Digital Commons Network^™

Lululemon Athletica Strategic Audit, Nolan T. Rinn

Honors Theses

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (Lululemon) is principally a designer, distributor, and retailer of technical athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories with a vision to create transformative products and experiences that build meaningful connections, unlocking greater possibility and wellbeing for all (Lululemon). This paper will examine Lululemon to understand its market position and competitiveness within the athletic apparel industry. The analysis uses PESTEL and Porter’s Five Forces analyses to evaluate the changing external environment and industry Lululemon operates in.

Divination, Brannon Evans

Honors Theses

This document details my time developing a cross-discipline devised theatre experience. The piece explores the various ways we interact with technology. The start of the process was fueled by one simple question: “What can multi faceted collaboration look like (between peers– not just across disciplines, but through an equally shared devising process)?” Through this documentation, I will be able to reflect upon and learn from my experience as a facilitator, actor, and theatre maker.

This thesis will be broken into six different parts to outline the six stages I underwent while creating the piece: developing the team, source material exploration, …

How To Effectively Reach Farmers And Assist Them In Reaching Their Precision Management Goals, Courtney Nelson

Honors Theses

Precision and digital agriculture have been popular buzz words floating around the last several years. These broad terms cover a plethora of topics including GPS ear tags for livestock, soil moisture probes, and aerial imagery. With such a wide number of technological advances at their fingertips, it can be overwhelming for farmers to know where to start.

A study conducted by Purdue University in 2019 took a deeper look at data and software usage across 800 farms larger than 1000 acres (DeLay et al, 2020). Their research revealed that over half of farmers who don’t use farm data or software …

Effective Gamification Within Educational Virtual Reality Environments, Adrian Pilkington

Honors Theses

With the advent and now widespread use of mobile phones and computers in educational settings, exploring effective and new ways of using technology in the classroom is important for educating the next generation of students. Innovative technology, like Virtual Reality, has started being discussed and researched for its potential benefits in educational settings. This paper presents a brief history of VR, game theory, and examines two VR educational games from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Nursing’s (UNMC) Senior Design teams. The two games will be used to replace lecture-style classes and to go out and educate the community. We …

A Strategic Audit Of Hudl, Jennifer Bogle

Honors Theses

Hudl was the first mover in connecting video and performance analysis to sports in the sports technology industry. They first appeared on the scene in 2006 and have experienced rapid growth in the past fourteen years. This paper analyzes Hudl’s position in the market by using Porter’s 5 Forces, PEST, and SWOT models. It identifies the company’s competitive advantage of an established brand reputation and user-friendly multi-sport software platform. Hudl’s current strategy is evaluated, and three potential recommendations to continue Hudl’s growth are discussed. The first recommendation is to enter into the new Esports market. The second recommendation is to …

Google Ads: A Strategic Audit, Jessee Zhang

Honors Theses

Google began as an internet search product, allowing users to find relevant sites based on a search query. Over the past several decades, Google has become an extremely large and profitable business though online digital advertisements. While Google has a diverse product mix, the overwhelming majority of its revenue is generated through ads. This strategic audit first looks at the current external environment, looking at the political, economic, social, and technological changes and opportunities relevant to the industry. Then, it looks at the current competitive environment and shows the profitability of the business because of the large barrier to entry. …

Microsoft: A Strategic Audit, Jacob Paul Warner

Honors Theses

This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the University Honors Program Requirements. It discusses Microsoft Corporation and its placement within the tech industry using different analyses such as PEST, Porter’s, and SWOT. In addition to its placement, the thesis explores what strategies Microsoft could pursue next. The industry is highly competitive, so Microsoft needs to stay on its toes and continue to build upon its strengths to remain at its current competitive level. The cloud industry is rapidly growing, so it would be best if Microsoft used its global presence and existing infrastructure to build upon its existing cloud …

Strategic Audit Of Kohl's Corporation, Abigail Jarratt

Honors Theses

Since its founding in Brookfield, Wisconsin Kohl’s Corporation has managed to adapt and consistently satisfy customer needs. By focusing on customer experience Kohl’s has become a le leader within the department store industry capturing $19.1 billion in total sales. However, with recent shifts in the retail and department store industry, it is time to take a step back and analyze its strategy given the current state of the economy.

As such, this report will investigate the current state of Kohl’s Corporation and provide future recommendations. Companies within the department store industry must continue grow and adapt to customer needs and …

Strategic Audit Of The Public Accounting Industry With A Focus On Ey, Mary Candela

Honors Theses

Public accounting firms provide valuable assurance services that, because of their place in our economic system and because of strong regulatory requirements, are unlikely to stop being demanded. The industry is facing several issues surrounding stagnation of the client base and difficulty in competition. Finally, the industry is also being rocked by the pace of emerging technologies and will need to adapt to and embrace them in the coming years.

The following uses several strategic frameworks to analyze the industry, the subset of the Big Four accounting firms, and EY. Ultimately, this project develops and understanding of EY’s place in …

Strategic Audit Of Pandora Media, Inc., Bridget Bailey

Honors Theses

The history of Pandora Media, Inc. has been characterized by many leadership and strategy changes since its foundation in Oakland, CA, in 2000. The company started as a firstmover in the internet radio industry, providing personalized radio stations to users through a website and apps. In recent years, however, Pandora has fallen behind competitors such as Spotify and Apple Music. Despite superior data and algorithms behind its services, it missed the transition to on-demand services. Pandora, like its competitors, is struggling to turn revenue into profit through a freemium business model hindered by high content acquisition costs. Now Pandora must …