Strategic direction and swot analysis
Strategic management is the process by which organisations determine their purpose, objective and desired level of attainment. It helps an organisation decide on actions for achieving these objectives in appropriate timescale, and requires information through both internal and external means. A SWOT analysis is use for auditing an organisation and its environment. Washwood heath Technology College has strategic management which manages the objectives of the school for the students and the staff member in there.
Swot strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threat
Strength: the strength can be a new product lunched by a business. Where the business is set and located. Also this can be the quality processes and also procedures;it can also be any other aspect that you can include value to the business. The muscle of wash wood heath Technology College is the courses or the subjects introduced by the school. It can also be the location where the school is placed. There is a large sum of the community living which is surrounding the school which means it is easily accessible for the people to make it. The strength can be the quality of the education the school gives and allows the students for re-takes of their gcses exams so they can give it another go.
Weaknesses
The weaknesses of a business can be the need of the marketing expertise. Another weakness can be undifferentiated products or even services like if the product is not improved than the competitors or it is just the same and the competitors then it is a weakness. The place of the business if it is not in a suitable position can be a weakness for the business. If the business has poor good service, then it is a weakness for the industry. A damaged reputation of the business can lead the business decreasing. If wash wood heath school has a broken reputation in the community then there will not be enough students in the school.
OPPORTUNITIES:
A business should have a developing market like internet selling products on the internet. There should be mergers, joint ventures or strategic alliances. A business can have an opportunity by moving into new market segments that offer improved profits. If a new international market is introduced it will be a greater opportunity. A market vacated by an ineffective competitor is one great opportunity. Washwood heath Technology College can have its local site and develop more interest in other people so more students move to that school.
THREAT:
A threat is a new competitor in the home market. Price wars with the competitors are threats. A competitor with an innovative product or service. Competitors having superior access to channels of distribution are a threat. If taxation is introduced on a product or service it’s like a threat. If washwood heath technology college is closed by the government due to some issues that is a threat. If more schools are opened in the same community that is a threat to the school.
Offering competitive insight:
A business needs to be aware of what their competitors are doing, to make sure they do not fall behind and loose sales and market shares. Regular research is very useful as it keeps one updated with the competitor’s sales. Some large businesses have a section of their marketing departments dedicated to analysing competitor activity. Washwood heath Technology College has a chart which compares the results of their school with the other schools around. Washwood heath knows if their competitors have done better than them or not.
Communicating sales promotion:
Businesses use a variety of information and methods to communicate sales promotions to customers. They place information about products, services and special offers on their websites and have newspaper and journal adverts, and television and radio adverts. Good market research information will offer an insight into the behaviour patterns of the customers and their buying motivation. Information can help businesses to promote their goods. Washwood heath Technology College collects information about the results of the other schools as it helps them a lot. They try to improve their standards according to that information.
Inviting support for activities:
Information is also required and needs to be communicated in order to support business activities. The support has to come from inside and outside the organisations. For example, the business may wish to change the way it operates to it make more efficient; this must have support of the workforce. Clear information will have to be given to the staff, explaining why the business needs to move in this direction. Washwood heath Technology College informs the staff about all the changes taking place in the school. The school takes support from inside and outside the business. The teachers and every member in their helps out. The external support is also taken.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION:
Internal sources:
Internal information is the information which is already present in the school. Internal information could come from a variety of sources within the organisation. A lot of departments will store information about the members in their department. Washwood heath Technology College stores information about the students who had been studying in the school before. It keeps a record of all the teachers what subject they have been teaching and what day they started school and when did they leave school.
For example:
Finance: Finance will have wealth of information relating to company performance, such as profit and loss figures, the balance sheet, cash flow information and the costs of running the business. Washwood heath technology college has a record of how good their results have been and what benefits have they got with that.
Sales departments: Sales departments will often store information about customers, as well as sales records for the organisations existing products and services. Washwood heath Technology College has information stored about its old staff.
Human resources: Human resources can provide information about the staffing and training within the organisation, such as staff turnover, number of employees, skills available, training needs and projections for future employment. Washood heath Technology College has some demands before hiring staff like the skills and that.
Production: Production will be able to give details of production costs, along with past and possible future levels of production. This gives details of the sort of results produced at washwood heath Technology College.
Marketing: Marketing can give information about the results of research undertaken by the company, the success of previous marketing campaigns and promotional activities, as well as information about the market the organisation currently operates within.Washwood heath technology college has information about how well they have done compare to the other schools around.
Customer services: Customer services can tell you what customers think about the business and give you information on how customers have responded to existing products and services. Washwood heath Technology College responds to the needs of the community and the pupils of the school.
External resources:
External resources are the resources used from outside the business. The information which is brought from outside or which already does not exist in the business. External data exists in the form of published materials, collected by someone else outside the company.
FOR EXAMPLE:
Government resources:
They are supplied by, among others, the ONS (office of national statistics), the DTI (department of trade and industry), and the OECD (organisation for economic development). The government sources are useful for wash wood heath technology college, they can find out the results for other schools and the skills other schools are using so compare to them they can do better.
Trade groupings:
Trade groupings are groups of businesses from the same industry or marketplaces that provide a service to representatives of their industry. They can act as pressure groups to initiate positive change for their industry. They also publish trade journals. These are published by leaders in the industry. This can help washwood heath Technology College find out about management of the schools and what their school is lacking and what can they do to do better.
Commercially provided databases:
Many private research organisations specialise in building up databases of people who are known to have interest in certain products and services. There are many market research agencies where lists may be purchased by businesses that wish to target these customers via direct mail. This can help washwood heath technology college they won’t have to do any research to find out about who has got interest in their school that will be already done for them.
Research:
Research is gathering of any data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge. Organisations conduct research to find out about their markets, views of their staff. The purpose of any market research project is to achieve an increased understanding on the subject matter. Market research is very helpful to washwood heath technology college it helps them find out what rank are they standing on and their competitions with others.
Reliability of data sources:
While getting information the important thing is that the information is accurate or not. Many newspapers have printed articles with the agenda that influences the way they interpret information. Information on internet should be treated with more caution. Washwood heath Technology College makes sure the information is reliable and valid before they used it because that’s only how information can be used in the best way.
External sources
External data exists in the form of published materials, collected by someone else outside the company. There are a number of external sources, as follows.
Government sources
These are supplied by, among others, the ONS {Office of National Statistics}, the DTI {Department of Trade and Industry} and the OECD {Organisation for Economic Development}. Some of the key government publications include the Monthly Digest of Statistics, Regional Trends and Labour Market Trends.
Trade groupings
Trade groupings are groups of businesses from the same industry or marketplaces that provide a service to representatives of their industry. They can act as pressure groups to initiate positive change for their industry. They also publish trade journals, which are a very useful resource. These are published by leaders in industries for the people working in that industry, but they also create excellent research materials. Magazines include:
- Super marketing- for those in the retail food trade
- Convenience store- for those owning and operating convenience stores
- Supply management- for those involved in purchasing in industry.
Commercially provided databases
Many private research organisations specialise in building up databases of people who are well-known to have an interest in certain products and services. There are many market research agencies where lists may be purchased by businesses that wish to target these customers via direct mail. It is hoped that the response rate will be elevated, as these customers on the list are known to have an interest in the product. A well-known agency is Nielsen Media Research.
Research
In the broadest sense of the world, the definition of research includes any gathering of data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge. Organisations continually conduct research to find out about their markets, customers and views of their staff. Market research always incorporates some form of data collection, whether it is secondary research or primary research, which is collected direct from a respondent.
The purpose of any market research project is to achieve an increased understanding of the subject matter. With markets throughout the world becoming increasingly more competitive, market research is now on the agenda of many organisations, whether they are outsized or diminutive.
Reliability of data sources
When gathering information, it is important that you determine how valid the information is. Always ask yourself whether it is accurate, relevant and truthful, and whether there is a bias. For example, many newspapers have a particular agenda that influences the way they interpret information for their readership. So, the Guardian and the Daily Mail might report on the same story, but may well take different slants depending on each journalist’s personal opinions and the newspaper’s agenda.
You should treat information that you find on the Internet with even more carefulness. Websites of reputable sources, such as the BBC, or the mainstream newspapers, will be reliable- although as subject to bias as printed news. However, sources such as Wikipedia or personal blogs may be biased, inaccurate or misleading. For example, anyone can alter an entry in Wikipedia- the website relies on knowledgeable readers to correct any errors.
When citing information from the Internet, it is excellent practice to try to find the same information from more than one source. This takes a bit more time, but helps validate your original source of information.
