Locating the company in its environment. This is where you set the scene and so you should Offer a brief overview of the company (from your own research or the case material provided).
Put the company in its context, which will be international or global. At this point you will start to use the various analytical tools available to tell me about the environmental opportunities and constraints operating on the company and its industry. PESTEL is the usual device employed.
You should also analyze the characteristics of the industry and business in which the company has to compete and here you should employ the 5 Forces of Competition analysis carried out in some analytical depth.
Note: You could emerge from this first analysis with a PARTIAL SWOT, which is drawing out the opportunities and threats facing the firm.
After having analyzed the company’s environment, the focus moves to the company itself by conducting an internal analysis where the objective is to identify the capabilities and resources developed by the company. This will be carried out through the application of some well tried analytical instruments, such as the value chain, the threshold and distinctive resources and competencies framework and the VRIO framework.
Note: You should be able by now to complete the above SWOT analysis by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the company. Finally, you should now be able to define the competitive position of the company in relation to the Generic Strategy chosen.
The Business plan on Company Analysis of Whirlpool Corporation
Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances. The company manufactures in 13 countries and markets products in more than 170 countries under major brand names such as Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Roper, Estate, Bauknecht, Ignis, Laden, Inglis, Brastemp and Consul. Whirlpool Corporation is also the principal supplier to Sears, Roebuck and Co. of many ...
Part two: The selection of strategic options
You should emerge from this Phase with an inquiry based view of your company’s level of business success and what it must do to sustain that success and continuously improve. Which are the main options for growth? To answer this question you can refer to the Ansoff Matrix and – if the company is part of a larger diversified corporation – to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix. Somewhere in this phase you will need to appraise the company’s financial state of health using well-established measures of efficiency and profitability.
But please take note that we do not cover finance in our twelve weeks together but my expectation is that your studies in corporate finance (Financial Accounting and Management) should equip you to include a commentary on Apple financial predicament.
Part three: Your strategic solutions for the company’s ongoing health
Now that you have derived a picture of your Company’s state of health, can it be improved—what medicine can you offer? So, phase/part three is about Strategic options for the future. There could be many but which strategic option/s would you recommend and why? Are you happy that your choices are derived from your systematic analysis of the company at Phases one and two? Are they feasible?
Can they be resourced?
Can they be implemented and sustained?
