DEVELOP AN INTERNAL FACTOR EVALUATION (IFE)

DEVELOP AN INTERNAL FACTOR EVALUATION (IFE)
IFE (Internal factor evaluation) matrix is one of the best strategic tool to perform internal audit of any firm. IFE is use for internal analysis of different functional areas of business such as finance, marketing,IT, operations, accounts, Human Resources and others depend upon the nature of business and its size.
Before going into further details, there are some important terms in IFE matrix which should be known to the individual who shall be using this tool of internal analysis of any Company or Organization . The explanation of  each term would be clearly explained in order to make it easier to understand the concept for when you further go into details.
Following are the important components of IFE Matrix:
INTERNAL FACTORS
Internal factors are the the outcome of detailed internal audit of a firm Obviously, every company have some weak and strong points, therefor the internal factors are divided into two categories namely strengths and weakness.
Strengths
Strengths are the strong areas or attribute of the company, which are used to overcome weakness and capitalize to take advantage of the external opportunities available in the industry. The strengths could be tangible or intangible; such as brand image, financial position, income, human resource.
Weaknesses
Weaknesses are the risky areas which needs to be addressed on priority to minimize its impact. The competitors always searching for the loop holes in your company and put their best effort to capitalize on the identified weaknesses.
HOW WE CAN DIFFERENTIATE STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS IN IFE MATRIX?
If this question comes into mind then don’t worry its a good question and I will be the happy man to answer this one. The strengths and weaknesses are organized in IFE matrix in different portions mean all strengths are listed first under internal factors and then comes the internal weakness. In case if all the factors are listed altogether then the rating will help you out to identify internal strength and weakness.
RATING
Rating is common word I hope you are aware of it, in IFE rating is the way out to differentiate internal strengths and weakness. Internal weakness are further divided in two categories namely minor weakness and major weakness same goes of the strengths (minor strength and major strength)
There are some important point related to rating in IFE matrix.
• Rating is applied to each factor.
• Major weakness is represented by 1.0
• Minor weakness is represented by 2.0
• Minor strength represented by 3.0
• Major Strength represented by 4.0
Major weakness needs company attention to change into minor weakness then strength and finally major strength.As compared to major strength minor weakness need little efforts of the company to change it into strength. The range of rating start from minimum 1.0 which is worst and maximum 4.0 which is the best factor of the company.
WEIGHT
Weight attribute in IFE matrix indicates the relative importance of factor to being successful in the firm’s industry. The weight range from 0.0 means not important and 1.0 means important, sum of all assigned weight to factors must be equal to 1.0 otherwise the calculation would not be consider correct.
WEIGHTED SCORE
Weighted score value is the result achieved after multiplying each factor rating with the weight.
TOTAL WEIGHTED SCORE
The sum of all weighted score is equal to the total weighted score, final value of total weighted score should be between range 1.0 (low) to 4.0(high). The average weighted score for IFE matrix is 2.5 any company total weighted score fall below 2.5 consider as weak. The company total weighted score higher then 2.5 is consider as strong in position.
1. List key internal factors as identified in the internal audit process. Use a total of from ten to twenty internal factors, including both strengths and weaknesses. List strengths first and then weaknesses. Be as specific as possible, using percentages, ratios, and comparative numbers.
2. Assign a weight that ranges from 0.0 (not important) to 1.0 (all important) to each factor. The weight assigned to a given factor indicates the relative importance of the factor to being successful in the firm’s industry. Regardless of whether a key factor is an internal strength or weakness, factors considered to have the greatest effect on organizational performance should be assigned the highest weights. The sum of all weights must equal 1.0.
3. Assign a I to 4 rating to each factor to indicate whether that factor represents a major weakness (rating = 1), a minor weakness (rating = 2), a minor strength (rating = 3), or a major strength (rating = 4). Note that strengths must receive a 4 or 3 rating and weaknesses must receive a 1 or 2 rating. Ratings are thus company based, whereas the weights in Step 2 are industry based.
4. Multiply each factor’s weight by its rating to determine a weighted score for each variable.
5. Sum the weighted scores for each variable to determine the total weighted score for the organization.
WHAT ARE THE EXAMPLES OF INTERNAL FACTORS?
There are few examples of internal factors of the company.
Strengths
• Strong marketing and promotion
• Best product quality
• Strong Financial condition
• High Market Share
• High value assets
Weakness
• High cost operations
• Manufacturing cost is high
• High employee turnover rate
• Expensive products
• Loss in joint venture
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IFE AND EFE?
External factor evaluation matrix consider external environment for evaluation by considering external opportunities and threats whereas IFE is the strategic tool to identify the internal factors for internal audit.
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