Strategic Business Analysis: SWOT, PEST, Ansoff, and Boston Matrix
SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis originated from research conducted at the Stanford Research Institute between 1960 and 1970. This research, funded by Fortune 500 companies, aimed to understand and address the failures in corporate planning. SWOT, an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, is a valuable tool for decision-making in various business situations.
SWOT analysis provides a framework for reviewing strategy, position, and direction. It is useful in brainstorming meetings
Read MoreUnderstanding Macroeconomics: Key Concepts and Objectives
Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics is a sub-science of economics that studies the interrelation among economic agents, generating economic indicators.
Economic Agents
- Households (families) → Consumption
- Firms (producers) → Investment to produce goods and services
- Public sector → Provides services (Consumption + Investment)
- External sector → Rest of the world (Consumption + Investment)
Markets
Markets are physical or virtual places or institutions where goods and services are exchanged for money.
- Goods
Key Financial Terms, Ratios, and Analysis Methods
Key Financial Terms and Concepts
- GAAP: The practice and procedure guidelines to prepare and maintain financial records and reports.
- Financial Accounting Standards Board: The accounting profession’s rule-setting body.
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): The federal regulatory body that governs the sale and listing of securities.
- Stockholders: Receive an annual report from publicly owned corporations.
- Income Statement: Provides a summary of the firm’s performance during a specific time.
- Dividend
Behavioral Finance: Understanding Investor Biases and Market Dynamics
1. Introduction to Behavioral Finance
Behavioral Finance is a research area that explains and anticipates phenomena in financial markets based on findings in behavioral research and theoretical analysis. Behavioral finance is not yet a coherent theory, but it is far more than just a collection of anomalies. Psychology + financial theory + empirical theory + experimental research = behavioral finance.
Key Concepts:
- Momentum strategies: buying stocks that have had past high returns, and short selling
Understanding Company Concepts, Types, and Functions
Company: Concept and Types
1.1 Definition of Undertaking
Definition from the standpoint of economic theory: a set of factors of production, combined under the leadership, responsibility, and control of the entrepreneur, whose function is to produce with a given target.
- Self-contained unit of production.
- Uses work of others.
- Produces for the market.
- Seeks profit.
- Has capital.
- Innovates.
- Takes risks.
The factors of production:
- Land (natural resources, raw materials, materials).
- Work (manpower, personnel, employees,
Car Purchase, Loans, Debt, and Home Buying Strategies
Expenses and Financing
Financing Rate
- Compare financing rates and purchase prices from dealers.
Negotiating the Price
- Some dealers negotiate, some do not.
- Sticker price is the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP).
- Negotiating by phone or fax may be beneficial.
- Call several dealers.
Trade-in Tactics
- Negotiate the new car price before mentioning a trade-in.
Value of Information
- Shop around; information is valuable.
Purchasing a Car Online
- Not as efficient as buying an airline ticket or a book.