External and Internal Environments
Choose an industry you have not yet written about in this
course, and one publicly traded corporation within that industry. Research the
company on its own Website, the public filings on the Securities and Exchange
Commission EDGAR database (http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml), in the University’s
online databases, and any other sources you can find. The annual report will
often provide insights that can help address some of these questions.
Write an eight to ten (8-10) page paper in which you:
Choose the two (2) segments of the general environment that
would rank highest in their influence on the corporation you chose. Assess how
these segments affect the corporation you chose and the industry in which it
operates.
Considering the five (5) forces of competition, choose the
two (2) that you estimate are the most significant for the corporation you
chose. Evaluate how well the company has addressed these two (2) forces in the
recent past.
With the same two (2) forces in mind, predict what the
company might do to improve its ability to address these forces in the near
future.
Assess the external threats affecting this corporation and
the opportunities available to the corporation. Give your opinions on how the
corporation should deal with the most serious threat and the greatest
opportunity. Justify your answer.
Give your opinion on the corporation’s greatest strengths
and most significant weaknesses. Choose the strategy or tactic the corporation
should select to take maximum advantage of its strengths, and the strategy or
tactic the corporation should select to fix its most significant weakness.
Justify your choices.
Determine the company’s resources, capabilities, and core
competencies.
Analyze the company’s value chain to determine where they
can create value using the resources, capabilities, and core competencies
discussed above.
Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia
and other Websites do not quality as academic resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size
12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or
school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional
instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment,
the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The
cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this
assignment are:
Identify how the six segments of the general environment
affect an industry and its firms.
Identify the five forces of competition.
Analyze the external environment for opportunities and
threats that impact the firm.
Analyze the internal environment of a company for strengths
and weaknesses that impact the firm’s competitiveness.
Use technology and information resources to research issues
in business administration.
Write clearly and concisely about business administration
using proper writing mechanics.
