Solution for Question 1:
A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis is a high-level strategic planning model that helps organizations identify where they’re doing well and where they can improve, both from an internal and external perspective. It is an acronym for “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.”
You typically want to conduct a SWOT analysis at the beginning of your strategic planning process or during a strategy refresh. Your entire leadership team should be heavily involved, because they should have the ability to look across your organization and offer insight into your competitive environment and/or business landscape. When the leadership team offers appropriate recommendations regarding your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, you will end up with a SWOT analysis that has the credibility to be used constructively in the strategic planning process.
A Detailed SWOT Analysis Example
To help you get started, we’ve created this SWOT analysis template. (The examples below are specific to a financial organization, but only for examples sake; the SWOT analysis exercise is applicable to all businesses!) You’ll notice we divided our hypothetical examples for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats based on the four Balanced Scorecard perspectives. You don’t have to use the Balanced Scorecard to be successful with your SWOT analysis, but this method does provide a strong framework for your discussion.
Strengths
Start by asking the question, “What are we good at?” This is a broad question, but in the beginning stages of your discussion, you should accept all answers.
Weaknesses
Next you should ask yourself, “What are we not good at?” or “Where do we have opportunities to improve?”
Opportunities
Following your discussion on threats, ask those in leadership to look toward the future and consider, “Where do we see big possibilities for our organization?”
Threats
After identifying opportunities, zero in on your biggest threats by asking, “What do we see on the horizon as being potentially harmful to our organization?”
Solution for question 2:
Most important determinants of an organization’s overall strategic position
Steps to Develop a SPACE Matrix:
Assign a numerical value ranging from –1 (best) to –7 (worst) to each of the variables that make up the SP and CP dimensions
Hence: This vector reveals the type of strategies recommended for the organization: aggressive, competitive, defensive, or conservative
Solution for question
3:
A framework for using joint ventures (and other forms of cooperative strategy) within varying competitive environments is constructed, and hypotheses are developed concerning the impact of particular industry traits upon firms' options in pursuing them. Industry examples illustrate the framework's hypotheses. In this framework, demand traits suggest what types of cooperative strategies are needed.
Competitor traits suggest how firms will respond to these needs for cooperation. Since joint ventures can be inherently unstable organizational forms, it is important for managers to
(1) select the right cooperative strategy option and
(2) modify the autonomy from (and coordination with) sponsoring firms that ventures enjoy as their industry structures evolve. Familiarity with cooperative strategy options is important because
(1) as growth slows,
(2) as markets shrink or become crowded,
(3) as industries become global, or
(4) as technological change accelerates to speeds where individual firms cannot recover their initial investments, managers will have less margin for error.
If managers do not learn how to use cooperative strategies advantageously their firms may encounter difficulties in delivering adequate value to their customers, replenishing their base of skills, and/or safeguarding their abilities to increase long-term shareholder value.
Q1 (3 Marks) (CLO S1] Produce an example to show how SWOT Matrix can be used...