Reference no: EM133552309

Business Report (Memo) Assignment

For this assignment, you will be writing a Business "Memo".

Memos are brief printed documents traditionally used for routine, day-to-day communication within organizations. Memos have a twofold purpose: they bring attention to problems, and they solve problems. They accomplish their goals by informing the reader about new information.

Chosen Company is Toyota Cars

Competitor company is - Volvo

MEMO TOPIC

Use the following steps to guide you in the development of your Memo. These steps will be reviewed in detail in a "Workshop" class in Week 3:

1. Choose one of the companies that you wrote about in your Week 2 In-Class Assignment. This company will be referred to as your "chosen company" throughout the instructions below.

2. Choose a "competitor company" to your "chosen" company. For this assignment, you will pretend you work for a company that is a COMPETITOR to your "chosen company". You will pretend you've been asked by your manager to write a competitive review Report/Memo about your "chosen company". So, you will be writing from the perspective of the competitor company, discussing strengths and weaknesses of your "chosen company".

Ultimately, you will be answering the following research question: Should your "chosen company" be considered a threat by the competition in the industry? Why or why not? (NOTE: this research question IS your "Business Report Topic" for your APA Assignment)

3. Make a list of the strengths and weaknesses of your "chosen company". While you will likely use some of your personal opinion content that you wrote for your Week 2 In-Class Assignment, try to think more broadly here and tie in specific business issues and themes. These business issues and themes should guide you and serve as prompts when collecting research for your Memo.

4. Complete your APA Assignment! (this is a separate assignment that focuses on finding resources and using proper citation, but it serves as the starting point or foundation for this Business Report/Memo assignment.

5. Write a draft of your Business Memo (Competitive Review), USING the resources you identified in your APA Assignment. Your Memo should be YOUR OWN WORDS. I want to read about YOUR ideas and thoughts. Use research merely to SUPPORT your opinions, ideas and thought. Use critical thinking to evaluate the research you find.

6. Your Memo MUST include data and facts to support your arguments, and therefore you must source and cite good references, following the 7th edition of APA formatting. You cannot simply complete this assignment based on your opinion. In addition, the website of the
"chosen company" can NOT be the only reference used.

MEMO FORMAT
Your report should follow a simple Business "Memo" format. An example can be found at the Purdue Writing Lab website. Click here for the link: website.
Your Memo should begin with the following 4 lines (NOTE: these lines are NOT included in the required page length for this assignment).
1. For the "TO:" line, you can create a fictitious boss name and title.
2. For the "FROM:" line, use your own name and create a fictitious title for yourself.
3. For the "DATE" line, use the date you start working in this assignment.
4. For the "SUBJECT" line, use a succinct, but intriguing short phrase.
Your Memo will include a short Introduction paragraph. Your Introduction paragraph does not need a Heading, but will serve as an overview to the Memo. As such, your Introduction paragraph should provide a short overview of the purpose of the memo, the findings and your conclusion.

Next, you will write the "body" of your Memo. Use headings to organize the content in this section. This section should be 2-4 pages in length, but this is based on single-line spacing, normal margins and 12-pt font. You can use pictures, charts, etc. to supplement your content, but they will not count toward the page requirements.

SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS
Your Business Memo must meet the following requirements:
• This assignment should be completed individually.
• Each student is required to submit their OWN work.
• Completed in MS Word with the following technical specifications: single spaced (NO spaces in between lines!); ONE space in between paragraphs; 12 pt font; normal margins; accurate page numbering
• Your report should follow the "Memo" format covered in class (see the Purdue Writing Lab website for details).
• Your actual Memo should be 2-4 pages in length, but this assignment must also include the following:
o Title Page
o Reference Page
o Appendices (optional; as required)
• You must use the 7th edition of APA style of referencing.
• This assignment must be submitted to the Dropbox on the course
website. It is the student's responsibility to ensure the file submitted is in the correct format and that it can be opened by the Professor. Files can be submitted in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format. Submissions with file submission errors will be subject to a 10% per day grade deduction.

PART A - Instructions:Find 3 references that meet the C.R.A.A.P test and provide these details:
a. Type of Reference (choose from APA Style 7th ed Guidelines document)
b. Reference written in APA Format per the Guidelines document
c. Adetailed summary of how your reference is relevant to your Business Report Topic.
At least one reference MUST be from the Mohawk College Library Database

PART B - Instructions:In the space below, provide an outline for your Business Report. What are the headings and sub-headings you plan on using to organize your data? Make sure your outline aligns to your Business Report Topic!

Strengths:
• Popularity of a brand
• Development and Research
• Global Presence
• Regulatory Compliance
• Resources in money
Weaknesses:
• Supply Chain shortage
• Competition
• Consumer Perception
• Limited EV Models
• Charging Infrastructure