Pest and Swot Analysis
NOTES TO MST ASSIGNMENT (MARCH 2011)
Section A Remember the assignment answers are guidelines. It is expected of students to write in more detail, apply theory and think outside the box. 1.1 Vision statement Most students did well and received full marks 5 facts = 5 marks 1.2 Mission statement Most students did well and received full marks 10 facts = 5 marks 1.3 Competitors analysis Students gave the answer of Q1.4 and analysed 3 competitors of Apple Describe background of IT industry with focus on Apple (5 marks) Use Porters Competitors analysis to analyse Apple (5 marks) 10 facts = 10 marks 1.4 Three different competitors of Apple Inc Describe 3 competitors (6 marks) Use Porters Competitors analysis to analyse competitors (9 marks) 10 facts = 5 marks
1.5
SWOT Most students did well in this question 10 facts = 5 marks
Section B 1 PEST & SWOT Only a few students managed to complete this question. PEST and SWOT are certainly two different perspectives: PEST assesses a market, including competitors, from the standpoint of a particular proposition or a business. SWOT is an assessment of a business or a proposition, whether your own or a competitor's. Strategic planning is not a precise science - no tool is mandatory – it is a matter of pragmatic choice as to what helps best identify and explain the issues. PEST becomes more useful and relevant the larger and more complex the business or proposition. For very small local businesses a PEST analysis can still throw up one or two very significant issues that might otherwise be missed. The four quadrants in PEST vary in significance depending on the type of business (e.g. social factors are more obviously relevant to consumer businesses or a B2B business close to the consumer-end of the supply chain, whereas political factors are more obviously relevant to a global munitions supplier or aerosol propellant manufacturer). All businesses benefit from a SWOT analysis, and all businesses benefit from
Section A Remember the assignment answers are guidelines. It is expected of students to write in more detail, apply theory and think outside the box. 1.1 Vision statement Most students did well and received full marks 5 facts = 5 marks 1.2 Mission statement Most students did well and received full marks 10 facts = 5 marks 1.3 Competitors analysis Students gave the answer of Q1.4 and analysed 3 competitors of Apple Describe background of IT industry with focus on Apple (5 marks) Use Porters Competitors analysis to analyse Apple (5 marks) 10 facts = 10 marks 1.4 Three different competitors of Apple Inc Describe 3 competitors (6 marks) Use Porters Competitors analysis to analyse competitors (9 marks) 10 facts = 5 marks
1.5
SWOT Most students did well in this question 10 facts = 5 marks
Section B 1 PEST & SWOT Only a few students managed to complete this question. PEST and SWOT are certainly two different perspectives: PEST assesses a market, including competitors, from the standpoint of a particular proposition or a business. SWOT is an assessment of a business or a proposition, whether your own or a competitor's. Strategic planning is not a precise science - no tool is mandatory – it is a matter of pragmatic choice as to what helps best identify and explain the issues. PEST becomes more useful and relevant the larger and more complex the business or proposition. For very small local businesses a PEST analysis can still throw up one or two very significant issues that might otherwise be missed. The four quadrants in PEST vary in significance depending on the type of business (e.g. social factors are more obviously relevant to consumer businesses or a B2B business close to the consumer-end of the supply chain, whereas political factors are more obviously relevant to a global munitions supplier or aerosol propellant manufacturer). All businesses benefit from a SWOT analysis, and all businesses benefit from