Environments

Using the Apple corporation, examine the industry in which the entity operates. Use any or all of the following resources to conduct research on the company:

Company website.

Public filings from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Filings & Forms page.

The Lexis Advance database.

Other miscellaneous sources. Note: the company’s annual report will often provide insights that other resources may not include.

Requirements

Write a 4–6 page paper in which you do the following:

Choose the two segments of the general environment that would rank highest in their influence on the corporation you chose.

Assess how these segments affect the corporation you chose and the industry in which it operates.

Considering the five forces of competition, choose the two that you estimate are the most significant for the corporation you chose.

Evaluate how well the company has addressed these two forces in the recent past.

With the same two forces in mind, predict what the company might do to improve its ability to address these forces in the near future.

Assess the external threats affecting this corporation and the opportunities available to the corporation.

Give your opinions on how the corporation should deal with the most serious threat and the greatest opportunity. Justify your answer.

Give your opinion on the corporation’s greatest strengths and most significant weaknesses.

Choose the strategy or tactic the corporation should select to take maximum advantage of its strengths, and the strategy or tactic the corporation should select to fix its most significant weakness. Justify your choices.

Determine the company’s resources, capabilities, and core competencies.

Template

Introduction

General Environment

-Segment 1

-Segment 2

Five Forces of Competition

-Force 1

-Force 2

Future Improvements

Greatest External Threat

Greatest Opportunity

Strengths and Weakness

-Strategy or Tactic

Resources, Capabilities, and Core Competencies

Sources