Part 1: External Environment Analysis

Students 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 its position in a competitive market.

Monitoring competitors’ performance is a key aspect of performing an external environment analysis. This assignment provides students the opportunity to evaluate the competitive position of one of the organizations listed below and integrate that information in an External Factor Evaluation (EFE) matrix and Competitive Profile Matrices (CPM).

Instructions:

Students will perform an external analysis on an industry where the company Solar City operates and competes.

The PowerPoint should focus on factors related to the company’s industry and the environment that it and its competitors make. The factors to measure are those identified in SWOT, 5 Forces, PESTEL, EFE, and CPM.

In completing part 1, students will perform research on the selected company, its industry, and its competitors and respond to the required steps below:

Step 1: Create a PowerPoint Presentation. Students will use the note section of the PowerPoint to discuss, explain and support the reasoning for information presented in each slide.

Step 2: Review part 1 checklist- This must be turned in with paper to show each item was reviewed.

Step 3: In completing the assignment, students are required to support the reasoning using in-text citations and a reference list. If information is taken from a source document, it has to be cited and referenced. Both in-text citations and an associated reference list are required.

Step 4: Complete an External Environmental Analysis:

Use tools, concepts and information from your own research to perform an external analysis of the company’s environment. Include the following:

• Company overview
• Industry analysis

2) Competitive analysis. [Use the company’s closest competitors plus the selected company.]

3) Techniques Analysis: PESTEL, Five Forces, OT from SWOT, EFE, and CPM.

• Trends: Discuss trends significant to the industry and company and discuss key areas of uncertainty related to trends or events that potentially could impact the company’s strategy.
• Utilize the Notes section to support each slide

Step 5: Using the checklist, ensure all required elements are represented in the presentation.

PART 1 CHECKLIST-

Company Overview -Company overview is accurately and comprehensively discussed.

Content: Industry Analysis -Industry analysis was presented accurately and comprehensively; includes PESTEL analysis, Five Forces, analysis of strategic groups, ideas that can be borrowed from strategic groups, gaps in industry that could lead to opportunities.

Content: Competitive Analysis – Competitive analysis was performed accurately and comprehensively; identified competitors, competitor product/service; competitor strengths and weaknesses; strategies used by each competitor to achieve their objective; market outlook.

Content: External Environment – Techniques and Tools – Four or more techniques and tools were accurately and comprehensively used with thorough explanations.

Content: Trends – Trend analysis is accurately and comprehensively discussed.

Critical Thinking/Reasoning – Comments reflect a highly accomplished level of analysis, synthesis, evaluation and reasoning of the case material and case study facts resulting in accurate, thorough, and soundly reasoned conclusions.

Slides Creation and Transition – Presentation flows well and logically; transitions are smooth, interesting and enhance presentation.

Application of Resources – Presents exceptionally well-supported arguments or positions with evidence from the readings/experience; ideas go beyond the course material and recognize implications and extensions of the material and concepts.

Attention to Instructions – Demonstrates exceptional understanding of requirements responding completely to each aspect of assignment including minor aspects of the assignment such as using third person writing, required use of course readings, and assignment format.

Writing Mechanics- Strictly adheres to standard usage rules of written English, including but not limited to capitalization, punctuation, run-on sentences, missing or extra words, stylistic errors, spelling and grammatical errors. No errors found. No contractions or jargon used.

APA Style (6th ed.) -No APA style or usage errors; Proper citation of source material is used throughout presentation; Reference titles follow APA with only the first word, the first word after a colon and proper nouns capitalized.

 

Part 2: Internal Environmental Analysis/Strategy Analysis and Strategy Selection

Students will use the tools and concepts learned in the course and in previous business courses to develop an understanding of how organizations develop and manage strategies to establish, safeguard and sustain its position in a competitive market.

Students also have the opportunity to review an organization’s objectives and goals and the key functional areas within the organization. Performing an internal environment analysis helps assess a firm’s internal resources and capabilities and plays a critical role in formulating strategy by identifying a firm’s strengths to overcome weaknesses. Students will then 1) assess long-term objectives, 2) identify and evaluate alternative strategies and 3) recommend strategies for a company to pursue.

Instructions:

In completing part 2, students will use the chapters in the eBook as a guide and perform research on the company Solar City, answer the questions below in narrative form following the steps provided below:

Step 1: Create a double-spaced, 12-point font Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document. Those items identified in the technical analysis should appear under the appropriate heading in the paper. Do no use an Appendix.

Step 2: Review part 2 checklist- This must be turned in with paper to show each item was reviewed.

Step 3: Follow the following format using these topics as headings:

• Title page with title, your name, the course, the instructor’s name;
• Company Background/Information
• Internal Environmental Analysis
• Strategic Analysis & Strategy Selection
• Reference page

Students may use subheadings.

Step 4: In writing the analysis, writing in the third person. What this means is that there are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us” (first person writing), nor is there use of “you or your” (second person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person

Step 5: In writing this assignment, students are asked to support the reasoning using in-text citations and a reference list. If information is taken from a source document, it has to be cited and referenced. A reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa. View the sample APA paper under Week 4 content and How to Cite and Reference, also under Week 4 content. There are also resources located under Course Content>>Student Toolbox.

Step 6: In writing this assignment, students are expected to paraphrase and not use direct quotes unless citing the mission statement of a company. Learn to paraphrase by reviewing this link: https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html

Step 7: Read all course material and perform independent research to provide a comprehensive internal environmental analysis, strategy analysis and selection.

Step 8: Jot down key facts about the company. Consider making an outline to capture key points in the paper.

Step 9: In your paper, respond to the following:

• Background analysis including vision and mission statements and objectives
• Internal Environmental Analysis
• Corporate Level Strategy
• Business Unit Level Strategy
• Functional Level Strategy
  • Explain how these strategies align with the company’s vision and mission statements;
  • Assess the company’s interactions with its stakeholders, the organizational structure, the organizational culture, and communication/decision making among managers within human resources, marketing production, operations, finance and accounting, R&D, and computer information systems, which can be accomplished by viewing the company’s website, interviews, and surveys.
• Financial analysis for the last reported fiscal year:
  • Use the company’s income statement and balance sheet to calculate key, but no less than 10 key financial ratios to the business. There must be a mix of the different ratios so that the ratios do not all come from the same category. Show the calculations.
  • Using Excel or a Word table, record key financial ratios in the first column;
  • Research the industry average financial ratios for the same ratios above and record in a second column. If you cannot find an industry average, then select another ratio;
  • In the third column, indicate whether the financial ratio is a strength, a weakness or a neutral factor.
  • Explain the results and compare and contrast the company financials to the industry.
• Technique Analysis: develop and explain an IFE, BCG matrix, Grand Strategy Matrix, and QSPM. The expectation is not to copy from the Internet but to develop one’s own. The various tools are to appear in the appropriate area of the paper and not in one section of the paper.
• Strategy Analysis:
• Identify and explain company strengths and weaknesses. Discuss success factors and what the company must do to perform successfully in the industry? Discuss what strategies would allow the company to capitalize on its major strengths. Discuss strategies that would allow the company to improve upon its major weaknesses
• Generate a minimum of three possible alternative strategies for the company;
  • Identify and discuss cultural factors that should be considered in analyzing and choosing among the alternative strategies;
• Prioritize and explain the selection of alternative strategies
• Recommend the best one or two strategies among the alternative strategies and explain why these strategies are the best;

Step 10: Create an introductory paragraph. The Introduction should clearly and concisely convey the main points of the assignment’s requirements. Review the following website to learn how to write an introductory paragraph: http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/intro.html

Step 11: Write a summary paragraph. A summary paragraph restates the main idea(s) of the essay. Make sure to leave a reader with a sense that the essay is complete. The summary paragraph is the last paragraph of a paper.

Step 12: Using the checklist as a comparison, read through the paper to ensure all required elements are presented.

Step 13: Proofread the paper for spelling and grammatical issues, and third person writing.

• Use the spell and grammar check in Word as a first measure;

 

PART 2 CHECKLIST-

Content: Background including Vision, Mission and Objectives – Background including vision, mission and objective are presented and thoroughly discussed; Vision, mission, and objectives are thoroughly discussed in terms of the definition. For example, vision is forward thinking and mission is about goals and values of organization.

Content: Internal Environmental Analysis – Internal Environmental Analysis including corporate, business and functional analysis are presented and thoroughly discussed. Thorough discussion of stakeholders, organizational structure, organizational culture, and communication/decision making among managers within human resources, marketing production, operations, finance and accounting, R&D, and computer information systems

Content: Financial Analysis – Financial Analysis thoroughly and accurately presented with calculated key financial ratios, industry averages presented, strength/weakness/neutral identified and company financials to the industry compared and contrasted.

Content: Technique Analysis – Technique Analysis: accurate development of each technique with thoroughly explanation of IFE, BCG matrix, Grand Strategy Matrix and QSPM; techniques are thoroughly discussed in terms of overall analysis.

Content: Strategy Analysis – Strategy Analysis accurately and thoroughly presented with discussion about strengths and weaknesses, success factors, how strategies can capitalize on major strengths, improve upon weaknesses, at least five alternative strategies; cultural factors and selections are prioritized.

Content: Recommendation – Recommendation for the best strategy among alternatives strategies is thoroughly discussed. The selected strategy(ies) aligns with all elements of the SM process.

Critical Thinking/Reasoning – Comments reflect a highly accomplished level of analysis, synthesis, evaluation and reasoning of the case material and case study facts resulting in accurate, thorough, and soundly reasoned conclusions.

Application of Resources – Presents exceptionally well-supported arguments or positions with evidence from the readings/experience; ideas go beyond the course material and recognize implications and extensions of the material and concepts.

Attention to Instructions – Demonstrates exceptional understanding of requirements responding completely to each aspect of assignment including minor aspects of the assignment such as using third person writing, required use of course readings, and assignment format.

Writing Mechanics – Strictly adheres to standard usage rules of written English, including but not limited to capitalization, punctuation, run-on sentences, missing or extra words, stylistic errors, spelling and grammatical errors. No errors found. No contractions or jargon used.

APA Style (6th ed.) – No APA style or usage errors; Proper citation of source material is used throughout paper; Reference titles follow APA with only the first word, the first word after a colon and proper nouns capitalized.