Part 2: External analysis
Estimated time to complete: 20–40 hours
Goals:
– Map the external environment associated with the scope of your project
– Identify existing participants and solutions currently being explored (for profit, NGO, etc.) – Gather data and conduct analyses to be used in final report
Steps:
– Consult major databases available through the library and learn about the external environment of the issue or industry you are studying
– Explore high quality business publications (both daily, such as WSJ, FT, as well as weekly or monthly, such as Business Week, The Economist, Monocle, etc.) to learn about the general environment. 1. Describe what general environment dimensions affect the issue identified in your project. Provide a complete PESTEL analysis
2. List and describe any industries dedicated to the problem and explore their lifecycles and current stages (typically more than one)
3. Conduct an in-depth analysis of the industry(ies) your team considers to be most critical. Use the five forces model to describe industry structure.
4. What is the nature of competitive dynamics? How do industry participants compete?
5. Are there areas of cooperation among industry participants? Analyze strategic alliances, especially those that were formed to address the general scope of your project.
What to prepare
A written report outlining your findings regarding steps 1–5 above. If you are unable to find useful information for any area, explain your methods and efforts. Any worksheets used may be appended to your report. You may use this time to prepare data visualizations to be used in the final report (i.e., tables, figures, etc.). Also provide a list of references for all information found (APA format), with proper referencing and citations in the text of your report. Any tables, figures, or other exhibits should contain information about the source of the data. There is no page limit.