Questions for individual write-up:

In what ways has Ascena pursued a value enhancing/creating diversification path?  In what ways, has the firm pursued diversification for non-value enhancing reasons?  Identify at least four total motives and specific actions.
Ascena has largely expanded by using acquisitions. Have they managed the acquisition process well?  In other words, how have they made acquisitions work for them?  How have they experienced the pitfalls of acquisitions?  Identify at least four total items for how they have managed the acquisition process.
In the end, what is your evaluation of Ascenas corporate strategy?  Specifically identify whether you believe they are doing it well or poorly and justify this conclusion.
What recommendations would you have for the firm? Make specific, meaningful recommendations that build from the analysis above.

This is an individual assignment based on Chapter 6 (Corporate Strategy). The questions should be answered within three double-spaced pages.  Submit the write-up in the D2L dropbox. No hardcopy needed.

The assignment is due by the start of your recitation.

This week you will submit a rough draft of your formal report or proposal. If you are writing a formal report, your rough draft will include the following elements.

Title Page
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction

Your primary goal as you draft business reports is to improve decision making. More so than routine business correspondence, reports should be built on thorough, precise, and reliable information and analysis and should offer advice to help decision makerstypically middle-level and upper-level managersmake informed choices. As a report writer, your personal credibility is tied to how well you provide facts, conclusions, and positions that help decision making (competence), involve decision makers and address their needs (caring), and report information honestly and transparently (character).