Assignment -
The external analysis addresses the opportunities and threats as part of the SWOT analysis. Attention is focused on the external environment's two components: the general environment and the competitive environment. For this assignment, each needs to be evaluated with a determination of "what does this mean?" for StilSim Personnel.
Porter's Five Forces model of industry competition is an analytical technique that managers utilize to assess the competitive environment. Porter's model uses five basic competitive forces to analyze a particular environment of an industry as it relates to:
- Competitive rivalry
- Power of suppliers
- Power of buyers
- Threat of substitutes
- Threat of new entrants
This assignment asks how these five forces impact StilSim Personnel and which options might be suggested.
1. Use the External Analysis template provided to create an external analysis that focuses on opportunities that you have identified and threats faced by StilSim. Do not formulate strategy at this stage: Focus on external opportunities and threats. Your paper should be three to five pages in length, double-spaced (not including the title page or appendix). Write this assignment from the perspective of an employee working for StilSim Personnel. The target audience will be Bill Simmons. Your analysis should follow include the following sections (there are more details in the template):
a. Introduction - Explain the importance of this analysis. Do not write about the internal environment. Before you start writing here, Consider these questions: What is the external environment? What is the competitive environment? Why are you analyzing the external environment? How will you examine the external environment?
b. General Environment Analysis - Give a brief overview of the general environment analysis. Address what the general environment is and why you should analyze it. Also briefly develop an overview of the key external issues that your analysis reveals as important. Do not include all environmental issues if they have no bearing on StilSim's current situation or the competitive threats faced. Include aspects from both the general business environment and the competitive trends identified:
Opportunities: Describe how you define an opportunity for StilSim
Demographics: Expound on each environmental element that you feel is an opportunity for StilSim. Describe how those elements impact StilSim and what StilSim should do to capitalize on them. There are six possible environmental categories. Do not address them all. Only write about the elements that represent opportunities that you feel are relevant to StilSim.
Threats: Describe how you define a threat for StilSim
Sociocultural: Expound on each environmental elements that you feel represent threats to StilSim--how those elements impact StilSim and what StilSim should do to minimize them. There are six possible environmental categories. As with the six demographic categories, do not rotely address all sociocultural elements. Only write about the sociocultural elements that represent threats that you feel are relevant to StilSim.
c. Competitive Analysis: Porter's Five Forces - Include in your paper an assessment of Porter's Five Force model relative to the five basic competitive forces faced by StilSim Personnel. Give a brief overview of a competitive analysis. In the overview address these questions: What is the competitive environment? Why should you analyze it? Then briefly address Porter's Five Forces. Explain each force and analyze how it impacts StilSim. Identify each as an opportunity or a threat? Also discuss how StilSim should capitalize on it or work to minimize it.
1. Competitive rivalry.
2. Power of suppliers
3. Power of buyers
4. Threat of substitutes
5. Threat of new entrants
d. Summary - Conclude the paper with one or two paragraphs that capture the essence of the most important message from the paper. What are the major external opportunities and threats facing StilSim? What are the MOST IMPORTANT takeaway messages for Bill Simmons, President of StilSim? Remember that this is the information that will be translated into the bullet points for your slide show so write specifically, not generally.