Scanning the Environment
By: Jon • Essay • 1,760 Words • March 22, 2010 • 1,181 Views
Scanning the Environment
EFAS (External Factor Analysis Summary)
External Weight Rating Wtd Comments
Strategic Factors Scores
Opportunities
U.S. toy market increasing 3% year .15 5 0.75 Good market trend
Booming collection market .05 3 0.15 Future investment returns
Product recognition .15 4 0.60 International Opportunity
Efficient technology .10 3 0.30 Up to date technology needed
Direct Mail .05 2 0.10 Accounted for 9.2% of Sales
Threats
New Entrants .05 3 0.15 Unrestricted entry by competition
Winnie the Pooh (Existing Competitors) .20 4 0.80 Bear-Gram trade mark
Product Advancement .05 3 0.15 Questionable
Foreign Competition .10 4 0.40 Steiff, Asian companies
Legal Requirements .10 3 0.40 Internet business: User Privacy
TOTAL SCORES 1.00 3.80
IFAS (Internal Factor Analysis Summary)
Internal Weight Rating Wtd Comments
Strategic Factors Scores
Strengths
Brand name .10 4 0.40 Well Known
Favorable employee relation .10 4 0.40 Stimulates individual growth
Increase catalog sales .05 2 0.10 Increase profits
New Management .15 4 0.60 Eliminated unprofitable ventures
Product Quality .10 5 0.50 Craftsmanship
Weaknesses
Dependence on common carrier .05 3 0.15 Unreliability of shipment and cost
No dividends to stock holders .05 2 0.10 Limited stock holders
Bad lease agreements still in place .20 5 1.00 Balloon Payment at the end
Inconsistent sales .10 3 0.30 Highly Seasoned
Retail Stores .10 4 0.40 Low Profitability
TOTAL SCORES 1.00 3.95
From the time of its inception in 1981, the Vermont Teddy Bear Company had done superbly under the leadership of John Sortino, the founder of the great hand sewn teddy bears.
The journey embarked on the idea of making teddy bears using the quality American materials, and labor. Through out its first decade of progress, the company had focused on designing, manufacturing, and direct marketing of its great product, by using the American materials and craftsmanship.
It was not until 1995, when the company had started experiencing serious problems in terms of its profitability, and sustainability. This was evident as two of its CEOs had resigned from their seats in the next few years.
On June 20th, 1995, the company’s founder John Sortino had stepped down when he recognized that the future success of the company depends, rather, on its smooth transition, from the entrepreneurial venture to the professionally managed organization. Following his resignation, the new CEO of the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, R Patrick Burns, took over the charge, in a hope to fix the problems, Sortino had left them with. Amidst the company’s deteriorating performance, in October, 1997, Burns, too, had resigned from his post, which was then taken over by the former CFO of the company, Elisabeth Robert. Since then, Ms Robert has been making strives to get the company back on track.
The strategic decisions of a firm competing in the global marketplace are becoming increasingly complex. In such a firm, managers can no longer view global operations as a set of independent decisions, but rather consider the various products, country environments, and strategic options, as rather intertwined.