Microsoft Corporation
Internal environment analysis:
The internal environment analysis consists of the strengths and weaknesses of the Company. The strengths of Microsoft include the strong brand name, financial stability and the extensive distribution network that the Company has set up around the globe. The familiarity of the brand is another asset which established general trust in the brand. The quality maintenance of the brand is incredible. The product line of Microsoft is extensive with products like laptops, computers, software, entertainment games, mobiles and other computing equipment. The distribution channel is strong comprising of wholesalers and retailers. The Company also sells directly to customers through its online presence.
The weakness in the Company could be the high number of substitutes that are able to imitate the Microsoft products. The lack of an innovative product may be detrimental to the Company regarding its young customers since the market is so competitive. The concerns of piracy are also one of the issues the Company needs to deal with (Slideshare.net, 2015).
External Environment Analysis:
The opportunities for Microsoft existing in the consumer market lie in the form of new product development, particular market target, and product or line improvement. The niche market that the Company has been able to target is one of the reasons for its success. The academic fraternity of the world is one market that Microsoft may target. The entertainment product success that the Company has been able to observe through XBOX opens avenues for the Company to target the younger segment of consumers. The constant research of customer needs and wants also provides feedback for opportunity identification for Microsoft.
The threats of the Company exist in the form of competition. There is huge competition in the market from top players and given the imitation power of Microsoft products, there are cases of substitutes. However, Microsoft has been brilliantly handling the threats with its competitive team of developers and a great marketing strategy (Strategybydesign.org, 2015).
Competitive Advantage and Strategy:
In addition to the points explained in the strengths of the Company, there are other strategic factors that make Microsoft a leading Company.
Microsoft has not been able to create an innovative product like Apple. So, we might say Microsoft is not a winner at new product development. The Company also may not score the top in maintaining customer intimacy. Also, there may be flaws in the operational way of doing things for Microsoft. The only competing factor for Microsoft has been price, which needs to stop as soon as possible.
The competitive advantage of Microsoft lies in what is called the “system lock-In strategy” (Tu, 2014). The Company partners with hardware companies like Intel and application giants like Adobe the Company locks its competitors out by making them compatible with Windows.
Measuring Strategic Effectiveness:
The Microsoft Corporation uses a Balanced Scoreboard in order to evaluate and manage enterprise performance. There are various terms included in this process including the methodology of the Balanced Scorecard performance management. The use of the scoreboard is mainly for the identification of key business issues which need instant address while a scoreboard is developed and deployed. I think the effectiveness of the Scoreboard in measuring some segments of the strategic efficiency of Microsoft is quite high. Microsoft Balanced Scorecard Framework (BSCF) presents itself an all-inclusive set comprising of tools, techniques, and some of the finest practices that speed up the implementation of the scorecard with the use of organization friendly toolsets.
Wal-Mart
Internal environment analysis:
The internal environment analysis consists of the strengths and weaknesses of the Company. The Company stands as the largest grocery retail in the business world. In those terms, it is the market leader. The expansion of the Company is a strength with the customer and store counts rising more than ever. Wal-Mart has adopted a low-cost strategy, which makes it a market leader in cost strategy as well. The products offered by Wal-Mart are almost 12% lower than those offered by its competitors (Academia.edu, 2015). Another chief strength of the company is its internationalization strategy, whereby a robust organizational foundation is set for market maturity in the long term.
The Company does have some weaknesses, which exists in the form of low penetration rates in eh urban regions. Big box retailing is considered as a reason for the same. Another issue is the cannibalization occurring in older stores because of the extensive growth of new stores. Labor relation issues arise in the Company at one time of the other. Customer loyalty of Wal-Mart may be questioned because of the old and new customers’ recession concerns.
External environment analysis:
The external environment analysis consists of the opportunities and threats of the Company. Strategic alliances could be one of the most solid opportunities for Wal-Mart as the number and scope of global retailers is growing in specific and general markets such as the Europe of the Chinese regions. The expansion opportunities for the Company in emerging markets are huge. Wal-Mart has been following the same store type for a long time now. The opportunity also lies in exploring the potentials of new location and store design prototypes. On the flip side, there may be opportunities for continuing with the same strategy of large sized stores.
Being a leader in the market, the main concern of threat for the Company is the level of competition, which keeps Wal-Mart in the spotlight for attack opportunities. Political problems in the countries of operations are also threat issues that Wal-Mart needs to deal with. Lower manufacture costs have led for the competitors to explore the potentials of the low price. The price competition in various operational regions is a constant threat to the Company which may result in problems due to price deflation.
Competitive Advantage and Strategy:
Apart from the strengths explained in the internal analysis, the other factor, which contributes to maintaining a competitive advantage for the Company, is the firm infrastructure. The infrastructure of Wal-Mart comprises of features like successful integration of value chain activities, balance scoreboard reliance, brand maintenance focus and store level revival concepts.
Measuring Strategic Effectiveness:
One of the main reasons for the success rate of Wal-Mart is its firm infrastructure. The Company records its physical infrastructures through a balance scoreboard. It gives an idea of how the physical infrastructures can be recorded better and how the utilization of resources may be tracked. The Company has a broad type of strategy for maintenance which is an effective way for the assessment of infrastructures which are mandatory through the intense spectrum of Company activities. The ways to make this strategy implementation more effective is by integrating the concepts at the bottom level to concepts at the top so as to ensure resource maintenance throughout all levels (Cengage.com, 2015).
References
Academia.edu,. (2015). Environment Analysis. Retrieved 24 July 2015, from http://www.academia.edu/9529163/Environment_Analysis
Cengage.com,. (2015). Strategic Management: Theory: An Integrated Approach, 11th Edition - Charles W. L. Hill | Gareth R. Jones | Melissa A. Schilling - Cengage Learning - 978-1285184494. Retrieved 24 July 2015, from http://www.cengage.com/search/productOverview.do;jsessionid=E424451DEF5C663284388AEE0DDE1FA5?N=16+33&Ntk=P_EPI&Ntt=158233387415173881351904928243472456501&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial
Slideshare.net,. (2015). Environmental analysis. Retrieved 24 July 2015, from http://www.slideshare.net/rsiddi12/environmental-analysis-9964830
Strategybydesign.org,. (2015). Seizing Competitive Advantage. Retrieved 24 July 2015, from http://strategybydesign.org/seizing-competitive-advantage/
Tu, J. (2014). Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella lays out ‘unique strategy’. The Seattle Times. Retrieved 24 July 2015, from http://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-lays-out-lsquounique-strategyrsquo/
