The document presents SWOT analyses for McDonald's and Monsanto, detailing their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. McDonald's is highlighted for its strong global brand and diversified income but struggles with competition and health perceptions, while Monsanto is noted for its strong product portfolio and market potential but faces legal challenges and competition. Additionally, it includes environmental scans for Target and Walmart, comparing their market strategies and competitive advantages.

1. SWOT analysis
A SWOT analysis on
McDonald’s and Monsanto
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Institution
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SWOT analysis is a strategic analysis tool that is used to
help in the understanding of the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and the threats that are involved in a business
activity. It defines the objective of the business and identifies
the internal and external factors that are very important in the
achievement of business goals. The strengths of a business are
the characteristics or traits that give it an edge over others
whereas weaknesses are those characteristics or traits that pace
the business at a disadvantage. The opportunities are the
elements that the business has not yet exploited and would
result in profit whereas threats are those factors that would be
detrimental to a business leading to its decline. Strengths and
weaknesses are internal factors that contribute to the business’s
survival while opportunities and threats are external factors that
should be implemented or put in check for the business’s
growth.
McDonald’s corporation SWOT analysis
The company has had inclined earnings and sales over the past
few years as it continues to struggle with the currency exchange
rate, the fierce competition and market unfamiliarity but still
enjoys being the world’s largest and leading fast food franchise.
It is a modern and progressive burger company that delivers
modern customer experience.
McDonald’s enjoys diversified income, the company is well

2. funded enabling it to receive geographical diversification since
it has many locations in different regions in the world. Being a
strong global brand is one of its biggest strengths, it the most
recognizable brand in the world. McDonald’s always puts its
customers at the center of everything thus driving value for the
stake holders. McDonald’s has numerous restaurants all over the
world that it has leased out, franchising, making rent one of its
biggest income.
Most of the jobs at McDonald’s are low skilled and low
paying resulting to a significant amount of employee turnover.
The negative publicity that the company receives is one of its
biggest weaknesses, the perception that the food they offer is
unhealthy has hurt its image.
McDonald’s has the opportunity to upgrade its menu, with
the change in recipes and the menu there is a possibility of
getting new customers. The company has expansion
opportunities, being a worldwide brand, the company can
expand in any cony of its choosing.
The company faces sign cant competition from national,
international and local food retailers. Facing completion from
companies like Wendy’s, Burger King and Sub Way, it becomes
a competition on quality and price. Many customers around the
world are becoming more health conscious, avoiding unhealthy
foods so in the long run this will hurt its returns.
Monsanto SWOT analysis
Monsanto is an American multinational that produces
agrochemicals and genetically engineered seeds. The company
is one of the leading in the world in the provision of sustainable
agriculture by discovering, innovating and delivering products
to farmers who need them.
Monsanto has a wide customer base in all the regions of the
world, stretching from North America to Africa. It offers
affordable prices to farmers and delivers to them through its

3. efficient distribution and supply chain. The strong brand
portfolio is one of its biggest strengths as it enjoys a wide
variety of products that is in demand from its large customer
base that are loyal.
Monsanto’s main weakness is the limited market shared
due to the stiff competition in the agricultural sector. The
decisions that’s the company’s management makes due to
political influence leaves a bad effect on the company
The growth in the prospects for emerging economies in
Africa and Asia are a huge business opportunity for Monsanto.
The focus of genetically modified seeds in different regions can
rake revenues if the regions are agriculture-oriented. Strategic
acquisitions and mergers can increase the cash flow and attain
greater bottom lines.
The increased number of law suits against the company has
seen a decline in the customer numbers due to harmful and
controversial products. The increased competition from
Syngenta, Bayer and DuPont due to the increased accessibility
to information by farmers. The environmental regulations that
prohibit the use of certain product in certain regions is very
threatening.
References
George M. lee. (2014) .Monsanto Company. Retrieved from:
http://www.valueline.com
(2015).SWOT analysis. Retrieved
from:http://www.investopedia.com
(2015). Corporate info. Retrieved from:
http://www.mcdonalds.com
1
Signature Assignment: Environmental Scan Paper
Today’s market is not an easy and straightforward as it used to
be, that is why more and more businesses are taking extreme

4. measures to ensure theirs survive. Some organizations are
experiences many changes in culture, administration and even
products and services have had to quickly evolve. All of this in
order to keep up with the current situation. Many have perish
but others have thrive in the face of change, and had used it as
an opportunity to reinvent the company. In the following we
will be evaluating two companies that have made it big, and we
will be developing an environmental scan on each of them.
Target Overview
First we will start with Target Corporation, Target formerly
Dayton Dry Good Company, was founded in 1902 by native
New Yorker George D. Dayton in the Minneapolis area. In 1911
is renamed Dayton Company, to better reflect the broad variety
of merchandise. In 1918 the Dayton Foundation was created
with a donation of one million dollars. They continue expanding
through the years and in 2000 they became the Target
Corporation. Today they have stores in the all of United States,
Alaska and Canada.
Target has been in the market for more than 100 years, so as a
company they have experience many changes and have had to
constantly evolve to accomplish what they have. An
environmental scan will help us de-construct the pieces that
made this possible and made a complete analysis of the
company ("Target Through The Years", 2015).
Environmental Scan
The environmental scan is divided into the external and internal
environments of the company. The internal environment focuses
on employees and the inside forces that move Target. Target’s
purpose is to provide fulfill the needs of their customers
delivering outstanding value, innovation and exceptional prices
(https://corporate.target.com/about/purpose-beliefs). The
external environment consists of technological, legal, social,
economic and political factors, and at Target these variables
help shape the company year after years as time was passing.
For example in 1881, Dayton sees a growing market and stars

5. planning how he can take advantage of that growth, so after
much evaluation he decides that Minneapolis gives him the best
shot and decides to open his first store there ("Target Through
The Years", 2015).
Target has created a foundation and community programs help
teams to aid with societal issues like sickness, poor school
facilities, and third world country issues. They have also have
been influence by diversity issues, resulting in them coming out
supporting equality and same sex marriage. This works as a
marketing strategy, because it appeals to a former minority,
currently gaining much recognition.
Competitive Advantage
Target has been in the market for over 100 years and the
majority of the time was a family owned corporation. Its rapid
growth was due their great customer service, help programs,
quality merchandise, and great discount prices. Being one of the
pioneers in department store and later discount stores gives
them an advantage over their competition. Customers tend to be
loyal with business they feel had become part of a community,
and that have a social responsibility with the community.
Another advantage Target has over its competitors is the
quantity of stores they have all over the United States, Alaska
and Canada. The feeling that a Target might be just around the
corner to do last minute shopping, is a good feeling for its
customers that are mostly composed of 30 to 40 years old,
working adults with families.
Target Strategies to add value
Recently Target develop two new concepts of stores, Super
Target that combines a department store with a grocery store,
and City Target that combines the easy shopping experience of a
regular Target with fast pace life of the city. Another strategy to
gain advantage is the creation of Simply Balanced, a line of
food “free of artificial flavors, colors, preservatives and 105
common food additive ingredients” ("Target Through The
Years", 2015). Target stores have a more attractive look that
many other department or discount stores, with bigger isles and

6. drop ceilings, giving it a more sophisticated look. This strategy
adds value, attracts more people and gives the shoppers a sense
of added value to the merchandise.
Measurement Guidelines
Target is more focus on customer satisfaction and quality of
service and merchandise, therefore the use customer surveys to
learn about the general customer satisfaction rate. Potential
markets are identified through extensive research of analyzing
population growth, average household income, and average age
of target customers. The measurement guidelines are effective
and provide future strategic direction to the company. Prove of
its effectiveness is the incredible growth of Target for more
than 100 years, the fact that they open almost 70 stores every
year, and the quality of the products and services they offer.
Overview of Walmart
Walmart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton in Bentonville,
Arkansas. In only 5 years he had already open 24 more stores
and had made more than $12.7 million in sales. In 1969 the
company was officially incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
By the 1990 Wal-Mart had more than 276 stores, 21,000
associates, and had reached $1 billion in annual sales. In 1994
they bought 124 Woolco stores in Canada to turn them into
Wal-Mart stores ("Our History", 2015). Clearly Walmart’s
growth has been the fastest of any other retail store in the US.
Environmental Scan
Due to the fact of the variety of locations for Walmart stores,
like Mexico and China, they have to let the societal
environment of the place the store is in guide the decisions of
the market for that specific place. This means different markets,
require different products, marketing strategies and a different
set of laws and moral standards. Internal environment affecting
the company will be the workforce, customers, and partners.
They have a vision of a good work environment, though the pay
and treatment to employees is often criticized. They also state
that low prices guarantee is the motor behind Wal-Mart being
the successful rapid growing company it is.

7. Competitive Advantage
The advantage Walmart has over other retailers is that its name
is so famous, and they have had so much publicity either for
good or bad things, that there is almost impossible that exist
someone that has not heard of the stores. Is a very popular place
to get anything, from groceries, produce, clothing for the whole
family, stuff for your car, and medicines, all at the same place
and sometimes at a 24 hour store. The fast growth of the
company, the fact that it was family owned and that promotes
low prices, has turned Wal-Mart in a cultural store in the United
States.
Walmart Strategies to add value
Apart from opening stores in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada, and
China, Wal-Mart work to add value to its brand by donating to
different causes an even having its own foundation. They also
claimed to have enhance the sustainability of their operations
and product supply chains for people and the planet ("Global
Responsibility Report", 2015). They have also create the lower
price guarantee tool, which allow customer to match the prices
of their competitors. This is a great marketing strategy because
it gives them the edge in competition for the lower prices.
Measurement Guidelines
Wal-Mart uses customer satisfaction surveys to ensure they
have knowledge of how the general experiences of the clients
are when shopping at Wal-Mart stores or Online. Walmart
assess its position in the market by comparing to competitors by
tracing growth capacities and by the analysis of financial
statements. Demand and supply are analyzed for measuring
operational efficiency. Regular assessments of inventory,
customer satisfaction, and are also done to gauge effectiveness
of strategic moves.
Conclusion
Both Target and Walmart are true pioneers in the field of
discount stores, and though many people may see them as the

8. same type of company, by doing this analysis we can understand
their differences. Target is a more sophisticated experience, and
is more preoccupied with keeping the discount store functional
without affecting the quality of service, merchandise, and the
general shopping experience of customers. While Walmart is
more driven by money and its rapid growth, Target is more of a
steady but sure growth. Both companies are a great influence in
our society and surely will keep innovating towards the future.
References
Global Responsibility Report. (2015). Retrieved from
https://corporate.walmart.com/global-responsibility/global-
responsibility-report
Moore, J. (2013, November 10). Target using scoring system to
look at product sustainability. Star Tribune. Retrieved from
http://www.startribune.com/target-using-scoring-system-to-
look-at-product-sustainability/231211911/
Our History. (2015). Retrieved from
https://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/our-history
Target through the years. (2015). Retrieved from
https://corporate.target.com/about/history/Target-through-the-
years
Wheelen, Thomas L., J. David Hunger, Alan N. Hoffman, and
Charles E. Bamford. Concepts in Strategic Management and
Business Policy, 14th Edition. Pearson Learning
Solution
s, 2014. VitalBook file.