Business Strategies

All in text citations must include page or paragraph number i.e (Hill et al., 1998, p. 28)

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.
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.
Step 1 Specific Company for All Four
Projects
General Motors Company (NYSE: GM)
Step 2 Course Materials and Research
You must research information about the
focal 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 focal 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 focal company’s global industry and the
focal 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
On the main navigation bar in the
classroom, select Resources and then select Library. Select Databases by
Title (A – Z). Select M from the alphabet list, and then select Mergent
Online. Dun and Bradstreet’s Hoovers Database, among others, is another
excellent source for competitors and industry information. You are
not to depend on one resource to complete the analysis. Moreover, it
is impossible to complete Porter’s Five Forces, a competitive analysis, or
an OT using only the course material.
You should not be using obscure articles,
GlassDoor, or Chron, or similar types of articles.
Research for Financial Analysis: Financial Research
Research for Industry Analysis CSI Market
UMGC library is available for providing
resources and services. Seek library support for excellence in your
academic pursuit.
Library Support
Extensive library resources and services
are available online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week at https://www.umgc.edu/library/index.cfm to support you in your
studies. The UMGC Library provides research assistance in creating search strategies, selecting
relevant databases, and evaluating and citing resources in various formats
via its “Ask a Librarian” service https://www.umgc.edu/library/libask/index.cfm.
Scholarly Research in OneSearch is
allowed.
To search for only scholarly resources,
you are expected to place a checkmark in the space for “Scholarly
journals only” before clicking search.
Step 3 How to Set Up
the Report
The document has to be written
in Word or RTF. No other format is acceptable. No pdf files will be
graded. Use 12-point font for a double-spaced report. The
final product should be 9 – 10 pages. The final project
may not exceed 10 pages, including all tables and matrices, but excluding the
title and reference pages. Do no use an Appendix.
Create a title page with the title, your
name, date, the course number, the instructor’s name.
Create Topic Headings that correspond to
exact sections of the project requirements.
Step 4 Industry Analysis
Perform a Porter Five Forces analysis on
the organization’s industry and the focal company in particular.
The industry is the global
industry. First, use the course materials to identify the five forces and what
components make up each force. Then, perform an analysis of each force that
clearly discusses the ‘why and how’ and concludes with the effect of the given
force on the fortunes of the industry (industry profitability) and/or industry
dynamics; that is, whether the effect of the force on the industry is
weak/modest/average/moderate or strong/severe and also on the focal
company. You may not use a Porter Five Forces analysis that is already
completed and available on the Internet. A zero will result if used as the
analysis results from your research and your own development.
Step 5 Competitive Analysis
Perform a Competitive Analysis using the
focal company’s closest three competitors plus the selected company.
Explain why these companies are competitors. Analyze the competition’s
products and services, explaining features, value, targets, etc. What are
the competition’s strengths and weaknesses, and what is the market outlook
for the competition?
Identify and discuss at least eight (8)
key success factors (critical success factors). Each industry has
different key success factors, so make sure the success factors fit the
industry. Review the Competitive Profile Matrix Example under Week 3
Content for clarification.
Develop a Competitor Profile Matrix
(CPM). Explain how you developed the matrix. Make sure to support your
reasoning.
Step 6 Partial SWOT Analysis
A SWOT analysis is a tool used
to assess the strengths and weaknesses (internal environment) and the
opportunities and threats (external environment) of an organization. You will
complete a partial SWOT analysis only completing an analysis on the OT
(Opportunities and Threats). The information presented is not based on your
beliefs but fact-based, data-driven information. The items used in the OT are
factors that are affecting or might affect the focal company or those companies
within the identified industry.
You will:
Develop an OT table using your research
to identify at least five (5) opportunities and five (5) threats that
influence the industry and the focal company. Make sure to cite the
elements within the table.
Perform an OT analysis (separate from the
SWOT table).
You may not use a SWOT analysis that is
already completed and available on the Internet. The OT is for the focal
company and no other company. A zero will result if used as the analysis
results from your research and your own development.
NOTE: A matrix is a
table. It is not an analysis.
Step 7 External Factor Evaluation
(EFE) Analysis
The External Factor Evaluation
(EFE) matrix will allow you to use the industry analysis and the competitive
analysis to assess whether the focal company can effectively take advantage of
existing opportunities while minimizing the identified external threats that
will help you formulate new strategies and policies. You will use the
opportunities and threats from the OT analysis.
Using the information gathered for the OT
analysis, develop an EFE matrix using five (5) opportunities and five (5)
threats. Discuss how you developed the EFE matrix and the outcome.
Make sure to support your reasoning.
Step 8 Conclusion
Create a conclusion. The
Conclusion is intended to emphasize the purpose/significance of the analysis,
emphasize the significance/consequence of findings, and indicate the wider
applications derived from the main points of the project’s requirements. You will
conclude with the findings of the external environment analysis.

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