Qantas Current Strategic Potential I asked Qantas analysis current strategic potential. But I undertake task. I required write a background paper rationale analysis. I require: Identify sort information essential relevant analysis critically discuss tools analysis deliver information fundamental analysis.

Rationale for the analysis of strategic potential

Kuwada (1998)

posits that to analyze the strategic potential of any company, there are three important considerations that should be made. The first is an analysis of the industry in which the company is operating. The second is an analysis of the business strategy being utilized by the company and the last is the strategic evaluation or a SWOT analysis of the organization to see if it has the necessary internal and external factors for success. It is only after these three considerations are met that the organization can be able to identify the critical issues that it needs to address and make necessary recommendations to address these identified critical issues Papadakis, Lioukas, & Chambers, 1998()

Baum and Wally (2003)

go on to add that organizations the measurement of an organization's strategic potential can be conducted for seven different reasons. The first reason is for sustainability of the activities of the business. In order for the organization to succeed and survive in the long-term, the organization needs to think in the long-term and make long-term plans. Only a strategic potential analysis can enable the organization to do this. The second reason is to find funding for the activities of the organization. A strategic potential analysis shows the relevance and untapped ability and viability of the organization and helps to increase their credibility thus allowing investors to pump in more money into the organization. The third reason is to take a 'whole organization' approach. The strategic potential analysis enables the organization to work out the different trends which may affect various elements of the organization. The strategic potential analysis also helps the organization to find out how their external environment is changing and thus make efforts to keep up with the changes. The fourth reason is to make sound decisions for the organization. Once the organization has analyzed the various elements surrounding it, the organization will be able to make the right decisions to make it more effective. The fifth reason is to improve the organization's external focus. The strategic potential analysis helps the organization to identify and respond to the external factors that create threats and opportunities for the organization Szewczak, 1988.

Sixth is that the strategic potential analysis enables the organization to have clear expectations through knowing their stake and the role of each person in the organization. The last reason is for effectiveness of the decisions made by the organization. Since the strategic potential analysis helps the organization to have a clear focus, the organization will be able to meet their objective in a way that is smarter, savvy and more effective.

The information that is required in order to conduct a strategic potential analysis is based on the three key considerations described by Kuwada (1998)

. To do the industry analysis, the organization needs to know its competitors, capabilities, suppliers, industry structure, and market segments. For the business strategy analysis, the organization needs to know the consumer targeting strategy, product line, product positioning, strategic processes and technologies used to implement the product-market strategy, market access strategy, integrated supply-chain process, time-to-market process, and customer service and satisfaction process Urbany & Montgomery, 1998.

For the final consideration which is the evaluation of the business strategy, the organization needs to know the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that exist as ranked by priority Belardo, Duchessi, & Coleman, 1994()

Parameters that decide the strategic potential of the organization

There are several parameters that describe the strategic potential of the organization. The first is industry structure. The industry structure helps to map the market segments that exist in the market which help the organization to know the influence that market segments play on product development and marketing strategies. In the industry structure,...

Competitors created rivalry in the industry which leads to price or value competitors which has a major influence on the profitability of the business Zajac, Kraatz, & Bresser, 2000.
Suppliers are also important parameters in the industry structure since they help to control the critical inputs which affect the ability of an organization to compete effectively Boulding et al., 1994.

These include raw materials, equipment and other critical components required for the production of the organization's products or services. Other parameters in the industry structure are the industry characteristics such as barriers to change of industry structure and barriers to entry and exit of new competitors.

The technical requirements that are required for the organization to build its competitive position are also important parameters for conducting a strategic potential analysis. Other parameters include the requirements of the customers, regulations in the industry, and resources required for the company to implement their competitive strategy. The strategic goals and objectives, mission and vision of the organization are also important parameters in the strategic potential analysis since they show the orientation of the business and how far the organization is in meeting its set goals and objective Hall, 1992()

In conducting the internal assessment of the organization, the organization's strengths and weaknesses give a good insight into the functional and process capability of the organization as well as the financial resources available. Opportunities and threats of the organization which are identified in the external assessment of the organization show the key factors for success McNamara, Deephouse, & Luce, 2003.

Therefore these are important parameters for the strategic potential analysis. These need to be ranked by their levels of priority in order to plan them in a way that is manageable based on the limited time and resources that are available for the achievement of the organization's goals and objectives Iii & Duhaime, 1997()

Tools needed for extracting this information

To identify the industry structure, porter's five forces model is the best tool for finding information on the parameters for conducting the strategic potential analysis for Qantas. Porter's five forces analysis helps to identify five forces which influence the organization's ability to become sustainable in a competitive environment. The first is the threat of new entrants which analyzes the barriers to entry of new competitors in the organization. The second is the bargaining power of supplier which checks the role of suppliers in the industry and how their input affects the organization's competitive advantage. The third is the threat of substitutes which tests the substitutability of the organization's products with those of competitors. The fourth is the bargaining power of consumers which checks the market segmentation and the value of consumers in creating competitive advantage. The last is the threat of competitive rivalry which checks the growth of the industry against the threat of new entrants to find the role played by competitors in the industry Brandenburger, 2002()

The second tool that is required is the SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis evaluates the organization both internally and externally to identify the strengths and weaknesses and opportunities and threats respectively. The SWOT analysis has been known to be an integral decision-making tool for most organization and it helps to show the value generated by the strategies of the organization. By matching the strengths of the organization to the opportunities present in the industry, the organization is able to see its strategy potential. At the same time by creating strategies to convert its weaknesses or threats into either strengths or opportunities, the organization will be closer to achieving its set goals and objectives Song, Calantone, & Benedetto, 2002()