ANSWERS 100% VERIFIED
What we need for effective strategy? - ANSWER-1. A mission
2. A plan
3. Elephants (Strategy)
What is strategy? - ANSWER-Sustainable competitive advantage. It is all about
prioritizing.
Mission vs. Vision - ANSWER-Current vs. future
Goals vs. objectives - ANSWER-both are targets
Goals - ANSWER-are general. ex) #1 airline in America
Objectives - ANSWER-are specific, measurable, dated (20% increase in sales by 2013).
Strategies vs. tactics - ANSWER-both are actions
Strategies - ANSWER-are general (horizontal diversification).
Tactics - ANSWER-are specific (training policies, debt structures).
Strategic mission - ANSWER-Who we are, what we do, where we do it?
Often reflects a company's generic strategy (aka strategic posture)
It's the corporate fingerprint: What makes us unique?
The key questions regarding mission is - ANSWER-What business are we REALLY in?
External analysis - ANSWER-it allows you to explore the Opportunities&Threat side of
the SWOT.
That's necessary for performing a strategic analysis of a particular firm
Tools for external analysis - ANSWER-1. Industry: Porter's five forces
2. Beyond the industry: Macro-environment (PESTLE forces)
PESTLE forces - ANSWER-Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological, Legal,
Environmental
Porter's five forces - ANSWER-1. Current competitors
2. Potential entrants
3. Buyer power
, 4. Suppliers power
5. Substitute products
Tactics using for current competitors - ANSWER-Price competition, advertising battles,
product introductions, and increased customer service warranties. (That's Hall's Model)
Barriers to entry - ANSWER-Economies of scale, product differentiation, capital
requirements, switching costs, access to distribution channels, cost disadvantages
independent of scale and government poilcy.
Activities - ANSWER-are what generate cost and create value for buyers; they are the
basic units of competitive advantage.
Strategy - ANSWER-an intenally consistent configuration of activities that distinguisshes
a firm from its rivals.
Configuration - ANSWER-in competing internationally, a firam can spread activities to
different and multiple locations.
Activities provide the bridge between - ANSWER-strategy and implementation
3 generic stategies for achieving competitive advantage - ANSWER-1. cost leadership
2. differentiation
3. focus
Porter's Value Chain - ANSWER-Primary activities, Support activities.
a general framework for thinking strategically about the activities involved in any
business and assessing their relative cost and role in differentiation.
Primary activities - ANSWER-Inbound logistics
Operatiosn/Production
Outbound logistics
Marketing and sales
Service
Support activities - ANSWER-Procurement
Technology development/R&D
Human resource management
Firm infrastructure/Top management
What is value chain all about? - ANSWER-identifying sources of sustainable competitive
advantage.
Criteria of Sustainable competitive advantage - ANSWER-Valuable (creating value for
customer)
Rare