Proposal - Research Paper Example

Research proposal for a strategic plan Research Approach for a Strategic Plan The research approach chosen for a strategic plan depends on the goals of the strategic plan. The research approach chosen for the strategic plan under review is the alignment model. This has been chosen because the research approach needs to align the organizations vision, mission and people strategies and value statements with the proposed strategic plan. The research approach This research proposal makes use of SWOT analysis to perform external and internal environmental analysis.

The research approach will therefore look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats both internal and external. The initial strategic plan is for a new design house and therefore a research plan to this end will include an external review which will look at the fashion industry as a whole and how the industry dynamics will affect the business. This analysis will also be in line with the company’s vision of becoming a household name in the fashion industry, mission of bringing high fashion to the masses at reasonable prices, people strategies that include working on empowering company employees to achieve their goals and adding value to both the clients and employees.

SWOT Analysis Strengths The strengths of the company: (Merifashion) include; Product offering; Merifashion offers a range of products that are both fashionable and affordable. The effects of the economic crisis are still being felt in America and consumers are always looking for value for money. Times are still hard and consumers appreciate the fact that a design house can still offer them affordable and still fashionable products. Reviewing the company’s strengths internally, pricing, product offering and product quality are the strength of Merifashion.

Externally it would be pricing which makes the company competitive in the marketplace. Weaknesses Some of the weaknesses of Merifashion are as a result of it being a new business and just starting up in the fashion industry (Bohm, 2009). This has worked against the company even though it offers quality products at affordable prices. Consumers tend to buy more from well established brands that have been in the industry longer and have become household names. The company intends to work on this weakness by increasing market share and presence through aggressive advertising both in print and visual media.

Lack of brand awareness is another weakness that Merifashion is battling. As much as the company’s products are affordable, our competitors are still outselling us because of the lack of brand awareness. Opportunities Like any other industry there are numerous opportunities in the fashion industry one just has to see them and make good use of them (Pahl and Richter, 2009). In the segment where Merifashion operates, there exists immense opportunities for design houses that are willing to design high fashion products for the mass market thereby gaining on the economies of scale.

The opportunities lies in the provision of quality products at affordable prices for consumers who deem high fashion design houses to be beyond their means. The company has gained from this opportunity as more customers in the fashion industry are warming up to the design house. Threats Threats in this industry are just as many as the opportunities. The threats emanate from rivalry in the industry. Design companies are working hard to outshine the next one or the ones at the top. His makes it even harder for startups like Merifashion which are sometimes forced out of business in their first year of operation.

Consumer preference is also another threat to the existence of the design house. Consumers prefer to buy from known and established design houses making it difficult for new entrants to the industry like Merifashion. Internally, because of the lack of funds, startups like Merifashion find it difficult to attract seasoned and experienced personnel. Porter’s five forces analysis This can also be used to analyse internal and external environmental analysis. The five forces are rivalry in the industry, the threat of substitute products, threat of new entrants to the market, the bargaining power of suppliers and the bargaining power of consumers.

These forces affect the company’s ability to serve its customers and at the same time make profits. The occurrence of any change in the industry forces business to re-strategize and reassess the market then see if it still in line with its strategic plan. Profits should always be above industry average (Porter, 1980). Even though the fashion industry is saturated and has low profitability levels, Merifashion will be able to gain above industry profits by applying its strategic plan and also by coming up with innovative and unique business model.

References Bohm, A., 2009. The SWOT Analysis. Berlin: GRIN Verlag. Pahl, N., and Richter, A., 2009. SWOT Analysis- Idea, Methodology and a practical approach. New Jersey: Books on Demand. Porter, E. M., 1980. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. New York: The Free Press.