STRATEGIC INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Strategic Information Management



Strategic Information Management

Task I:

SWOT framework was described in the late 1960's by Edmund P. lessons ? C. Roland Christiansen ? Kenneth Andrews and William D. Guth in Business Policy ? Text and cases (Homewood ? IL: Irwin ? 1969). SWOT called the analysis of external and internal environment of the company / industry and it is simply a basis for the creation of strategic alternatives from a situation analysis. It is applied either at the corporate level or at the level of business units and frequently appears in marketing plans. SWOT (sometimes referred to as TOWS) stands for strengths ? weaknesses ? opportunities and threats. General Electric Growth Council used this form of analysis in 1980. Because it focuses on issues that potentially have the greatest impact ? SWOT analysis is useful when a very limited amount of time available for solving complex strategic situation.(see appendix exhibit 1)

SWOT analysis can serve as an interpretation of filters to reduce the information to a manageable number of key issues. Internal and external situation analysis can produce a large amount of information ? much of which can not be very relevant. SWOT analysis classifies the internal aspects of the company as the strengths and weaknesses and external situational factors as opportunities or threats. Strengths can serve as a basis for creating competitive advantages and disadvantages may hinder it. By understanding these four aspects of his position ? the company make better use of their strengths ? correct its weaknesses ? capitalize on golden opportunities ? and deter potentially devastating threats. Internal analysis Internal analysis is a comprehensive assessment of the potential of the internal environment and weaknesses. Factors that should be assessed throughout the organization in areas such as:

Corporate culture

Company image

Organizational Structure

Key employees

Access to Natural Resources

Regulation on the experience curve

Responsiveness

Operational capacity

brand awareness

Market share

Financial resources

Exclusive contracts

patents and trade secrets

Summary SWOT analysis of internal factors of firms in a list of strengths and weaknesses.

External analysis Possibility is to introduce a new product or service that can generate higher profits. Opportunities can arise when there are changes in the external environment. Many of these changes may be perceived as a threat to the market position of existing products and may require changes in product specifications or new product development to ensure that the company remain competitive. Changes in the external environment may be associated with:

Clients

Competitors

Market Trends

Suppliers

Partners

Social change

New technologies

Economic Environment

Political and regulatory environment

The last four items in the list above are considered the macro-environment variables ? and PEST analysis. SWOT analysis summary of external environmental factors ? such as a list of opportunities and threats. SWOT Profile After completion of the review ? SWOT profile can be obtained and used as a basis for setting goals ? developing a strategy and implementation. (see appendix exhibit 2)

The strategy interaction quadrants in the SWOT profile becomes important. For example ...