Business Consulting Plan

Analysis and Recommendation
Overview
The assignments in this course are framed around a scenario in which you are hired by a company as a consultant to provide a recommendation on solving a challenge or capitalizing on an opportunity. You will draw upon your knowledge and skills around operations, finance, marketing, leadership, etc. for each assignment. The assignments will be completed in a PowerPoint presentation template and will be combined into a final pitch deck that you can add to your portfolio. In your Week 3 assignment you shared important data and insights about your company. In this assignment, you will continue in your role as a hired consultant and analyze that data to create a recommendation for your company to either solve a problem or capitalize on an opportunity. This will be the 2nd part of your pitch deck presentation.
Instructions:
The assignment must be completed in the provided PowerPoint template.
• Download and save the Week 6_Assignment_Template [PPTX] Download Week 6_Assignment_Template [PPTX].
• Follow the guidelines provided in the Strayer Library: SWS Guidelines for Slideshow Presentations
• Review the rubric carefully before you begin working on the assignment.
• Using the template, create an eight-slide presentation that will be part of a pitch deck for the company that hired you as a business consultant.
• Each slide should include 1-2 paragraphs of speaker notes that will be utilized to explain the content to the company leadership during your presentation. (Note: A video tutorial has been provided under the resources section below)
For Slide 1. Title slide – add the name of the company as a subtitle and your name and the date.
For Slide 2. Identify one challenge or opportunity that you will address as a consultant. In your speaker notes, explain the basis or rationale behind this selection. Remember, you are creating a pitch to the company leadership. Convince them why they should address this challenge or opportunity.
For slides 3-4 research close competitors of the company to determine their approach to a similar challenge or opportunity.
• Slides 3-4. Analyze similar solutions for the challenge or opportunity from two competitors. Be sure to provide specific, relevant details to connect the competitors’ approach to your recommendation. (Detailed explanation should be placed in the speaker notes.)
• Sides 5-7. Recommend an approach to solve the challenge or capitalize on the opportunity identified for the company. Include specific details explaining which areas in the company would be the focus of your recommendation. (e.g. human resources, management, accounting/finance, marketing, etc.) (Detailed explanation should be placed in the speaker notes.)
• Slide 8. Sources slide. Use three or more quality sources to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source slide at least one time within your assignment.
o For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library.
Produce writing that is clear and well organized and applies appropriate Strayer Writing Standards (SWS) style. Writing contains accurate grammar, mechanics, and spelling.
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all support. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Resources
• SWS Guidelines for Slideshow Presentations
The following tools available in the Strayer Library will help you with your research:
• Company, Industry, and Market Research using Business Source Ultimate Links to an external site. (Start with this resource – it will be very helpful as you search for specific information.)
• Business Source Ultimate Library Guide
• Business Source Ultimate Database (Tip: Search for case studies as a document type, could also add a NAICS code based on industry and then type the type of issue into the search bar.)
•
o Market Line Company Profiles – Type the company name in the 2nd field. (Note: Your company may or may not be listed here.)
o SWOT analyses can be found under the publication type
• IBISWorld Database – Library Guide (This is a good resource for researching competitor information.)
• Library of Congress Research Guides Links to an external site. (See their left-hand menu – use this resource to look for competitor information on public and private companies.)
The following websites can provide helpful data on budgets and spending:
• U.S. National Debt: Implications for Organizations
• Government spending (Mind map)
• Fiscal Data US Treasury Dept.Links to an external site.
• USA Spending Links to an external site.
There are also many other relevant internet resources (e.g., Yahoo Finance).

How do I format a PowerPoint in SWS?
Should speaker notes be double spaced in presentations?
Topics
• Citation: Strayer Writing Standards (SWS)

Answer
Strayer Writing Standards (SWS) can be applied to PowerPoints and other presentation and slideshow software. The SWS website link below provides a template and sample presentation in SWS.
Key Distinctions when formatting a PowerPoint

1. Create a title slide, instead of a title page.
2. Create a source list slide at the end or provide source lists on the relevant slide.
3. Use font sizes 24 and larger, instead of smaller sizes used in Word documents.
4. Double spacing is not required on slides or in speaker notes.
5. Be sure to include in-text citations and a source list when using research. In-text citations may be on slide or in the speaker notes. Place them at the location of the paraphrase, quote or summary.