• Develop an External Factor Evaluation for your chosen (Exxon Mobil Corp) company. When developing your external factors (both opportunities and threats) make sure the factors meet the Actionable-Quantitative-Comparative-Divisional (AQCD) Test (see page 67). While developing your EFE, assess your company for the 10 external forces that impact organizations. Provide a thorough analysis of your EFE.

Page 67: The Actionable-Quantitative-Comparative-Divisional (AQCD) Test

When identifying and prioritizing key external factors in strategic planning, make sure the factors selected meet the following four criteria to the extent possible:

Actionable (i.e., meaningful and helpful in ultimately deciding what actions or strategies a firm should consider pursuing);

Quantitative (i.e., include percentages, ratios, dollars, and numbers to the extent possible);

Comparative (i.e., reveals changes over time), and Divisional (relates to the firm's products and/or regions (rather than consolidated) so inferences can be drawn regarding what products and regions are doing well or not).

Factors that meet the four criteria described above pass what can be called the "Actionable-Quantitative-Comparative-Divisional (AQCD) Test," which is a measure of the quality of an external factor. In addition to passing the AQCD Test, make sure that external factors are indeed external (not internal), and make sure that external factors, particularly opportunities, are stated as external trends, events, or facts, rather than being stated as strategies the firm could pursue. Also, make sure the external factors relate closely to the firm achieving its mission (opportunities) or hindering its mission (threats). Factors selected for inclusion in an external assessment should be mission-driven.

Regarding the AQCD criteria, strive to include all high quality factors in an external assessment for a firm. A high quality

ASK YOURSELF IS THE FACTOR
	Actionable	Quantitative	Comparative	Divisional
A High Quality ExternalFactor
Online retail grocery shopping grew from 12% to 16% in 2018.	yes	yes	yes	yes
A Low Quality ExternalFactor
Consumers' average disposable income increased greatly in 2018.	no	no	no	no

Changes in external forces translate into changes in demand for both industrial and consumer goods and services. External forces affect the types of products developed, the nature of market segmentation and positioning strategies, the range of services offered, and the choice of businesses to acquire or sell. External forces have a direct impact on both suppliers and distributors. Identifying and evaluating external opportunities and threats enables organizations to revise their vision and mission if needed, to design strategies to achieve long-term objectives, and to develop policies to achieve annual objectives.

• Review your company using Porter's Five Force Model (see page 73).

• Develop a Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM) for your chosen company. Provide a thorough analysis of your CPM.