Instructions Purpose This project is the second of four projects. It also represents the second part of the external environmental analysis part of a strategic management plan. You 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 their competitive position in the 21st century (rapidly evolving/shifting/changing), uncertain hyper-competitive business environment.  Monitoring competitors’ performance is a key aspect of performing an external environment analysis.  This project provides you with the opportunity to evaluate the competitive position of your assigned company and integrate that information in a partial SWOT (OT), Porter's Five Forces, External Factor Evaluation (EFE) matrix, and Competitive Profile Matrices (CPM).  In this project, you are presenting a report document. The expectation is that the report provides details to help the audience grasp the main topics and to understand and complete the External Environmental Analysis. "Analysis" is the operative word. In analyzing the external environment, you are expected to thoroughly research the company. As part of this effort, you will need to take that research and break it into small parts to understand better what is happening in the external environment of the business. In researching an industry, it is important to understand that every company within an industry is different, so gathering information on one company does not mean that the collected information is relevant to other companies. When researching, parsing the material is critical to an accurate analysis. Avoid presenting just any information as that may lead to using irrelevant information. You will then write the report in your own words to share the external analysis. You are expected to present information and support the ideas and reasoning using the course material and your research.  You will not lift any information from source documents without properly citing and referencing.  For the technical analysis aspect of the project, you must create the technique on your own and may not use any source material that you happen to find. No work from a clearinghouse or similar website may be used or cited as a credible source.  Outcomes Met With This Project Utilize a set of useful analytical skills, tools, and techniques for analyzing a company strategically; Integrate ideas, concepts, and theories from previously taken functional courses including accounting, finance, market, business, and human resource management; Analyze and synthesize strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to generate, prioritize, and implement alternative strategies to revise a current plan or write a new plan and present a strategic plan. Instructions Step 1  Specific Company for All Four Projects ( Company is Exxon Mobile Corporation)  The company that your I.

1. Instructions
Purpose
This project is the second of four projects. It also represents the
second part of the external environmental analysis part of a
strategic management plan. You 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 their
competitive position in the 21st century (rapidly
evolving/shifting/changing), uncertain hyper-competitive
business environment.
Monitoring competitors’ performance is a key aspect of
performing an external environment analysis. This project
provides you with the opportunity to evaluate the competitive
position of your assigned company and integrate that
information in a partial SWOT (OT), Porter's Five Forces,
External Factor Evaluation (EFE) matrix, and Competitive
Profile Matrices (CPM).
In this project, you are presenting a report document. The
expectation is that the report provides details to help the
audience grasp the main topics and to understand and complete
the External Environmental Analysis.
"Analysis" is the operative word. In analyzing the external
environment, you are expected to thoroughly research the
company. As part of this effort, you will need to take that
research and break it into small parts to understand better what
is happening in the external environment of the business. In
researching an industry, it is important to understand that every
company within an industry is different, so gathering
information on one company does not mean that the collected

2. information is relevant to other companies. When researching,
parsing the material is critical to an accurate analysis. Avoid
presenting just any information as that may lead to using
irrelevant information.
You will then write the report in your own words to share the
external analysis. You are expected to present information and
support the ideas and reasoning using the course material and
your research. You will not lift any information from source
documents without properly citing and referencing. For the
technical analysis aspect of the project, you must create the
technique on your own and may not use any source material that
you happen to find. No work from a clearinghouse or similar
website may be used or cited as a credible source.
Outcomes Met With This Project
Utilize a set of useful analytical skills, tools, and techniques for
analyzing a company strategically;
Integrate ideas, concepts, and theories from previously taken
functional courses including accounting, finance, market,
business, and human resource management;
Analyze and synthesize strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and threats (SWOT) to generate, prioritize, and implement
alternative strategies to revise a current plan or write a new
plan and present a strategic plan.
Instructions
Step 1
Specific Company for All Four Projects ( Company is Exxon

3. Mobile Corporation)
The company that your Instructor has assigned to you for
Project 1 is the company you will use for this project. The
assigned company must be used for this project and in
subsequent projects in the course. Students must complete the
project using the assigned company. Deviating from the
assigned company will result in a zero for the project.
After reading the course material, you will complete the steps
below.
Step 2 Course Materials and Research (Please see below for
course materials)
You must research information about the focal company and the
environment for this project. You are accountable for using the
course materials to support the ideas, reasoning, and
conclusions made. Using course material extends beyond
defining terms—the 'why and how' of a situation. Using one or
two in-text citations from the course materials and then relying
on Internet source material will not earn many points on the
assignment. A variety of source material is expected, and what
is presented must be relevant and applicable to the topic being
discussed. Avoid merely making statements but close the loop
of the discussion by explaining how
something happens
or why
something happens
, which focuses on importance and impact. In closing the loop,
you will demonstrate the ability to think clearly and rationally,
showing an understanding of the logical connections between
the ideas presented from the research, the course material, and
the question(s) being asked.

4. Note:
Your report is based on the research results performed and not
on any prepared documentation. What this means is that you
will research and draw your own conclusions that are supported
by the research and the course material rather than the use of
any source material that puts together any of the tools or
techniques whether from the Internet, for-pay websites, or any
pre-prepared document, video or source material. A zero will be
earned for not doing your own analysis.
Success:
The analysis is based on research and not opinion. You are not
making recommendations, and you will not attempt to position
the focal company in a better or worse light than other
companies within the industry merely because you are
completing an analysis on this particular company. The analysis
must be based on factual information. Any conclusions drawn
have to be based on factual information rather than leaps of
faith. To ensure success, as stated above, you are expected to
use the course materials and research on the focal company's
global industry and the focal company. An opinion does not
earn credit, nor does the use of external sources when course
materials can be used. It is necessary to provide explanations
(the why and how) rather than making statements. Avoid
stringing one citation after another, as doing so does not show
detailed explanations.
Library Resources (Required for Company Research)
Statista - All the information needed for your assigned company
must be obtained from one of the library's suggested online
company research databases. To use these resources, go to the
main navigation bar in the classroom, select Academic Support
and then select Library. Next, select Databases by Title (A - Z).

5. Since your primary online company research database is
Statista, select S from the alphabet list, and scroll down to
select Statista Online.
Dun and Bradstreet's Hoovers Database, among others, is
another excellent source for company research, competitor, and
industry information.
You can find relevant and significant additional information
required for company project research by using
https://libguides.umgc.edu/business-research
Additional Library Resources
Research for Company Financial Ratios:
Financial Research.
Research for Industry Financial Ratios:
CSI Market.
Use "OneSearch" to find scholarly articles by clicking Library
under Academic Support on the classroom main menu bar and
checkmark "Scholarly Journals Only" prior to starting a
search.
Library Support Personal Assistance
Extensive library resources and services are available online, 24
hours a day, seven days a week at
https://www.umgc.edu/library/index.cfm
to support you in your studies. In addition, the UMGC Library

6. provides research assistance in creating search strategies,
selecting relevant databases, and evaluating and citing resources
in various formats via its "Ask a Librarian" service at
https://www.umgc.edu/library/libask/index.cfm
.
Step 3 How to Set Up the Report
The document has to be written in Word or RTF. No other
format is acceptable. No pdf files will be graded. Use 12-point
font for a double-spaced report.
The final product should be
9
- 10 pages.
The final project may not exceed 10 pages, including all tables
and matrices, but excluding the title and reference pages.
Do not use an Appendix.
Create a title page with the title, your name, date, the course
number, the instructor's name.
Create Topic Headings that correspond to exact sections of the
project requirements.
Use the Headings and Heading Numbers listed below in red
font.
Step 4
Write the Report - using the following headings in that are in

7. red
below.
I. Porter's Five Forces for the Industry
Perform a Porter Five Forces analysis on the organization's
industry
The industry is the industry determined for Project 1.
a. First, use the course materials to identify the five forces and
what components make up each force.
b. Then, perform an analysis of each force that clearly discusses
the ‘why and how’ and concludes with the effect of the given
force on the fortunes
of the industry
(industry profitability) and/or industry dynamics; that is,
whether the effect of the force on the industry is
weak/modest/average/moderate or strong/severe.Use industry
research for support.
You may not use a Porter Five Forces analysis that is already
completed and available on the Internet. A zero will result if
used as the analysis results from your research and your own
development.
II. Porter's Five Forces for the Company
Perform a Porter Five Forces analysis on the focal company in

8. particular.
Perform an analysis of each force that clearly discusses the
‘why and how’ and concludes with the effect of the given force
on the fortunes of the focal company; that is, whether the effect
of the force is weak/modest/average/moderate or strong/severe
on the focal company
. Use company research and course materials for support.
You may not use a Porter Five Forces analysis that is already
completed and available on the Internet. A zero will result if
used as the analysis results from your research and your own
development.
III. Competitive Analysis
Perform a Competitive Analysis using the focal company’s
closest three competitors plus the selected company. Explain
why these companies are competitors, using course materials for
support of your rationale. Analyze the competition's products
and services, explaining features, value, targets, etc. What are
the competition's strengths and weaknesses, and what is the
market outlook for the competition? Use industry research and
course materials for support in this analysis.
IV. Critical Success Factors
Identify and discuss at least eight (8) key success factors
(critical success factors), using both course materials and
industry research for support. Each industry has different key
success factors, so make sure the success factors fit the

9. industry. Review the Competitive Profile Matrix example under
Week 3 Content for clarification.
V. Competitor Profile Matrix (CPM)
Develop a Competitor Profile Matrix (CPM) to compare your
company with these three competitors (from section III).
Explain how you developed the matrix. Make sure to support
your reasoning with course materials and industry research.
VI. Partial SWOT (OT) Table and Analysis
(A SWOT analysis is a tool used to assess the strengths and
weaknesses (internal environment) and the opportunities and
threats (external environment) of an organization. You will
complete a partial SWOT analysis only completing an analysis
on the OT (Opportunities and Threats). The information
presented is not based on your beliefs but fact-based, data-
driven information. The items used in the OT are factors that
are affecting or might affect the focal company or those
companies within the identified industry.)
VI.A. OT Table
Develop an OT table using your research to identify at least five
(5) opportunities and five (5) threats that influence the industry
and the focal company. Use industry or company research for
support of each opportunity and threat. Make sure to cite the
elements
within

10. the table.
VI. B. OT Analysis
Perform an OT analysis (separate from the SWOT table). Use
course materials and company and industry research for support.
You may not use a SWOT analysis that is already completed
and available on the Internet. The OT is for the focal company
and no other company. A zero will result if used as the analysis
results from your research and your own development.
VII. External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Analysis
The External Factor Evaluation (EFE) matrix will allow you to
use the industry analysis and the competitive analysis to assess
whether the focal company can effectively take advantage of
existing opportunities while minimizing the identified external
threats that will help you formulate new strategies and policies.
You will use the opportunities and threats from the OT analysis.
Using the information gathered for the OT analysis, develop an
EFE matrix using five (5) opportunities and five (5) threats.
Discuss how you developed the EFE matrix and the outcome.
Make sure to support your reasoning for the weights and ratings
with course materials and company/industry research.
VIII.

11. Conclusion
Create a conclusion. The Conclusion is intended to emphasize
the purpose/significance of the analysis, emphasize the
significance/consequence of findings, and indicate the wider
applications derived from the main points of the project’s
requirements. You will conclude with the findings of the
external environment analysis. Use course materials and
industry/company research for support in this section.
Step 5 Review the Paper
Read the paper to ensure all required elements are present.
The following are specific requirements that you will follow.
Use the checklist to mark off that you have followed each
specific requirement.
Checklist
Specific Project Requirements
Proofread your paper.
Read and use the grading rubric while completing the paper to
ensure all requirements are met to lead to the highest possible
grade.
Third-person writing is required. Third-person means 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-

12. second-and-third-person
.
Contractions are not used in business writing, so do not use
them.
Paraphrase and do not use direct quotations. Paraphrase means
you do not use more than four consecutive words from a source
document. Removing quotation marks and citing is
inappropriate. Instead, put a passage from a source document
into your own words and attribute the passage to the source
document. There should be no passages with quotation marks.
Using more than four consecutive words from a source
document would require direct quotation marks. Changing
words from a passage does not exclude the passage from having
quotation marks. If more than four consecutive words are used
from source documents, this material will not be included in the
grade.
You are expected to use the research and weekly course
materials to develop the analysis and support the reasoning.
There should be a robust use of the course material. The
material used from a source document must be cited and
referenced. A reference within a reference list cannot exist
without an associated in-text citation and vice versa. Changing
words from a passage does not exclude the passage from having
quotation marks.
Use in-text citations and provide a reference list that contains
the reference associated with each in-text citation.
You may not use books in completing this problem set unless it
is part of the course material. Also, do not use a dictionary,
Wikipedia, or Investopedia, or similar sources. You may not use
Fern Fort University or any other for-fee website.

13. Provide the page or paragraph number in every in-text citation
(except videos and podcasts).
Course materials that are required to use:
Read/View:
Strategic Management
: Scroll down for links to these chapters
Chapter 5: Managing Business Level Strategies
Chapter 6: Supporting the Business Level Strategy:
Competitive and Cooperative Moves
(Dess & Davis, 1984) Porter's (1980) Generic Strategies as
Determinants of Strategic Group Membership and
Organizational Performance
(Pearch & Harvey, 1990) Concentrated Growth Strategies
Tools and Techniques:
You will be using the following tools/techniques in the
projects.
The IE Matrix
How to Prepare the Internal External Matrix
BCG Matrix