Papers should take the form of an executive brief/memo and demonstrate effective executive writing.
Deliverables will focus on answering either the question “What should “the protagonist” do?” or evaluating the
performance of the executives in question. They will take the form of a short executive briefing, incorporating:
1) Executive Summary, a brief overview of the paper, including a descriiption of the situation/problem, main
recommendation (Act-Now/Prepare-to-Act/Monitor/Park) and key supporting recommended action(s), and,
2) Supporting Narrative summarizing background information, concise analysis, available options, decision criteria
(pros/sons), recommended action(s) and summary/conclusions.
The objective is to move beyond contextual/situational analysis, framing issues, and root cause to evaluate options and
recommend specific actions. Recommendations must be specific and both action-oriented and actionable. Timing for recommended actions is specific to
each case but will generally achieve results over one of three horizons: short-term, mid-term, and long-term.
Group Paper #1 – Sonoco – “What should Peter Browning do?”
Be Peter Browning — size up the situation at Sonoco, evaluate his options, and define a specific action plan.
o Papers can be up to 4 pages in length, including supporting exhibits (if any).
o See the Assignment on Blackboard for detailed instruction and the grading rubric.
The paper should be written from a strategy implementation standpoint from the attached lecture materials and “Sonoco” pdf I provided. I will be further
attaching more lecture material which you can draw analysis from. There is a missing PowerPoint deck that is missing which will be needed before being
able to start the report. I will send it separately when I receive the deck from the professor.
Incorporating a Functional Analysis, Eisenhower Matrix and
Action Priority Matrix into an Appendix would further enhance the quality of the strategy