Strategic Plan, Part 1: Environmental Scan

You will perform an environmental scan for your target company. 

Choose an organization according to the following:

• Current employer
• Most recent or former employer
• Place of business that you have patronized or have been familiar with over a long period of time. 
  • Avoid choosing an organization that is so large that historical data would be difficult to apply. Firms in the Russell 2000^® index may fit well, whereas firms in the Dow 30 Industrial index probably do not. 
• The organization can be a start-up that you or a significant other may create in the future. For a start-up, focus on an entrepreneurial idea that is of substantive interest, so this project leaves you with a product you may leverage in the future. 

Write a 1,050-word minimum environmental analysis in which you include the following: 

• Determine how to create value and sustain competitive advantage using the environmental scanning strategy.
• Evaluate the company's external environment.
• Assess the company's general environment.
• Evaluate the organization's industry operating environment.