Description

My company that we are working on is Avon Products Inc You can't use any other company......has to be Avon Products Inc. AVP. OK? Please read Attachments Your goal this week is to begin the formulation of strategic alternatives for your company by conducting Environmental Scanning which includes an analysis of the industry and external environment. That activity should follow the guidance in your readings: What is Strategy? by Michael Porter(Harvard Business Review, 1996) The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy by Michael Porter(Harvard Business Review, 2008) Your specific task this week is to complete Porter's Five Forces analysis and an External Environmental analysis using environmental scanning.xlsx. Only one submission needs to be made for each group, but it is recommended that ALL individuals complete the workbook on their own and then share their findings rather than splitting the work.  

The goal is to identify the most important factors, so quality is more important than quantity. The first sheet contains factors which influence Porter's 5-Forces in your industry. For each factor, complete a rating and an explanation of your rating. After all factors are considered, make an overall assessment of the strength of that Force within your industry. A HIGH rating means that this Force is a dominant source of concern in your strategic thinking. For example, in an industry where Buyer power is HIGH because the product you are selling is a commodity so most buyer's decisions are based only on low-cost, the cost consequences of your strategic planning decisions would be of utmost concern. The sheet is split so you can review the meanings and definitions of the categories and ratings as you make your assessments. 

The second sheet contains categories for External Environment analysis and asks that you identify at least one and no more than three of the most important factors affecting your firm and/or industry in that category. A great source of these factors is the Risk analysis section of your 10-K report, but do some thinking beyond those listed there. Online research into Threats and Opportunities is also helpful. But remember that Opportunities in this context are EXTERNAL and not opportunities for the firm. So focus on things changing in the environment the firm and industry are operating within. The goal here is to look at long-term trends or changes to trends that you should be aware of in your planning. These usually end up becoming the basis for the external Threats and Opportunities section of your SWOT analysis.