Business Strategy, Development,
Application, 4th Canadian Edition
by Gary Bissonette
Complete Chapter Solutions Manual
are included (Ch 1 to 14)
** Immediate Download
** Swift Response
** All Chapters included
** Excel Files included
, INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL
Chapter 1: Understanding and Managing Today’s Business Enterprise
Chapter Summary
In this chapter, we have described the nature of business and discussed the ways in which
businesses strive to maintain their viability and relevancy through interacting with the
marketplace in ways that meet the needs, wants, and desires of targeted customers. Our
discussion focused on the interaction of business as a commercial endeavour, guided by
employee interaction and supported by organizational efficiency and structure. This process
results in the development of a business system and ultimately a business model, which together
are designed to deliver desired goods and services to the marketplace. Utilizing productive
resources at their disposal (assets, labour, capital, and managerial acumen), businesses seek to
create demand, generate revenue, and drive a profit from the sale of such goods and services,
thereby ensuring their long-term profitability and growth. While striving for profitability,
businesses are being increasingly challenged by customers, and the marketplace at large, to be
good corporate citizens, acknowledging their responsibility to act in a socially acceptable manner
and respecting the finite nature and scarcity of resources. This evolving requirement of
businesses is resulting in a significant emphasis on resource sustainability and environmental
initiatives.
To help you to understand why some companies are more successful than others, this chapter’s
focus emphasizes (at a macro level) the importance of positioning, and developing and
communicating a value proposition to the customer group that a business is trying to attract, in a
manner that differentiates the business’s products and services from those of its direct
competitors and that attempts to develop and sustain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
The creation of this value proposition takes into consideration both tangible and intangible
benefits that the product or service offers, and looks to determine the extent at which price will
become a key decision criterion within the customer’s purchase decision. The chapter closes with
a discussion associated with the importance and interrelationship between strategy and tactics
and the need for managers to recognize that in order to be successful, businesses not only have to
properly develop a plan for serving the marketplace, but also must be effective in the
implementation of this plan.
Learning Objectives
This chapter is designed to provide students with:
1. A macro-level understanding of what business is
2. An overview of the major components of a business model and how their successful
1-1
, INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL
development and execution determines business performance
3. An awareness of the overarching role of the business owner or “C-suite” management
team
4. An understanding of how businesses plan
5. Exposure to the concept of visionary leadership
6. Via a Management Reflection, an overview of the relationship between business strategy
and business model development, and the importance of successfully executing both for a
business to achieve its identified objectives
Advanced Topics to Enhance Learning – Applicable Supporting Appendices
The following additional appendices can be added to the delivery of this chapter’s materials for
instructors interested in offering an advance understanding of a particular subject matter.
Appendix A – Analyzing Business Situations (SCQA Method)
Appendix B – The Business Model and Profitability
Management Reflection – The Business Decision-Making Landscape
Being in business goes beyond simply developing your value proposition and understanding its
asset base and cost structure. It is about being able to understand the macro environment around
you; the resources, capability, and capacity that you possess; and the ability to communicate to
the marketplace the uniqueness and importance of the products/services you offer. At its core
base, developing and managing a business requires its owners/managers to:
• create a vision of the opportunity in the marketplace
• confirm that the market size of customers is large enough that, once commercialized, the
opportunity can enable the organization to make a profit and sustain this profitability for
the anticipated planning cycle and beyond
• confirm that a position within the market is feasible, which will enable the company to
compete in a manner that is superior to its direct competition
• confirm that the market situation will stay constant long enough for the business plan to
be developed and executed confirm that the business has the resource base and the
capability to execute the strategy
• execute the strategy in an efficient and effective manner, achieving the objectives set
forth within the business plan created
As this process demonstrates (see Figure 1.12), being in business is really a question of
developing strategy and executing tactics across your business model. Strategy is the
development of plans and decisions that will guide the direction of the firm and determine its
long-term performance. Strategy focuses on the vision of the firm and the opportunity it believes
exists in the marketplace. It also checks that the life expectancy of the product or service is long
enough to ensure that the initial investment can be recovered and that the firm can make a profit.
Finally, strategy development assesses whether the firm has the competencies and resources to
compete in this targeted market. Tactics are the immediate-term actions that a firm executes to
1-2
, INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL
meet the short-term objectives set forth in the current planning cycle. Tactics can be thought of
as the action items a firm undertakes to ensure that it is successful in achieving its strategic
objectives. Tactics could involve the expenditure of money for new equipment, the hiring of new
staff with specialized skills, or the manufacturing processes undertaken to develop a product or
service. To successfully grow a company, the management team has to be successful in both
planning strategy and executing tactics. Strategically, managers need to understand where the
market is going and how their products and services will fit into the market and meet customer
needs. Tactically, they need to ensure that the right product reaches the right customer at the
right time, and at the right place for the right price. Chapter 6 outlines in more detail the
strategic planning process and the relationship between strategy and tactics. The intent here is
just to introduce these concepts so that you get a sense as to their overall importance in managing
a business. Their introduction now also will make them easier for you to understand as you move
through this course and textbook.
As managers, in conducting business we need to avoid the temptation to become predominantly
focused on short-term results. Managers need to make decisions in recognition of both
immediate needs and longer-term requirements in order to protect and grow the general health of
the organization. A key aspect of this process is to understand that business (and the
marketplace) is not static, but dynamic. It is changing all the time. What has worked in the past
may not necessarily work in the future. As an example, Blockbuster Inc. built its market leader
position in the movie rental marketplace on the basis of a bricks and mortar (physical store
locations) business model. Successful in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, this model gave way to video
streaming, downloading, and competitive intensity from market entrants such as Netflix,
Redbox, Amazon, cable companies, and mobile device and content distributors (Rogers, Bell,
Telus, etc.). The end result is that, by failing to change, Blockbuster went from market leader
valued at more than $500 million USD to a financially challenged organization in little over four
years, with $900+ million USD in debt and $1.1 billion USD in losses. It ultimately was forced
to liquidate its assets due to its inability to meet its debt obligations in 2010. Fast-forward to
2023, and we see continued disruption in this entertainment streaming category. Entertainment
streaming platforms such as Disney+, Crave, Netflix, Amazon Prime, AppleTV, Roku, Tubi, and
others continue to dramatically change the way in which we view movies, streaming series,
special events, etc. This has had significant impact to the movie theatre industry. Once the
primary mechanism for the delivery of sensational blockbusters and major Hollywood films, the
industry now finds itself directly competing with the major streaming platforms. Adding to this
is the fact that the streaming platforms not only are a rival to showing these films, and/or
delivering a series, but also are heavily involved in their creation and production. Movie theatre
chains such as Cineplex (Canada) and Cineworld Group LLC need to determine how they will
fit, going forward, into this changing market sector. For Cineworld the situation is even more
1-3
Application, 4th Canadian Edition
by Gary Bissonette
Complete Chapter Solutions Manual
are included (Ch 1 to 14)
** Immediate Download
** Swift Response
** All Chapters included
** Excel Files included
, INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL
Chapter 1: Understanding and Managing Today’s Business Enterprise
Chapter Summary
In this chapter, we have described the nature of business and discussed the ways in which
businesses strive to maintain their viability and relevancy through interacting with the
marketplace in ways that meet the needs, wants, and desires of targeted customers. Our
discussion focused on the interaction of business as a commercial endeavour, guided by
employee interaction and supported by organizational efficiency and structure. This process
results in the development of a business system and ultimately a business model, which together
are designed to deliver desired goods and services to the marketplace. Utilizing productive
resources at their disposal (assets, labour, capital, and managerial acumen), businesses seek to
create demand, generate revenue, and drive a profit from the sale of such goods and services,
thereby ensuring their long-term profitability and growth. While striving for profitability,
businesses are being increasingly challenged by customers, and the marketplace at large, to be
good corporate citizens, acknowledging their responsibility to act in a socially acceptable manner
and respecting the finite nature and scarcity of resources. This evolving requirement of
businesses is resulting in a significant emphasis on resource sustainability and environmental
initiatives.
To help you to understand why some companies are more successful than others, this chapter’s
focus emphasizes (at a macro level) the importance of positioning, and developing and
communicating a value proposition to the customer group that a business is trying to attract, in a
manner that differentiates the business’s products and services from those of its direct
competitors and that attempts to develop and sustain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
The creation of this value proposition takes into consideration both tangible and intangible
benefits that the product or service offers, and looks to determine the extent at which price will
become a key decision criterion within the customer’s purchase decision. The chapter closes with
a discussion associated with the importance and interrelationship between strategy and tactics
and the need for managers to recognize that in order to be successful, businesses not only have to
properly develop a plan for serving the marketplace, but also must be effective in the
implementation of this plan.
Learning Objectives
This chapter is designed to provide students with:
1. A macro-level understanding of what business is
2. An overview of the major components of a business model and how their successful
1-1
, INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL
development and execution determines business performance
3. An awareness of the overarching role of the business owner or “C-suite” management
team
4. An understanding of how businesses plan
5. Exposure to the concept of visionary leadership
6. Via a Management Reflection, an overview of the relationship between business strategy
and business model development, and the importance of successfully executing both for a
business to achieve its identified objectives
Advanced Topics to Enhance Learning – Applicable Supporting Appendices
The following additional appendices can be added to the delivery of this chapter’s materials for
instructors interested in offering an advance understanding of a particular subject matter.
Appendix A – Analyzing Business Situations (SCQA Method)
Appendix B – The Business Model and Profitability
Management Reflection – The Business Decision-Making Landscape
Being in business goes beyond simply developing your value proposition and understanding its
asset base and cost structure. It is about being able to understand the macro environment around
you; the resources, capability, and capacity that you possess; and the ability to communicate to
the marketplace the uniqueness and importance of the products/services you offer. At its core
base, developing and managing a business requires its owners/managers to:
• create a vision of the opportunity in the marketplace
• confirm that the market size of customers is large enough that, once commercialized, the
opportunity can enable the organization to make a profit and sustain this profitability for
the anticipated planning cycle and beyond
• confirm that a position within the market is feasible, which will enable the company to
compete in a manner that is superior to its direct competition
• confirm that the market situation will stay constant long enough for the business plan to
be developed and executed confirm that the business has the resource base and the
capability to execute the strategy
• execute the strategy in an efficient and effective manner, achieving the objectives set
forth within the business plan created
As this process demonstrates (see Figure 1.12), being in business is really a question of
developing strategy and executing tactics across your business model. Strategy is the
development of plans and decisions that will guide the direction of the firm and determine its
long-term performance. Strategy focuses on the vision of the firm and the opportunity it believes
exists in the marketplace. It also checks that the life expectancy of the product or service is long
enough to ensure that the initial investment can be recovered and that the firm can make a profit.
Finally, strategy development assesses whether the firm has the competencies and resources to
compete in this targeted market. Tactics are the immediate-term actions that a firm executes to
1-2
, INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL
meet the short-term objectives set forth in the current planning cycle. Tactics can be thought of
as the action items a firm undertakes to ensure that it is successful in achieving its strategic
objectives. Tactics could involve the expenditure of money for new equipment, the hiring of new
staff with specialized skills, or the manufacturing processes undertaken to develop a product or
service. To successfully grow a company, the management team has to be successful in both
planning strategy and executing tactics. Strategically, managers need to understand where the
market is going and how their products and services will fit into the market and meet customer
needs. Tactically, they need to ensure that the right product reaches the right customer at the
right time, and at the right place for the right price. Chapter 6 outlines in more detail the
strategic planning process and the relationship between strategy and tactics. The intent here is
just to introduce these concepts so that you get a sense as to their overall importance in managing
a business. Their introduction now also will make them easier for you to understand as you move
through this course and textbook.
As managers, in conducting business we need to avoid the temptation to become predominantly
focused on short-term results. Managers need to make decisions in recognition of both
immediate needs and longer-term requirements in order to protect and grow the general health of
the organization. A key aspect of this process is to understand that business (and the
marketplace) is not static, but dynamic. It is changing all the time. What has worked in the past
may not necessarily work in the future. As an example, Blockbuster Inc. built its market leader
position in the movie rental marketplace on the basis of a bricks and mortar (physical store
locations) business model. Successful in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, this model gave way to video
streaming, downloading, and competitive intensity from market entrants such as Netflix,
Redbox, Amazon, cable companies, and mobile device and content distributors (Rogers, Bell,
Telus, etc.). The end result is that, by failing to change, Blockbuster went from market leader
valued at more than $500 million USD to a financially challenged organization in little over four
years, with $900+ million USD in debt and $1.1 billion USD in losses. It ultimately was forced
to liquidate its assets due to its inability to meet its debt obligations in 2010. Fast-forward to
2023, and we see continued disruption in this entertainment streaming category. Entertainment
streaming platforms such as Disney+, Crave, Netflix, Amazon Prime, AppleTV, Roku, Tubi, and
others continue to dramatically change the way in which we view movies, streaming series,
special events, etc. This has had significant impact to the movie theatre industry. Once the
primary mechanism for the delivery of sensational blockbusters and major Hollywood films, the
industry now finds itself directly competing with the major streaming platforms. Adding to this
is the fact that the streaming platforms not only are a rival to showing these films, and/or
delivering a series, but also are heavily involved in their creation and production. Movie theatre
chains such as Cineplex (Canada) and Cineworld Group LLC need to determine how they will
fit, going forward, into this changing market sector. For Cineworld the situation is even more
1-3
