Company –Strengths and weaknesses Analysis

Application Assignment
• Application Assignment on Situational Analysis and SWOT common to all themes pgs MM-112 to MM-122
PART B and C (to be submitted together) (15+ 5 Marks)
Company –Strengths and weaknesses Analysis

Remember this assignment is in continuity to the previous marketing assignment.
Here we do a strength and weakness analysis for our company vis -a- vis competitors. We need to know:
A. What special strength/ competence or assets company has to satisfy the needs of customers?
B. Who competes with us in meeting those needs and what is their competence, strength or asset?
C. Can we scale our own firm and the major competitors on those competencies and strengths?

This kind of an analysis follows a 3-step process.

1 Identification of all our Competitors. Competition does not stem only from products or firms that compete directly for your market share but also from any company that satisfies the same customer need.
(Refer to the ‘Market concept of competition’ at the end of the assignment )

2 List the areas in which your organization or the competitor has the competence. Needless to say that these areas should be industry relevant. An indicative list of the areas in which a firm can have strength / competence is listed below.

Innovation
 Ability to develop innovative products
 Amount of Rs. spent on R&D
 Patents that a company has to its credit
 Technical product or service superiority

Manufacturing
 Favorable Cost Structure
 Flexible production operations
 Access to Raw materials
 Quality of work force
 Capacity
 Outsourcing

Finance- Access to capital
 Ability to generate funds in the short and long run
 Ability to use debt and equity financing
 Parent firms willingness to finance

Management
 Quality of top and middle management
 Knowledge of business
 Culture
 Strategic goals and plans
 Entrepreneurial thrust
 Planning or operation system
 Loyalty
