Strategy Development Tools: A Critical Analysis of Australian Industries

This essay critically examines the application of strategy development tools in three Australian industries: child care, education, and aged care. It analyzes Anglicare's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats using SWOT analysis, explores Flinders University's external environment through PESTLE analysis, and evaluates the competitive forces in the childcare industry using Porter's Five Forces model. The essay demonstrates how these tools can be used to develop effective strategies for achieving competitive advantage in a dynamic business environment.

Assessment 1: Individual Assignment

Contents
Essay................................................................................................................................................3
Anglicare, Australia: SWOT analysis..........................................................................................3
Flinders University: PESTLE Analysis.......................................................................................4
Think child care, Australia: 5 Forces Model................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................8

Essay
Strategy development tools are the techniques that help in the planning and implementation of
the business strategies and frameworks in a systematic manner in the business organizations. The
business organizations are continuously using the strategy development tools for the
accomplishment of the competitive advantage. The essay critically investigates the application of
the strategy development tools with the consideration of three industries in Australia. The
industries which have taken into consideration are child care, educational and age care. The
different strategy development tools which are reflected in the essay like SWOT analysis, pestle
analysis and 5 porter analysis.
Anglicare, Australia: SWOT analysis
As per the report by Anglicare, Australia (2018), Anglicare is a residential care in Australia that
supports people at all stages of their life. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of
the organization will be examined with the help of the Swot analysis tool. It is an effective
strategic tool that helps in the identification of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats. By applying SWOT into practice, it would be easy for the organization to implement the
actions as per the opportunities and threats. With this tool, strengths can be maximized and
weaknesses can be minimized. The below table will reflect the Swot analysis of the organization
so as to provide a better understanding of the organization positive as well as negative aspects.
Strengths Weaknesses
Offers quality and valuable services
Reputed position in the Australian care homes
Strong market image and goodwill
Extensive competition
Lack of skilled and qualified care providers
Emerging technologies
Opportunities Threats

Innovative services for people of all ages
Collaboration to provide authentic services
The emergence of new entrants
Large organizations and hospital networks
The above table has highlighted the major strengths weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the
organization. On the basis of the analysis, the opportunities can be maximized for the
achievement of the competitive advantage and corrective actions can be implemented for the
minimization of the threats with greater ease and flexibility (Johnson, 2016).
Flinders University: PESTLE Analysis
In the report by Flinders University (2018), Flinders University is a public university in Australia
that possesses record in excellence and innovation in teaching and continue implementing the
strategies for the achievement of the competitive advantage against the competitors in the present
complicated and dynamic business environment. With the application of the pestle analysis, the
organization can be able to analyze the external factors that affect the operations of the
organizations. Pestle analysis is a strategic tool that helps in the analysis of the external factors in
the business environment that harms the profitability of the organization directly or indirectly.
The application of the strategic tool has explained in the discussion below in the context of the
Flinders University.
Political
Political factors always have a significant role in the organization's plans and procedures as the
organizations need to reframe their strategies in compliance with the political factors. Being a
public sector organization, the government rules and regulations affect the operations of the
university effectively.
Economic
The education sector has always been a major contributor to the growth and development of the
economy. The instability in the economic conditions like the period of recession and depression

puts the burden on the financial condition of the organization. The University needs to
collaborate with the other educational institutions so as to develop global knowledge economy
(Doherty, et. al., 2012).
Social
In the growing competitive scenario, the expectations and demands of the customers are rapidly
changing; hence the organization should implement innovative practices and approaches for the
maximum satisfaction of the customers.
Technological
The role of technologies has widely increased in the educational sector of Australia that is
significantly upgrading the standard of the sector. The universities are continuously looking for
the latest technologies in order to improve the educational services and facilities.
Legal
Legal factors in the Australian educational industry are always on a high note as there are high
restrictions on the education of the international students in Australia.
Environmental
Nowadays, the environmental concern of the people has tremendously increased that leads to the
need for environment-friendly plans and policies for the business organizations. Hence the
organization should develop its products and services in compliance with the environmental
standard and procedures that will not only save the environment but also improve the image of
the organization in the eyes of the customers (Doherty, et. al., 2012).
Think child care, Australia: 5 Forces Model
According to the report by Think child care, (2018), Think child care is a child care organization
in Australia that works for the well being and welfare of the children all over Australia. The
competition in the Australian childcare industry is high and extensive hence it is important to
analyze the intensity of the competition in the industry so as to innovate the services better and

effective than that of the competitors. Porter 5 forces analysis is an effective competitive analysis
tool that helps the organization in evaluating the level of competition. The description of the
porter 5 analysis tool for the Early childhood care has entailed below;
Competitive rivalry
Operating in a competitive and dynamic business environment is a challenging task for the
organization that is harmful to the long-term profitability and sustainability of the organization.
Think childcare operates in a highly competitive environment with extensive competition from
the competitors like Early Childhood (Adi, 2015).
The threat of new entrants
New entrant’s threat is a challenge for the Think child care that influences the operational
efficiency of the organization. In order to tackle the threat of new entrants, the organization
should innovate the services on a regular basis.
Bargaining power of buyers
When the customer base of the organizations is small, the threat of the bargaining power of the
buyers is high on the contrary organizations with high customer base have the low threat of the
bargaining power of the buyers (Johnson, 2016).
Bargaining power of suppliers
When the suppliers are powerful, they use the negotiation power in order to obtain high prices
from the organization. High negotiation power of the suppliers deliberately harms the
profitability and revenues of the organization in the long run.
Threat of substitutes
As the organization operates in a competitive environment, the threat of substitutes is very high.
In order to manage the threat of the substitutes, Think child care should focus on the quality of
the services provided so as to retain loyal and committed customers for a longer time
(Rothaermel, 2015).

The essay has detailed about the strategy development tools that help in the planning and
implementation of the strategies in an effective manner. With the application of the strategy
development tools like Swot, Pestle and 5 forces, the organizations can be able to attain a
competitive advantage over the competitors in an efficient manner. Hence it can be said that in
the competitive scenario, it is essential for the organizations to use the strategy development
tools while planning and implementing the strategies so as to achieve the desired and expected
outcomes with greater ease and flexibility.

References
 Anglicare, Australia, 2018. About Us. Anglicare, Australia. Available at
http://www.anglicare.asn.au/.
 Doherty, I., Steel, C., and Parrish, D., 2012. The challenges and opportunities for
professional societies in higher education in Australasia: A PEST analysis. Australasian
Journal of Educational Technology.
 Flinders University, 2018. About. Flinders University. Available at
https://www.flinders.edu.au/.
 Johnson, G., 2016. Exploring strategy: text and cases. Pearson Education.
 Rothaermel, F.T., 2015. Strategic management. McGraw-Hill Education.
 Think child care, 2018. Changing the world one educator at a time. Think child care.
Available at http://www.thinkchildcare.com.au/.