Architects and Planners

Swot analysis is an audit instrument used by companies to strategies on their business so as to expand its territories and the environment surrounding them. It stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are the internal factors while the later are the external factors which a company has no control over.

Strengths help in the achievement of a company’s missions. They can be tangible or not. They are the benefits, capabilities, positive features of the company such as financial resources, loyal customers, employee commitments or their products. S/M architects and planners had the following strengths.

• Its employee’s one drafts man and a secretary had the will power and commitment to work without pay even after being laid.
• The company boasts of partners and shareholders who are keen on the expansion of the company through working hard.
• The company’s budget came in time under the supervision of Mitch Brooks its new production architect which was compactable with Sperry /MacLennan emphasis on customer service
• S/M has a philosophy of providing quality service and products to its customers

The company had its weaknesses, which were preventing it from accomplishing its mission. Some of the Sperry/MacLennan weaknesses were;

• It had to lay off its employees due to luck of capital to cater for their salaries during the hard economic periods of 1981 and 1982.
• The company experiences complex decision making since the major decision makers are the shareholders, they determine the contract to take.
• The company has no particular, pattern that they have specified on as their trademark rather they rely on the customers criteria.
• S/M has a narrow product range in that its strong position is on designing aquatic centers.
• The company has been unable to get computer assisted design and drafting off the ground

Opportunities that arise for the company to take advantage of include:

• The expanding of the local economy that saw the company grow due to the baby boom generation entering the housing market and register an increase in employees in 1979
• Took the opportunity of associating with creative aquatics that provide technical operations expertise that complimented the design and planning skills of S/M.
• The company has sort to take on the new England market because of its colleges and universities

The threats that the company is likely to face or is facing include;

• Geographically or physically close markets are not good for long run profits thus the new England market could pose a challenge to the company.
• Competition from other architectural firms.
• The possibility of failure to launch the computer assisted design drafting

In doing a market assessment on the New England market brooks should consider the following questions

• How important is the market to the competitors and how do they respond to new entrants?
• Is the number of housing clients rising or declining?
• What unique qualities does the company have over its competitors in the new market that would give them advantage over them?
• What are the customers swilling to pay for this kind of service?

In selection of other market the criteria to be used by S/M will be looking at other parts of Europe with recreational facilities where designs are taken seriously thus given the S/M string of design success register in England export market won’t be a challenge.

Incase s/m decides on the New England market entry strategies need to be implemented. The firm should seek information if it will register profits in the new market. They need to identify their target customers for example the universities in New England. The company should be in a position to find a way of starting the business in New England without incurring too much cost in starting up.

When starting a new business conducting a market research is very important in that it helps determine if there is an audience for your product or idea. Knowing the current state of affairs in the market and its need gives you vital information to help improve your service or product and come up with a marketing plan. Only through marketing can you sell your ideas on the services or products you are offering.

When conducting a global or international market research one should consider the conducting a market analysis first. Here you assess the needs of the target population the competition likely to face and the need for marketing your service. In a market analysis you define the problem, analyze the situation, obtain data to the problem, analyze the data and interpret it, come up with ideas for problem solving and finally design a plan. All this can be done though filling a questioner.

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