The company you have selected for this term is one enterprise in a larger industry. An industry is a group of companies producing similar products or services (e.g., fast food, higher education, automotive, etc.). An industry is not limited to a small geographic area. Your Industry Analysis should consider the entire industry within the United States in which your company belongs. Include additional information about regional factors if appropriate.
The following subheadings are suggestions for organization of your memo (followed by sufficient and well-cited analyses):
- Industry Size and Growth Trends
- Maturity of the Industry
- External Economic Factors and their Effect on the Industry
- Seasonality
- Technological Factors
- Regulatory, Political, and Legal Concerns
- Competitive Environment and Changes in the Competitive Environment
- Key Challenge(s) Facing the Industry
- Company’s Steps to Meet One Key Challenge
NOTES:
- You must use information from at least five unique sources as part of your analysis. Published sources that you might consult include trade journals, industry publications, and U.S. Department of Commerce publications.
- In order to avoid cases of plagiarism or patch writing, ensure all sources are properly cited in APA format and that thoughts are synthesized and represent your unique analysis and interpretation of the data.
- You should review the video on Library Business Resources for guidance on obtaining industry-specific information appropriate for academic research and writing. This video was also available in BA500, but it serves as a friendly reminder
For basic information on formatting and principles of memo writing, please refer to pages 169-174 of your text, as well the article, “The Best Memo You’ll Ever Write” by Holly Weeks and the Online Writing Laboratory Memo pages (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/590/03/).
Memos should be 2-3 pages long, not counting the reference page and any attachments or addenda.
