Strategic Plan Part III

External and Internal Environmental Analysis and SWOTT Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to conduct an external and internal environmental analysis for the proposed division and its business model as well as develop a SWOTT analysis for the same division. In this regard, the proposed new product is an affordable smartphone that comes along with the best features in the mobile phone industry. The smartphone is targeted at the middle and low class of the economy through its affordable price. The business model to be used in this case is the cheap chic model. The model is concerned with the marketing of stylish products which are inexpensive. This will enable the consumers to feel that they have the value of their money.

External Environmental Analysis of the Mobile Phone Industry

Industry Changes

The latest advancements in technology have resulted in more innovative smartphone devices that serve various functionalities. As such the smartphone industry is producing smartphone devices with various capabilities.

Legal and Regulatory

The legal and regulatory frameworks in various countries worldwide call for 100% compliance in terms of design and materials used to make smartphone devices. Thus, an organization needs to perform a comprehensive analysis of the legal and regulatory framework of the target consumers’ country.

Global

The currently increased globalized business environment requires that companies should use culturally competent global managers and sales/marketing executives with thorough insight into the target consumers’ needs and preferences.

Economic

In the mobile phone industry, the company must take into consideration the inflation rate while pricing its new smartphone devices. Other economic factors that have a great influence on the consumers’ buying behavior include taxes and interest rates.

Technological

Smartphones are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are becoming more than just communication tools. As such, there is a need to integrate additional features in the proposed new smartphone including Wi-Fi technology, Bluetooth, cameras, audio and video players, and internal storage memory. In addition, the smartphone’s processing speed and ability to access 4G Internet are also other technological factors to put into consideration. The human-computer interface (HCI) is also critical in determining the ease of use and navigation while using mobile phone devices.

Innovation

There are various innovative smartphone devices which are more compact and light in weight.

Social

Some of the social factors that influence the smartphone users’ purchase intentions include the external environment’s cultural and demographic aspects. Specifically, the consumer’s beliefs and habits come in handy when it comes to purchasing new smartphones. The target population’s age group is also a critical social factor in the sense that smartphones are more popular among teenagers and young adults than other age groups to their increased tendency to use the various social networking sites.

Environmental

Smartphone users have become increasingly conscious towards environmental issues relating to the use and disposal of smartphone devices and their accessories such as lithium-ion batteries.

Competitive Analysis

Per Pulaj and Kume (2013), competitive analysis entails analyzing and getting insight into an organization’s indirect and direct competitors in a particular target market, service or product category. There are various companies in the smartphone industry that produce similar products including Apple Inc., Nokia, and Samsung. However, the main weakness of these companies is that their smartphone devices are often costly to the middle- and low-class population. According to Czepiel and Kerin (2010), the strongest competitive marketing strategies are the ones that either “positions a firm’s strengths against competitor’s weaknesses or chose positions that pose no threat to competitors” (p. 1).

Internal Analysis

Strategy

The proposed division and business model will employ cost leadership strategy to make the new smartphone affordable to the low- and middle-income populations. In this regard, the company will adopt low cost in relation to its key rivals by adopting tight overhead and cost control as well as using more efficient operation techniques.

Structures

The company’s internal structure will facilitate the accomplishment of its goals more efficiently and effectively.

Processes and Systems

The proposed affordable smartphone will be produced using low-cost but efficient processes and systems.

Resources

The company will ensure that it has deployed sufficient human resources to accomplish its strategic goals and objectives. The company will also devote special resources to for highly specialized purposes aimed at adding value to the new proposed smartphone.

Goals

The proposed division and business model’s goals is to produce affordable smartphone devices using low-cost production techniques and to empower smartphone users through creative and innovative technology.

Strategic Capabilities

The company’s strategic capabilities include its ability to use cheap chic business model and its ability to effectively differentiate its products from those of its competitors.

Culture

The new affordable will be realized through a positive organizational culture that is grounded on strong core values including integrity, transparency, professionalism, integrity and respect.

Technologies

The company will adopt the latest energy-efficient production technologies to cut down on its production costs to make the smartphone more affordable.

Innovations

The proposed affordable smartphone will be improved through continuous innovations based on the users’ feedback and suggestions.

Intellectual Property

To prevent infringement into the intellectual property rights relating to the new smartphone, the company will patent the technology used to produce them for a period of ten year and renew the patent accordingly.

Leadership

The company’s transformational leadership will play a key role in terms of influencing, inspiring and motivating employees towards achieving its mission and vision.

SWOTT Analysis Table

Analysis of the Relevant Forces and Trends

Economic, Legal, and Regulatory Forces and Trends

As aforementioned, the legal and regulatory frameworks in various countries worldwide call for 100% compliance in terms of design and materials used to make smartphone devices. Thus, an organization needs to perform a comprehensive analysis of the legal and regulatory framework of the target consumers’ country. Nevertheless, the changing rules and regulation regarding the production and use of mobile devices may result in an organization’s loss of market share. They may also increase overhead costs in an organization’s attempt to comply with new regulatory requirements. Thus, there is a need for a comprehensive understanding of the legal and regulatory framework of the target customers’ country.

Economically, most countries are have recovered while others are recovering from the recent global economic recession. In addition, the current trend of increasing middle-class population in the global countries will increase the client base for the new smartphone device. However, it is imperative for the company to take into consideration various economic factors in the target consumers’ countries including taxes, interest rates, and interest rates. Companies are increasing using these economic factors as a basis for setting prices for their products. Failure to take these factors into consideration in product pricing may result in losses and even the collapse of the whole project.

How Well the Organization Adapts to Changes

The organization is well-prepared to adapt to the possible changes in the market environment. With regard to the changes in the legal and regulatory framework, the company has developed a team that quickly patent innovative technologies to avoid lawsuits. It also has a strong team of highly-qualified software developers and IT experts to respond quickly to the possible technological changes. The team often analyzes and recommends the most appropriate technological solutions that are consistent with the company’s mission and vision.

Moreover, the company is also capable of producing smartphone devices with multiple functionalities to cater for the increasing preference of multipurpose mobile phone devices. The company also uses the cheap chic business model to produce smartphones that appeal to the users’ need for inexpensive yet high quality mobile phone devices. The cost leadership strategy augments this model. In addition, the company’s positive organizational culture that is grounded on strong core values including integrity, transparency, professionalism, integrity and respect. Finally, it utilized transformational leadership style which plays a key role in terms of influencing, inspiring and motivating employees towards achieving its mission and vision.

The Supply Chain of the New Division

A supply chain is defined as the network involving all the activities, individuals, technologies, and organizations involved in the development and sale of a given product or service (Sweeney, 2011). This network plays a key role in all the product’s life cycle stages, from the supply of raw materials to the time the product reaches the final consumer. Simply chain management encompasses the management and planning of all the processes “involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all Logistic Management activities (Naslund & Williamson, 2010, p. 13). Effective supply chain management is critical in reducing operational and production cost while ensuring the success of the project. Supply chain management refers to the oversight of finances, information, and materials in the entire supply chain.

The production processes and systems will involve energy-efficient technologies to cut down on production costs. To minimize transportation costs, the raw material will be sourced from locally available suppliers. The finished products will also be transported using energy-efficient vehicles in order to minimize transportation costs. Similarly, the proposed new division will employ just-in-time (JIT) model to minimize costs related to keeping inventory.

The Primary Internal Organization Considerations for the Development of a Strategic Plan

There are various factors to be considered while developing a strategic plan. A strategic plan is defined as a set of strategies that are developed by an organization’s executive management aimed at achieving certain strategic goals and objectives. It maps out an organization’s desired direction. One of the factors to consider is an organization’s structure and culture. The culture and structure of the company determines its ability to thrive and adapt under dynamic market environmental conditions. The other factor is the workforce issues. It is important to consider the workforce’s weaknesses and strengths while formulating the strategic plan. Moreover, the company needs to consider its key competitive advantages to leverage them in such a way as to accomplish its strategic goals. Finally, financial considerations are critical as they enhance proper allocation of resources and completion of within budget projects.

References