Context analysis examines a company’s internal and external environment to develop a strategic business plan. It can be as deep and complex as desired and falls into three groups: ad hoc, regular, and continuous.
Context analysis is a method of examining the internal and external business environment as it relates to a specific company or department. While nearly all companies use these methods to some degree, the most common context analyzer trackers are companies that are constantly struggling to stay competitive. These businesses include businesses that sell high-cost items, such as cars, or that face competition for store space, such as food and beverage manufacturers. One of the most common types of context analysis looks specifically at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) for a business in order to develop a strategic business plan.
The processes involved in a context analysis look at all parts of the company and the market to find likely paths to success or failure. Most of the analysis is about the company’s competitors and both their position and the company’s position in the market. If the processes are limited to this aspect only, the analysis is commonly called an environmental scan. True context analysis then examines the business and finds ways to improve its position or become more competitive.
A context analysis can be as deep and complex as the business wishes. There are so many things that the analysis could cover that a full study would never really finish. As a result, these methods have a tendency to fall into one of three groups that define the overall scope and end result of the process.
When performing an ad hoc analysis, the main goal is quick and specific information about a single thing. These studies would determine the likelihood of success versus a specific competitor’s specific product. Ad hoc analysis is often the first step in a broader strategy; shows likely areas where a more in-depth process would be helpful.
A regular analysis examines the market at certain times. These can happen once a year or whenever the company plans to release a new product. In each case, these methods are programmed around an external time or event that has nothing to do with the analysis itself. Many companies use these as annual checkups; the process examines the business and discovers where the situation could be improved.
The last common type of analysis is continuous. These methods simply never stop examining the market, business, competition, and anything else that might affect society. This type of analysis is very resource intensive, so it is usually only performed by large and highly competitive companies. Data collected using these methods is often used as quickly as possible before being replaced by later information.
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