External and Internal Environmental Analysis For Barnes and Noble Term Paper

External and Internal Environmental Analysis For Barnes and Noble - Term Paper Example Barnes & Noble Inc. regarded as a fortune 500 company is one of the largest book retailers created form the basic ideas of Charles M. Barnes; who started the business with a small printing establishment in Illinois in 1873. The company merchandised in textbooks and scholarly books and became famous in the whole Manhattan and New York, but with the increase in fame, came the need to meet the high demand. This prompted Leonard Riggio, one of Barnes & Noble competitors into buying the company in 1971 and later transforming it into the world largest bookstore; the famous name it earned until to date (Morgan, 2010). Having attained the highest success rate Riggio decided to expand it again through incorporation of a broader selection of commodities, which has seen the Barnes & Noble Company’s expansion all over the United States with accomplishments in the internet e-book services, shipping and mailing systems. The company has recorded remarkable sales turnovers, but they still fai l in the area of conforming to the environmental impacts of the market. Therefore as part of sourcing out a long-lasting solution and defining the future of the company, the management has to carry out an external and internal environmental analysis for the company (Barnes & Noble, 1997). The success of this analysis relates directly to the strategic plan that the company formulates and puts into practice; which forms the basis of this paper that seeks to plot out a workable strategic plan for Barnes & Noble Inc.... The company has the best locations characterized by their excellent choice of location, for example, in cafes like the Starbucks. Through the high success turnover rate, they enjoy the capability of having enough capital for expansion. They have a wide clientele base emanating from the extra program such as the children book club and the publishing programs Since the company bases its work on creativity, they attract the biggest clientele number of Americans who value art. The technological advancement and the increased need for a computer literate generation boost the numbers of clients that utilize the company’s eBook service benefiting company in return. Strong team to lead and manage the company. Growth of the online product. Added equity when it comes to the brands. Stable financial position. Weaknesses: They have the highest internal operating costs due to the many locations they have opened their stores. Sluggish in keeping up with the divergent change in issues and tre nds. The company lacks proper preparedness when it comes to dealing with change and competition. Diseconomies of scale. Over estimated economies of scale. Weak chain of managers. Threats: The competition from other online libraries and online businesses such as the Amazon. The economy that continues to slow down. External changes such as the politics, the government and taxes. Existence of cheap but effective technology.. Competitors who offer low-cost products The rampant growing product substitution such as the eBooks. Fluctuations in exchange rates. Competition. Conflicts relating to the varied competitor prices. Opportunities: A rich marketplace because of their a unique business strategy of penetrating the most profitable markets; selling scholarly books, movies, textbooks, coffee,