External Environment Analysis session long project 2 strategice management 599 - Essay Example

Step One: SIC SIC stands for Standard Industrial ification System. This is a method used in North America for the ification of the industries. This code is mostly a four digit code. For an external analysis, it is essential to find the industry in which the company operates in and the companies that it competes against. This makes it easier for a competitor’s analysis and the industry trends which is an essential aspect of the external analysis. One of the best places to find this information includes the following link, where the industry can be searched for by keyword and based on the SIC number itself.

The link below is an example of the clothing industry:http://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/sicsearch.html?p_sic=&p_search=ClothingThe website provides a clear and organized litst which allows users to search based on the SIC of the companies, the name of the companies or even the industry. Step Two: Porter’s Five Forces:Michael Porter has devised a framework which provides a better understanding of the industry and how companies can be affected by forces within the markets. The five forces that he has described are: a) Threat of new entrants, b) Determinant of buying power, c) Threat of substitutes, d) Determinants of supplier power, and e) Rivalry among the firms.

This allows a focused and better analysis of the external factors of the industry. The two sources include:a) Themanager.org: This website provides a clear explanation of the Porter’s Five Force model and gives a deep and clear understanding of each and every point of the analysis. This can be retrieved from the following website: http://www.themanager.org/Models/p5f.htm. This site is more detailed and helps understand the topic in a deeper manner. b) Marketing Teacher.com: This website provides students with all the concepts of marketing and helps business students to a great extent as it allows a simple explanation of all the topics making it simpler for all students.

This can be accessed from the following link: http://www.marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_fivefoces.htm. This website is very simple and to the point form of explanation of the topic. Step Three: PEST Analysis:This analysis is to provide for a better understanding of the major external elements that affect the performance of a company. This highlights the major elements like the political, economical, social and also the technological factors that can cause any affect to the company’s performance.

The two sources include:a) NetMBA.com: Similar to the marketing teacher website, this website also provides business students with a chance to learn the concepts in a simple and straight forward manner. The language is simple and the explanation is very helpful to deepen the knowledge of the topic. The website can be retrieved from http://www.netmba.com/strategy/pest/. b) QuickMBA: The second reference that can be used for this study includes quickmba, which is another website to assist students learn the basics of topics and to improve their knowledge on the business concepts.

This can be retrieved from http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/pest/. Both these links provide a clear understanding of the topic and allows the students to get a clear understanding of the PEST analysis and its application.