Assignment 2: Internal Environmental Scan/Organizational Assessment This section provides the opportunity to develop your course project. Conducting an internal environmental scan or organizational assessment, provides the ability to put the strategy audit together. In this module, you will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the internal environment at your business unit or organization you are working with for this project, also known as an organizational assessment, and present your findings in a report. In your report, you should analyze the operating characteristics and assets of your business unit. The SWOT model is one of the most common business tools used during organizational assessment. Another is developing a balanced scorecard based on a prescribed or planned set of performance objectives that will be measured and evaluated regularly. In this assignment, based on the external environmental scan you conducted in M2: Assignment 2 and the internal environmental scan in this assignment, you will develop a SWOT analysis and a balanced strategic scorecard. Part I: Internal Environmental Scan (2–3 pages) The internal environmental scan or organizational assessment should include the following: · Mission, vision, and values: Assess the organization’s understanding of the mission, vision, and values, and how they relate the business strategy. Is there consensus on the mission and vision of the organization? What are the shared values of the organization? What are the behaviors espoused by these values? · Strategy clarification: Assess the organization’s understanding of the business strategy through the interview with a mid-level or senior manager. Assess his or her understanding and agreement of the business unit’s value proposition, market position, and competitive advantage. · Cultural assessment: Explain the unwritten rules and shared values that govern behaviors in the organization. Do they act as enablers or blockers to the strategy? For example, is there a culture of information sharing and collaboration that enables the organization to respond quickly across structural boundaries to solve problems for customers? On the other hand, do groups not share important information through informal mechanisms, thus slowing response times? · Value chain analysis: Identify the primary (direct) and support (indirect) activities that create and deliver your product or service to your customers. Assess each activity’s contribution to competitive advantage through cost or differentiation. Identify any areas where the business may be at a competitive disadvantage. · Summary of findings: Using these different analyses, identify the organizational strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the business strategy. Organizational strengths are assets, capabilities, and resources that contribute directly to the organization’s strategic fit, differentiation, and competitive advantage relative to competing organizations. Organizational weaknesses are ch ...

1. Assignment 2: Internal Environmental Scan/Organizational
Assessment
This section provides the opportunity to develop your course
project. Conducting an internal environmental scan or
organizational assessment, provides the ability to put the
strategy audit together.
In this module, you will conduct a comprehensive assessment of
the internal environment at your business unit or organization
you are working with for this project, also known as an
organizational assessment, and present your findings in a report.
In your report, you should analyze the operating characteristics
and assets of your business unit.
The SWOT model is one of the most common business tools
used during organizational assessment. Another is developing a
balanced scorecard based on a prescribed or planned set of
performance objectives that will be measured and evaluated
regularly. In this assignment, based on the external
environmental scan you conducted in M2: Assignment 2 and the
internal environmental scan in this assignment, you will develop
a SWOT analysis and a balanced strategic scorecard.
Part I: Internal Environmental Scan (2–3 pages)
The internal environmental scan or organizational assessment
should include the following:
· Mission, vision, and values: Assess the organization’s
understanding of the mission, vision, and values, and how they
relate the business strategy. Is there consensus on the mission
and vision of the organization? What are the shared values of
the organization? What are the behaviors espoused by these
values?
· Strategy clarification: Assess the organization’s understanding
of the business strategy through the interview with a mid-level
or senior manager. Assess his or her understanding and
agreement of the business unit’s value proposition, market
position, and competitive advantage.

2. · Cultural assessment: Explain the unwritten rules and shared
values that govern behaviors in the organization. Do they act as
enablers or blockers to the strategy? For example, is there a
culture of information sharing and collaboration that enables the
organization to respond quickly across structural boundaries to
solve problems for customers? On the other hand, do groups not
share important information through informal mechanisms, thus
slowing response times?
· Value chain analysis: Identify the primary (direct) and support
(indirect) activities that create and deliver your product or
service to your customers. Assess each activity’s contribution to
competitive advantage through cost or differentiation. Identify
any areas where the business may be at a competitive
disadvantage.
· Summary of findings: Using these different analyses, identify
the organizational strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the
business strategy. Organizational strengths are assets,
capabilities, and resources that contribute directly to the
organization’s strategic fit, differentiation, and competitive
advantage relative to competing organizations. Organizational
weaknesses are characteristics and capabilities (often lacking)
that place the organization at a disadvantage relative to
competitors.
Part II: SWOT Analysis (1–2 pages)
Your SWOT analysis should summarize the opportunities and
threats from the external environmental scan with the strengths
and weaknesses from your organizational assessment or internal
environmental scan.
Your output should include a matrix depicting strengths or
weaknesses on the horizontal axis and opportunities or threats
on the vertical axis. This matrix will reveal a set of strategy
forces that can be used to assess the current strategy and
identify important potential changes to the strategic direction of
the company.
In creating your SWOT analysis, look for natural pairings of
internal and external factors that match internal resources and

3. capabilities to the external environment. Internal strengths and
external opportunities depicted in the upper-left quadrant on
your matrix might form complementary pairs that suggest
necessary strategic focus for the business unit to pursue
opportunities that fit its competitive strengths. Conversely,
internal weaknesses and external threats shown in the lower
right quadrant of the matrix may combine to illustrate the need
for a defensive strategy to avoid becoming highly susceptible to
competitive threats.
Your matrix should not simply be a collection of four lists
compiled together in a matrix. Your analysis should combine
factors and explain why specific strengths complement specific
opportunities, and selected weaknesses are amplified by
external threats. In addition to your matrix, provide a brief
narrative that summarizes the main findings in your analysis
and the implications for the current and projected strategy.
Part III: Balanced Strategic Scorecard (1–2 pages)
Use the balanced scorecard or another similar tool to
recommend indicators and measurements that will tell you if the
company is successful or unsuccessful in progressing toward
your vision through execution of strategy.
A balanced scorecard presents organizational performance on
four primary groups of measures:
· Financial
· Customer (external stakeholder)
· Learning and growth
· Internal process
You should develop a strategy scorecard that ties the
performance of your business unit in these areas to its overall
business strategy. The challenge you face is selecting two-to-
three measures in each of the four areas that give a measurable
and reliable indication of the business unit performance in the
key activities that promote strategic fit, customer value, and
sustained competitive advantage.
Write an 5–7-page report in Word format. Apply APA standards
to citation of sources. Use the following file naming

4. convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M4_A2.doc.
The paper should include a cover page, executive
summary/abstract, table of contents, body of paper—proper
headers (mission, vision, and values assessment; strategy
clarification; cultural assessment; value chain analysis;
summary of key findings; SWOT analysis; balanced strategic
scorecard; and references).
By Wednesday, August 5, 2015, deliver your assignment to the
M4: Assignment 2 Dropbox.
Swot Analysis can be done in a chart with a narrative.
SWOT AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
By
Thomas H. Kemp
Please consider including the following items in an organization
of ideas that make sense for your entity. Not all variables need
necessarily apply to all organizations and projects:
ELEMENT IN ANALYSIS
STUDENT RESPONSE
Company Strengths and Weaknesses:
Strengths: Competitive Edge; Financial reserves or credit
lines; Proprietary technology; Management Team
Weaknesses: Obsolete facilities; Too narrow a product line;
Old or poor management; Excess Debt; behavioral weaknesses
Operational Environment:
Competition
Creditor/Suppliers
Customer Profiles
Labor

5. Environmental Factors
Employees
Environmental Analysis:
Opportunities: Changes in government regulations;
Technological breakthroughs; Specific demands by a narrow
group of customers
Threats: Geographic interventions; Unexpected competition;
New substitute products
Summary of the external threats and opportunities
Summary of internal strengths, weaknesses and capabilities to
achieve the vision
ACTION PLAN:
What are the actions that will
overcome the weaknesses,
exploit the opportunities,
enhance the strengths and
meet the threats.
TO ACHIEVE THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION
Assignment 2 Grading Criteria
Maximum Points
Mission, vision, and values: Assess the organization’s
understanding of the mission, vision, and values, and how they
relate the business strategy. Is there consensus on the mission
and vision of the organization? What are the shared values of
the organization? What are the behaviors espoused by these
values?
16

6. Strategy Clarification: Assess the organization’s understanding
of the business strategy through an interview with a mid-level
or senior manager. Assess his or her understanding and
agreement of the business unit’s value proposition, market
position, and competitive advantage.
16
Cultural Assessment: Explain the unwritten rules and shared
values that govern behaviors in the organization. Do they act as
enablers or blockers to the strategy? For example, is their
culture of information sharing and collaboration that enables the
organization to respond quickly across structural boundaries to
solve problems for customers? Or do groups not share important
information through informal mechanisms, thus slowing
response times?
16
Value Chain Analysis: Identify the primary (direct) and support
(indirect) activities that create and deliver your product and/or
service to your customers. Assess each activity’s contribution to
competitive advantage through cost or differentiation. Identify
any areas where the business may be at a competitive
disadvantage.
16
Findings: Using these different analyses, identify the
organizational strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the
business strategy.
20
Write using ethical scholarship and proper grammar and
mechanics.
16
Total:
100
Required Readings
· Becher, J. D. (2005). Operational alignment: Bridging the gap
between strategy and execution. Business Performance
Management Magazine, 3(1), 11. (ProQuest Document ID:

7. 218383095)
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/2183830
95?accountid=34899
· Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2007). Using the balanced
scorecard as a strategic management system. Harvard Business
Review, 85(7/8), 150–161. (ProQuest Document ID: 227841808)
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/2278418
08?accountid=34899
· Roh, J. J., Hong, P., & Park, Y. (2008). Organizational culture
and supply chain strategy: A framework for effective
information flows. Journal of Enterprise Information
Management, 21(4), 361–376. (ProQuest Document ID:
220044319)
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/2200443
19?accountid=34899
· Smith, B. D. (2007). Strategy-making: What works is what
fits. European Business Forum, 28, 32–37. (ProQuest Document
ID: 224670404)
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/2246704
04?accountid=34899
· Zagotta, R., & Robinson, D. (2002). Keys to successful
strategy execution. The Journal of Business Strategy, 23(1), 30–
34. (ProQuest Document ID: 202724421)
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/2027244
21?accountid=34899
· Zuckerman, A. (2002). Strong corporate cultures and firm
performance: Are there tradeoffs? Academy of Management
Executive, 16(4), 158–160. (EBSCO AN: 17534385)
·
http://libproxy.edmc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/
login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsh&AN=17534385&site=ehost-
live