1. External Analysis: (use outside research to support here)

i.      Porter’s Five Forces:

1. Current Rivalry
   1. Opportunities

i.      Has a wider customer base than the closest competitors like the Watts Water Technologies, Inc.

ii.      It is a leading company in the industry, and has established trust with the stakeholders, an advantage over competitors.

1. Threats

i.      The high market competition.

ii.      Strong competitors like KWH AND Pipelife.

2. Potential Entrants
   1. Opportunities

i.      The investments metal manufacturing sector is on a decreasing trend in Finland, leaving the company with a wide market to enjoy.

ii.      The company has already established a wide customer base, shielding new entrants in the market.

1. Threats

i.      Increased investments in the mining sector in Finland

ii.      Obvious direct competitors like KWH.

3. Buyer Power
   1. Opportunities

i.      A Well, widely spread geographical market, especially in Germany.

ii.      Has many subsidiaries in over 30 countries.

1. Threats

i.      Sometimes the end-users are curtailed by the wholesalers, middlemen.

ii.      Inability to solve some customers’ problems.

4. Supplier Power
   1. Opportunities

i.      The company has a well-established supplier network

ii.      The increase in the overall investments in the pulp and paper industry is increasing the supplier base.

1. Threats

i.      Sharing suppliers with the increasing firms in the industry.

ii.      Competition for suppliers with rival companies.

5. Substitute Products
   1. Opportunities

i.      The company has diversified its products to counter substitutes.

ii.      Ability to offer specialized goods to consumers.

1. Threats

i.      Substitute products from rival companies.

ii.      Customers tend to develop a taste for new products from competitors.

ii.      General External Environment:

1. Economic
   1. Opportunities

i.      Can increase the market share in the industrial building sector.

ii.      The company can capitalize on the growing investments in the segments

1. Threats

i.      The economic downturn, especially in 2009.

ii.      Instability of the financial system and the Eurozone crisis.

2. Demographic
   1. Opportunities

i.      The company has a large demographic base in Europe and North America.

ii.      The populous Finland offers a ready market.

1. Threats

i.      Due to globalization, some workers’ skills do not match the company’s needs.

ii.      The high demographic dependency ratio affects the working population.

3. Socio-Cultural
   1. Opportunities

i.      Advantage of diversity of the culturally-diverse Finnish population

ii.      Language advantage in the regions it markets its products.

1. Threats

i.      Cultural conflicts affect the customer base and, hence, the company.

ii.      Language differences may affect the company’s penetration of the potential market.

4. Political-Legal
   1. Opportunities

i.      Finland is an innovative-friendly country. The mother country has agreements with regional countries, an opportunity for the firm to expand its markets.

ii.      The legal system of Finland is very transparent

1. Threats

i.      Political instability in neighboring countries affects the company, since Finland is highly dependent on exports.

ii.      Debt-servicing problems between Finland and Greece affects the company.

5. Technological
   1. Opportunities

i.      The mother country (Finland) has a very high level of intellectual property and is a leading country in technological innovativeness. The company can take advantage of this.

ii.      The company can take advantage of funding from the Finnish Agency for Technology and Innovation.

1. Threats

i.      Failure of Finland to file patents can be a threat to the company.

ii.      The sector is slow to adapt to the high demands with technological changes.

1. Internal Analysis: (use ‘insider’ contacts to support here)

i.      Strategic Managers

1. Strengths
   1. Highly competent managers
   2. Managers have demonstrated high-level decision-making skills
2. Weaknesses
   1. Gender inequality in the team denies the company the diversity advantage.
   2. Sometimes the company suffers due to conflicting roles between managers at the same level.

ii.      Corporate Structure

1. Strengths
   1. A very organized company structure headed by a CEO.
   2. Very effective internal control system (Uponor, 2014).
2. Weaknesses
   1. Bureaucratic nature delays operations
   2. Complicated structure due to the organization’s vastness.

iii.      Corporate Culture

1. Strengths
   1. A strong ability to follow new developments and cost-effectiveness.
   2. The company boasts of an effective organizational culture.
2. Weaknesses
   1. Organizational sub-culture challenges due to the company’s multi-national nature.
   2. Challenges of uniting many sub-cultures.

iv.      Production-Operations

1. Strengths
   1. Strong expertise in the plastic industry
   2. The company has adequate capital
2. Weaknesses
   1. The vastness of the company makes the production process tedious.
   2. Many decentralized units make smooth operations difficult.

v.      Marketing

1. Strengths
   1. Direct contact with a products end-users.
   2. Markets directly to contractors
2. Weaknesses
   1. Lack of information on the current customers in the industrial building market
   2. The company lacks the ability to convert its pioneer state into a market competitive advantage

vi.      R&D

1. Strengths
   1. Huge investment in research and development
   2. The ability to extract information from end-users.
2. Weaknesses
   1. Complex distribution networks limit the company’s potential to perform customer analysis.
   2. It’s hard to estimate the sales generated in a complex industry, hence unreliable research data.

vii.      HR Management

1. Strengths
   1. Strong human resource management skills.
   2. The company has a large pool of experienced managers.
2. Weaknesses
   1. The organization is too big to manage effectively.
   2. The diversity of the employees hampers smooth management.

viii.      Info Systems

1. Strengths
   1. Well-updated modern information systems.
   2. Digitalized marketing systems.
2. Weaknesses
   1. Inadequate information when they sell through wholesalers as opposed to end-user directly.
   2. The company has at times experienced poor handling of information due to its vastness.

Reference

Uponor. (2014). About us. Retrieved from http://www.uponor.com/