Your External Analysis should be completed from the perspective of the industry.

Your External Analysis should be completed from the perspective of the industry. Use point form. (See Chapter 2 in text) 1) The Macro Environment (PESTEL) (Chapter 2 ebook page 16) Your answer should include all 6 categories discussed in the chapter, and should explain which are relevant, which are not, and why. This is an analysis of the categories in the external environment that affect the entire industry, and not a list of how each category can affect specific internal aspects the case company. These categories are produced by long term, structural elements in the external environment and are generally outside the control of firms in the industry. Include what are the strategic opportunities and/or threats to the profitability of the industry for each category analyzed. 4 BUS800 Case Analysis Guidelines 2) Porter’s Five Forces analysis (Chapter 2, ebook pages 17-18) Identify the power of each force as either Weak, Weak to Moderate, Moderate, Moderate to Strong, or Strong with supporting point form evidence. You must state conclusions about the effect of the four forces on rivalry and the overall attractiveness of the industry by identifying which force(s) contribute the most to making it more attractive and which force(s) make it less attractive. 3) Driving Forces (Chapter 2, ebook page 19) What forces are driving industry change, and what impact will these changes have on competitive intensity and industry profitability? You should identify 3 – 5 drivers and the strategic impact of the drivers. 4) Strategic Group Map (Chapter 2, ebook pages 20-21) Create a strategic group map for the industry. You must identify two dimensions that drive the relative positioning of all relevant firms to create the X and Y axis of the map. These factors are usually criteria that customers use to make purchase decisions. Characterize the importance of each competitor based on market share, or a similar, relevant metric. This is a total of three factors that are used to create the strategic group map. Identify any barriers that might create subgroups of competitors. Identify potential empty space opportunities for movement on either axis, using arrows, and the resulting changes in competitive structure in the industry. Who is the most favourably positioned in the industry and why and who is the least favourably positioned in the industry and why? 5) Key Success Factors (Chapter 2, ebook page 22) What are the key factors of competitive success? Identify 3 to 5 key success factors. On what basis do buyer’s of the industry’s product choose between the competing brands of sellers? What resources and competitive capabilities must a company have to be competitively successful? What shortcomings are almost certain to put a company at a significant competitive disadvantage? What are the strategic impacts of the key success factors? 6) Innovation and the Industry Life Cycle (Ch 6) ****Individual Assignment Only**** Identify the stage of the industry with respect to the S Curve (ebook page 65, exhibit 7.4), and explain why you believe it is in this stage. Has the industry been subject to the forces of innovation? Explain why or why not. If so, identify the type of innovation using categories identified on ebook pages 66-67. 5 BUS800 Case Analysis Guidelines 7) Company Outlook for Profitability (Chapter 2, ebook page 23) Using the results of each of the analyses performed in the external environment analyses to determine whether the industry presents the company with strong prospects for competitive success and attractive profits. The important factors on which to base a conclusion include: • How the company is being impacted by the state of the macro environment. • Whether strong competitive forces are squeezing industry profitability to subpar levels. • Whether industry profitability will be favourably or unfavourably affected by the prevailing driving forces. • Whether the company occupies a stronger market position than rivals. • How well the company’s strategy delivers on the industry key success factors. Company’s Internal Analysis 8) Financial Analysis (4 pages max) D2L Financial Template (10 marks for all calculations; 10 marks for noting the relevant strategic impacts and stating a general conclusion.) Evaluate the current financial health of the company by presenting your findings of relevant financial information based on a subset of the following: Ratios: 1) liquidity 2) profitability, 3) leverage, 4) efficiency, 5) operating, and 6) market value and investment ratios. (See the template) Also, using trend analysis, and/or common size analysis, and/or longitudinal analysis based on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate – see CAGR in Investopedia.com ) to either reinforce staying with the company’s status quo or to suggest changes in strategy in light of the results. If applicable, also include competitive financial analysis and/or other relevant financial findings by investigating all quantitative information provided. For each of your calculations or observations note whether a trend is up, down or flat (see template) and note the strategic impact of each finding. A concluding summary statement should address the strategic implications arising from your analysis of the financial health of the company. An excel template for your financial analysis will be provided by your instructor on D2L. You will need to export your analysis into a Table and insert it into your report, which should be submitted as a word document. Financial analysis submitted as a separate Excel file will not be graded. 6 BUS800 Case Analysis Guidelines 9) Current and Generic Strategy (Chapter 3, ebook page 29 and Chapter 4) Identify the Mission of the company. Is the firm pursuing a cost or differentiation strategy? Explain what factors enable it to achieve a low cost or product differentiation strategy. How well is the company’s present strategy working, based on the data in the case? 10) SWOT (Chapter 3, ebook page 30) Identify the company’s internal strengths, internal weaknesses, market opportunities and external threats. What are the attractive and unattractive aspects of the company’s situation? What are the strategic implications for improving the company’s strategy? 11) Competitive Advantage and VRIN (Chapter 3, ebook page 31) Identify a minimum of 4 resources and 4 capabilities of the case company. Assess the potential of each to create sustainable competitive advantage based on the criteria found in the Four Tests of a Resource’s Competitive Power from the text. Your assessment should identify dynamic capabilities and whether the firm can achieve sustainable competitive advantage with any of these factors. Be sure to identify the strategic implications. You should lay out the information in a table which will be shared in class. 12) Strategic Issue (Chapter 3, ebook page 34) Identify one strategic issue you think merits front-burner managerial attention. The issue should be framed as a question (How to…? What to do about …? and Whether to …?). Identify one strategic issue only. While there may be more issues that deserve managerial attention, the focus of your report will be based on supporting only the one issue you identified. Make sure your issue is not too general; for example, to improve profits is a generalized statement. The issue you identify must be actionable. Provide a minimum of 5 supporting and relevant observations based on various conclusions up to now from the External and Internal Analysis. Do not include any observations not discussed and analyzed previously (issues out of nowhere = 0). You should be able to identify all the relevant facts from your Appendix that led you to conclude that the issue you identified deserves managerial attention. Every fact that you think supports your main issue should be identified as they will ultimately become an outline for the analysis section of your report, referencing each of the facts identified from the Appendix. Your answer should include a short and succinct