The following Course Outcome is assessed in this assignment:
MT460-2: Use a variety of analytical tools to monitor and improve business strategy.
In this assignment, you will address one Course Outcome by conducting an internal and external analysis on an organization.
To start this assignment, choose an organization from the list provided by your instructor.
Visit the MERGENT library database to conduct research on your chosen organization. Become very familiar with this library database. You will need it.
Analyze the details, latest annual report, latest news, review competitor information, etc. about your chosen organization.
You may also want to visit the websites for your chosen organization and its competitors for more information and observation.
Scenario:
You are the director of strategy and business intelligence for your chosen organization. You are conducting an evaluation of your chosen company for an upcoming annual report. Your goal is to demonstrate skill and expertise in the evaluation of the strategic success of your organization. You will be submitting this report to C-level executives for review. In the future, you will use the results of your analyses to help make strategic business decisions. Use the following criteria to analyze the strategy of your organization.
Assignment Requirements: In this assignment, you will analyze the strategy of your chosen organization from the list provided by your instructor. Address each of the following inquiries in your deliverable using the assignment template:
Strategic Analysis Overview
Explain the many uses of strategic analysis tools for business purposes by supporting your perspectives with research resources.
Using research, explain the purpose of strategic analysis in the strategy evaluation, planning, and implementation processes.
Explain the differences between conducting internal analyses and external analyses in the strategic evaluation process.
Explain how strategic analysis tools can help your chosen organization build a future-oriented strategy.
Provide examples describing how internal analysis tools are used in the strategic evaluation, planning, and implementation process.
Provide examples describing how external analysis tools are used in the strategic evaluation, planning, and implementation process.
Analyzing the Internal Environment
Explain how your chosen organization can further analyze its resources and capabilities to gain a competitive edge over rivals.
Explain how a value chain analysis can help diagnose the success of your chosen organization.
Explain how the BCG growth matrix can help your chosen organization to allocate its resources in order to make it more competitive.
Explain the financial health of your chosen organization to inform strategic decision-making.
SWOT Analysis
Analyze an organization’s strengths and weaknesses in consideration of market opportunities and external threats.
Analyze the strengths of your chosen organization to determine its resources, core competencies, and capabilities.
Analyze the weaknesses of your chosen organization to identify negative attributes and characteristics, improvements needed, resource scarcity, and any factors that may lead to failure.
Analyze current opportunities within the industry and marketplace that your chosen organization operates in.
Analyze the threats that might affect your chosen organization’s ability to perform to the best of its competitive ability within its industry and the marketplace that it operates in.
Analyzing the Competitive Environment
Analyze the competitive environment of an organization using the five forces framework.
Explain the theory of the five forces framework and its value in diagnosing the competitive conditions in the industry of your chosen organization.
Conduct an analysis using the five forces framework to diagnose the competitive conditions in the industry of your chosen organization, including the following:
Analyze the rivalry among competing sellers of your chosen organization.
Analyze the competitive pressures associated with the threat of new entrants into the industry of your chosen organization.
Analyze the factors affecting competition from substitute products.
Analyze the factors affecting the bargaining power of suppliers.
Analyze the factors affecting the power of buyers.
Summarize the results of your five forces analysis by explaining how your chosen organization may be impacted within the next 5 years.
Analyzing the External Environment
Perform a PESTLE analysis to identify risks and threats in the external environment of an organization.
Explain the theory of the PESTLE analysis and its value in diagnosing conditions in the external environment of your chosen organization.
Conduct a PESTLE analysis and identify three strategically relevant factors per PESTLE component that may impact the long-term direction of your chosen organization, including its strategic vision and mission, objectives, and business model.
Summarize the results of your PESTLE analysis by explaining how your chosen organization may be impacted within the next 5 years.
Conclusions
Draw overall conclusions based on the various analyses you have conducted in this deliverable.
Explain how a comprehensive analysis of your chosen organization’s competitive situation can assist managers in making critical decisions about their next strategic moves.
Explain opportunities for growth and expansion within the industry of your chosen organization.
Explain risks in the external environment that may lead to divestment within the industry of your chosen organization.
APA Style
Applies APA style to in-text citations with minor errors
Applies APA style to references, with minor to no errors
Uses three (3) reliable and/or scholarly research resources
Writing Conventions
Use a minimum of three peer-reviewed, academic research resources to substantiate your critical thinking and to provide viable reasoning for your perspectives.
Use headings to segment the topics in your writing in order to create a flow of ideas for your reader.
Use diagrams, images, and charts to give context to your writing.
Use reasoning skills to support your statements, thoughts, opinions, and ideas.
Write in third person to develop your business report.
You should make thorough use of the reading resources to complete this deliverable. You are the professional and will need to determine how many words and pages your strategic analysis report should be to meet the requirements of this assignment. You are capable of doing professional research and making strategic decisions at this level of your degree program. Take the initiative to be the problem solver and strategic decision-maker.
Here is the Unit 4 Assignment grading rubric.
