Reviewing an Annual Report

Your team (2-3 students) will first choose and then be assigned one of the following industries (based on your choice):

• Leisure Travel: Cruises
• Financial Services
• Consumer Products: Small Tools
• Telecommunications
• Transportation: Trucking
• Leisure: Restaurants

Within each of these industries, specific companies have been chosen for review. Again, you will be asked to choose and be assigned one of the companies within your chosen industry:

• Leisure Travel: Cruises
1. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
2. Carnival Corporation
• Financial Services
1. The Charles Schwab Corporation
2. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.
• Consumer Products: Small Tools
1. The Stanley Works
2. The Black & Decker Corporation
• Telecommunications
1. Motorola, Inc.
2. QUALCOMM Incorporated
• Transportation: Trucking
1. Yellow Corporation
2. Roadway Express, Inc.
• Leisure: Restaurants
1. Brinker International, Inc.
2. Darden Restaurants, Inc.

Next obtain a copy of its most recent annual report. Go to Quintessential Careers: Guide to Researching Companies and use the Internet resources listed there to download the information you need. (You can usually download annual reports directly from the company's Website.) While gathering the information you need for this report, remember that the annual report is basically a marketing/public relations document.

Consolidate the information in the company's report to produce a two to four page document of your own. Your team's report should include a description of the company's progress in the last year (minimum 250 words), key marketing strengths (brands, distribution, location, etc.), a spreadsheet(s) with any data you deem relevant (sales figures work well here), and at least two charts in support of the spreadsheet or written material.

For some guidance on reading annual reports, go to:

• Tips for Reading Annual Reports for Investors

Formatting is important and you are expected to present the information in an attractive manner. A corporate logo at the beginning of the document would be a nice touch.

Include a title page so that your submission to me consists of three to five pages in all (the title page and the two to four page report).

Go back to Dr. Hansen's Marketing Decision-Making Syllabus.