1. PGDM ITB 2ND Semester_ 2014-15
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
2. Topic 1: Business - meaning, nature and scope
Topic 2: Characteristics of today’s business
Topic 3: Environment - meaning, constituents of environment (external and
internal environment), factors influencing environment
Topic 4: Environmental analysis; limitations of environmental analysis
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
4. Meaning of Business
Business is an activity which involves buying and selling of goods & services.
Modern business covers a complex field of industry and commerce which
involve activities related to both production and distribution.
These activities on the one hand satisfy societal need and desires and on the
other hand bring profits to business firms.
All the business activities are normally motivated by profits, in case , any of
these activities is carried
out by some organization for
the purpose other than
profit seeking, it cannot be
justifiably considered as
business.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
5. Contribution from business
Economic growth
Creates employment opportunities
Provides all kinds of goods and services which we need for consumption
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
6. Nature of business
Large size
Oligopolistic character
Diversification
Global reach of modern business
Technological orientation
Change
Government control
Business that matters today is large in size.
Indian companies in terms of revenues, profits, assets and stockholders
equity are relatively small as compared to the companies in developed
countries.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
7. Nature of business
Large size
Business that matters today is large in size.
Indian companies in terms of revenues, profits, assets and stockholders
equity are relatively small as compared to the companies in developed
countries.
Oligopolistic character
Present day business is Oligopolistic in its nature.
Small No. of firms selling a homogeneous / differentiated product.
Interdependence among the sellers.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
8. Nature of business
Diversification
Today not many corporate confine their activities to production of a single
commodity.
Some business firms prefer related products to their existing production. This
is called concentric diversification. Ex: Maruti Udyog
Adding new unrelated products or services for existing customers is known as
conglomerate diversification. Ex: JK Group has interest in textiles,
engineering, Computers
Big business houses usually expand their activity by establishing new
companies which undertake production of unrelated new products or
services. This is conglomerate diversification. Ex: TATA’s
However, diversification may not always contribute to growth of a business
enterprise.
In the recessionary phase, it is quite risky to aspire for growth by going for
unplanned diversification.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
9. Nature of business
Global reach of modern business
In some of the developed countries even some of the business giants have
preferred takeover of companies operating in their own lines of production.
Even in the Indian markets some of the business giants have preferred
takeover of companies in their own areas.
Ex: Coco-cola, for example has taken Parle Soft Drinks,
Honda has taken over Kinetic Honda
Whirlpool has taken over Kelvinator Refrigerators.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
10. Nature of business
Technological orientation
Modern business is technology oriented.
People expect that the quality of products should improve overtime and the
real cost.
All this can be accomplished by the business if It pays attention to
sophistication of technology.
Modern companies regard technological research strategic to their future,
they carry out their R & D activities very close to their headquarters.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
11. Nature of business
Change
Today a business firm clearly needs to move faster if the fear of irrevalance is
not to become a reality.
A modern firm must be vigilant all the time and be ready for change.
Improvement in quality, packaging or product design is not sufficient to retain
customers, the firm should promptly introduce new products and create
demand for them.
The business through its innovative moves can always create synthetic wants
and thus find space to produce new goods to satisfy them.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
12. Nature of business
Government control
Since the late 1980’s role of the government in both developed and
underdeveloped economies has diminished.
Advantage of Government in business is required to correct market failure
manifested in the form of monopoly & pollution.
Government through monetary & fiscal regulation attempt to create stable
business conditions
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
13. Scope of business
Profit earnings
Production of goods and services
Creating markets
Technological improvements
Human resource development
Bring prosperousness to the nation
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
16. Today's business are very competitive. There is always a hot competition in
the business world.
The characteristics of business in today’s scenarios are as follows:
1. Creation of utilities
2. Dealings in goods and services
3. Continuity in dealings
4. Sale, transfer or exchange
5. Profit motive
6. Element of risk
7. Economic activity
8. Art as well as science
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
17. 1. Creation of utilities:
Business makes goods more useful to satisfy human wants.
It adds time, place, form and possession utilities to various types of goods.
In the words of Roger, "a business exists to create and deliver value
satisfaction to customers at a profit".
Business enables people to satisfy their wants more effectively and
economically.
It carries goods from place of surplus to the place of scarcity (place utility).
It makes goods available for use in future through storage (time utility).
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
18. 2. Dealings in goods and services:
Every business enterprise produces and/or buys goods and services for selling
them to others.
Goods may be consumer goods or producer goods.
Consumer goods are meant for direct use by the ultimate consumers, e.g.,
bread, tea, shoes, etc.
Producer goods are used for the production of consumer or capital goods like
raw materials, machinery, etc.
Services like transport, warehousing, banking, insurance, etc. may be
considered as intangible and invisible goods.
Services facilitate buying and selling of goods by overcoming various
hindrances in trade.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
19. 3. Continuity in dealings:
Dealings in goods and services become business only if undertaken on a regular
basis.
According to Peterson and Plowman, "a single isolated transaction of purchase
and sale will not constitute business recurring or repeated transaction of
purchase and sale alone mean business."
For instance, if a person sells his old scooter or car it is not business though
the seller gets money in exchange.
But if he opens a shop and sells scooters or cars regularly, it will become
business.
Therefore, regularity of dealings is an essential feature of business.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
20. 4. Sale, transfer or exchange:
All business activities involve transfer or exchange of goods and services for
some consideration.
The consideration called price is usually expressed in terms of money.
Business delivers goods and services to those who need them and are able and
willing to pay for them.
For example, if a person cooks and serves food to his family, it is not business.
But when he cooks food and sells it to others for a price, it becomes business.
According to Peter Drucker "any organisation that fulfils itself through
marketing a product or service is a business".
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
21. 5. Profit motive:
The primary aim of business is to earn profits.
Profits are essential for the survival as well as growth of business.
Profits must, however, be earned through legal and fair means.
Business should never exploit society to make money.
6. Element of risk:
Profit is the reward for assuming risk.
Risk implies the uncertainty of profit or the possibility of loss.
Risk is a part and parcel of business.
Business enterprises function in uncertain and uncontrollable environment.
Changes in customers' tastes and fashions, demand, competition, Government
policies, etc. create risk.
Food, fire, earthquake, strike by employees, theft, etc. also cause loss.
A businessman can reduce risks through correct forecasting and insur-ance.
But all risks cannot be eliminated.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
22. 7. Economic activity:
Business is primarily an economic activity as it involves production and
distribution of goods and services for earning money.
However, business is also a social institution because it helps to improve the
living standards of people through effective utilization of scarce resources of
the society.
Only economic activities are included in business.
Non-economic activities do not form a part of business.
8. Art as well as science:
Business is an art because it requires personal skills and experience.
It is also a science because it is based on certain principles and laws.
The above mentioned characteristics are common to all business enterprises
irrespective of their nature, size and form of ownership.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
24. Environment by definition is something external of an individual or an
organization.
Therefore in strict sense, business environment refers to an external factors
which have a direct or indirect bearing on the activities of business.
Certain aspects of both internal and external environment pose a threat to
business, other aspects provide opportunities for business growth.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
25. Different environmental variables exist internally and externally to
the business enterprise
Environmental variables have a positive or negative influence on the
enterprise
Business environment consists of two sub-environments:
Internal (micro) environment
External environment
Market environment
Macro environment
Mutual relationships exist between
these environments
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
26. Business environment broadly consists of the followings:
internal environment
external environment
When we talk of the internal environment we includes those factors which are
within the control of the firm and such factors are concerned with firm's
resources, policies and objectives
But we talk about external
business environment it means
those variables which are
independent of the firm &
therefore uncontrollable.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
27. Business environment
Economic and Non – Economic
Non – Economic:
Political
Legal
Social
Cultural
Technological
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
28. Economic
Economic environment consists of three elements:
1) Economic conditions;
2) Economic policy, and
3) The economic system.
By economic conditions, we mean
the nature of the economy,
economic resources,
the level of income,
the distribution of income and wealth and
the stages of development of the economy.
All these factors have a direct hearing on the strategies to he adopted by a
business firm.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
29. Economic
In terms of nature of the economy, there could be free market economy or
capitalist economy where the economy remains in the hands of private
sector.
At the other extreme, there may be centrally planned economy which is also
called as the communist economy.
Here the entire economy remains in the hands of the state.
In between these comes mixed economy where both private and public
sectors co-exist.
However, in mixed economics there may be wide variation.
In some cases, private sectors may occupy more significant place while in
general conditions, public sector may have the upper hand.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
30. Economic
What economic system will exist in a particular country is determined by the
people and the government.
The firm has no control over it.
However, the firm's policies & practices depend upon the type of economy in
trend.
Thus, the economic environment is a very important external factor on which
the working of business firms depends.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
31. Economic
Management cannot overlook the market oriented or non-market oriented
nature of environment.
The management has to keep in view the objectives of national planning or
the economic policies of the government.
In other words, while planning its operation, the firm has to keep in view the
pattern, structure and even the rate of changes occurring on the economic
scenario.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
32. Non – Economic
Political
Legal
Social
Cultural
Technological
BUSINESS
POLITICAL
LEGAL
SOCIAL
CULTURAL
TECHNOLOGICAL
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
33. Non – Economic
(I) POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
Political stability- changes in the form & structure of government
administration
Political organisation- ideology of ruling government; influence of premier
groups; conflicting role of public & private sector
Example:
Nehru: transformation of agrarian economy into industrialised economy
Indira Gandhi: state became active in agriculture sector (subsidised fertilisers,
expansion of institutional credit); tightening of state control over industrial
finance, foreign investment, trade
Since 1990-91, political environment changed- economy increasingly being
liberalised
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
34. Non – Economic
(II) LEGAL ENVIRONMENT
Legal policies- formulation & implementation
Economic legislations- facilitator and/ or restrictor
Playa a vital role- dictating dos & don’ts of business
Flexibility & adaptability of law- constitutional amendments
Foreign policy- tariffs, custom unions etc.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
35. Non – Economic
(III) Social Environment
Made up of attitude, desires, expectations, education, beliefs & customs of
people
Changes gradually
To forecast a change is difficult
(IV) Cultural Environment
Organisational culture is the customary or traditional ways on thinking &
doing things, which are shared to a greater or lesser extent by all the
members of the organisation, which new members must learn & at least
partially accept in order to be accepted into the service of the firm.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
36. Non – Economic
A firm wanting to market its product in various regions with diversified
cultures will have to carefully study the existing consumption pattern &
scope for creating demand for new products
After that they have to adjust their marketing communication to cultural
characteristics.
If the society is multi- cultural, then the firm cannot meet the demands of
different groups with a uniform product.
To be successful in a multi-cultural society, the firm will have to carefully
study the consumption behaviour of different groups.
For Example: Companies have to change their product portfolio because of
cultural differences as McDonald and KFC did when they launched their
restaurant chain in India.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
37. Non – Economic
(IV) TECHNOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT: It refers to body of skills,
knowledge & procedures for making, using & doing useful things
Positive effects of technology:
Increased productivity
Production of new & better goods of standardized quality with more
efficient use of raw materials
Basis for fast growing urban & industrial system
Negative effects of technology:
Displacement of labour
Environmental pollution
Switching over might be costly
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
39. The constituents of environment is divided into:
Internal Environment
External Environment
Internal Environment
Regarded as controllable factors: companies have control over them
Internal economy: some internal factors contribute increase in productivity
Determinants of Internal Environment of an organization
Mission & vision of the organisation
Management strategy
Industrial relations
Corporate culture & values
Career progression of employees / Line & staff relations
Quality control system
Team spirit among employees / Work culture / Compensation system
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
40. Pollutants of Internal Environment of an organization
Conflict b/w different owner groups
Conflicts b/w workers & managers
Inter departmental conflicts
Unhealthy competition & conflict among employees
Office politics / Discrimination at work place
Absenteeism
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
41. External Environment
Regarded as uncontrollable factors: by and large beyond the control of
company.
External economy: some external factors contribute to the growth of the
company.
Major stakeholders are:
Suppliers
Customers
Competitors
Financiers
Society
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
45. Environment analysis is evaluation of the possible or probable effects of
external forces and conditions on an organization's survival and growth
strategies.
Features of business environment analysis:
(a) Business environment is the sum total of all factors external to the business firm
and that greatly influences their functioning.
(b) It covers factors and forces like customers, competitors, suppliers, government and
the social, cultural, political, technological and legal conditions.
(c) The business environment is dynamic in nature that means it keeps on changing.
(d) The changes in business environment are unpredictable.
(e) It is very difficult to predict the exact nature of future happenings and the
changes in economic and social Environment.
(f) Business Environment differs from place to place, region to region and country to
country.
(g) For Example: Political conditions in India differ from those in China. Taste and
values cherished by people in India and China vary considerably.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
46. Business Environment Analysis Process:
Scanning: It means the general surveillance of environmental factors & their
interactions
Monitoring: It means to tracking the environmental trends or events
Forecasting: It means to developing plausible projections of direction, scope
& intensity of environmental change
Assessment: It means to identifying & evaluating how & why current &
projected environmental changes will affect strategic management of
organisation
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
47. ENVIRONMENT SCANNING:
Strategic planning in which managers try to determine best fit b/w
organisation & its external environment
It is an important step towards corporate planning & business policy
decisions
Aimed at continuous improvement of the company, its policies & programs.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
48. ENVIRONMENT SCANNING:
INTERNAL SCANNING: acquisition, analysis, use of information from within
the organisation that will help the management in determining future course
of action of business
EXTERNAL SCANNING: acquisition, analysis, use of information about events
& establishing the relationship of business with its external environmental
variables
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
49. ENVIRONMENT SCANNING:
Corporate managers analyze the Strengths (S), Weakness (W), opportunity (O)
& Threat (T) that exist for their organisation in the context of its
environment.
O & T are external to the firm.
With S the firm can seize the O & capitalize on it & because of its W it
becomes the victim of T in the environment
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
51. ENVIRONMENT SCANNING:
Two models for carrying environmental scanning are:
PEST Analysis
SWOT Analysis
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
52. • The key elements of the external environment may be summarised as
PEST factors which refer to the
Political environment
Economic environment
Socio-cultural environment
Technological environment
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
53. Political Environment
• Since tourism entities are affected by current and new government
legislation, it is important to understand the location of political
power, how political power may change in the future and the likely
effects of this on policy (Burns & Novelli, 2009).
• For Example: Following is the distinguishes between policy objectives
of typical democratic political parties of the left and of the right.
Left wing
(e.g. Labour / Democrat parties)
Right wing
(e.g. Conservative / Republican parties)
* need to control the free market
* pro trade unions
* some state ownership of industry
* progressive taxation
* regulation of industry
* higher government spending and taxes
* reduce inequality of incomes
* provision of jobs a priority
* comprehensive welfare state
* poverty reduction and social mobility
goals
* belief in supremacy of the free market
* anti trade unions
* private ownership of industry
* proportional taxation
* minimal state interference
* low taxes and government spending
* inequality of income as incentive
* control of state spending a priority
* minimal welfare state
* belief in self-help
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
54. Opportunities and threats in the changing political environment
Competition policy
Health and safety
Transport and infrastructure
Global carbon agreements and
targets
Taxation and spending plans
Disability and access legislation
Foreign policy
Visa policy and home security
Regulation and deregulation
Regeneration plans
Employment and training policy
Travel advisories
Minimum wages
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
55. Economic Environment
• The economic environment (Tribe, 2005) affects different types of
tourism entities in different ways.
The success of an international tourism destination such as Mallorca,
Spain, will be affected by economic fluctuations in those countries
which supply the majority of its visitors (tourism generating countries),
as well as its economic attractiveness compared to competitive
resorts.
Tour operators such as Kuoni (Switzerland ) and TUI (Germany/UK),
face a number of economic environments. First, domestic economic
environments affect the expenditure patterns of their clients. Second,
the variety of different international economic environments in which
their tourism product is located affects the supply of the tourism
package.
Providers of tourism services will find the international economic
environment affects the demand for their services and the costs of
supplying those services.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
56. Key Variables in Economic Environment
• The economic environment affects organizations in the tourism sector
in two main ways:
Changes in the economic environment can affect the demand for an
organization’s products
Changes may affect an organization’s costs.
• Additionally background factors such as share and property prices may
affect organizations.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
57. Opportunities & Threats in Economic Environment
Opportunities Threats
Low interest rates High interest rates
Low unemployment High unemployment
High consumer expenditure Low consumer expenditure
Low oil and other commodity prices High oil and other commodity prices
Low Taxes High Taxes
Favorable exchange rate Unfavorable exchange rate
Stable prices Inflation
Optimistic expectations Pessimistic Expectations
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
58. Socio – cultural Environment
• Factors in the socio-cultural environment of tourism entities include
the size and structure of the population
lifestyles and inter-cultural differences
other factors (including attitudes and values about travel, availability
of paid leave and unemployment)
tourist motivations
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
59. Technological Environment
• The technological environment offers both opportunities and threats:
Opportunities may be found in cheaper provision, or improvements in
goods and services, in better marketing or easier distribution.
However technology may result in an organisation's product or service
becoming obsolete, or subject to new forms of competition.
• The technological environment may be divided into Information
Communication Technology and other technology.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
60. Technological Environment
Information & Communication Technology
• ICT relevant to tourism encompasses information search, purchase of
services, post travel engagement and networking.
• It includes information and reservation systems for airlines, hotels and
attractions, timetables for transport systems, search engines (e.g.
Google) online travel services (e.g. Expedia, Orbitz, Lastminute.com,
Opodo, Travelocity and edreams), destination management systems
(e.g. visitbritain.com), networking and web 2.0 portals (e.g.
tripadvisor.com) and price comparison sites (e.g.
travelsupermarket.com).
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
61. Technological Environment
• Other areas where technologies have had a significant impact on
tourism include:
Construction techniques - allowing faster erection of buildings.
Bridge technology – extending access and cutting journey times.
Materials – lighter and more durable materials.
Glass – especially with better insulation properties.
Fuels – e.g. biofuels.
Energy – especially alternative sources of energy such as wind and solar
power.
Security scanning – which enables quicker and more accurate passenger
checking at airports.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
62. Technological Environment
For Example: Tourism 2023
Four scenarios from the
Future Foundation:
1. Boom and burst:
A booming UK economy &
high disposable incomes have
fuelled a growth in travel
worldwide.
2. Divided disquiet: A toxic
combination of devastating
climate change impacts,
violent wars over scarce
resources and social unrest has created an unstable and fearful world.
2. Price and privilege: A dramatically high oil price has made travel
punitively expensive.
3. Carbon clampdown: The Government has introduced tradable carbon
quotas for all UK households
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
63. • SWOT analysis is an executive summary of the different elements of
strategic analysis.
• Under SWOT, the detailed analysis of an organisation's external
environmental and internal resource position is distilled and
summarised into key factors.
• Once the key SWOT elements have been identified, it can be
productive to prepare a grid with strengths and weaknesses and
opportunities and threats.
• Identification of an organisation's situational position by means of a
SWOT analysis is an important phase in prior to consideration of
strategic options.
• Appropriate strategies are likely to:
• align opportunities and strengths
• transform weaknesses and
• overcome threats
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
64. Internal (Capability) Analysis Strengths Weaknesses
• Resources
• Products
External (Environment) Analysis Opportunities Threats
• Competition
• Political
• Economic
• Socio-cultural
• Technological
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
65. • True to its name, a SWOT analysis is used to help organizations identify the
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved in any business
decision.
• The purpose of the SWOT method is to systematically assess the possibilities and to
analyze the outcomes for each factor in order to determine a company’s best course
of action.
• SWOT analysis has been an invaluable resource for Fortune 500 companies for many
years, and it’s an essential aspect of any formalized business plan.
Conducting a SWOT Analysis
• As mentioned earlier, the foundation for a SWOT analysis is based on four words:
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
• Strengths and weaknesses reflect what is going on inside of a business, while
opportunities and threats reflect on what is happening outside of a business.
Information for each section comes from varying types of analysis, which are
condensed and listed in each of the four sections.
• A single person can conduct the analysis on his or her own, but involving at least four
people is ideal to achieve a diversity of opinions that represent your entire
organization. Four people can also help spread the workload while exploiting certain
perspectives.
• For example, you might have an idea of the threats to your business’ growth but
your employee in accounting may have a more informed and reasoned opinion of the
threat based on his or her work.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
66. • Remember to avoid simply rushing through a SWOT analysis.
• When done right, a good and thorough analysis can save time by proactively
identifying potential issues instead of allowing those issues to affect your business
before retroactively addressing them.
A Deeper Understanding of SWOT
• Knowing what the words mean in the SWOT acronym is a great start, but the next
step is to understand what types of information you should be considering when
researching each section. Let’s find out.
Strengths
Your company’s strengths are things it does well.
Employees with long tenures are usually the best ones to identify strengths.
Strengths may not always be apparent in revenue or other easily quantified figures,
but instead may be due to high customer satisfaction rates or loyal clients.
This can be a great starting point to steer the dialogue into something positive yet
productive.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
67. Weaknesses
Unfortunately, everything has weaknesses, including your company.
But it takes solid insight and perspective to distinguish those weaknesses from petty
issues or genuinely baseless complaints.
As such, an objective person should address this section.
Furthermore, this type of person should not be afraid to voice his or her opinion or
criticize aspects of the business.
At the same time, this person should also be able to take control and keep the
conversations focused on the task at hand; if not, your analysis might turn into
unproductive and abusive shouting matches.
Opportunities
The process of identifying opportunities is one of the more exciting aspects of the
analysis.
This section seeks to find any and all comparative advantages that your company has
over its competition.
Those with a creative and positive outlook on the company are best suited to handle
this part of the analysis.
The right person will understand long-term goals as well as long-term consequences
of the decisions being made.
They will also be prudent about which opportunities will help the company in the
short and long terms. Unlike strengths and weaknesses, opportunities are seen as
external to the company.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
68. Threats
Threats are present in any industry and any market.
There’s competition everywhere, and it’s in your best interest to stay ahead of it.
Take the time to notice what your competition is saying through press releases and
social media to help determine the level of the threat your company faces.
An employee who knows your industry and its major players is best suited to handle
this portion of the analysis, as they will have insight on current legitimate threats
and potential future problems that are lurking in the horizon.
As with opportunities, threats are seen as external to the company.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
69. The Final Analysis
After taking the time to complete the SWOT analysis, the next step is to consolidate
your findings in a clear and concise manner.
Keep it simple so the portions of the analysis can be properly considered and a
decision can be made from the findings. Here are some key points to present:
A formal list of internal and external factors. This will provide an overview of
the SWOT results and can sometimes take several pages to finish.
The SWOT matrix. This is a user-friendly way to organize and present the results
by using squares and graphs to highlight key findings.
Prioritize the results. Not every strength or weakness should necessarily be
reported in the initial findings. They can be documented further into the
analysis, but decision-makers will want the key findings first and details later.
Support the findings. Initially, discussions will begin with the summary of the
results, but the final decisions will be made after reading the research behind
the summary.
A SWOT analysis will allow decision-makers the opportunity to create the best
course of action regarding a new project or even as a way to make the most of a
poor past decision. Perhaps most importantly, the collaboration involved can
provide a balanced perspective and get everyone involved in the decision-making
process.
(Source: http://www.docstoc.com/article/173009022/How-to-Conduct-a-SWOT-
Analysis?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=222&utm_content=7543)
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
70. • When you are conducting an environmental analysis, you should keep
in mind that it is only one stage of the business planning process.
• For complex issues, you will usually need to conduct more in-depth
research and analysis to make decisions.
• Keep in mind that an analysis only covers issues that can definitely be
considered a strength, weakness, opportunity or threat.
• Because of this, it's difficult to address uncertain or two-sided factors,
such as factors that could either be a strength or a weakness or both,
with a SWOT analysis (e.g. you might have a prominent location, but
the lease may be expensive).
• A PEST or SWOT analysis may be limited because it:
doesn't prioritize issues
doesn't provide solutions or offer alternative decisions
can generate too many ideas but not help you choose which one is best
can produce a lot of information, but not all of it is useful.
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
71. • Some more limitations include:
Price increase;
Inputs / raw materials;
Government legislation;
Economic environment;
Searching a new market for the product which is not having overseas
market due to import restrictions; etc.
• Some Internal limitations may include
Insufficient research and development facilities;
Faulty products due to poor quality control;
Poor industrial relations;
Lack of skilled and efficient labour; etc
Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
72. Dr. Jeet Dogra - Asst. Professor, I I T T M Gwalior
Compiled and Edited by:
Dr. Jeet Dogra
Assistant Professor
Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management, Gwalior, India
(An Organization of Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India)
E-mail: jeetdogra@live.com
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