WEEK $1$ DB

$1)$ MAIN POSTING $(900-1,200$ words$)$

$($Please note that Week $1$ posting is longer as this is the foundational posting for the remaining topics. This forum is also the public space where you discuss and probe your ideas which will eventually find their way into your Capstone Paper$).$

$2)$ TWO PEER RESPONSES $(80-100$ words each$)$

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READ THIS CAREFULLY!

This first posting represents your Strategic Audit of the $$Blue Nile, Inc.$$ case, and it needs to be written in an executive format in $900-1200$ words. Please note that this case is a decade old, and it is used as an exercise for you to demonstrate mastery in strategic management. DO NOT conduct additional research on what the company did during the past decade, after the case was written. Because this is an exercise, you should focus exclusively on the information provided by the case as written. At the end of the semester, after you submitted your Capstone Paper, you may look up the company to compare your ideas with what the company did during the past decade.

BEFORE writing your main posting, please take the following steps:

First, read the Capstone Case carefully $($Blue Nile Inc.$)$

Second, study Appendix $1$A $($Strategic Audit of a Corporation$)$

Third, study $$A Student$$s Guide to SWOT Analysis & Implementation$$

Fourth, familiarize yourself with the template for the Capstone Paper.

$($All documents are available on the course site under DOWNLOADS.$)$

As you write your strategic audit, please organize the data in the following way:

$1)$ Write one paragraph on: $$Current Situation.$$

$2)$ Write one paragraph on: $$Corporate Governance.$($You should simply answer some of the applicable questions listed in Appendix $1$A$.)$

$3)$ Create a SWOT matrix by using $$A Student$$s Guide to SWOT Analysis & Implementation.$$ Your matrix should be structured and organized as listed on page $7$ of the Student Guide $($How to develop a SWOT action plan$)$ You can copy the SWOT matrix from the Capstone Paper template available as a word file.

$4)$ Write three paragraphs proposing the following: a$)$ Strategic Alternatives and Recommended Strategy, $($b$)$ Implementation, and $($c$)$ Evaluation and Control.