1. Prepare a SWOT analysis based on your assessment of the internal and external factors that influence LVM’s success.

[10]
Strengths Weaknesses
 Excellent staff relationships  Too little factory capacity
 Automated screen- assembly section  Shortages of skilled labor
 Continued expansion  Lack of finances
 Job security  Laptops not sold under the business’s name

 Research into the lighter, faster computer model

Opportunities
 Recent depreciation
 The increase of chances of computer
companies breaking into the expanding Asian
market.
 New range of grants available for businesses
relocating into areas of high unemployment.
 Asian market having a higher growth potential
than Europe.
 Market trade barriers lifted
 Sales of our latest TFT screen models have
exceeded expectations and the switch towards
laptops from desktop PCs is expected to
continue
Threats
 Government concern about inflation rising
 Increased interest rates
 Competitors succeeding in getting major
breakthroughs
 Drastic exchange rate movements
 The uncertainty over the newest mobile phone
technology and links with the internet
 Insufficient profits.

2. Evaluate the usefulness of SWOT to a business such as LVM. [10]

The SWOT analysis is very useful to a business such a s LVM because it helps to illustrate and
identify areas of the business that are doing well. It also shows areas that are not doing very well
and by looking at those areas the CEO of the company can able to draw a effective strategy or
plan on how to improve that area that is not doing well. The SWOT can also help identify the
opportunities that the company has. This is very important to a business like LVM because by
identifying the opportunities, the company will have a less likely hood of missing out on those
opportunities which could help the business grow. By using the SWOT analysis the company can
Spot its threats earlier and this would help the company because it could give the company some
time to come up with a plan on how to best avoid or limit the impacts of the threats.

Strength of the SWOT analysis is that it offers many ideas and tactic to solving the problems like
the strength and weakness of the business. For example, using my SWOT it showed me many
ideas and potential tactics to solving some of the weaknesses and threats of the company (LMV
TD). For example some of those ideas and potential tactics that I got from my SWOT analysis
are: increase factory capacity, increase skilled labor, increase profit. The SWOT analysis can also
help with brainstorming ideas and plans to improving the business.

SWOT analysis also has its disadvantages for a business like LVM. The SWOT analysis can also
be very limiting. The first limitation it has is that it does not prioritize issues. This is a
disadvantage because it does not tell you which issues are greater and which issues are minor.
This is bad because without knowing which issues are of greater importance (higher priority), the
person analyzing the SWOT, just by looking at it, will not be able to know which issues to pay the
most attention. This might lead the person/ owner of the company paying more attention to issues
that are not very important and paying enough attention to issues that are of greater priority. The
second weakness of the SWOT analysis is that it does not offer alternatives to methods that are
not working well or working efficiently for the business; it only gives the weakness or threats of
the company without giving you the ways of solving this problems.

Overall, the SWOT analysis is very useful to a business like LVM. It helps open room for
brainstorming ideas that will help the business. It helps you come up with solutions for improving
 the business and it also shows you the strengths of your business so you know what your
business does well so that your business can maintain that or improve on that.
3. Evaluate two potential strategic options available to LVM Ltd by using the SWOT analysis prepared in question 1. [10]
Potential strategic options
Sell laptops under the business’s name.
Expand the company into the Asian market.
evaluation
By selling the laptops under their name, this
business will have the chance of creating their
own brand. There are many opportunities to
this; the first being that now the business will
have the freedom to create their own brand
image and if done properly, can help them gain
customers. With good branding, it can help
elevate the business, build recognition and
loyalty which in the feature can help the
business gain a larger market share. There are
some disadvantages to this strategy. The first
being that if the business starts to sell the
laptops under their name, consequently, they
would have to start advertising their laptops
and that would cost a lot of money. This is
especially a disadvantage seeing that currently
the business does not have enough finances
due to their expenditure on research and
automated costs. Overall I think that this is a
good strategy for this business to take.
This is a strategy has its benefits. The first
being that this market has a higher growth
potential than Europe, this means that there is
a higher potential for the increase of laptop
demands. This is good because then the
company would be in a good growing market
in which they would be able to satisfy the
needs/ wants of the population (laptops). This
means that they would have large growing
sales and in turn increase its profits. The
deprecation would also benefit the company in
the Asian market because it would help them
with their international competitions. There
are also disadvantages to this strategy. The
first one being that this business does not have
enough finances or skilled labor to expand into
a new market. The second disadvantage is that
company might face extreme currency shifts
and taxation changes. Overall, I think that this
business is not ready to dive into the Asian
market.