Strategic planning requires all levels of an organization, from the head of the company to the most junior member, to think about where the organization is today and how they can influence the organization to move forward in a “positive” manner to attain its goals (profit, growth, downsizing, etc.). One method used in strategic planning is for an organization to conduct a “Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats” (SWOT) analysis. Just as the name implies, a SWOT analysis looks at the four dimensions that can affect an organization. One business that can benefit from a SWOT analysis is Lennar Home Builders, Inc. This assignment will focus on one of the largest national offices for this company, located in Miami, FL. First, the paper will describe the history, products, and major competitors of one of the largest home builders in the country. Next, the focus shifts to create a SWTO analysis detailing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that may affect the organization. The assignment begins with a brief discussion on Lennar Homes, one of the most successful home builders in Florida and the United States. In 1954, Gene Fischer and Arnold Rosen created a new home building company names F&R Builders in Miami, Florida. Over the next 17 years, the company grew until it rebranded and renamed itself into Lennar Corporation and became a public company. Slowly, the company grew and expanded from builders to mortgage financers and real estate
Lowe's is one of the biggest big box retailers in the world today. As a result, the company faces competition from various companies, both directly and indirectly. Two of Lowes’ biggest direct competitors include Home Depot and Wolseley PLC, both of which carry similar products in the home improvement category. Each of these retailer On the other hand, an indirect competitor of Lowe’s is any small construction/repair company. These smaller repair companies are classified as indirect competitors because Lowe’s is known as a retailer for “do-it-yourself” home improvement projects. If a repair company is hired to complete a service, Lowe’s is facing indirect competition.
1. Given the SWOT analysis presented in the case, what are IKEA’s key competitive advantages? What strategic focus should the company take as it looks to further expand into the U.S. market?
While Lowes has a smaller debt-to-asset ratio (~.64 compared to Home Depot’s ~.69) and a smaller debt-to-equity ratio (~1.76 compared to Home Depot’s ~2.24), the future liquidity and solvency of the company could come into question due to Lowes’s low current ratio, which has consistently trended downward, dropping from ~1.28 to ~1.16, over the past three years.
One of the many resources available to Home Depot is the use of environmentally friendly supplies. Recently, Home Depot began shifting to greener products and practices, such as no longer using wood from the Amazon forest, and removing harmful chemicals like formaldehyde from their paint products. They have also began to use water recycling pumps for their irrigation centers and are in the process of creating solar powered roofs for their stores which can drastically reduce their carbon footprint. Home Depot is also recycling and reusing as much as they can, from lightbulbs to power tools. The VRINE model below measures the impact of this resource. Although it is valuable and exploitable, it is not rare or non-substitutable. This makes it a valuable resource for the short term but not a sustainable resource for competitive advantage.
The success of an organization depends on the strategic plan. In the plan, it will define the mission, vision, ad value statements. The strategic plan is designed to assist the organization with its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The SWOT analysis will help develop a strong strategic plan and map out the direction to follow to achieve an organizational vision and goal. The purpose of this paper is to cover the mission, vision and core value of De Von’s Printing.
The internal factors of SWOT such as strengths and weaknesses are different from the external ones which include opportunities and threats. The main difference between the internal and external factors is that the organization can control and manage their internal factors where as the eternal ones they can only anticipate. An organization can ascertain or identify particular strengths the organization possesses which makes different from its competition, this strength can be considered as a competitive advantage. Most organization struggle with developing competitive advantage into something sustainable were its may not be easily when you can identify certain strengths that set an organization well apart from actual and potential competitors, that strength is considered a source of competitive advantage. The hardest thing for an organization to do is to develop its competitive advantage into a sustainable competitive advantage where the organization’s strengths cannot be easily copied by others businesses or made redundant/less valuable by changes influenced by the eternal factorsProvide examples of when a firm's strength might simultaneously be a weakness. While Opportunities provide
strategies have been justified through the SWOT and stakeholders’ analysis performed. In addition, the suitability, acceptability and feasibility of these strategies have been thoroughly discussed. Finally, the strategy map and the balanced scorecard show the further details of implementing these strategies.
DECLINING LIQUIDITY: The Home Depot reported declining liquidity at the end of fiscal year 2013. Declining Liquidity could impact negatively the growth and expansion plans. The current assets reported a growth of 5.9% as opposed to its growth in current liabilities,
The aim of this paper is to critically evaluate the SWOT analysis as one of popular tools in marketing. SWOT analysis is an analysis method of identifying all external and internal factors for organization strategies (Rauch, 2007). It is considered in this paper that though SWOT analysis has limitations, it can be improved to be more effective as its development. This paper firstly focused on the definition of SWOT analysis. And then it discussed the context of the SWOT analysis including its evolution and its applications. Followed by, the paper introduced two relevant practice cases based on SWOT analysis. Next, the critical evaluation of SWOT analysis was presented with
Michael Porter believed that the traditional strategic analysis through the SWOT system was not a sufficient way to analyze business strategy, so he published his alternative, “How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy,” to replace the SWOT Analysis method in 1979. These competitive forces, although proficient in examining a business’s past, are not an effective way to create a strategy that drives a business into the future of its industry. The reason that Porter’s Monitor Group failed was because it did change with the rapidly changing marketplace we find ourselves in today. Monitor, like the Five Forces Strategy, lacked clairvoyance.
As describe in the current situation IKEA is doing well, and their concept is working worldwide. But as every company, IKEA also has weaknesses and threats also come along IKEA’s path. A good way of making an overview of not only the internal, but also external situation of IKEA, is by a SWOT analysis. In this chapter IKEA’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the companies opportunities and threats will be shown in a SWOT analysis.
threats as an organization. This case analysis will highlight the top three for each category and provide a rational for each factor. The SWOT analysis will serve as a tool for identifying alternative strategies for the organization and help define a 3-year growth plan. Various matrices, including a SWOT analysis and a Financial Ratios Analysis, will also support specific strategies and long-term objectives. Other relevant, recent activities and supporting research will also be supporting the strategies defined in the case analysis.
Sears, the icon, and leading retailer for generations has marked the lives of the consumers. Founded in 1886 by Richard Sears, the company originally provided catalog sales of gold-filled watches under R.W. Sears Watch Company, and partnered with Alvah Roebuck, a watchmaker from Indiana. Both introduced the company’s mail order catalog of watches and jewelry services in 1893. Over the years, Sears has expanded its operations by launching major national long-lasting and successful brands such as Kenmore, a line of appliances, Craftsman, a line of tools, land, garden equipment, and work wear, followed by DieHard, a brand of automotive battery.
In the analysis the internal resources are mentioning of strengths and weaknesses motivations on internal issues that contribute an organization like Tesco positive benefits and difficulties in consultation the requirements of its objective marketplace. The strengths and weakness mention to essential capabilities of Metro Bank that provide the well-founded a competitive advantage in get-together the desires of its target marketplaces. Before finding the capabilities we must need to get the organization-Tesco strength and weakness by using the SWOT analysis.
The size and scale of its global business. This could make it hard to control standards and quality.