Strategic Analysis

understanding of an organization's internal

and external environments to create a
strategy for better utilization of resources
in the pursuit of the organization's
objectives and priorities. it is drawn from
facts, data, and instructions at hand.
 Whether you wish to identify levels of market
attractiveness or viability, market sizing and
forecasting or competitor deep dive intelligence,
strategic analysis can help you uncover the insights
you need.
 Many organizations also use strategic analysis as a
method for establishing best market entry and
partner identification strategies.
The process of developing strategy for
a business by researching the business
and the environment in which it
operates.
Source:
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/strategi
c-analysis.html
Strategic Analysis is:

‘… the process of conducting research on the business

environment within which an organisation operates and on
the organisation itself, in order to formulate strategy.’

BNET Business Dictionary

‘… a theoretically informed understanding of the
environment in which an organisation is operating,
together with an understanding of the organisation’s
interaction with its environment in order to improve
organisational efficiency and effectiveness by
increasing the organisation’s capacity to deploy and
redeploy its resources intelligently.’
Professor Les Worrall, Wolverhampton Business School
Definitions of strategic analysis often differ, but the
following attributes are commonly associated with it:
1. Identification and evaluation of data relevant to
strategy formulation.
2. Definition of the external and internal environment
to be analysed.
3. A range of analytical methods that can be
employed in the analysis.
Examples of analytical methods used in strategic analysis
include:
• SWOT analysis
• PEST analysis
• Porter’s five forces analysis
• four corner’s analysis
• value chain analysis
• early warning scans
• war gaming.
 Analytical thinking is powerful. It is focused, sharp,
linear, deals with one thing at a time, contains time, is
deconstructive, contains no perspective, is subject to
disorientation, is brain centered, and tends to the
abstract.
 Analytical thinking is efficient in the following conditions
– sufficient time, relatively static conditions, a clear
differentiation between the observer and the
observed.
 It is best suited for dealing with complexities, and
works best where there are established criteria for
the analysis (for example, rules of law).
 It is necessary when an explanation is required,
seeks the best option, and can be taught in the
classroom to beginners.
Strategic Analysis is the process of developing and fine-tuning
the competitive strategy for a business by researching the
business and the environment in which it operates.

Utilizing the principles of SWOT analysis (researching strengths,

weaknesses, opportunities and threats), strategic analysis offers
organizations valuable insights into their current market
positioning, potential or evolving market trends and evidence-
backed intelligence around best-fit strategies for achieving
defined objectives.
Benefits of Strategic Analysis
 Strategic analysis presents the fastest way to gain full
visibility of your market, combining elements competitor
analysis, customer intelligence and supplier intelligence
into a full service project.
 Competitor analysis - Identify and understand competitor
strategies and their impact on the market.
 Customer intelligence - Understand your customers hidden
sentiments and their likely response to market conditions.
 Supplier intelligence - Uncover and mitigate supply chain and
procurement threats before they develop.
SWOT analysis
 A SWOT analysis is a simple but widely used tool that helps
in understanding the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats involved in a project or business activity.
 It starts by defining the objective of the project or business
activity and identifies the internal and external factors that
are important to achieving that objective. strengths and
weaknesses are usually internal to the organisation, while
opportunities and threats are usually external. Often these
are plotted on a simple 2x2 matrix.
PEST Analysis
PEST analysis is a scan of the external macro-
environment in which an organisation exists. It is a
useful tool for understanding the political, economic,
socio-cultural and technological environment that an
organisation operates in. It can be used for evaluating
market growth or decline, and as such the position,
potential and direction for a business.
 Political factors. These include government
regulations such as employment laws, environmental
regulations and tax policy. Other political factors
are trade restrictions and political stability.
 Economic factors. These affect the cost of capital
and purchasing power of an organisation. Economic
factors include economic growth, interest rates,
inflation and currency exchange rates.
 Social factors. These impact on the consumer’s need
and the potential market size for an organisation’s
goods and services. Social factors include population
growth, age demographics and attitudes towards
health.
 Technological factors. These influence barriers to entry,
make or buy decisions and investment in innovation, such
as automation, investment incentives and the rate of
technological change.
PEST factors can be classified as opportunities or threats
in a SWOT analysis. It is often useful to complete a PEST
analysis before completing a SWOT analysis.

It is also worth noting that the four paradigms of PEST

vary in significance depending on the type of business.
For example, social factors are more obviously relevant to
consumer businesses or a B2B business near the consumer
end of the supply chain. Conversely, political factors are
more obviously relevant to a defense contractor or
aerospace manufacturer.
STRATEGIC ANALYSIS involves the individual’s capacity
for thinking conceptually, imaginatively, systematically,
and opportunistically with regard to the attainment of
success in the future. The process requires you to follow
a pattern to creatively address a situation and
understand the environment in which
an organization is operating.
What is the video all about?

What aspect of the video did you see

strategic analysis
Intuitive Thinking
sensing or knowing without using rational processes
such as reading facts and instructions.

Intuition - something that is known or understood

without proof or evidence
 Intuitive thinking has contrasting qualities: it is unfocused,
nonlinear, contains "no time," sees many things at once,
views the big picture, contains perspective, is heart
centered, oriented in space and time, and tends to the
real or concrete.
 Intuition comes into its own where analytical thinking is
inadequate: under time pressure, where conditions are
dynamic, where the differentiation between observer
and observed is unclear.
 It works best where the observer has experience in
the particular situation, is difficult to teach in the
classroom, eschews seeking the ‘best’ option in favor
of the ‘workable,’ and is prepared to act on
feelings or hunches where explanations are either
not required or there is no time for them.
 Intuition is experience translated by expertise to
produce rapid action.
 Intuition is limited where the task is complex and
uncertain, where the observer lacks experience, or the
observation is distorted by biases or fixed ideas.
 Its weakness is a tendency to produce a fixed attitude
or mindset that ignores new data; that is why the
analytical thinking of the Enlightenment was so
revolutionary.
 Intuition is ineffective for predicting the stock market, or
for discovering that the heart is a pump, or for
dissecting a legal problem.
“There is no logical way to the discovery of these
elemental laws. There is only the way of intuition,
which is helped by a feeling for the order lying
behind the appearance.”
- Albert Einstein
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own
inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow
your heart and intuition.” - Steve Jobs
“All great men are gifted with intuition. They know without
reasoning or analysis what they need to know.”
- Alexis Carrel

“The power of intuitive understanding will protect you from

harm until the end of your days.” - Lao Tzu
What is common in their sayings?

What are the key words mentioned in

describing intuition and intuitive thinking?
Do you have an experience where
you used intuition? Tell us the story
briefly.
 Intuitive thinking is a feeling (a sense) that doesn’t use rational
processes such as facts and data.
 Good intuition comes from years of knowledge and experience
that allows you to understand how people and the world
works. Many situations are intuitive. Some aren’t.
 Intuitive thinking is important. Equally important is non-intuitive
thinking.
 With experience, practice and wisdom, non-intuitive thinking
can sometimes become intuitive thinking.
Source: http://www.problem-solving-techniques.com/Intuitive-Thinking.html
What are the differences
between Analytical and
Intuitive thinking?
What will you do in the following circumstances?
 Flash flood/ earthquake/ fire
 getting lost
 meeting a very popular person
 wallet/gadget is suddenly lost
 surprise graded recitation
Why is it significant to pay attention
to our intuition or intuitive thinking?
When analytical and intuitive
abilities are combined, the result
is ‘holistic.’
Strategic Analysis and Intuitive Thinking
 Analytical thinking is historically quite recent,
whereas intuitive thinking has been mankind’s chief
possession since the dawn of time.
 We can partly attribute the triumphs and perils of
our modern civilization to the relative imbalance in
the importance afforded to analytical versus
intuitive skills over the last four hundred years.
 Overly analytical people are to a large extent “blind;”
what our society needs is people who can “think” with a
whole eye, which is called holistic thinking – only those who
are out of touch with feeling call this ‘touchy-feely.’
 When analytical and intuitive abilities are combined, the
result is ‘holistic.’ In order to effect settlements and
resolutions, it is necessary to move people out of a
rights/obligations/win-lose mindset into a
needs/interests/mutual gain mindset, which is what
mediation is all about – this requires holistic thinking
abilities.
https://www.mediate.com/articles/parselle6.cfm
How does HOLISTIC thinking work?
 When working on a task it makes sense to look for
the obvious solution first.
 If the solution doesn’t present itself, look for the not-
obvious one.
 And, when attempting to answer a question look for
the obvious answer first, then look for the not-
obvious one.
 Keep in mind, so-called common knowledge may not
be correct. Critical thinking works best when you
continually ask yourself:
* Does this make sense?
* If so, why?
* If not, why not?
 Keeping an open mind to new data and options is
another element of sound critical thinking. The
critical thinker tests new experiences and knowledge
against past experiences and knowledge.
 If the new experience or information is consistent
with what is known, he keeps his view. If not, he
strives to learn why there is an inconsistency.
 Once resolved, he either keeps, or alters his frame
of reference to account for the new information. A
frame of reference includes experience, education,
upbringing, culture and many other factors that
contribute to how someone views the world.
There are three ways of discovering non-intuitive
things. They are:
1. Gaining more experience.
Experience is a great teacher. The greater your experience, the
easier it is to see the similarity between new ideas and what
you learned in the past.
Experience teaches you what kind of projects, objectives or
problems are straight forward. It also teaches which ones may
have non-intuitive (or counter intuitive) issues to address.
In other words, experience hones your intuition. It can make non-
intuitive thinking become intuitive thinking.
2. Experimentation.
Experimentation can help you uncover inconsistencies. Tinkering is a
great way to discover something that isn’t consistent with what you
thought.

3. Learn by reading, studying & through teachers and mentors.

The more you build your base of knowledge, the more you learn about
the nuances, differences and subtleties of a wide array of mysteries.
Intuitive Thinking and Non-Intuitive Thinking become easier.
http://www.problem-solving-techniques.com/Intuitive-Thinking.html