You may work individually or in pairs. If you want to work in a group you should turn in one paper with both names
on it. The group should pick a company to analyze. It is usually easier to find information if the company is public
but any company that interests the team is acceptable.
This assignment is a short paper discussing how a firm is positioned in the market. If the firm has multiple products
select a single product that the firm produces for this analysis. Then pick a few of the firm’s top competitors. These
can be identified either from your knowledge of the industry or from an industry report. UML Library provides free
access to the IBIS World database: https://libguides.uml.edu/ibisworld_help . If you search the database for a
market, you can often find detailed reports to help identify important market characteristics.
Once you have the firm, the product and the list of competitors use their marketing materials to identify the
quantitative attributes that they have determined to be the most important. Identify the market segment that they
appear to be targeting and how the marketing message relates to the important attributes previously identified. In a
paragraph, summarize the target market and the important attributes you have identified.
The primary part of the analysis should be a chart containing the firms, products, prices and the two most important
quantitative attributes and a graph of the results. The graph can be computer generated or carefully hand drawn.
The product attribute paper and the example we worked through in class should be used a guide for the table and
graph. If you cannot find pricing or values for attributes, you will need to pick a different product.
In a concluding paragraph, think about the firm and its relative position in the market based on your attribute
analysis. How is the firm positioned compared to the other products in the market? Is any firm priced out of the
market (or significantly underpriced)? Are the firms all providing similar combinations of the attributes or are there
significant gaps in the attribute space?
Format
The paper should be double spaced, with 1 inch margins and in a 12 point font. There must be a signed honor code
page attached to the paper (see the end of this document). There should be a short introduction, the quantitative
analysis, and a short conclusion. You should use proper citations (footnotes or end notes) where appropriate. When
you include the graph, it may be computer generated or neatly handwritten. Relatively small graphics and short
tables should be included in-line within the body of the paper. If there are larger exhibits, those may be included at
the end. Everything should have a purpose and explanatory benefit – do not include a chart, graph or picture unless
it helps the reader better understand your point. This should be written as a formal business analysis and it should be
written in an appropriate tone and formality. Any generally recognized academic citation method can be used (MLA,
APA, Chicago, etc…). All use of other people’s work should be attributed.
Grading
Papers are not graded on length but on content and clarity, however, it is expected that most papers will be around
the three page range. It is important to proofread the completed paper, especially if multiple people work on
different parts and the final product is a merged document. The paper will be evaluated on the following categories:
- Signed honor code (see end of this document).
- Identification of the important quantitative attributes of the firm, the industry or the product, given the target
segment. - Identification of the important competitors for the firm or product.
- Accuracy of the calculations, table and graph, given the identified competitors and attributes.
- Discussion of the firm’s relative position in the market, correctly identifying anomalies or similarities among
the products.