Internal Analysis – Mount Saint Vincent University
After completing an external analysis of the Mount, students will now complete some internal analysis aspects.
Students may have to complete some research to do this. On the Mount webpage, you can find their past strategic and academic plans, and, on the Business, and Tourism website, you can learn vast amounts of information about the Mount.
Students should first determine what generic strategy the Mount is following. Students must provide proper justification with examples to support their conclusions. Your textbook introduces and discusses generic strategies in the Chapters: “What is Strategy & Why is Strategy Important?” and “The Five Generic Competitive Strategies.” In addition the topic is covered in two lectures which can be found in Moodle.
Students will then complete a SWOT analysis for the Mount. Your textbook provides you with a full table of factors to consider when constructing a SWOT analysis. The table is titled: “What to Look For In Identifying a Company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.”
The SWOT can be in point form. While using point form is undoubtedly acceptable, students must recognize there must be enough information in the points so readers can understand the subject matter.
Below is an example how to properly craft a portion of SWOT table with an emphasis on Opportunities and Threats:
Opportunities:
• Unemployment has risen sharply to over 10%. As a result, people will be looking to go back to school to enhance their skills.
• Canada has been ranked as one of the top two preferred countries in the world for International students. The Mount has been increasing their International students’ numbers in recent years and clearly have opportunities to expand further.
Threats:
• The Mount faces strong competition. In Nova Scotia there are ten universities with six in Halifax. Additionally, there are multiple competitors throughout the other Atlantic Provinces.
• The Mount also faces strong competition from distance education…insert supporting facts here.
Students should realize a submission which resembles the example below would result in a poor grade:
Opportunities:
• High Unemployment
• International Students
Threats:
• High Competition
• Distance Providers
A common mistake in completing a SWOT analysis is to misclassify facts. Students should be mindful of the following when completing the analysis:
Strengths – represent internal capabilities and resources
Weaknesses – represent deficiencies within the company
Opportunities – represent external market opportunities
Threats – represent external threats
At the end of the Internal Analysis, students should reflect on their findings and work in their External Analysis and determine what strategic issues and problems merit attention. By doing this, you are learning how to craft a problem statement, which is essential to your written case submission and subsequent live presentation.
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