Assignment

Answers must be at least 50 words in length, and grounded with the citing/referencing of at least one relevant and credible source according to 400-level APA standards (see Writing & Style Guidelines in the eCampus Center for Writing Excellence for assistance).

1. Why is strategic planning important to a company, and how does strategic management help the company achieve its goals?

2. Why is it important for you to understand business strategy?

3. How would you describe/define strategy?

4. Why is external environmental analysis an important part of strategic planning, and how do the external input factors of a SWOT Analysis contribute to viable strategy formulation?

5. What are the five major industry forces? How do they shape average profitability in an industry?

6. How does each of the eight general environmental factors influence industry profitability?

7. Why is internal environmental analysis an important part of strategic planning, and how do the internal input factors of a SWOT Analysis contribute to viable strategy formulation?

8. Identify three situations in which a company diamond analysis would be useful to you. What two rules about data collecting should you remember when you do a diamond analysis?