Explain the difference between a company competence, a core competence and a distinctive competence.
- Identify at least 5 indicators of whether a company’s present strategy is working well.
- The ability to do a comprehensive financial analysis is a critical component of strategic management. Discuss the steps involved in conducting the following analyses: cross-sectional ratio analysis; cross-sectional common-sized statement analysis; longitudinal ratio analysis; and longitudinal common-sized statement analysis.
- In conducting a SWOT analysis, is it enough to simply compile lists of the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats? Why or why not?
- Explain the difference between a company competence, a core competence and a distinctive competence.
- Why do a company’s core competencies matter in crafting strategy?
- Draw a typical company value chain and briefly explain why the proficiency with which a firm performs the activities comprising its value chain matters.
- What is benchmarking and why is it a strategically important analytical tool?
- The ability of a company to perform value chain activities more proficiently or more cheaply than rivals is a potential source of competitive advantage. True or false? Explain and defend your answer.
- In determining the various strategic issues that a company needs to address, managers need to consider both the results of its analysis of the company’s external environment and the results of its evaluation of the company’s resources and competitive position. True or false? Explain and defend your answer.
- Explain why a weighted competitive strength assessment is conceptually superior to an unweighted one.
