COMM401 Mid-term Assignment
Winter 2018
The midterm assignment for COMM401 consists of an analysis of a single case: “Tesla Motors (in 2013): Will Sparks Fly in the Automobile Industry?” provided in your case pack. This exercise comprises 30% of your final grade.
The assignment is to be submitted on Moodle with a deadline of 11:59 pm on February 28th. Papers received after the deadline will have the grade reduced by 10%, with an additional 10% reduction for each further day of delay. The date of receipt is the date that the assignment is uploaded on Moodle.
The written assignment must conform to these specifications:
• A separate title page.
• A maximum of 1500 words.
• No more than 3 exhibit pages of tables, graphs, or graphics.
• 1.5 spacing paragraphs; 1 inch margins, single-space bullet point lists.
• Times New Roman or Arial font – 11 or 12 pt.
• Please note, you are also required to bring in a hard copy of the assignment to our following class together on March 5th (for administrative reasons at Concordia).
This is an individual assignment and must be completed independently: It is not acceptable to submit text, exhibits and appendices that have been jointly prepared. Note that it must be completed individually. I will be using software to check for similarities among your submissions.
The Breakdown
A good analysis requires that you apply the material and methodology that you have learned over the course of weeks 1-6. Use the models and frameworks that we’ve covered to answer the following questions:
1) What are the major challenges facing Tesla Motors? (10%)
2) Provide an external analysis of the industry and operating environment (25%)
3) Provide an internal analysis of Tesla Motors (25%)
4) Outline the major strategic options. Ensure that these are viable according to your analysis in Questions 2 and 3 (15%).
5) Conclude with a recommendation, linking it to your analysis. What is the justification for selecting this option and rejecting the others? (25%)
Good luck!
