Reference no: EM133614390

Purpose

This project is the second of four projects. It also represents the second part of the external environmental analysis part of a strategic management plan. You will use the tools and apply concepts learned in this and previous business courses to demonstrate an understanding of how organizations develop and manage strategies to establish, safeguard and sustain their competitive position in the 21st century (rapidly evolving/shifting/changing), uncertain hyper-competitive business environment.

Monitoring competitors' performance is a key aspect of performing an external environment analysis. This project provides you with the opportunity to evaluate the competitive position of your assigned company and integrate that information in a partial SWOT (OT), Porter's Five Forces, External Factor Evaluation (EFE) matrix, and Competitive Profile Matrices (CPM).

In this project, you are presenting a report document. The expectation is that the report provides details to help the audience grasp the main topics and to understand and complete the External Environmental Analysis.

"Analysis" is the operative word. In analyzing the external environment, you are expected to thoroughly research the company. As part of this effort, you will need to take that research and break it into small parts to understand better what is happening in the external environment of the business. In researching an industry, it is important to understand that every company within an industry is different, so gathering information on one company does not mean that the collected information is relevant to other companies. When researching, parsing the material is critical to an accurate analysis. Avoid presenting just any information as that may lead to using irrelevant information.

You will then write the report in your own words to share the external analysis. You are expected to present information and support the ideas and reasoning using the course material and your research. You will not lift any information from source documents without properly citing and referencing. For the technical analysis aspect of the project, you must create the technique on your own and may not use any source material that you happen to find. No work from a clearinghouse or similar website may be used or cited as a credible source.

Outcomes Met With This Project

Utilize a set of useful analytical skills, tools, and techniques for analyzing a company strategically;
Integrate ideas, concepts, and theories from previously taken functional courses including accounting, finance, market, business, and human resource management;
Analyze and synthesize strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to generate, prioritize, and implement alternative strategies to revise a current plan or write a new plan and present a strategic plan.
Instructions

Step 1 Specific Company for All Four Projects

The company that your Instructor has assigned to you for Project 1 is the company you will use for this project. The assigned company must be used for this project and in subsequent projects in the course. Students must complete the project using the assigned company. Deviating from the assigned company will result in a zero for the project.

After reading the course material, you will complete the steps below.

Step 2 Course Materials and Research

You must research information about the specific company and the environment for this project. You are accountable for using the course materials to support the ideas, reasoning, and conclusions made. Using course material extends beyond defining terms-the 'why and how' of a situation. Using one or two in-text citations from the course materials and then relying on Internet source material will not earn many points on the assignment. A variety of source material is expected, and what is presented must be relevant and applicable to the topic being discussed. Avoid merely making statements but close the loop of the discussion by explaining how something happens or why something happens, which focuses on importance and impact. In closing the loop, you will demonstrate the ability to think clearly and rationally, showing an understanding of the logical connections between the ideas presented from the research, the course material, and the question(s) being asked.
Note: Your report is based on the research results performed and not on any prepared documentation. What this means is that you will research and draw your own conclusions that are supported by the research and the course material rather than the use of any source material that puts together any of the tools or techniques whether from the Internet, for-pay websites, or any pre-prepared document, video or source material. A zero will be earned for not doing your own analysis.

Success: The analysis is based on research and not opinion. You are not making recommendations, and you will not attempt to position the specific company in a better or worse light than other companies within the industry merely because you are completing an analysis on this particular company. The analysis must be based on factual information. Any conclusions drawn have to be based on factual information rather than leaps of faith. To ensure success, as stated above, you are expected to use the course materials and research on the specific company's global industry and the specific company. An opinion does not earn credit, nor does the use of external sources when course materials can be used. It is necessary to provide explanations (the why and how) rather than making statements. Avoid stringing one citation after another, as doing so does not show detailed explanations.

Library Resources (Company Required)

All the information needed for your assigned company must be obtained from one of the library's suggested online company research databases. To use these resources, go to the main navigation bar in the classroom, select Academic Support, and then select Libary. Next, select Databases by Title (A-Z). Since your primary online company research database is Statista, select S from the alphabet list, and scroll down to select Statista Online.

Dun and Bradstreet's Hoovers Database, among others listed using the link directory below, is another excellent source of company research, competitor and industry information.