Research Paper on:
Proposal for Research to Support the Development of a Strategic Plan

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and external environment. This will involve examining the internal resources and core competences as well as looking at the firm in the wider environment, in terms of the competitive environment  in the firms own industry as well as in the wider macro environment. There are three areas of assessment that will need to be undertaken; 1. The companies stated purpose to  be assess through the current vision mission and values statement. 2. External environmental influences 3. Internal environmental analysis To undertake the analysis it is essential to plan ahead to determine the way  the analysis will gather information and identify the sources that will be used. This will facilitate an orderly and efficient approach to the research. Each of the three elements for  the analysis can be considered in turn. 1. Companies stated purpose The mission, vision and values statements are the statements which are used to define and guide how  a firm undertakes business. Duncan (2011), states that the mission statement looks at the present of the firm, whereas the visions statement is a little more idealistic, looking to the  future. Drucker (2004) states that mission statement should give a clear definition of what the business does pr its purpose, including realistic objectives or goals, whereas the vision statement  should be inspirational. The values statements should be deemed as commitments. Each of these different statements will need to be reviewed separately to assess the degree to which they are  accurate and reflect the direction and performance of the company and may be compared to other company statements such as annual reports as well as nay statement management goals. The  values may be assessed against the actual performance; the areas of assessment may vary depending on the statement values, but may include looking at company policies dealing with internal and