Gap inc swot analysis 2018

Strategic Retail Report: Strategic Recommendations

Checklist for SRR: Status Report (you should also use this for the SRR: Recommendations)

Report Sections

Checked

All sections are present, clearly titled and numbered

Conclusion is present

References are complete (also see below)

Formatting

Title page is present – APA version 7 format (sample here)

Table of contents is present

Pages are numbered

1” margins

Single or 1.15 spacing in paragraphs, double between

Times New Roman 12-point font for body

Headings may be in Calibri

General

Paper conforms to specified length

Paragraphs are well formed – one idea per paragraph

Headings are used to improve clarity – as per the guide

Paper has been proof-read and spell-checked

Citing and References

There is a reference page with all entries in APA style

In-text citing is used appropriately and is in APA style

Quotations are in place for all material taken from another source.

Any diagrams or tables are properly labeled and attributed

Guide for the Strategic Retail Report – Recommendations
The purpose of this, the final part of the Strategic Retail Report project, is to show your team’s strategic thinking.

What is strategic thinking? When a management team thinks strategically, it is engaged in finding and developing opportunities to create value for the organization and its stakeholders. That entails analyzing the current situation (which your team has completed with the SRR – Status part of the project), making plans (this part of the SRR project), implementing the plans, and then evaluating and controlling the progress over the planning period.

Your team will suggest strategies to improve and maintain the competitiveness of the company into the future.

NOTES:

· Remember to bring forward (from your SRR: Status Report) all in-text citing and references for any material or information you use.

· While on the topic of references, DO NOT use anything from sites that sell papers (paper mills). This is an unacceptable practice.

Scope and Organization of the Report

1. Status Summary

Based on your team’s SRR – Status Report, summarize the retailer’s primary strengths and weaknesses going forward and support your assessment. What are the company’s biggest challenges (threats) now and in the future? What are their opportunities for the future? Remember that opportunities at this point refers NOT to what the company can do but what exists in the environment that can be capitalized on in some way.

Be specific and support your points. Use headings to maintain clarity.

Include a list or table of the key areas that need to be addressed to maintain and grow the company’s competitive position. For ideas, look back to the areas covered in your team’s SRR: Status report.

Create a SWOT table and then after the table, for each point write a small paragraph explaining that point. See the example SWOT document on our D2L.

2. Plan Formulation

2.1. Goals

Note: It is a good idea to come up with the recommendations first and then come back to write up the goals/objectives. Make sure they match up with the recommendations you are making.

In formulating your goals for the firm, first discuss and answer these questions with your team (Steele, 1989):

a. What is and what should be the businesses of the firm?

b. Who are the firm’s customers? How should the business profitably add value in its products/services to its customers?

c. How should the business compete against competitors for the customers’ sales?

d. What changes will or should occur, which can affect the current businesses of the company?

Based on your analysis, set three to five goals for the company over a time horizon of the next two or three years. These are not actions or strategies (they don’t talk about how ); they are statements of the future status – ends or outcomes. For example, a goal would be:

· Achieve a leadership share of the market in the family camping segment within 24 months.

· Be known as the most affordable full-service solution for small business computer-related needs.

2.2. Recommendations

Note: You will find it helpful to prepare for this part of the project in the following way:

a. Read “Strategic Possibilities using the Business Model Canvas” (on our D2L)

b. If you didn’t attend the Week 11 Collaborate class, watch the recording of the “Collaborate Session explaining how to do the SRR Recommendations assignment”

c. Access the PowerPoint that your instructor used in the Week 11 Collaborate class.

As Frederick Betz (2016) says, “Strategy is about what changes need to be made in the current business operations, in the current business model, to be profitable in the future”. This section, then, will address the specific changes your team is recommending in order to meet the stated goals.

Define the strategic actions that your team recommends be implemented in order to achieve the desired results listed in the goals section of your report.

· Be specific and detailed.

· Use headings for clarity.

· Elaborate your actions with diagrams (such as brand “pentagons”, perceptual maps, etc.) where appropriate.

· Changes to consider include the target markets, the 7 Ps, and any other areas your team considers appropriate.

Choose a unique, valuable, and defensible position involving a different set of activities for your business (Porter, 1996). Consider the following in your firm’s value proposition:

· Is there an unserved market you can target? Consider the bases of segmentation.

· Is there a different way to help your customers realize their desired satisfactions? For example, if customers are looking for a special-occasion outfit, would renting be an option versus an outright purchase?

· Is there an additional benefit not currently being offered? For example, a company might create a lower-calorie version of its product or offer a quick shipping option.

Consider and address the implications of your recommendations. Make sure that your recommendations fall within the capabilities of the firm and that they are strategically sound. Can the company afford to make those changes? Will the changes trigger competitive retaliation? Will the recommended actions cause other problems in the firm (like cannibalization of other products or loss of other customer segments)? Show that your team has thought about the ramifications of the recommendations.

2.3. Conclusion

Briefly indicate the results you anticipate.

References:

Frederick Betz. (2016). Strategic Thinking: A Comprehensive Guide: First edition. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Porter, M. E. (1996). What Is Strategy? Harvard Business Review, 74(6), 61–78.

Steele, L. W. (1989). Managing technology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.