sources must be
identified in the body of your text using in-text citations in APA format. These are minimum
specifications for your report and your instructor may supplement them. However no more than 5% of
the 15% course final grade from this assignment shall be attributed to spelling, punctuation, grammar
and formatting.
The following URL has useful APA resources:
https://apastyle.apa.org/
In addition to making references to your textbook, your research should include at least five sources
from business texts, journals, news media, and blogs from corporate websites. No more than two of
your sources may be from the news media. Non-corporate blogs, Wikipedia and YouTube are not
considered original sources for this assignment.
“Google Scholar” may lead you to some original articles. The following sources may be worth
considering: Canadian Newsstand, CBCA Complete, CPIQ, newspapers, magazines such as The
ECON3340 Business and Its Environment Winter 2021
2
Economist, Canadian Business, Report on Business, Maclean’s and various other trade publications.
Students will also find articles and company profiles in the Business Source Complete and ABI/Inform
Global databases, FPinfomart, Mergent, SEDAR, CSID (Canadian Social Investment database), EDGAR and
Hoovers Company Records.
Assignment Content
The components discussed under the bolded headings below should be used as major divisions in your
paper. In addition, the headings you utilize beneath the major divisions should reflect the nonmarket
issue you select and the characteristics of your chosen business. Subject matter from Modules A, B and
C is expected to be used in completing this assignment.
Introduction
Please provide a short history of your chosen business and briefly describe its current business
operations.
Nonmarket Environment
Please examine your chosen business’s nonmarket environment with respect to one issue ,only, of one
of the following types:
• Public perception (e.g. revenue change which is correlated to the issue)
• Legal (e.g. as plaintiff or defendant in a law suit)
• Regulatory (e.g. a securities commission investigation)
Apply the Four Is analysis model (Issue, Interests, Institutions, Information) to one current or past
issue you identify and choose. (Do not pick an array of issues, such as when Canadian Tire was given
the opportunity to own a Schedule A Chartered Bank.)
This is the foundation of your analysis; use as much additional material from the textbook as
necessary in order to fulfill the requirements of the assignment.
Integrated Strategy
Discuss your chosen business’s integration of a market and nonmarket strategy by analyzing its level of
success and the extent of its current challenges. Cite examples about the positioning and need for
repositioning of your chosen business in its market environment and particularly, its nonmarket
environment.
Conclusion and Recommendation(s)
Conclude by summarizing your analysis and providing recommendations that address any challenges
cited in your analysis. In particular, address any perceived benefits for your business in creating and
updating an integrated market and nonmarket strategy.