External Analysis of the Malaysian Airline Company

The following report analyses the automobile operations of the BMW group in regard to its competitive position in the automobile market. BMW is a German premium car manufacturer comprising the three brands BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce.

The analysis of the external environment indicates an attractive but challenging general environment. The industry environment shows low threat of new entrants, low bargaining power of suppliers, high bargaining power of buyers, moderate threat of substitute products and intense rivalry among competitors. In order to get a better understanding of the industry's competitive structure, a strategic map has been developed. Thereby the DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes Car Group has been identified as BMW's main competitor.

Examining an extensive range of resources, several capabilities were discovered. These capabilities were analysed concerning the four criteria of core competencies resulting in four competitive advantages high brand recognition, exclusive positioning, pro-active behaviour and ongoing innovation. By conducting the SWOT analysis, eight strategies have been developed to cope with BMW's internal and external situation. These were categorised into alternative courses of action: market development, product development, public relations and diversification. These courses of action have been evaluated in terms of the criteria impact, image and costs. A related diversification in form of buying an existing brand from a lower price segment, turned out to be the most suitable approach for BMW to gain greater market power.

INTRODUCTION

The highly competitive automobile industry creates a need for new action steps to stay ahead of competition (Hanson et al. 2005). The following report analyses the automobile operations of the BMW group in regard to its competitive position in the automobile market. Since the company comprises