a. Industry – history/description;

b. Leading Companies in the Industry (2) – their history/background; strategic leadership, vision, mission;

c. Your Company – brief description, history, position in industry.

II. External Environment Analysis

a. General Environment – Trends/Factors of Technology, Demographic, Economic, Political/Legal, Socio-cultural and Global;

b. Industry Environment – For example, Porter’s Five Forces or a Strategic Group Map;

c. Competitor Environment – Future Objectives, Current Strategies, Assumptions, Capabilities.

Include within the external environment analysis Driving Forces and Key Success Factors.

III. Internal Environment Analysis

a. The Organization’s Resources, Capabilities, Core Competencies, Distinctive Competencies (or Competitive Advantages: determine using the

Four Criteria Test), and Supply and Distribution Chains should be addressed.

b. Financials – Key business financial strength statistics (e.g. liquidity); identify any significant trends (5 year; include competitor

figures where relevant).

Note: The concepts of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats should be addressed somewhere in the paper, but not necessarily as

a SWOT chart.

IV. Strategic Analysis

a. Identify and assess the current competitive strategy of the organization and the conditions that created that strategy (internal and/or

external).

b. Identify any changes in strategy that the organization has experienced (including any changes in the scope of operations, vertical or

horizontal expansion, and approach to the global economy).

V. Final Analysis – Conclusions and Recommendations

a. Key areas of concern for the organization (include management’s intended response, if known).

b. Your conclusions as to the efficacy of the current strategy.

c. Your recommendations for the future of the organization.