An Internal Analysis of a company focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of internal factors that give a company certain advantages and disadvantages in meeting the needs of its target market. Strengths refer to core competencies that give the firm an advantage in meeting the needs of its target markets. Weaknesses refer to any limitations a company faces in developing or implementing a strategy. The aim of the internal analysis is to identify the company’s strengths and weaknesses and as a result the company should be able to identify what it is or is not capable of doing and what it needs to address before pursuing certain strategic options.
For the internal analysis a company would carry out a resource audit, examining physical, human, and financial resources together with intangibles such as brands, patents, etc and would then look at its value chain as a means of assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of all aspects of its operation. Any element of the value chain is capable of adding or destroying value.
The analyses should feed into the mission and vision statements and also the aims and objectives that the company set for the forthcoming strategic period; these should encompass both strategic and financial objectives. It will also help to identify a series of strategic options that the company can consider and will inform the ultimate choices made.
Value Chain Analysis
The term ‘Value Chain’ was used by Michael Porter in his book "Competitive Advantage: Creating and
Sustaining superior Performance" (1985). The value chain analysis describes the activities the organization performs and links them to the organizations competitive position.
Value chain analysis describes the activities within and around an organization, and relates them to an analysis of the competitive strength of the organization. Therefore, it evaluates which value each particular activity adds to the organizations products or services. This idea was