...Environmental Scan Paper Kenneth Anderson MGT / 498 November 10, 2014 Rodney Greene Abstract In business, it is important to gauge internal business with external business. This process will provide an advantage for shaping the future of business. For that reason, the procedure of creating strategies will help by conducting environmental scans. Environmental Scan Designing and building on core values is a required strategy when an organization wants to keep a competitive edge over the competition. There are numerous strategies to pick from in business; a significant strategy is keeping an eye on needed changes and financial trail of record keeping. Furthermore, it is necessary for organizations to keep an outlook on what external sources are doing. It is imperative when acquiring information that defines what other organizations are doing to be conducted in an ethical matter. Committing unethical deception will cause organizational anarchy. The reason long surviving companies like Smart and Final last; is by removing possible dangers so change for the better will be obvious. Ultimately, legacies are built, and the organization’s reputation utilizes power and self-reliance. A thorough global analysis assessment must be completed during an environmental scanning of any organization. This assessment includes businesses, clients, markets, and industries in the same industry. The objective of this paper is to examine the organization and conduct an environmental scan...
Words: 1368 - Pages: 6
...LAMAR UNIVERSITY - COLLEGE OF BUSINESS MGMT5380 - STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Brad Mayer: Galloway 204 (880-2383); bradley.mayer@lamar.edu Office Hrs: MWF 9:20-10:20 AM (and by appointment) The mission of the College of Business at Lamar University is to provide a quality education to a diverse student population from Southeast Texas and beyond, resulting in well-rounded business professionals who are prepared to meet the challenges of a dynamic global environment while upholding ethical values and encouraging civic and social responsibility. The faculty promotes an environment supportive of applications-oriented learning by engaging in a balance of discipline-based, business pedagogy, and practice-based intellectual contributions. I. Catalog Description: The capstone course for the MBA. The course assumes that the company success depends upon formulation of an astute “game” plan and the ability to implement and execute that game plan proficiently. The purpose of the class is to enable students to “think strategically,” consider the total enterprise, and to make long-term decisions in a global market environment. A prerequisite for the Integrative Case Study. II. Prerequisites: - Student must be in last semester of course work and have approval of advisor. - Justification: This is a capstone course that draws upon all of the MBA core courses and stresses complex and interdisciplinary applications of the combined theories and experiences of these...
Words: 4016 - Pages: 17
...Environmental Scanning. Before an organization can begin strategy formulation, it must scan the external environment to identify possible opportunities and threats and its internal environment for strengths and weaknesses. How can we define Environmental Scanning? Environmental scanning can be defined as the monitoring, evaluating, and dissemination of information from the external and the internal environment’s to key people within the corporation. From my analysis we see how Howard Schultz CEO of Starbucks had a vision, he believed that Starbucks did not just sell a cup of coffee, rather than he had a desire to create customer intimacy, he wanted people coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers to fall in love with the place, he visioned an ambience that would attract coffee drinkers of all ages, to come and socialize, listen to soft music, admire their merchandize, and to create a great social meeting place. He used his quest for knowledge to push his product all over the world. He used demographics, he is seen clearly quoted in in one of the interviews in the Costco connection magazine dated April 2011, Volume 26 number 4, that “Our appetite for growth, for innovation and for transforming the company in many different ways probably has never been stronger”. He also scanned the environments of other countries likes Middle East, Asia, India. He knew that Japan was the third largest coffee beans importer; he used this to his advantage by tapping in to the Japanese market...
Words: 1419 - Pages: 6
...Xcellon Institute A Study on Supply Chain Management at wal mart Submitted to: Prof Mhihr Das Submitted By: Kunal Bhatia (M00116, Hitesh Bambhaniya (M00126), Saloni Umraniya (M00128), Sagar Nathani (M00134) 3/6/2014 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Value Chain System of wall mart 4 Porter 5 force 4 SWOT 5 Competitors 6 Suppliers 8 Back haul of wall mart 9 Role of HR 10 Role of RFID 11 Strategy 12 Strategy of other companies 13 Conclution 16 Introduction The retail industry is dominated by few retail giants, with Wal-Mart competing in several retail categories. Wal-Mart competes against Kmart and Target in the general merchandise retailing; against Costco in the warehouse club segment; and against Kroger, Albertson’s and Safeway in the supermarket retailing. Competition among retailers centers on pricing, store location, variations in store format and merchandise mix, store size, shopping atmosphere, and image with shoppers. Further analysis provided by the following figure diagnoses the competitive environment of the retail industry. As a fact, Wal-Mart is considered as the world’s largest retailer nationwide that has been guided by its founder Sam Walton’s passion toward customer satisfaction, and his beliefs in excellence, as well as his philosophy in lowering his prices that has been proven with his famous slogan “everyday low prices.”1Visible outstanding success has required a lot of effort, strategies, dedication...
Words: 3334 - Pages: 14
...at the same time even being centered towards society. (Amason, A. 2010) Executive Summary: Strategic Management involves formulation and implementation of strategies to improve the performance and to gain competitive advantage. It involves decisions and acts that managers undertake in order to attain the desired goals. Strategies are planned means to attain end results. Strategic management is long term in nature and gives a direction to the organization. Before going into the usage of Strategic Tools, the paper details strategic management, need for it, approaches for strategy and the strategies involved at various levels. Then a brief of importance of stakeholder analysis in planning is given. My paper would comprise environmental analysis that is required by Wall-Mart in strategic planning to improve its market in escalating competition....
Words: 4279 - Pages: 18
...1) Target Corporation Overview a) History of Target George D. Dayton founded Target in Minneapolis in 1902. The original name for the company was Dayton Dry Goods. In 1911, Dayton Dry Goods was renamed to Dayton’s Department Store. In 1916, the Dayton Company became a founding member of the Retail Research Association and was once again renamed to Associated Merchandising Corporation. In 1960, Dayton started planning to enter into discount retailing and had its first retail location of Target open on May 1st of 1962 in Roseville, Minnesota. Target also created their famous bull’s-eye icon as the trademark symbol for the company when the first store was opened. In 1966, Target opened its first stores outside of Minnesota in Denver, Colorado; later opening more stores in locations such as St. Louis, Dallas, and Houston in 1968. Target revamped their bull’s-eye icon; this change happened to show what Target stands for and offers to its customers. In 1969 Target opened its first distribution center in Fridley, Minnesota and later became Dayton Hudson Corporation’s highest revenue producers in 1975. In 1979, Target had reached $1 billion in annual sales. With this achievement Target held a billion dollar sale as a way of saying thanks to its guest for visiting the 74 stores in the 11 states that they were located at the time. Today, Target is open in all of the states except Vermont. In 2013, Target expanded its company even further when they opened 124 stores in Canada (Target...
Words: 3880 - Pages: 16
...Organizations of all sizes face the challenging task of an enthused and inspiring, rewarding atmosphere for their employees. Business must put in place a business strategy and technology that will help drive the workforce and help move the business with work practices. These strategies will help drive the behavior of the workforce. (Greenberg, 2013,2010, 2005) Organizations must constantly strive to maintain a competitive advantage within the marketplace; the development of a strategic plan is essential to the success or that endeavor, as it helps to deliver the best possible results for both business decisions and practices and determines the long-run performance of a corporation. Strategic management is designed to focus management’s attention on internal, external, and overall policy implementation of their management systems and includes four phases; financial planning, forecast based planning, externally oriented strategic planning, and strategic management (Greenberg, 2013,2010, 2005). It is a step by step process that clarifies organizational objectives and anticipated end results with a method of evaluation, providing a picture of the future based on current trends and forces that might influence the organization (Ahoy, 1998). There are five compelling reasons for Riordan Manufacturing to develop a strategic plan besides that of taking charge of the organization’s future. First, strategic planning forces management to look into the future and develop a proactive...
Words: 3281 - Pages: 14
...example. Publix and the Supermarket Industry Publix Super Markets, Inc. was founded by George W. Jenkins in 1930. The company is a member of the highly competitive supermarket industry. Publix made its start in Winter Haven, FL and now operates 1,068 supermarkets in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee. The company is largest employee owned supermarket in the United States with over 157,000 employees, and is also one of the top ten largest supermarket chains in the United States (“Publix”). Top 10 U.S. Food Retailers by Sales | 1987 | 1997 | 2007 | Safeway | Kroger | Wal-Mart* | Kroger | Safeway | Kroger | American Stores | Wal-Mart* | Safeway | Winn-Dixie | Albertsons | Costco | A&P | American Stores | SUPERVALU | Lucky Stores | Costco | Publix | Albertsons | Winn-Dixie | Ahold USA | Supermarkets Gen. | Publix | Delhaize America | Publix | A&P | H.E. Butt | Vons Companies | Food Lion | A&P | *Includes Wal-Mart Supercenters and Wal-Mart subsidiary Sam’s Clubs. | Source: Business Guides, Directory of...
Words: 3856 - Pages: 16
...Running head: Walmart Information Systems 1 Walmart Information Systems Research Project-Group2 CIS 511 Fall 2011 Amber Slemmons, Brooke Williams, Cheri Evans, Ismael Molina, & Wesley Belz Walmart Information Systems Walmart Information Systems Executive Summary: 2 Walmart, the billion dollar retail giant, has grown significantly over the past five decades, incorporating numerous different types of information systems into their daily operations. The company is well recognized for their innovation when it comes to utilizing the latest technologies and information systems to maximize their profitability. Information systems structures and processes play a critical role in Walmart’s success and today they are bringing that innovative spirit to the market as they move toward full implementation of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). This technology allows for Walmart’s operations to function efficiently and effectively as they are capable of sending and receiving real time data to the networks. By doing so they are able to communicate the information to the retailer and the product manufactures making it possible for Walmart to remain competitive in the retail industry by properly controlling its inventories. This report will explain how Walmart has utilized several information systems throughout the course of its history such as: point of sale, satellite communication systems, data warehouses, retail link systems, electronic data interchange (EDI), and most recently...
Words: 4729 - Pages: 19
...[pic] By Table of Contents Strategic Evaluation……………………………………………….3 SWOT……………………………………………………………..8 5 Forces……………………………………………………………11 Substitutes…………………………………………………...11 Industry Rivalry……………………………………………...13 Buyers……………………………………………………….14 Suppliers…………………………………………………….15 New Entrants………………………………………………..16 Environment………………………………………………………..17 Remote environment…………………………………………17 Industry environment…………………………………………21 Operating environment……………………………………….23 Profile……………………………………………………………….24 Short Term Objectives………………………………………………27 Long Term Objectives………………………………………………28 Boundaries……………………………………………………………29 Implementation………………………………………………………31 Recommendations…………………………………………………...33 Strategic Evaluation Pick n Save is owned by Roundy’s who is in turn owned by Willis Stein & Partners, an equity investment firm based in Chicago. This paper will focus on the relationship between Roundy’s and Pick n Save and briefly touch on the influence of the parent company. Some parts of the paper wills stress areas fo the Pick n Save store because it is the largest of the four banners of Roundy’s. We have determined the current market and geographic location to be concentrated in southeast Wisconsin and moving West to Minnesota. A long term object of Willis Stein & Partners is to create a distribution chain from Chicago to Milwaukee. Our evaluation of Roundy’s strategic goals have resulted in identification of several grand strategies that...
Words: 8530 - Pages: 35
...For the exclusive use of O. Camacho, 2015. 9 -6 1 5 -0 1 3 REV: AUGUST 15, 2014 RORY MCDONALD CLAYTON CHRISTENSEN ROBIN YANG TY HOLLINGSWORTH AmazonFresh: Rekindling the Online Grocery Market We believe that a fundamental measure of our success will be the shareholder value we create over the long term. . . . We will make bold rather than timid investment decisions where we see a sufficient probability of gaining market leadership advantages. Some of these investments will pay off, others will not, and we will have learned another valuable lesson in either case. — Jeff Bezos, 1997 Letter to Shareholders As Fishmonger Ryan Reese skillfully filleted a fresh rainbow trout at Seattle’s Pike Place Market one morning in late 2012, the usual mix of tourists and locals gathered to admire his prowess. The iconic downtown market’s appealing array of fresh and specialty foods drew daily crowds eager to admire its vendors' showmanship and buy their wares. But the trout wasn't for any of them. Ryan's customer was miles away on Mercer Island. Within hours AmazonFresh, the grocery subsidiary of Amazon.com, would deliver the fish, which she'd ordered online, right to her doorstep.1 AmazonFresh had spent five years testing and refining its business model since its launch in August 2007. The challenges were numerous; no other online grocer had yet succeeded on a national scale. Amazon typically allowed new businesses only a short time to achieve profitability before ...
Words: 7647 - Pages: 31
...EIS Final Project RFID Technology A Comparative Study of E-ZPass and Wal-Mart Công nghệ RFID tại Wal-Mart Jose Malpartida, Sebastian Martinez Matias Moral, Avraj Sandhu, Phillip Wittwer 1. Technology overview RFID, or radio frequency identification, is a technology that allows for communication between two devices by means of radio waves. Thus neither a direct line of sight, nor a physical connection is needed. The first device is a reader or antenna, the second is a so called tag. Readers are more complex and expensive devices, whereas the tags are meant to be cheap and produced in high numbers. Tags can be very simple, for example they could transmit a short id code, similar to a bar code, that is powered by an electromagnetic field. Else, they can be more complex: they could be written to, perform calculations for authentication like a pay-tv chipcard, and contain a power source to increase range. Depending on the application, a major share of effort needs to also be put into an operations infrastructure acting on the data received by the antennas, for example time tracking of employees or billing for payment solutions. History The technology was first developed for military aircraft in the 1950s and 60s to allow identification of friendly planes, as the pure radar signature did not answer this question. The first patents for a RFID tag used to unlock a door touch less were awarded in 1973. In the 1980s first applications for toll collection, as discussed...
Words: 8087 - Pages: 33
...* TABLE OF CONTENTS A. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 B. BUSINESS DESCRIPTION – AN ORGANIC OPPORUNITY 4 Introduction 4 Product 4 Groundwork forthe Venture 4 Crops to be grown 5 The Opportunity 6 Our community 7 Land Use, (re)connecting to `aina (land) 7 C. INDUSTRY AND MARKET ANALYSIS 9 Growth in the organic industry 9 The Hawai`i market 9 local competition 11 Offshore organic competition 12 Farming in Hawai`i 12 Customer profile 13 Distribution mechanisms 15 D. MARKETING PLAN 16 Promotions and outreach 16 Specific segment stratigies 17 MA`O customer service philosophy 17 Promotional materials and labeling 18 Pricing 18 Distribution 19 Sales management 19 Competitive advantage 19 E. MANAGEMENT PLAN 20 Organization and board 20 Governance 20 MA`O’s position in WCRC 21 Executive management & Staffing plan 22 Cooperating experts 22 F. Operations Plan 23 Farm plan 23 Research and development 23 Crop growth 23 Harvest and quality control 24 Inventory management 24 Organic certification 24 Farmer’s markets 24 Land, Equipment, Office Space, Tools, Resources 25 Increasing youth capacity 25 G. FINANCIAL PLAN 26 Start-up 26 Accounting system & Business controls 26 Long-term sustinability 26 Proforma statements 26 H. Risk ASSESSMENT & CONTINGENCY PLAN 35 I. ENDNOTES 36 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Leaders must deal with apathy along the Leeward Coast (Wai`anae), perhaps it comes from poverty...
Words: 10972 - Pages: 44
...What’s wrong with Supermarkets www.corporatewatch.org.uk Strip lights, endless queues of strangers and shelves of packets, fake smiles from bored checkout assistants isn't there a better way to get our food? Supermarkets wield immense power over the way we grow, buy and eat our food. They are shaping our environment, our health and the way we interact socially. These changes have gone unchallenged because consumers have been sucked into superstore lifestyles, persuaded that the opportunity to select from six different brands of cut-price oven chips at three in the morning represents choice and value. What’s Wrong With SUPERMARKETS But the tide may be turning. Unease at the true cost of supermarket food is spreading among consumers, who are beginning to join forces with the farmers and workers who have always known that supermarket 'choice' is a bad deal. This booklet aims to help campaigners get to grips with the reality of supermarket domination and argues why we must start looking for alternatives. Researched and written by Lucy Michaels and the Agriculture Project at Corporate Watch What’s wrong with Supermarkets www.corporatewatch.org.uk What's Wrong with Supermarkets? Overview: Supermarkets sweep up 2 3 10 11 The supermarkets we know today started in Britain with the Cooperative Movement in the 19th century. This was a group of independent local retailers controlled by its consumer members...
Words: 14175 - Pages: 57
...ue [pic] Final paper Lars Isaksaetre, Henrik Oiseth, and Jason Casey BUSA 499, Section One Professor Pham May 13, 2009 Table of contents Executive summary……………………………………………………………… page 2 Company profile…………………………………………………………………… page 3 Overview of the jewelry industry………………………………………………. page 4 External environment………………………………………………………… page 5 Industry analysis……………………………………………………………… page 10 Jewelry supply chain…………………………………………………………. page 16 Industry value chain, Jewelry Retail………………………………………….. page 19 Company analysis……………………………………………………………… page 24 SWOT…………………………………………………………………………… page 46 Financial ratios…………………………………………………………………… page 50 Strategies………………………………………………………………………… page 53 Preferred strategy……………………………………………………………….. page 60 EVA……………………………………………………………………………… page 62 Blue Nile balance sheet…………………………………………………………… page 63 References…………………………………………………………………………. Page 64 Executive Summary Blue Nile is a publicly traded company. The company was established in 1999 and is headquartered in Seattle, WA and is one of leading online retailers of diamonds and fine jewelry. In addition to serving the U.S. market, Blue Nile offers products to selected countries through its Canadian and UK websites. 70% of their sales are from engagement rings and wedding bands and they are known for being a high-end jewelry retailer. The company offers its products on its websites without actually holding the...
Words: 25869 - Pages: 104
