531 –Assignment 2(1206)Page 1of 3JWI 531: Financial Management IIAssignment 2© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University. This document is subject to change based on the needs of the class.Assignment 2: Performance Management and ValuationDue Week 6, Sunday (18% of final grade)The risk analysis work you did in the first assignment was a great start. It helped to paint a picture of where AMD and Intel are in their corporate lifecycles, the threats and opportunities each faces, and the defensibility of their economic moats – a metaphor that Buffett loves to use. In this assignment, you will continue your analysis by comparing key performance management metrics of our two companies, identifying areas of relative strength and weakness, and suggesting ways that eachcompany could improve, thereby increasing its valuation. To do this, you will examine trends in order to identify variances and comparisons to: (1) establish benchmarks, (2) identify best practices, and (3) lookfor signs of superior performance. This analysis is critical in determining the value of each company, as well as evaluating whether potential acquisition or merger opportunities exist which could create greater value and synergies than those of operating the companies as separate entities.Instructions:To prepare, reread the Morningstar Analyst’s Report and the most recent annual reports for both companies with a particular focus on the Income Statementand Statement of Cash Flows.A. Complete the Assignment 2 Worksheet to compare key performance metrics and ratios for both companies in order to see how performance can be impacted by manipulating certain financial levers. The guidance for this is found on pages 78-100 of The CFO Guidebook.B. Summarize your Analysis and Recommendations by answering the following questions:i. Performance Metrics:a. Which company is a more efficient generator of income? b. Which company is growing faster? c. Using financial health ratios, which company is more profitable?d. Which company has stronger valuation ratios? e. Overall, which is the better run company and why?ii. Merger Synergies:a. If there was an acquisition, which company is the most likely acquirer? Why?b. Would you recommend a merger or acquisition to increase the moat strength of the combined companies? Why or why not? •If you support a merger or acquisition, identify 3 performance metrics that could be improved by a merger and explain how they would be improved. Guidance for this is found on pages 101-110 of The CFO Guidebook.

Discussion one: Due Nov/11 Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read Chapter 2 of your text, the “ Strategic planning and forecasting”  article by Naylor, and review the relevant information from this week’s lecture. There is a tendency with many businesses, as well as IT leaders, to confuse “strategy” with “action planning” or “tactical involvement.” Planning is difficult, as it involves devoting time to thinking rather than doing or acting. This week’s lecture talks about the differences between strategy, operations, and tactics and how it is necessary to provide a competitive advantage to the business through the strategic implementation of technology. Guided by that information, and from the assigned readings, define the terms “strategy,” “operations,” and “tactics” in your own words. Explain what the differences are between these terms, and describe how an IT leader might apply these concepts to keep focused on planning, rather than just doing. Support your statements with evidence from your sources. Your initial post should be a minimum of 250 words. Discussion two: Due Nov/11 (this is the group discussion you can see in bold the item that I have to do) Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read the Organizational factors influencing the quality of the IS/IT strategic planning process article and review the relevant information from this week’s lecture. The designated lead for the group this week will assign various tasks to members in their assigned group in order to develop an IT Organizational Plan based on the ISM645 Acme Company Strategic Summary Plan  Download ISM645 Acme Company Strategic Summary Plan. Go to your assigned group to create the IT Organizational Plan. Your plan should be created in a separate document and must address the following elements as they will be needed to support the corporate strategic summary plan: Create general roles and titles for the necessary personnel. Discuss the reporting relationships between the created roles. Describe the duties of each role. Explain the ability of each role to support the various IT functions that help run the company. Explain the ability of each role to support new projects and/or additions anticipated by the company in the coming years. The plan may be presented as either a graphical representation or a descriptive narrative. You may also choose to use a combination of both. Once you have completed your plan, attach it to this initial post to share with the rest of the class. Assignment : Due Nov/15 Strategizing for Corporate Advantage Prior to beginning work on this assignment read Chapter 2 from the text, the articles from Powell (1992), Powell & Dent-Micallef (1997), review the relevant information from this week’s lecture, and carefully review the ISM645 Acme Company Strategic Summary Plan Download ISM645 Acme Company Strategic Summary Plan. Review the instructions below and research at least five additional scholarly sources to support your statements. You may wish to review the recommended resources for this week for assistance with finding appropriate resources. Understanding IT planning for the business as a Competitive Advantage is not new. However, many CIOs fail to understand the strategic initiatives of their business in order to leverage IT Strategic Planning for a competitive advantage. The ability to determine the Corporate Strategy and identify business initiatives is essential for the IT Department in order to make it relevant and vital to the company. Understanding these initiatives and the ability to identify key business initiatives within a corporate strategy is basic to any IT Strategic Plan. Note: As you begin to draft your paper be careful not to fall into the trap of coming up with specific solutions. Rather, think strategically in terms of directions and areas of technology and/or innovation. Review the Acme Corporate Strategic Summary Plan and analyze the key business initiatives that support the Corporate Strategy. For each business initiative, explain why it is key to Acme’s corporate strategy. Discuss whether or not any of the authors in your readings support this type of initiative or are critical of it. For each identified initiative, explain the possible IT Strategic (planned) actions that might be relevant. In addition, assess why this could be a competitive advantage for the company.

You are working as an analyst for a large cable company that offers bundles of channels all across the United States. One of the bundles is the “basic package,” which includes network channels along with a few other basic cable channels. You are interested in learning how the price of this basic package influences the rate of subscriptions in a market. You have data on subscriptions per 1,000 local residents, price for the basic package, and average local household income. You also have data on local telecom labor costs per subscriber. You believe this last variable influences the local price but not subscriptions per se. Based on the data provided, write out an expression for the data-generating process for subscriptions per 1,000 local residents. Estimate the effect of basic package price on subscriptions per 1,000 local residents using OLS. Why might you distrust this result as being a causal effect?