SWOT Analysis and Business Strategies

The provided assignment is a detailed analysis of business strategies focusing on SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. This method helps businesses identify their internal strengths and weaknesses as well as external opportunities and threats. The assignment includes references from various books and journals, providing insights into business strategy and management. It covers topics such as resource-based theories of the firm, stakeholder perspectives on mission statements, and the importance of process management in delivering business strategies. The document also touches upon international trade benefits and the aviation industry's environmental concerns. This comprehensive analysis is useful for students looking to understand business strategies and operations.

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
P 1- Different types and purposes of organisations................................................................1
P 2- Size, scope and range of different types of organisations...............................................2
P 3- Relationship between organisational functions and their link with the objectives and
structure of organisation.........................................................................................................3
P4 Positive and negative impact of the macro environment on the business operation.........4
P5 Internal and external analysis of Marks and Spencer to identify strengths and weakness5
P6) Strengths and weaknesses interrelates with external macro factors...............................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
In this report it will study there are different types of organisation which differs from
each other by size, scope, range and by their legal structure. Relationship between different
organisational functions and how they help in achieving objectives and affect the structure of the
organisation. Micro environment has many positive and negative impacts on business. Internal
and external analysis is conducted to know the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation and
these have the relationship with the external macro factors will be studied.
P1 2 3
Covered in poster
P4 Positive and negative impact of the macro environment on the business operation
Environment factors are the most important factors for the development of the company.
These are the factors that affect the development of the organization as the development of the
companies. Marks and Spencer analyses the macro environment for the development of the
organization and to successfully compete in the market. The change in the environmental
operations affect the company’s operations and activities. The positive and negative impact of
environment on business operations are as follows:
 Political- The negative impact of the business operations are that it is affected by
different policies that countries are enforcing in the work culture and companies have
impact due to these regulations as the political parties can be changed and new party will
enforce new rules. The government policies are different in other countries and the tax
rates that influences the operations of the business (Teece, 2010). Economic- The economic conditions of the country are very important for the company
and it affects their functioning and operations. The developing countries brings the
opportunities for the company as they can establish their business easily and gain from
their as they have high rate of economic growth and provides more opportunities and
development for the company. Social- They need to manufacture products to satisfy the needs and develop strategies
according to the customer requirements and prefer the demands of the people. The
positive impact the company have on its customers is by developing strategies and
developing products by understanding the needs and demands of their target market. The
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negative impact can be seen by the demands of the people that is constantly changing and
they have to deliver new strategies according their customers’ demands. Technological- The business operations are affected by the technological factors as they
need to adopt new technology in the process of manufacturing products. They also have
to develop new strategies and make sure that they are using the most advanced
technology for their production in the company and to compete in the market. The
positive impact of the adaptation of technology is that they are benefited by utilizing the
new technology in their company (Montgomery, 2011). Legal- The company has to face many legal rules and regulations to compete in the
market. Their business operations are regulated by the rules and legislation developed by
the government in those countries. Different countries have other rules and regulations
and the business operations are affected by these as they have to go by these rules. These
rules affect the sales and profitability of the product and they have to undergo them to
successfully operate their business (Burlton, 2010).
 Environment- The government and customer functioning in the business operations is
the factor that have an impact on the company as they function in the market and try to
sell their product. They have to keep in mind the environmental factor before developing
the product. The environmental conditions affect the productivity of the company and it
makes it difficult for them to function in the business environment.
P5 Internal and external analysis of Marks and Spencer to identify strengths and weakness
To identify the strength and weakness of M&S their internal and external analysis are as
follows by the SWOT analysis and TOWS of the company which are as follows:
Strengths- Their strength is that they
manufacture product while keeping in mind the
demands and need of the people. They make
products according to their customer demands
and to satisfy their needs (Astrachan, 2010).
Their presence in the competitive global
market makes them different from others and
are the leading manufacture and successfully
Weaknesses- The weakness of the company is
that M&S is the leading manufacturer and they
develop products according to their loyal
customers demand. Their pricing of the product
is higher than normal range and many
customers are not able to buy their products.
They also have weakness that their products
are not reaching the normal consumers and in
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operate their business. the regions where there is great chance of
development.
Opportunities- They are opening their new
stores in different markets. It will give them
opportunities to attract different kind of people
and customers for their products. They have all
the opportunity to acquire market and develop
their business in those new localities.
Threats- Their biggest threat is from ever-
changing demand of the customer's. The
company works to gain profit from the market
by continuously changing their strategies and
targeting the customers around the world
(Verbeke, 2013). Their threat is that they are
opening new stores in different countries and
for that they have to undergo various rules and
regulations of the government and their
policies as well.
TWOS matrix of Marks and Spencer is as follows:
SO “Maxi-Maxi strategy”- Strategies that
utilises strengths to maximise opportunities.
Their threat is by there competitors who are
giving tough competition to them. Different
companies are proving same products and at
the lower price and attracting customers for
their products. Threats are also from
legislations that are being implemented from
different countries and government bodies.
ST “Maxi-Mini strategy”- Strategies that
adopts strengths to minimise the threats. M&S
has big opportunity to attract different
customer in countries by developing new
strategies and giving tough competition to their
competitors. They can also change their
policies according to the market conditions as
well.
WO “Mini-Maxi strategy”- Strategies that
minimises weaknesses by taking advantages of
opportunities. Their weakness is that they don't
have different strategies and policies. They
need to develop new strategies so to compete
in the business market(Campbell, Edgar and
Stonehouse, 2011).They do not have more
WT “Mini-Mini strategy”- Strategies which
minimise the weakness and avoids threats.
Their biggest strength is that they are going to
operate their business in different localities and
countries so they can price the product
according to their requirement. They are free to
develop new strategies for their products and
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policies to implement in the immediate
requirement.
pricing can be done according to their
competitors in the market.
These SWOT and TOWS analysis are their internal and external analysis and to compete
in the market and according to their needs and while keeping the demands and needs of their
customer's in mind.
P6) Strengths and weaknesses interrelate with external macro factors.
To perform better its necessary for firm to identify its strength and weaknesses, in order
to do so firm can adopt SWOT analysis through which not only strength but better opportunities
and threats can also be identified (Al-Debei and Avison, 2013). This tool is favoured by many
organisations in order to analyse their strength and weaknesses. This model also has strong
relationship with other models.
Internal and external both element have major impact on the way a cited firm works.
External factors are majorly interrelated to firm.
Marks and Spencer is a global firm and had acquired the brand name. Working in different
countries require firm to also pay attention to its political aspects as it can have impact on the
working of firm. For e.g. if there is any change in the legislature and policy of firm than it will
also have its impact on the operation of Marks and Spencer (Al-Saleh and Mahroum, 2015). In
such situation, they are needed to change their policy and modify their operation accordingly so
that they do not get involved in any political hassle. The firm has great financial funds which
make it easy for it to make changes in organisation.
Economic factors also play major role. Any changes in the economy of country will have
its direct impact on the sale of firm. Recession or instability in market affect the purchasing
power of people, means people spend less on luxury things. This directly affect the way firm
work. Mark and Spencer as it has been discussed before. Has strong financial background which
help him in difficult situation. In addition to this (Carrió-Pastor and Calderón, 2015) It also has
sufficient economic resources which make it possible for it to carry out its operation smoothly
even in the time of economic instability.
Technological factor require firm to work according the trend of modern time. Accepting
this technology not only help firm in gaining efficiency but also help in gaining competitive
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advantage. Change in technology are very costly and implementation of these changes can create
problem to firm. Furthermore, the staff of M&S is not that qualified in technology field that
directly affect its functioning. This weakness of firm is directly get affected by the working of
employees (Chang, 2016). Moreover, more fund would be required so that proper training and
workshop could be arranged in order to improve the efficiency of firm. This all increase the
burden on the financial team of firm.
Marks and Spencer is one of the leading firm in the retail industry. It has many stores
through which it supplies its product to its customer(Nimwegen and et al., 2008). The firm has
also invested in online business, which help them in reaching customer at much wider expansion.
This help them in increasing their customer base as in current time many people prefer digital
shopping compare to physically going to store. Social condition has major impact on the
business and the sales volume of the cited firm, which have its direct impact on the sale and
profit. Before establishing business to new place its essential to have proper analysis of that place
so that need of customer can be identified. This help them in meeting the need of customer. In
case of its absence firm will not be able to understand the need of that market which will have its
direct impact on the profitability of firm. Not having enough knowledge about the market will
also affect its sustainability.
Changes in law specially employment law have major impact not only on its profitability
but I also have adverse effect on the strong brand image of firm. For e.g. In case government
decrease the working hour of labour than and firm refuse to implement this change in firm than it
will have direct impact on the working of firm (Drucker, 2017) Unsatisfied workers will not
accept this change and would not perform their duty. This will not only affect the profitability of
firm but will also have negative effect on the brand image of firm. But if the firm and its
authority accept this change and apply it in firm. It may have positive impact. Workers become
motivate with changes and perform their work better it also aids firm in gaining their loyalty and
commitment.
From the above discussion it’s clear that micro components of firm are interrelated with
external factors of environment. It’s crucial for firm to look at these and conduct their business
accordingly as one element has major impact on other.
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CONCLUSION
From above report it can be concluded that business environment play important role in
the success of firm. For the growth of firm its necessary for them to understand various factors of
micro and macro environment as it have big impact on the firm. There are three type of
organisation private public and voluntary organisation. These all organisation have their own aim
and purpose. Private organisation work to achieve more profit where the voluntary organisation
work for the benefits of society. Other than aim they also differentiate in size and scope. The
relationship between function of organisation and their mission has also been discussed here.
Organisation has different function and this all function has to work together so that the goal and
objectives of firm can be achieved. HR department of firm motivate employee so that they can
work better and increase the overall productivity of firm. There are also finance department,
customer service function etc. Macro and micro environment can have both positive and negative
impact on the firm. Like political instability can cause disruption in the production of team.
Economic crisis can have major impact on the sales of firm. SWOT analysis is quite useful in
identifying the strength and weaknesses of firm. This help entity in self evaluation. Company can
make their future strategies on the basis of this analysis. They can strengthen their strong point
and can eliminate their weaknesses. It also aids in finding appropriate opportunity to grab.
External analysis can be done on the basis of 5 porter where different threats to firm can be
identified.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Al-Debei, M. M. and Avison, D., 2013. Business model requirements and challenges in the
mobile telecommunication sector. Journal of Organisational Transformation & Social
Change.
Al-Saleh, Y. and Mahroum, S., 2015. A critical review of the interplay between policy
instruments and business models: greening the built environment a case in point. Journal
of Cleaner Production. 109. pp.260-270.
Astrachan, J. H., 2010. Strategy in family business: Toward a multidimensional research agenda.
Journal of Family Business Strategy. 1(1). pp.6-14.
Burlton, R., 2010. Delivering business strategy through process management. In Handbook on
Business Process Management. Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Campbell, D., Edgar, D. and Stonehouse, G., 2011. Business strategy: an introduction. Palgrave
Macmillan.
Carrió-Pastor, M. L. and Calderón, R. M., 2015. A contrastive analysis of metadiscourse features
in business e-mails written by non-native speakers of English. Procedia-Social and
Behavioral Sciences. 173. pp.214-221.
Chang, J. F., 2016. Business process management systems: strategy and implementation. CRC
Press.
Drucker, P. F., 2017. The Theory of the Business (Harvard Business Review Classics). Harvard
Business Press.
Montgomery, C. A. ed., 2011. Resource-based and evolutionary theories of the firm: towards a
synthesis. Springer Science & Business Media.
Nimwegen, G. and et al., 2008. A stakeholder perspective on mission statements: an international
empirical study. International Journal of Organizational Analysis. 1(2). pp.61 – 82
Paul, J., 2006. Business Environment. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.
Richter, R., 2001. European Monetary and Fiscal Policy. Journal of Economic Studies. 28(6).
pp.446 – 450.
Stengel, N. D., 2011. Managerial Economics: Concepts and Principles. Business Expert Press.
Strategic Direction, 2014. Greener planes – but lots more of them: Aviation industry flies in face
of environment concerns. 24 (6). PP. 16 – 18.
Teece, D. J., 2010. Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long range planning.
43(2). pp.172-194.
Verbeke, A., 2013. International business strategy. Cambridge University Press.
Online
Economy watch ,2010. Benefits of International Trade. Available through <
http://www.economywatch.com/international-trade/benefit.html>.
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