...INTERNAL ANALYSIS One functional area that is rather strong at Nokia is their Research and Development (R&D) teams. Nokia knows in order to compete effectively in the mobile computing and communications industry, they have to devote a great deal of time and resources to R&D.[i] As of December 2008, Nokia had a strong R&D presence in 16 countries, employing 39,350 people in this functional area. That number represents approximately 31% of Nokia's total workforce, which shows the importance placed on R&D.[ii] The Nokia Research Center focuses on four main areas which include Rich Context Modeling, New User Interface, High Performance Mobile Platform, and Cognitive Radio. These four areas collaborate with one another and seek to determine what peoples' needs will be in the future. Based upon the needs identified, the research teams then focus on the technology and interfaces that will be used, as well what infrastructure is necessary. Nokia knows the future will bring many changes, and they are prepared to develop the products and services necessary to help the physical and digital worlds combine.[iii] In order to strengthen their R&D function, Nokia collaborates with a group of leading institutions from around the world which they refer to as Open Innovation. By working together they are able to share resources and build upon each others' skills and knowledge, which benefits Nokia greatly. The value derived from working with global experts in R&D is then ultimately passed onto...
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...External and Internal Environmental Analysis Yum Brands University of Phoenix Strategic Planning and Implementation STR / 581 March 17, 2014 Both external and internal environmental analyses are very important components for any organization’s strategy plan. A review of both of these environments enables the company to identify which ways to compete in the industry they operate. With this planning an organization may also identify what the companies’ weakness and strengths are. Both the internal and external environments are just as importantly equal. In today’s business the external environment is receiving an increasing amount of attention because of the recession being now a global concern. Yum Brands has suffered some changes by the external environments. Analyzing some important factors like external operating environments, along with remote, and industry are some topics covered. Identifying strengths is important and finding the weaknesses of Yum Brands of which may impact their ability to manage these factors will be discussed. Yum Brands is one of the top 10 fast food companies in the U.S. A clear leader in the quick-serve industry, Yum Brands operates about 18,000 restaurants domestically and almost 15,000 locations internationally. Yum Brands company sales accounted for $11million of annual sales in the fast food industry. This does not include franchise sales. Franchise fee accounted for $1.8 million which is approximately 4.5% of franchise sales. ...
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...TASK 4 (Discussion Task) “INTERNAL CONTROL ANALYSIS 1” Main Problem : Explain how the principle of separation of duties is violated in each the following situations. Also suggest one or more procedure to reduce risk, and exposure highlighted in each of example. Analyzed the problems : * How the principle of separation of duties can be an internal control system ? * How to make a good principle of separation of duties ? * What is the best internal control design for the job authorities ? * How to reduce risks in posting the receipt to the customer account ? Learning objectives : * Identify the exposure to risk that a firm faces with respecting of asset and data, including the fraud. * Understand how to reduce risk and exposure the highlighted in every situation. * Recognize how the separation of duties become a part of internal control system. * Understand about the risk exposure to business and the importance of internal control to minimize the risk. Solution a. A payroll clerk recorded 40-hour workweek for an employee who had quit the previous week. He then prepared a paycheck for this employee, forged her signature, and cashed the check. Violation: The payroll clerk only have an authority to prepare the paycheck, not to signature or cashed the checks. The signature of payroll is the duty of HR manager, while cashed the paychecks is the duties of the cashier, so, the payroll clerk has violated his/her job description and his/her authorities...
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...Internal Analysis of Firms Analysis of the Firm Role of a firm: * Marketing approach: Firm should give customers what they want Nonsense * Exchange is about comprise from both the firm and the consumer * If not -> no exchange * If not -> changement of partner However, the firm can also have technical limits and not being able to reach consumer expectation. That’s why exchanges will be based on the nature of the firm. (short term) The Marketing concept vision is that the firm to deliver a product has only to understand the consumer. Firms are flexible and can adapt them to customers’ requirements. It is true when speaking about pricing and promotion modification needed, less when it touches the product channel. However, it leads to marketing strategy decisions. The relationship between firms and the environment: 3 operating modes: * Firms cannot adapt to the environment – Environmental Strategy * Strong inertial forces constraining change: cultural, technological… * The firm will perish * Firms adapt to the environment – Learning Model * The firm has no barriers to change and is infinitely flexible * The firm will survive * Firms can change their environment - Proactive model * Interaction between firms and their environment impact it… * … however, this approach is going beyond such interaction to create major and explicit change * The firm will survive In practice, the...
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...Internal Analysis – Apple Driving Forces of Change The driving forces of change in the industry that Apple started in include the • Growth of the industry • Changes in how the product is used and who buys it • Other firms entering and exiting the market. Key Success Factors • Technology began growing • Outsourcing and manufacturing • New Product/skills of management Resources and Capabilities Tangible Resources - Apple was able to get going at the beginning due to a large investment. They were able to sell their products through distributors and retail stores. They were later able to invest in their own stores and sell products directly to the consumer. They had a positive culture. Employees are happy and truly believe in the products. Apples corporate organization has allowed them to be successful. Intangible Resources - Apple is considered one of the most innovative companies in the world. From the beginning they were looking for ways to change the world and bring new technology to the forefront. They have a good reputation with quality products. Apples ethics are not questioned and they are a major player in technology world. They have been extremely flexible, especially when making their products compatible with a windows operating system. Capabilities/Value Chain - Apple began operations out of a small garage. This small garage grew to a warehouse, to a hundreds of stores around the world. They have a very sharp and clean image. After sales plummeted in the...
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...Genomic Health, Inc. External Analysis Report Presented to: Dr. Karen Middleton Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi Submitted by: Jacinda Martinez Jennifer Kindred Shiwei Chen Yang Gao Ying Zhang October 16, 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iv INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT 1 MISSION STATEMENT 1 FINANCIAL RATIO ANALYSIS 1 STOCK ANALYSIS 2 VRIO TEST 3 CORE COMPETENCIES 3 Research & Development 3 Patents 5 Management Team 6 Reputation 7 CURRENT BUSINESS AND CORPORATE LEVEL STRATEGY 9 Business Level Strategy 10 Corporate Level Strategy 10 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES 13 Strengths 10 Weaknesses 10 SWOT MATRIX 13 REFERENCES 25 LIST OF TABLES (need to redo these for internal tables) Table 1: Strategic Group Dimensions 13 Table 2: Liquidity Ratios 14 Table 3: Leverage Ratios 15 Table 4: Activity Ratios 15 Table 5: Profitability Ratios 16 Table 6: Growth Ratios 17 Table 7: Stock Analysis 18 MISSION STATEMENT Genomic Health is dedicated to addressing the difficult challenges of cancer treatment by utilizing genomics to help physicians and patients choose the most appropriate treatment options with optimal confidence. Table 1: Nine Components of a Mission Statement Customers | Yes | Products/Services | Yes | Markets | Yes | Technology | Yes | Survival, Growth, Profitability...
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...The poor communication between office floor and shop floor is a serious problem in the company. In details, the company doesn’t have a complete system for shop floor employees to reflect their issues to management. The office floor is separated with shop floor; all the request and demand are made simply by the managers. There is no essential interacting between managers and employees, the managers just show the superficial respect to their employees. “A Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” tells that everyone needs self-esteem and esteem of others, and to feel belongingness and love. Employees are naturally motivated by those incentives to reach their potential (McShane and Steen, 2009: 109). In this case, it is not a good way for managers to assign works to employees without any interaction. This behavior cannot let employees feel they are respected by the managers so they cannot feel belongingness and love. Changing attitude towards employees is a wise choice for office staff. Managers need to pay more attention to their employees and to be patient listening to their ideas. Besides, managers need to hold some activities regularly to let employees get together to feedback problems that exist while they operating the required production schedule. These sessions can also strengthen friendships between managers and employees to improve employees’ belongingness and love so that they can be more efficient in their work. The problem is caused by the poor communication skills either for...
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...Jourdan Morris March 10, 2014 MGT499-80 Strategic Management Project Interim Assignment #1 History and Description of the Company The E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) was founded in 1802 by Eleuthère Irénée (E.I.) du Pont. E.I was trained in gunpowder handling as well as advance explosive production techniques (DuPont). E.I. left his home in France during the French Revolution to embark on a journey to America January of 1800. By the summer of 1802 DuPont opened up his first powder mill located on the Brandywine River. Since that very first mill opened the DuPont Company has been involved in a wide variety of industries; The Automotive, Research and Development, Technology, Communication industries and a whole host of others have all been ventured into by DuPont. DuPont currently is one of the most profitable chemical companies in the world. In 2012 DuPont ranked ninth in the world based on ICIS Top 100 (ICIS). Mission and Vision Statement DuPont’s mission statement is as followed: “DuPont is a science company. We work collaboratively to find sustainable, innovative, market-driven solutions to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges, making lives better, safer, and healthier for people everywhere.” The challenges that DuPont narrows its focuses on are food, energy, and protection solutions (DuPont.) Primary Industry SIC: 2879, Pesticides and Agricultural Chemicals, NEC NAICS: 325320, Pesticide and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing ...
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...Introduction. Value creation is an objective of every firm, as they seek to provide value to its stakeholders and most especially its customers. Aside adding value, success is also a major objective for firms. The drive to be successful in their industry has led firms to develop strategies to enable them have a competitive edge. Resources of organisations generate value and when combined with its capabilities creates competitive advantage for that organisation. To gain and sustain competitive advantage, firms have to implement value creating strategy that cannot be imitated by its current or potential competitors (Barney, 1991). The telecommunication industry in Nigeria was controlled by a monopolist (Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), but this changed after the auction of telecom licences to other operators, leading to stiff competition. Operators in the telecommunication industry are relentlessly competing for market share, making managers to employ different strategies to place them ahead of their competitor. (Esonwume, 2010), yet one operator was able to beat its rivals. MTN is regarded as the most profitable and widely subscribed operator in Nigeria. This paper gives a background of the industry and firm, examines key areas where MTN has been successful and the extent to which this advantage can be sustained in an attempt to answer the research questions. The research questions are as follows: 1. What strategies has MTN Nigeria adopted to become a...
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...Division: Mobile Products & Communications Overview Sony Ericsson (Sony Mobile) is a joint venture owned equally by the telecommunications leader Ericsson and Sony corporation- the consumer electronics powerhouse. It was founded on October 1, 1987 as a joint venture between Sony and the Swedish telecommunications equipment company Ericsson, under the name Sony Ericsson. (Wikimedia) VRIO Framework As the fourth-large smartphone manufacturer, Sony Mobile’s technological resources are very valuable and inimitable. The communications technology expertise and knowhow accumulated through its experience in the mobile phone industry, to launch new mobile products and establish new business models. Additionally, by integrating operations across its entire mobile product lineup, Sony aims to achieve further efficiencies and optimization (Sony Website). Technologically, Sony Mobile is more advanced in producing consumer electronics products than its competitors. Technological Resources also support the innovation resources. Innovation is the most important thing for the current mobile markets and that is hard to imitate and valuable. There are so many competitors, and so many new products come out every year. If Sony Mobile wants to against their competitors, they should have enough innovation to create new product. The Smartphone market has lot of competitors, and potential competitors, but some competitors may lose their competitive advantages when they cannot follow the...
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...External and Internal Environmental Analysis Jeanette McCullough STR 581 March 24, 2014 Christopher Romano External and Internal Environmental Analysis Dunkin’ Donuts began serving its loyal customers in 1950. Five years later in 1955, they began to spread their wings and open franchises. Dunkin’ Donuts has over 10,000 stores in 33 different countries. The company is now one of the largest baked goods and coffee chains in the world. According to a survey in 2013, the company sells more than 4 million doughnuts and about 2.7 million coffee cups every day ("Prezi," 2013). Performing an internal and external analysis on Dunkin’ Donuts showed where the company can improve in areas and where the threats are at with other competitors. SWOT Analysis Strengths – Dunkin’ Donuts has a strong brand name. DD has brand loyalty among customers. The company has over 100 varieties of doughnuts, and its stores are an ideal place for having breakfast and coffee. Popular for a number of bakery products like pastries, bagels, muffins, biscuits, etc. and hot beverages like coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Innovative ways to retain customers by issuing coupons and discounts. One of the most experienced in the coffee industry. They have affiliations with sports teams like the Red Sox. They have worldwide franchisees, totaling to more than 10,000 locations across 33 countries ("Swot Analysis On Dunkin' Donuts," 2010). Weakness- Competition from other international snacking places...
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...Indian IT Industry Internal Analysis Ravi Rajan Vinod Mahajan Arun S Madhava Gopal Praveen Waychal. Firms considered 1. Infosys Technologies Ltd. TABLE OF CONTENTS INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES LTD 4 Brief History 4 Firm Profile 6 Financial Summary 6 Financial growth over the years 6 Peer Comparision over the years 7 Revenue Growth from Different Geographical segments 8 Revenue growth from industry segements over the years 8 Services Offered by Infosys 9 Revenue Breakup by service offerings 10 Organization Size 11 SWOT Analysis 12 PSPD model 12 Strengths : 13 Weaknesses: 13 Threats: 13 Opportunities : 13 Value Chain Analysis 14 Core Competencies 16 Infosys Global Delivery Model 16 Infosys brand equity and talent search 17 Process and quality compliance standards. 18 INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES LTD Brief History • Founded in 1981 by Narayana Murthy and six others. • Second Largest IT company • Offices in 22 countries • Development Centers in India, China, Australia, UK etc. • Went Public in 1993 • Total No: of...
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...In order to develop a good strategy it is essential that you know your strengths and weaknesses, i.e. what it is you are good at. An internal analysis is “a process of identifying and evaluating an organizations’ specific characteristics, including its resources, capabilities, and core competencies” (p. 106, Coulter 2005). Internal analysis is important in order to find out where improvements are needed and what you could exploit more in order to gain competitive advantage. Internal analysis takes an inside-out perspective compared to the outside-in perspective of the external analysis. The question here is what you can do yourself. Other relevant questions are if the resources and competencies you possess fit the opportunities in the environment, and if the company can exploit these resources and competencies in new ways. There are three perspectives on how to gain competitive advantage through internal strategic analysis. The resource based view (RBV), the competence based view (CBV), and the dynamic capabilities view. The resource based view There are several types of resources that a company possesses; physical resources, human resources, financial resources, intellectual capital, threshold resources, and unique resources. The RBV is based on the view that these resources are unique if they create sustained competitive advantage, and that a company’s strategy should be based on these resources. For a resource to be unique, it has to possess four attributes; it needs to...
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...Running head: EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL ENVIRONEMNT External and Internal Environment Analysis Bharti Gupta University of Phoenix External and Internal Environment Analysis: Mayo Clinic The purpose of this paper is to analyze the External and Internal environmental factors of Mayo Clinic (MC). Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life (Mayo Clinic, 2011). Various types of external and internal factors affect the smooth flow of business at Mayo Clinic. External environment analysis is important in determining the strategy that should be adopted by a business and internal environment analysis is critical to identify the core competences of the business. External Environment External environment (EE) can be broadly classified into three types: Remote, Industry and Operating. Remote environment (sometimes called as macro environment) consists of the forces at work in the general business environment which will shape the industries and markets in which an organization competes (Stonehouse, Campbell, Prudie & Hamill, 2008). Industry environment (sometimes called as micro environment) is the competitive environment facing a business. It consists of the industries and markets in which the organization conducts its business competes (Stonehouse, Campbell, Prudie & Hamill, 2008). Operating environment also called the competitive or task environment comprises factors in the competitive situation...
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...External and Internal Environmental Analysis STR/581 April 17, 2014 Cheesecake Factory External and Internal Environmental Analysis A very small number of people have succeeded in their lifetime what the Overton’s accomplished through theirs. By way of a countless work hours, audacity and willpower, Oscar and Evelyn Overton became conscious of their vision - to possess a fruitful small-business such as the Cheesecake Factory. Cheesecake Factory customer base: The average customers to this restaurant are middle to upper class families; business owners and their clients conducting deals in professional yet relaxed setting. Additionally, tourists that have heard of the great cuisine and customer service offered are patron at this establishment. Founded in 1972 by the Overton’s son David the Cheesecake Factory made its home in Beverly Hills CA. With very little notion of a business plan David set to provide the best dining experience offered to the Cheesecake Factory’s customers. Mission statement: “To create an environment where absolute guest satisfaction is our highest priority”. Vision statement: “Through a shared commitment to excellence, we are dedicated to the uncompromising quality of our food, service, people and profit, while taking exceptional care of our guests and staff. We will continuously strive to surpass our own accomplishments and be recognized as a leader in our industry”. The restaurant business is perpetual, and in today’s economy it is also challenging...
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