External and Internal Environments

Overview

In this assignment, you are to use the same corporation you selected and focused on for Assignment 1.

Using the corporation you chose from Assignment 1: Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness, examine the industry in which the entity operates. Use any or all of the following resources to conduct research on the company:

• Company website.
• Public filings from the Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR database.
• Strayer University’s online databases.
• The Nexis Uni database,
• Other miscellaneous sources. Note: the company’s annual report will often provide insights that other resources may not include.

Requirements

Write a four- to six-page paper in which you do the following:

• Choose the two segments of the general environment that would rank highest in their influence on the corporation you chose. Assess how these segments affect the corporation you chose and the industry in which it operates.
• Considering the five forces of competition, choose two forces of competition that you estimate are the most significant for the corporation you chose. Evaluate how well the company has addressed these forces in the recent past.
• With the same two forces in mind, predict what the company might do to improve its ability to address these forces in the near future.
• Assess the external threats affecting this corporation and the opportunities available to the corporation. Give your opinions on how the corporation should deal with the most serious threat and the greatest opportunity. Justify your answer.
• Give your opinion on the corporation’s greatest strengths and most significant weaknesses. Choose the strategy or tactic the corporation should select to take maximum advantage of its strengths, and the strategy or tactic the corporation should select to fix its most significant weakness. Justify your choices.
• Determine the company’s resources, capabilities, and core competencies.
• Go to Basic Search: Strayer University Online Library to locate quality references. Note: Wikipedia and similar websites do not qualify as academic resources. 

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• This course requires use of new Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The format is different than other Strayer University courses. Please take a moment to review the SWS documentation for details.
• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow SWS or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length. 

Use the

Assignment 2 Template [DOC]

to ensure that your assignment meets the above requirements.

The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is as follows:

• Analyze the effects of the general environment, competition, threats, opportunities, strengths, and weaknesses relative to a corporation.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic and organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the scoring rubric.
 

Running head: BUSINESS 1

BUSINESS 2

Week 3 Assigment 1

Latonya Louden

Strayer University

BUS499 Business Administration Capstone

Brian Grizzell

02/04/2020

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness

Globalization

Apple Inc is one of the most successful public corporations today. It has been ranked number one on the Forbes list for the last decade. Being an American multinational tech company, Apple operates by designing, developing, and selling various technological products and services that have changed the world today (O’Regan, 2015). Apple Company has, in many ways, been impacted by globalization and technology. It has been seen that Apple’s global revenue for September 2015 fiscal year totaled $323 billion (Ahmar, 2017).

Additionally, the organization has been able to maintain over 476 stores in over 15 countries successfully. In this way, Apple continues to expand its products globally aggressively. Furthermore, there is an online iTunes and Apple store, which has over a billion Apple products globally. This is important in stimulating the global economy. It has been seen that globalization and technology have helped Apple to transform the world significantly.

Apple has over ten most essential products that have made it successful over the years. This has made Apple become one of the most significant information technology companies in the world. The company’s total assets are such as OS X operating system, App Stores, iPad, Macintosh Computers, iPod, Touch Technology, iPhone, iBeacons, and Apple TV (O’Rourke, 2017). Today, it has been seen that Apple continues to invent towards the future where it has developed user-faced innovative products and technology. This is important in defining the market time and again.

Industrial Organization Model

Apple Corporation has an excellent opportunity where it can increase its revenues using the industrial organization and the resource-based model (Ning, Fu, & Zheng, 2011). From the economic theory of the industrial organization model, the company can continue with its success globally. This is important in that it can help the organization earn revenues that are above their average returns. Besides, at Apple, the management and personnel in leadership positions carefully understand and know the competition they face in the technological aspect (Budnikas, 2011). Additionally, the company also understands the general industry, assets, strategic formulation, skills, and strategic implementation. These aspects, in particular, help the organization maximize their profits and continue to grow globally.

Resource-Based Model

In this approach, this model is vital to the superior performance of the company. In this aspect, the model included Apple having available resources, which is critical in providing a sustainable competitive advantage in the technology industry. Apple has been seen to continue research and development in various aspects. These efforts are crucial in creating innovative technology and application products and services, which will see its brand loyalty increase in the competitive market (Al-Laham & Huth, 2011).

Apple focuses on staying ahead of its competitors, which allows them to become leaders in the market place. The company has established itself in the market and has been a defined leader in the tech world. Apple’s strategies in marketing and advertising have increased awareness and demand for their products and services globally.

Vision

Apple’s vision statement forms a basis for the success of the company. Apple is one of the most valuable global companies today. Apple’s current vision statement was introduced by the current Apple CEO, Tom Cook (Rowland, 2015). The vision statement is, “We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products, and that’s not changing. We are constantly focusing on innovating. We believe in the simple, not the complex. We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products that we make and participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution. We believe in saying no to thousands of projects so that we can focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us. We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups, which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot. And frankly, we don’t settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the company, and we have the self- honesty to admit when we’re wrong and the courage to change. And I think regardless of who is in what job those values are so embedded in this company that Apple will do extremely well” (Rowland, 2015).

From the above vision statement, it is evident that the company’s continued success is emphasized on innovation, market selection, strategies, company direction, organization culture, and product development.

Mission

On the other hand, Apple also has its mission statement. This is also important to make sure the organization stays competitive in the market for an extended time. The current mission statement at Apple is, “Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad” (Rowland, 2015).

The mission statement is not as detailed as the vision statement, as seen. However, the mission statement can be improved by widening its scope so that it includes details of various business aspects at Apple (Rowland, 2015). The mission statement covers all the current Apple products and technology.

Stakeholders

By satisfying demands imposed by stakeholders, the company has been able to satisfy its stakeholders effectively. Stakeholders impact the business in various ways. Apple stakeholders include the following. Firstly, there are the customers. The company prioritizes these stakeholders. They include individuals and also organizations buyers of the company’s products. Therefore, the company has a top priority in satisfying the demands of its customers. Another type of stakeholders is the employees. They hold the second priority after the customers. Apple’s main interest is to keep employees motivated and develop their careers accordingly (Thompson, 2015). When employees are happy, they have an increased moral, which is vital to create innovative technology. Besides, investors are also another set of stakeholders. They determine organizational finances and research developments. This is because; investors are interested in maximizing return on their investments (Thompson, 2015). Also, the music industry is another critical stakeholder. They are responsible for the quality of the Apple products and ensuring the success of the company.

References

Ahmar, A. S. (2017). Predicting Movement of Stock of Apple Inc. using Suite Indicator. doi:10.31227/osf.io/pcxr5

Al-Laham, A., & Huth, S. (2011). Strategic Repositioning of Apple Inc. Fallstudien zum Internationalen Management, 641-664. DOI:10.1007/978-3-8349-6793-0_38

Budnikas, A. (2011). Apple Inc. Business Policy v. Competition Law. SSRN Electronic Journal. DOI:10.2139/ssrn.1911371

EuGH, Urteil v. 24. 10. 2018 – C-595/17 Apple Sales International, Apple Inc., Apple retail France EURL ./. MJA also Liquidator von eBizcuss.com. (2019). JuristenZeitung, 74(3), 139. DOI:10.1628/jz-2019-0044

Ning, Y., Fu, H., & Zheng, W. (2011). Business model dynamics: A case study of Apple Inc. 2011 IEEE 18th International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management. DOI:10.1109/icieem.2011.6035109

O’Regan, G. (2015). Apple Inc. Pillars of Computing, 25-30. DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-21464-1_5

O’Rourke, D. (2017). Consumer trends in apple sales. Burleigh Dodds Series in Agricultural Science, 511-522. DOI:10.19103/as.2016.0017.28

Rowland, C. (2015, September 3) Apple’s Vision Statement & Mission Statement. Retrieved from

Apple’s Mission Statement & Vision Statement (An Analysis)

Thompson, A.(2015, September 8) Apple Inc. Stakeholders: A CSR Analysis. Retrieved from

http://panmore.com/apple-inc-stakeholders-csr-analysis

1

8

Week 6 Assignment 2

Student’s Full Name

BUS499 Business Administration Capstone

Professor’s Name

Date

Template Instructions (delete this page before submitting)

This template is provided to help you meet the assignment requirements.

This page should NOT be submitted with your assignment, as it is not part of an academically written paper. Note the “Clarity, writing mechanics, and formatting requirements” section of the grading rubric.

HOW TO USE THIS TEMPLATE

· Read the explanations provided in the template for each section of your paper.
· The explanations are in blue font below.
· You should have already read the assignment instructions in Blackboard.
· Type your response to each of the assignment requirements within the designated sections.
· Each assignment requirement is identified using a section Heading that is in black font
· DO NOT add extra spaces between sections.
· DO NOT change the margins.
· You are required to have a heading for each of the sections in your paper.
· The required headings have been provided for you.
· Follow the instructions below to customize the Headings as directed.
· DO NOT type the assignment instructions into the sections.
· After typing your responses, change the font color to black and make sure it is not in bold.
· Be sure to change the font color on the title page to black after typing your name, professor’s name, and date.

· Everything in blue font below should be deleted and replaced with your responses.
· DELETE this entire page before you submit your assignment to avoid losing points.

REMINDERS

· The assignment is due in week 6. Late submissions negatively impact your grade.
· Use the same public corporation you used for assignment 1.

· Include at least 4 full and complete academically written pages that address the requirements. The title page, this instruction page, and the source page do not count.

· Use at least 3 quality sources, one of which MUST be the course textbook.
· Strayer uses SafeAssign – an automated plagiarism checker. It is advised that you do your own writing and use external resources to support what you have written in your own words.

Week 6 Assignment 2
Write your introduction here. Include one (1) paragraph (not more than 6 lines of text) that explains what your paper will discuss. Much of your introduction may be taken from the assignment instructions (in your own words). Read all assignment resources to understand what should be included in your paper. Be sure to review the assignment instructions in Blackboard, the grading rubric, and relevant course announcements to understand the requirements. Do not exceed 6 lines of text in this introduction. There should be no direct quotes in this section. After reading these instructions, replace this blue text with your introduction and change the font color to black.
General Environment

In this section you will choose the two (2) segments of the general environment that would rank highest in their influence on the public corporation you chose for assignment 1. You must select from the segments discussed in the course. Hint: see table 2.1 in the textbook. Do not assess all the segments—only assess the two (2) segments that rank highest in influencing your corporation. You will then assess how these segments affect the corporation and the industry in which it operates. There are two (2) subsections below, each has a heading. The heading “Segment 1” should be changed to the first segment of the general environment you select. The heading “Segment 2” should be changed to the second segment of the general environment you select. Replace this paragraph with a very brief introduction that includes the identification of the two (2) segments of the general environment you selected and change the font color to black.

Segment 1

This subsection is where you assess the first of the two (2) segments of the general environment you think ranks highest in its influence on the public corporation you chose for assignment 1. Change the subheading for this section, which currently says “Segment 1” to the name of the selected segment. Assess how this segment affects the corporation and the industry in which it operates. Remember that to assess a concept, you will weigh all aspects to judge the importance or relevance of that concept. Do not simply define the segment.

Your assessment should demonstrate that you have read, understand, and can apply the concepts covered in the course resources regarding the segment. Your writing here should thoroughly assess how the selected segment influences your corporation. Do not write about the general environment in general terms. Your assessment should be directly related to your selected corporation. A thorough assessment is defined as providing a complete response that is not superficial or partial regarding the various details of the concepts as described in the course. You will need to apply and incorporate key concepts from the course material to your assessment. Do not Google “segments of the general environment” or provide high-level summaries. You must display, in specific detail, an understanding based on what is studied in this course and demonstrate your ability to apply the concepts in a real-world assessment of a corporation. Read chapter 2 in the course textbook. Review the Week 2 Learn video/Lecture for supporting content. Properly cite your sources and avoid the use of direct quotes. After reading these instructions, replace this blue text with your assessment and change the font color to black.

Segment 2

This subsection is where you assess the second of the two (2) segments of the general environment you selected. Change the subheading for this section, which currently says “Segment 2” to the name of the selected segment of the general environment that would rank highest in its influence on the public corporation you chose for assignment 1. Repeat the evaluation instructions provided in the “Segment 1” subsection above for this second segment of the general environment. Re-read the instructions above to ensure you have covered all of the requirements for this second segment of the general environment. After completing this section, replace this blue text with your evaluation and change the font color to black.

Five Forces of Competition

In this section you will consider the five (5) forces of competition and choose the two (2) that you estimate are the most significant for the corporation you chose in assignment 1. Hint: see figure 2.2 in the textbook. You will then, evaluate how well the company has addressed each of these two (2) forces in the recent past. There are two (2) subsections below, each has a heading. The heading “Force 1” should be changed to the first of the two forces of competition you select. The heading “Force 2” should be changed to the second of the two forces of competition you select. Replace this paragraph with a very brief introduction that includes the identification of the two (2) forces of competition you selected and change the font color to black.

Force 1

This subsection is where you evaluate the first of two (2) forces of competition that you estimate to be the most significant to the corporation you chose. Change the subheading for this section, which currently says “Force 1” to the name of your selected force. Provide a thorough assessment of why you think the selected force is significant to your corporation. A thorough assessment is defined as providing a complete response that is not superficial or partial regarding the various details of the concept as described in the course. Do not Google “five forces of competition” or simply provide a definition. You will need to apply and incorporate key concepts from the course material in your assessment.

Evaluate how well the company addressed the selected force in the recent past. This will require some research. Remember that to evaluate a concept, you will break down all components to determine or analyze facts, value, or views. Your evaluation should demonstrate that you have read, understand, and can apply the concepts covered in the textbook and course resources. Do not write about the selected force in general terms. Your evaluation should be directly related to your selected corporation and include a thorough evaluation of how the company has addressed the force recently. You must display an understanding based on what is studied in this course and demonstrate an ability to apply the concepts in a real-world evaluation of a corporation. You will need to read the chapters and listen to the lectures to understand the key concepts for each force. Read chapter 2 in the course textbook and review the Week 2 Learn video Lecture for supporting content. Cite all sources and limit the use of direct quotes. After reading these instructions, replace this blue text with your evaluation and change the font color to black.

Force 2

Choose another one (1) of the five (5) forces of competition that you estimate to be the most significant for the corporation you chose. This should not be the same force assessed in the “Force 1” section above. Change the subheading for this section, which currently says “Force 2” to the name of the selected force. This subsection is where you evaluate the second of the two forces of competition that you selected. Repeat the evaluation instructions provided in the “Force 1” subsection above for this second force of competition. Re-read the instructions above to ensure you have covered all of the requirements for this second force of competition. After completing this section, replace this blue text with your evaluation and change the font color to black.

Future Improvements

With the same two (2) forces assessed and evaluated in the previous two (2) sub-sections above, predict what the company might do to improve its ability to address the forces in the near future. Your writing here should provide a thorough prediction of what the company should do to address impacts from the selected forces. Do not simply discuss company information published by your sources. This section should be your prediction of what the corporation should do. Your prediction should be your own, not predictions or recommendations from your sources or actions your corporation has already taken or plans to take. Remember that a thorough evaluation is defined as providing a complete response that is not superficial or partial regarding the various details of the concepts as described in the course. Your prediction should be specific to your selected corporation, relevant to the evaluation you conducted, and directly related to improvements the corporation could make to address the two forces you selected in the two (2) sub-sections above. Read chapter 2 in the course textbook and review the Week 2 Learn video Lecture for supporting content. Cite your sources and avoid the use of direct quotes. After reading these instructions, replace this blue text with your prediction and change the font color to black.

Greatest External Threat

Identify what you consider to be the greatest external threat to the corporation you selected. The threat should be specific to your corporation. Justify why you consider the threat to be the greatest. Support your justification with an assessment of the impact the threat has on the corporation. For example, your justification could include a comparison of other threats or an evaluation of facts that support the magnitude of the threat’s impact. Follow this justification with aa discussion on how the corporation should address the threat. Specifically describe the strategy and provide a justification that supports why you believe the strategy will be successful in combating the threat. This section must include both a clearly identified external threat and a clearly articulated action\strategy the corporation should take to address the threat. Do not write in general terms. Your writing here should be specific and incorporate the course concepts relating to threats and the external environment. Read chapter 2 in the course textbook as it provides a solid background for this section. Review the Week 2 Learn video/Lecture for supporting content. Cite your sources and avoid the use of direct quotes. After reading these instructions, replace this blue text with your response and change the font color to black.

Greatest Opportunity

Identify what you consider to be the greatest opportunity to the corporation you selected. The opportunity should be specific to your corporation. Justify why you consider the opportunity to be the greatest. Support your justification with an assessment of the impact the opportunity could have on the corporation. For example, your justification could include a comparison of other opportunities or an evaluation of facts that support the magnitude of the opportunity’s impact. Follow this justification with a discussion on how the corporation could best take advantage of the opportunity. Specifically describe the strategy and provide a justification that supports why you believe the strategy will be successful in adding value to the corporation. This section must include both a clearly identified opportunity and a clearly articulated action the corporation should take to take advantage of the opportunity. Do not write in general terms. Your writing here should be specific and incorporate the course concepts relating to opportunities and the external environment. Read chapter 2 in the course textbook as it provides a solid background for this section. Review the Week 2 Learn video/Lecture for supporting content. Cite your sources and avoid the use of direct quotes. After reading these instructions, replace this blue text with your response and change the font color to black.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Give your opinion on the corporation’s greatest strengths and most significant weaknesses. Keep in mind that strengths and weaknesses are internal to the organization (i.e. the internal environment). You will need to address both the greatest strengths and most significant weaknesses. Do not choose one or the other. Both the greatest strengths and most significant weaknesses must be addressed. Do not write in general terms. The identified strengths and weaknesses should be specific to your selected corporation. Include a justification that supports your opinions. This section must include both clearly identified strengths and clearly identified weaknesses. Read Chapter 2 and 3 in the course textbook as it provides a solid background for this section. Review the Week 2 and Week 3 Learn video/Lecture for supporting content. Cite your sources and avoid the use of direct quotes. After reading these instructions, replace this blue text with your application and change the font color to black.

Strategy or Tactic

Choose the strategies or tactics the corporation should select to take maximum advantage of the strengths you identified in the section above, and the strategies or tactics the corporation should select to fix the most significant weaknesses you identified. You will need to select strategies/tactics for both the strengths and weaknesses. Do not choose one or the other. Strategies/tactics for both the strengths and weaknesses must be addressed. Justify your choices. Your justifications should be sound and thoroughly explained. For example, do not simply state that the corporation should choose a selected strategy, but rather explain why the strategy is a good choice for your corporations’ specific strengths or weaknesses. Read Chapter 2 and 3 in the course textbook as it provides a solid background for this section. Review the Week 2 and Week 3 Learn video/Lecture for supporting content. Cite your sources and avoid the use of direct quotes. After reading these instructions, replace this blue text with your responses and change the font color to black.

Resources, Capabilities, and Core Competencies

Determine the company’s resources, capabilities, and core competencies. Your determination should include an explanation of the relevance of each resource, capability, and core competency. Do not simply list the resources, capabilities, and core competencies. Remember that a thorough determination will provide a complete response that is not superficial or partial regarding the various details of the concepts as described in the course. Use your course materials to demonstrate your understanding of the key course concepts regarding resources, capabilities, and core competencies. Do not write in general terms. Your determination should display that you can apply the course concepts to your selected corporation.
R
ead Chapter 3 in the course textbook as it provides a solid background to this section. Review the Week 3 Learn video/Lecture for supporting content. Cite your sources and avoid the use of direct quotes. After reading these instructions, replace this blue text with your determination and change the font color to black.

Sources

1. Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson. 2020. Strategic management: Concepts and cases: Competitiveness and globalization (13th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning

2. Author. Publication Date. Title. Page # (written as p. #). How to Find (e.g. web address)

3. Author. Publication Date. Title. Page # (written as p. #). How to Find (e.g. web address)