Business paper due 3 MAR 14 8 PM EASTERN TIME

The business idea selected is about putting up a full shoe company. Below is a SWOT analysis table giving the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that it is likely to face in the market.

Business Idea: Senior Shoes

External forces and trends considerations

Legal and regulatory; this is an environment that cannot be controlled individually rather it is from outside the business entity. The government thus giving laws and legalities in which the business must operate within the law imposes legal regulations. Such laws and regulations are tax rules and policies, tariffs, laws governing health and safety, and laws on environment (Jeffs, 2008).

Global; the global scale within which the business operates is governed by standards, which are regulated by the international businesses. Such regulations affect businesses even at the lowest level, issues of intellectual property rights, import and export policies, international taxation tariffs, technology and the international environment. Other global factors that will affect the business are political systems of different nations and their cultural and social background (Jeffs, 2008).

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Economic; The economic aspect focuses on issues to do with economic growth. There are several factors that affect economic growth such as inflation, recession, rates of exchange, the cost of capital, gross domestic product and the power of purchasing. The power of purchasing helps to determine the level of economic activities in a region. Without an economic activity, a nation or a company cannot raise money to run any activity.

Technological; A business should continuously adapt to technological dynamics within the business environment. It is essential to adapt in order to gain a competitive advantage against rivals in the market. Changes in technology influence technological developments which also affect the growth of a business entity (Kroon, 2001).

Innovation; Creativity and innovation abilities affect a business and thus the business should learn to embrace new ways of doing things and also continuously improving existing services.

Social; Cultural dynamics and traditions within societies tend to affect business activities. People’s behavior, lifestyle and belief influence business activities.

Environmental; This represents the physical environment within which the business operates. It covers the climate, weather, availability of natural and human resources, insurance policies and ethics for the business Kroon, 2001).

Competitive analysis; these encompass analysis of players in the environment. Firms offering same product or service compete with each other and it is essential to produce competitive services and products while at the same time, monitoring their activities and design strategies to compete with them.

Internal forces and trends considerations

Strategy; the vision, mission and objectives of the firm will affect the output result of the business. Thus it is important that the business strategizes hence they will stick to its mission, vision and the objectives.

Structures; the organization should put in place its structures such that they are easy to follow. Lines and levels of communication should be well understood by employees. Rules and regulations have to be strictly followed to allow the smooth running of business.

Processes and systems; Processes and systems represent the general picture of activities in the firm. Thus it is important that all processes and systems yield to the benefit of the firm’s activities

Resources; Human resources, natural resources and financial resources affect the running of businesses. Thus it is essential to have adequate assets, skilled personnel, sufficient capital and physical resources.

Goals; Activities within the business should be aligned to its goals. The goals of a firm affect the nature of its processes since compliance with its goals is essential.

Strategic capabilities; this involves the capability to focus on the strategic issues of the business. Focus should be on the mission, vision, objectives and goals (Ian & Britton, 2009).

Culture; A firm’s culture will directly affect a business as it involves traditions adopted by the firm. For instance time to report at work, language to be spoken, rules and regulations to be obeyed.

Technologies; Technology used by the business should be easy to be adopted, and should yield the results and targets set by the firm. Cost of the technology should be considered before implementing it.

Innovations; Innovations should be encouraged by the business in order to compete with other markets in the environment. Without innovations a firm might collapse due to loss of customers and inferior products.

Intellectual property; Issues of patents, royalties and copyrights should be respected. Thus a firm has to abide by regulations governing intellectual property rights (Kroon, 2001).

Leadership; Management of the business requires good leadership that will ensure growth of the business. The leadership in place needs to understand the prime purpose of the business existence and activities it intends to do.

It is important that when the business activities kick off, it should strategize to adapt to the environment it has been placed. Plans to compete with others in the environment should be tabled and strictly followed. It should also abide by regulations and policies given by the state. Tax policies and intellectual property issues should be abided in (Paul, 2006). The supply chain of the business will be challenged by factors like financial resources for expansion, skilled personnel to carryout commercial activities and also the challenge of getting the best internet service provider who acts as the source in the supply chain.

The main opportunity that the business will enjoy is that of new technology and improved systems. When running a sneaker operation should be knowledgeable of the various technologies surrounding use of internets for commercial purposes. Therefore it is essential to be conversant with innovations in the internet industry so as to offer best services to clients. Improved systems will enhance improved service quality which attracts customers as well as gaining a strategy t compete with others in the same industry. Creativity and adapting to technological dynamics is equally important to sustain the business in its life cycle (Ian & Britton, 2009).

References

Ian, W. Chris. Britton. (2009), “Business and Economics”, Pearson education Canada.

Jeffs, C. (2008), "Strategic Management", SAGE Publications Ltd., p. 29 .

Kroon, J. (2001), "General Management" (3rd Edition), Pearson South Africa, p. 76.

Paul. T, McGraw-Hill. (2006), “Business Environment”. Google books.