Competency

In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competency:

• Utilize information from industry and scholarly sources to inform problem solving and decision making

Scenario

You are the sales department manager for a U.S.-based company that builds engines for the automotive manufacturing industry. Your company is considering diversifying into other business opportunities where your motors can be sold in order to bolster the company’s portfolio and increase revenue. Based on your knowledge of the national sales landscape, your manager would like you to conduct preliminary research and prepare a presentation with your recommendation for opportunity in a new industry that will allow for this diversification through a new sales division and increased sales. You have been asked to make your presentation at the next stakeholder meeting, where you will address internal stakeholders from across the company as well as external stakeholders such as customers, investors, and suppliers.

As a preliminary step in developing this presentation, your manager would like to see an executive summary of your research findings and evaluate your decision modeling.

Directions

Complete the Project One Worksheet in your Soomo webtext and submit it for instructor feedback.

Part 1: Define

You will first conduct research on the U.S.-based automotive manufacturing industry using the Shapiro Library database links provided in the supporting materials section below. Then, prepare an analysis report that addresses the following:

1. Define the problem.
   1. Explain the type of qualitative and quantitative data you will be targeting in your research.
2. Provide a broad description of the U.S. automotive manufacturing industry and its value. Include:
   1. Total value of the industry
   2. Sales by region
   3. Sales by fuel type: electric, hybrid, and gas
3. Describe the current trends in the automotive market.
   1. The trend toward different types of motors for the vehicles being made and sold, such as electric and hybrid
   2. Trends in customer demands such as vehicle color, extra features, and styles
   3. Trends in the body types of vehicles sold (SUVs, trucks, sedans)

Part 2: Research

In Module One, you chose an industry that you think would provide opportunity for your company. Now, using industry-specific and scholarly resources to inform your decision, prepare an industry analysis report that includes the following:

1. Provide a broad description of the new industry.
   1. Describe the overall attractiveness of the industry.
      1. Is this a growing industry?
      2. Is this an industry that has a lot of growth potential?
      3. What outside factors are affecting its growth?
   2. Identify the factors that have allowed competitors to be successful in this industry thus far.
   3. Summarize the overall value of the industry.
      1. How is the industry currently trending?
   4. Summarize the sales. Speculate if sales vary based on the region of the country. (For example, there would be very few snow plow sales in the southern United States, if any at all.)
   5. Define expected growth areas.
2. Describe the current market trends for the new industry.
   1. What products or services are trending?
   2. What are some current customer demands?
3. Perform a Porter’s Five Forces analysis to determine the potential success of moving into this new industry.
   1. Explain your rationale.

Part 3: Compare

Compare the two industries and summarize your findings.

1. Perform a Porter’s Five Forces analysis to compare the two industries.
2. Summarize how your findings address the problem.

What to Submit

To complete this project, submit an executive summary report of 3 to 4 pages using the provided templates, or the document you downloaded from Soomo. Sources should be cited according to APA style.

Supporting Materials

The following resources support your work on the project:

https://www.webtexts.com/courses/54045-lavorgna/traditional_book/chapters/5653623-information-literacy/pages/4813135-types-of-sources-