1.

​ Based on what I understand, the Strategic Business Analysis or SBA course helps us,
students, understand a business from every angle. It teaches us to look closely at what's
going well and what needs improvement inside the company, almost like giving it a
thorough check-up. We will also learn to scan the outside world for big opportunities or
potential problems that could affect the business, much like a weather forecaster
predicting upcoming conditions. With this clear picture, the course SBA will then guide us
in figuring out how the business can truly stand out and succeed against its competitors.
Ultimately, it's about equipping an individual with the tools to make smart, informed
decisions that steer a company towards its goals and long-term success.

2.​ Planning includes scanning, monitoring, forecasting, and assessing. Inside the scanning
phase, it includes internal scanning, external scanning, and competitive analysis. Let’s
start with

Internal Scanning (GAP Analysis)

A GAP analysis helps businesses identify the disparity between their current state and
their desired future state. This internal assessment pinpoints what's missing, inefficient,
or underutilized, making it crucial for highlighting weaknesses and missed opportunities.
By comparing current performance with specific, measurable businesses can then
develop targeted plans, like staff training or improved customer service tools, to close
these gaps, ultimately leading to enhanced performance, efficiency, and goal
achievement.

External Scanning (PESTLE Analysis)

A PESTLE analysis is an external scanning tool that helps businesses understand the
broader forces shaping their operating environment. PESTLE stands for Political,
Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors. This analysis is
crucial because businesses don't operate in isolation; external factors can significantly
impact their success. By identifying opportunities to seize and threats to prepare
for—like new technologies offering innovation or posing a competitive risk—businesses
can anticipate changes, adapt proactively, and avoid being caught off guard. The
process involves brainstorming and researching relevant trends within each PESTLE
category. The insights gained from this analysis are then used to inform strategic
decisions, leading to more robust planning and better long-term survival.

Competitive Strategy

Porter's Five Forces is a helpful tool that lets businesses understand how tough the
competition is in their industry, looking beyond just their direct rivals. Its main purpose is
to show how attractive or profitable an industry truly is and where a company might
stand strong. This is important because it helps businesses make smarter plans. By
understanding these forces, they can spot upcoming threats or opportunities, figure out
 why some industries make more money, and decide how to deal with powerful
customers or suppliers.

Now let’s move on to Monitoring, which includes the current performance of the
company, and also the success and failed strategies of the company itself.

Current Performance

●​ Current performance assessment provides a comprehensive understanding of a

business's present health, efficiency, and effectiveness, acting like a financial and
operational check-up. This assessment is fundamental as it reveals profitability, liquidity,
and resource management, which are vital for immediate operational decisions, setting
realistic future goals, and demonstrating viability to stakeholders like investors or
lenders. Without this clear picture, a business operates blindly. The process typically
involves reviewing financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, cash flow
statement) for trends in revenue, costs, profits, and cash flow, as well as calculating key
financial ratios (e.g., profit margins, debt ratios) and comparing them against industry
benchmarks or past periods. Beyond financial data, operational metrics like customer
satisfaction, production efficiency, or employee retention also contribute to a holistic
current performance assessment.

Success Strategy

●​ A success strategy defines a clear, long-term plan for how a business will achieve its
goals and gain a sustainable competitive advantage, essentially serving as a roadmap
for future growth and profitability. This well-articulated strategy is crucial because it
provides direction, aligns all departments and employees towards common objectives,
and ensures effective resource allocation. It empowers the business to proactively adapt
to market changes rather than merely reacting, thereby enhancing its resilience and
long-term competitiveness. Developing a success strategy typically involves setting
specific goals, analyzing the external environment, assessing internal capabilities,
choosing a competitive path (e.g., cost leadership, differentiation, or niche focus), and
finally, developing concrete action plans with assigned responsibilities, timelines, and
budgets, all while maintaining continuous monitoring and adaptation.

Failed Strategy

●​ Failed strategy is the systematic process of understanding why a business initiative,

plan, or approach did not achieve its intended results, with the primary goal of learning
from mistakes and preventing their recurrence. This is critical for businesses as it allows
them to identify underlying problems stemming from flawed assumptions, poor
execution, insufficient resources, or unforeseen external factors. Learning from failures
fosters a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and resilience, making the
organization smarter and more robust for future challenges. The process involves clearly
 identifying the specific failure, conducting a root cause analysis to uncover the core
reasons, documenting the lessons learned, and then implementing corrective actions to
address the identified causes and avoid similar pitfalls in future endeavors.

Another is forecasting, which includes trend analysis, inside the trend analysis are the
different ratios that the company would have, their potential opportunities, and risks.

Trend Analysis (Financial Ratios)

●​ Trend analysis involves systematically examining a business's financial performance

over time to understand past changes and forecast future trends. This process entails
reviewing financial statements from multiple periods and calculating various ratios to
identify patterns of improvement, decline, or stagnation. Its importance lies in providing
insights beyond a single snapshot, revealing whether a business is becoming more
profitable, efficient, or liquid. This information is crucial for management to make
informed strategic decisions, set realistic budgets, and effectively allocate resources,
highlighting areas that need strengthening or immediate attention. The analysis is
performed by collecting financial data over several periods (e.g., quarters, years) and
calculating key ratios. These ratios are then plotted over time and compared to industry
benchmarks or competitors to identify significant trends and inform strategic
adjustments.

Potential Opportunities

●​ Potential Opportunities aims to pinpoint favorable external factors or internal strengths

that a business can leverage for growth, increased profitability, or a competitive edge,
representing positive future possibilities to be capitalized upon. Recognizing these
opportunities is vital for innovation, expansion, and staying competitive as it allows a
business to proactively adapt, diversify offerings, enter new markets, develop new
products or services, or enhance existing ones, ultimately driving long-term success.

Potential Risks

●​ Potential Risks aims to identify uncertain internal or external factors that could
negatively affect a business's operations, finances, reputation, or ability to achieve its
objectives, representing potential harm or loss. Proactive risk identification and
management are crucial for minimizing potential financial losses, ensuring operational
continuity, protecting assets, and maintaining stakeholder trust. By understanding these
potential threats, a business can develop mitigation strategies and contingency plans,
safeguarding its future stability and success.

Last step for the planning phase is assessing, which includes the SWOT analysis, the internal
and external factor evaluation, identification of the main issues by checking its directional levels,
providing 5 why for each directional issues, and lastly identification of the core problem based
on the directional issues.
SWOT Analysis

●​ A SWOT analysis provides a comprehensive overview of a business's internal and

external strategic factors. SWOT stands for Strengths (internal positive attributes),
Weaknesses (internal negative attributes), Opportunities (external positive
possibilities), and Threats (external negative challenges). This framework is a simple yet
powerful tool for strategic planning. By clearly listing these four elements, a business can
leverage its strengths, address its weaknesses, capitalize on opportunities, and mitigate
threats. This leads to more informed decision-making and a clearer strategic direction.
The analysis then involves strategically linking these points, such as exploring how a
strength can help exploit an opportunity.

Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) Matrix

●​ The Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) matrix systematically identifies and evaluates a
firm's major strengths and weaknesses in its functional areas, providing a structured,
quantifiable approach to the internal analysis component of a SWOT. This tool is
important for understanding a business's internal standing relative to strategic success.
By assigning weights and ratings to internal factors, it generates a quantitative score
indicating how well the firm's internal position aligns with its objectives, which in turn
helps prioritize areas needing the most attention. The process involves listing 10-20 key
internal strengths and weaknesses, assigning a weight from 0.0 (not important) to 1.0
(very important) to each factor (with the sum of all weights equaling 1.0), and then
assigning a rating from 1 (major weakness) to 4 (major strength). Each factor's weight is
then multiplied by its rating to get a weighted score, and summing these weighted scores
yields a total weighted score for the organization. A total score significantly above 2.5
suggests a strong internal position, while a score below 2.5 indicates a weaker one.

External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix

●​ The External Factor Evaluation (EFE) matrix is used to identify and evaluate a firm's
major opportunities and threats within its external environment, effectively quantifying the
external analysis from a SWOT. It is crucial for a business to understand how effectively
it is responding to current external factors, as a higher score indicates a stronger
strategic response and helps management prioritize which external factors to focus on.

Main Issues Based on Directional Issues

●​ Directional issues distill the extensive information from SWOT, IFE, and EFE analyses
into the most critical problems or challenges preventing a business from moving toward
its desired future. This focus is crucial because it directs management's attention to
fundamental obstacles that must be addressed to achieve long-term goals. Without
identifying these core "directional issues," a business might misallocate resources to
symptoms rather than root causes.
The 5 Whys for Directional Issues

●​ The 5 Whys is a simple way to find the real reason a business problem happened. It
helps you avoid just fixing the surface issue. For every big problem identified, you ask
"Why did this happen?" Then, you take that answer and ask "Why did that happen?" You
keep asking "Why?" (usually about five times) until you get to the core reason. If you fix
that core reason, the original problem shouldn't happen again.

Core Problem Based on Directional Issues

After digging deep with the 5 Whys, the next step is to find the Core Problem. This
means looking at all the root causes the company found and figuring out the single, main
problem that, if fixed, would solve most of the bigger issues.

This step is super important because it helps the company focus its efforts. Instead of
trying to fix many small things, we can put the biggest resources and energy into one
powerful solution. This can lead to big, positive changes for the business.

To find the core problem, we should look for common themes or connections among the
root causes from the 5 Whys. Often, the core problem is a high-level issue, like
something to do with leadership, company culture, how money is spent, or simply not
understanding the market well enough.

Let’s now move on to the next phase, which is the Formulation phase, This includes
strategic vision, mission, objective, and posture. It also includes the TOWS Matrix,
testing the ACA, and identifying a suitable ACA for the core problem.

Strategic Vision

●​ A strategic vision is a simple, inspiring picture of where a business wants to be far in

the future. It's a long-term dream that doesn't say how to get there, but rather what the
ideal outcome looks like. This clear vision is important because it gives everyone a
shared purpose and direction, helping to motivate employees and guide decisions. It
answers the question, "What do we want to become?" Senior leaders usually create it
together, making sure it's short, easy to remember, challenging, and inspiring, often
focusing on how the business will impact customers, society, or its industry

Strategic Mission

●​ A strategic mission explains the basic reason a business exists: what it does, for
whom, and how. It's like a compass that shows everyone the company's identity and
main work. This statement is important because it guides employees in their daily jobs,
tells interested people what the company cares about, and shows how it's different from
others. It answers the question, "What is our business?" It should describe the
company's products or services, who its customers are, its main beliefs, and often what
 makes it better than competitors. It's usually more detailed than a vision statement but
still short and clear

Strategic Objectives

●​ Objectives take the big ideas of the mission and vision and turn them into clear,
measurable goals. These are the specific, smart targets a business sets to reach its
overall aims and move closer to its long-term dream.

These objectives are important because they make things clear and hold people
accountable. They help the business see its progress, use resources wisely, and
motivate teams by giving them definite targets. Essentially, objectives bridge the gap
between abstract hopes and real actions. They come directly from the mission and vision

Strategic Posture

●​ To describe the overall strategic approach or stance a business intends to take in the
market, based on its internal strengths/weaknesses and external opportunities/threats. It
outlines the general "attitude" towards growth, stability, or retrenchment. It provides an
overarching framework for competitive action and resource allocation. It helps define
how aggressive or conservative a business will be, influencing its appetite for risk and
investment.

TOWS Matrix

●​ To generate specific strategic alternatives by matching internal strengths/weaknesses

with external opportunities/threats. It takes the SWOT analysis a step further by creating
actionable strategies. Unlike a simple SWOT, TOWS helps convert analysis into
concrete strategic options. It forces a business to think about how it can use its strengths
to exploit opportunities, overcome weaknesses by leveraging opportunities, mitigate
threats using strengths, and minimize weaknesses to avoid threats.

Testing the Alternative Course of Action (Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis)

●​ After coming up with different strategic ideas (perhaps from a TOWS matrix), it's
important to evaluate these strategic alternatives. The main purpose here is to figure
out if these ideas are actually possible, if they're a good fit, and what kind of impact they
might have, all before you commit time and money. This step is super important for
businesses because it helps lower risks and makes sure resources are used wisely. By
carefully checking each idea, you can get rid of the ones that won't work or won't have
much impact, and instead focus on the most promising paths. This greatly increases the
chances that the chosen strategy will actually succeed.
●​ How it's done:
○​ Quantitative Analysis: listing all the ACA and assigning a weight from 0.0 (not
important) to 1.0 (very important) to each factor (with the sum of all weights
 equaling 1.0), and then assigning a rating from 1 (major weakness) to 4 (major
strength)
○​ Qualitative Analysis: determining each pros and cons of the ACA

Forming a Conclusion (Suitable for the Core Problem)

●​ After looking at all the possible strategic options, the final step is to recommend the
best ACA. The main purpose of this is to give a clear, final answer on what the
business should do to fix its main problem, which was found earlier. This is very
important for the business because it gives leaders a confident way forward, knowing
that the chosen plan is based on solid facts and designed to solve the biggest issue
holding the business back.

To do this, you pick the single best ACA based on all your earlier analysis. The
recommendation should clearly state the chosen plan, explain why it's the best way to fix
the core problem (referencing back to why that problem was identified), and briefly
mention the expected good things that will come from it. It also quickly touches on any
remaining risks and how they'll be handled, and gives a simple outline of the first steps
to put the plan into action.

Let’s now move on to the next phase, which is the Implementation phase. This includes
3 levels of decision making, alignment and fitness of the department, RACI Matrix, the
barriers response plan, and the Gantt chart

3 Levels of Decision Making

Businesses make decisions at different levels to stay organized. The main idea is to make sure
the right person makes the right decision at the right time. This is important because it
prevents confusion and helps the business reach its goals.

There are three main levels:

●​ Strategic Decisions are the biggest, long-term choices made by top leaders (like the
CEO). These decide the company's overall direction, like if they'll enter a new market.
●​ Tactical Decisions are medium-term choices made by managers. They're about how to
carry out the big strategic plans within specific departments, like launching a new
product.
●​ Operational Decisions are the day-to-day choices made by frontline staff. These are
about keeping things running smoothly, like scheduling work shifts or handling customer
issues.

Alignment and Fitness of the Department

 ●​ Ensuring Departmental Alignment and Fitness means making sure every part of a
business is working together, heading in the same direction, and has what it needs to do
its job well. The purpose is to guarantee that each department's goals and activities
directly help the overall company achieve its main goals and mission. "Fitness" here
means the department has the right people, processes, and technology to get things
done effectively.

This is super important for a business because if departments aren't aligned, it can lead
to wasted effort, confusion, arguments, and ultimately, the business might not reach its
big goals. When departments are aligned and "fit," they work smoothly together, like a
well-oiled machine, boosting efficiency and pushing the entire business forward.

RACI Matrix

A RACI matrix is a tool used to clearly define who does what for every task or decision in a
project. RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. Its main
purpose is to make sure everyone knows their part, preventing confusion and duplicated
efforts. This is important for businesses because it makes projects run smoother, decisions
happen faster, and communication clearer, especially when many different teams are involved.

Barrier Response Plan

●​ A barrier response plan is all about looking ahead to find potential problems that could
stop a strategy or project from succeeding. Its main purpose is to proactively spot these
obstacles and then figure out specific ways to either prevent them or lessen their impact.

This is super important for businesses because even the best plans can fail if
unexpected issues pop up. By planning for these "barriers" ahead of time, a business
reduces risks, becomes tougher against challenges, and greatly increases its chances of
successfully putting its plans into action. It's like having a backup plan for your backup
plan! Instead of just reacting when things go wrong, you're ready for them.

Gantt Chart

●​ A Gantt chart is a visual tool that helps you see and manage a project's schedule. Its
main purpose is to show when different project tasks will start and end, how long they'll
take, and if some tasks need to be finished before others can begin.

This chart is important for businesses because it gives everyone a clear,

easy-to-understand picture of the project's timeline and who's doing what. It makes
 planning and tracking tasks much simpler, helping to spot potential delays, manage
deadlines effectively, and keep everyone involved informed. This leads to better control
over the project and a higher chance of success.

Let’s now move on to the second-to-last phase, which is the evaluation phase. This
includes risk management and balanced scorecard

Risk Management

●​ Risk management is all about looking ahead to find potential problems that could
negatively affect a business's goals, then figuring out how to deal with them. Its purpose
is to systematically identify, evaluate, and prioritize these uncertain events, and then
create plans to manage or reduce their impact.

This is super important for a business's stability and long-term success. By thinking
about potential issues beforehand, companies can avoid big financial losses, keep their
operations running smoothly, protect their good name, and make sure they can still
reach their goals even when things are uncertain. It allows businesses to make decisions
more confidently and use their resources wisely.

Balanced Scorecard

●​ The Balanced Scorecard is a special framework that helps a business manage how
well it's doing, not just financially, but in all key areas. Its purpose is to take the
company's big vision and strategy and turn it into a clear set of things to measure,
looking at four main angles: how the finances are doing, how happy customers are, how
smoothly internal business processes run, and how well the company is learning and
growing. It goes beyond just money numbers to give a fuller picture of performance.

This tool is super important for businesses because it helps make sure everything
everyone does each day is connected to the company's long-term strategy. It makes
leaders look at more than just profits and consider other crucial things that help the
business do well in the future, like making customers happy, working efficiently, and
being able to innovate. This broad view helps them see how different parts of the
business affect each other and encourages a more balanced way to achieve their main
goals.

Finally, the last phase, which is the feedback phase that covers the strategic
improvement team

Strategic Improvement Team

Strategic Improvement Teams are essential for any business because they act as
the bridge between big-picture goals and everyday operations. Their main job is to
put high-level strategies into action, tackling complex, cross-departmental
problems that directly influence the company's long-term success. By
continuously seeking ways to improve and ensuring projects are completed
successfully, these teams help businesses adapt to market changes, resolve
internal issues, innovate, and maintain a competitive edge, ultimately driving
growth and profitability. Without them, even the best plans might never
materialize, and crucial opportunities for improvement could be missed.

3. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a comprehensive approach focused on

continuously improving all aspects of a business to meet and exceed customer
expectations. When viewed through the lens of Strategic Business Analysis (SBA), TQM
isn't a separate function but rather a fundamental mindset that should be integrated into
every strategic decision. Its core purpose in SBA is to ensure that strategic goals are not
solely about market share or profit, but are deeply rooted in delivering consistent, high
quality in every product, service, and process. This focus on quality helps a business
build a strong reputation, minimize waste, and cultivate customer loyalty, all of which are
essential for achieving and sustaining long-term strategic success. For a business, TQM
is vital because it provides the practical framework for actually realizing its strategic
vision and objectives; for instance, if the strategy is to be a premium brand, TQM guides
the implementation of superior quality control and customer service initiatives. It ensures
that the execution of any strategic plan is built upon a foundation of continuous
improvement and excellence, transforming strategic ideas into consistently high-quality
outcomes that drive the business forward.

This continuous drive for quality seamlessly integrates with the strategic management
cycle of planning, formulating, implementation, evaluation, and feedback, utilizing
various tools. In the planning and formulating stages, TQM principles ensure that
quality and customer focus are central to the initial vision, mission, and objectives. For
example, tools like SWOT Analysis (identifying internal strengths related to quality) and
PESTLE Analysis (spotting external opportunities for quality improvement) are used,
informed by a TQM mindset that prioritizes prevention over detection. When
implementing strategies, TQM guides the practical execution, ensuring processes are
designed for quality and efficiency. Tools like the RACI Matrix ensure clear
responsibilities for quality tasks, and the Gantt Chart helps schedule quality-focused
activities. During the evaluation phase, TQM emphasizes data-driven assessment of
quality outcomes. The Balanced Scorecard, for instance, would include specific quality
metrics under customer and internal business process perspectives, allowing the
business to see if its strategic efforts are leading to the desired quality improvements.
Finally, the feedback loop is crucial for TQM, driving continuous improvement (often
using tools like the 5 Whys to find root causes of quality issues). This constant learning
and adjustment, inherent in TQM, feeds back into the next cycle of planning and
formulation, ensuring the business consistently refines its strategy to achieve ever-higher
levels of quality and customer satisfaction.
4. During the first day I expect from this subject SBA to learn a lot, and apply this skills
that will be discussed to us during every session that I will be able to apply those in the
future. Ending this sem, I can truly say that the skills that were discussed to us will
eventually help me change my perspective on how I will manage future challenges and
opportunities even just a student for now. I developed a strategic mindset that will guide
me towards my decision making skills. And I am thankful that my expectations were met
even though my performance during the long exam was not good enough, but truly it
was my fault. Those skills taught to us will eventually help me in the future and I will be
able to apply those in the long run.

5. A Strategic Business Analysis course will significantly impact my future by

fundamentally changing how I approach challenges and opportunities. It's not just about
learning tools, but about developing a strategic mindset. I'll gain the ability to step back
from day-to-day operations and truly understand the big picture – why a business does
what it does, and how it can do it better. This means learning to analyze markets,
competitors, and internal strengths, allowing me to spot trends and potential roadblocks
before they become major issues. I'll also become much better at breaking down
complex problems into manageable parts, finding the root causes, and then coming up
with creative and effective solutions that align with the company's long-term goals.

Furthermore, the course will sharpen my ability to communicate these strategic ideas
clearly and persuasively, ensuring that everyone from leadership to front-line staff
understands the 'why' behind decisions. This skill in stakeholder management – getting
everyone on board and working towards a common vision – is incredibly valuable. I'll
also learn to rely on data and evidence to support my recommendations, moving beyond
intuition to make truly informed choices.

In five years, I envision myself in a pivotal role where I'm actively contributing to an
organization's strategic direction. I won't just be executing plans; I'll be helping to create
them. This could mean leading initiatives to enter new markets, optimize existing
operations, or even develop entirely new products or services. I see myself as an
internal thought leader, someone who can identify critical business challenges, develop
well-researched strategies to overcome them, and then effectively guide teams through
the implementation process. My role will involve a blend of analysis, problem-solving,
and communication, ultimately aiming to drive sustainable growth and innovation for the
organization.