Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 36

Strategic Management - Essay Example In this regard, the SWOT analysis combines two important factors that are external (Strengths and Weaknesses) and two that are external (Opportunities and Threats). One of the strengths for apple is its technological innovation. Apple has been able to create its position in the industry as the leader in innovation. As a result, most of the customers who are interested in technological products look at the firm as their first choice when it comes to these products. As Ahuja (2010), while using the SWOT analysis, the important thing to consider is to look at the strengths of a business. This is used to look at the organizational environment from within the organization and identify what works out for the business. These are the things that a business can use in its survival in the market. A business will determine its strengths with regard to how it stacks against its competitors in the market. For apple, they know that their strong brand is one of the strengths they can rely on. The other important strength for apple is its ability to streamline production and reduce cost, thus transferring the cost advantage tot eh customers. Apple’s main weakness can only be identifies by comparing it with its main competitor. When compared to Samsung for instance, Samsung has advantage in that it is located in a low cost economy where production can happen at less costs. Although Apple can still access these low cost environment by outsourcing, they still have a disadvantage. As has been identified, all businesses will have some disadvantage as well as advantages. Identifying the weaknesses (disadvantages) of the business is actually important in that it helps the managers to know what they weakest points are and so deal with them. The theory behind identifying the weaknesses of the business is that when a problem is well defined, it is already half solved. Identifying the strengths without identifying the weaknesses of the business can be futile. In this regard,