Strategic Management
“Notable Quotes”
"Like a product or service, the planning process it self must be managed and shaped, if it is to serve executives as a vehicle for strategic decision-making."
—Robert Lenz
"The difference between now and five years ago is that information systems had limited function. You weren’t betting your company on it. Now you are."
—William Gruber
"Weak leadership can wreck the soundest strategy."
—Sun Tzu
"A firm that continues to employ a previously successful strategy eventually and inevitably falls victim to a competitor."
—William Cohen
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
—Albert Einstein
"The idea is to concentrate our strength against our competitor’s relative weakness."
—Bruce Henderson
This chapter focuses on identifying and evaluating a firm’s strengths and weaknesses in the functional areas of business, including management, marketing, finance/accounting, production/operations, research and development, and management information systems. Relationships among these areas of business are examined. Strategic implications of important functional area concepts are examined. The process of performing an internal audit is described. The Resource-Based View (RBV) of strategic management is introduced as is the Value Chain Analysis (VCA) concept.
The Nature of an Internal Audit
All organizations have strengths and weaknesses in the functional areas of business. No enterprise is equally strong or weak in all areas. Maytag, for example, is known for excellent production and product design, whereas Procter & Gamble is known for superb marketing. Internal strengths/weaknesses, coupled with external opportunities/threats and a clear statement of mission, provide the basis for establishing objectives and strategies. Objectives and strategies are established with the intention of capitalizing upon internal strengths and overcoming weaknesses. The internal-audit part of the
"Like a product or service, the planning process it self must be managed and shaped, if it is to serve executives as a vehicle for strategic decision-making."
—Robert Lenz
"The difference between now and five years ago is that information systems had limited function. You weren’t betting your company on it. Now you are."
—William Gruber
"Weak leadership can wreck the soundest strategy."
—Sun Tzu
"A firm that continues to employ a previously successful strategy eventually and inevitably falls victim to a competitor."
—William Cohen
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
—Albert Einstein
"The idea is to concentrate our strength against our competitor’s relative weakness."
—Bruce Henderson
This chapter focuses on identifying and evaluating a firm’s strengths and weaknesses in the functional areas of business, including management, marketing, finance/accounting, production/operations, research and development, and management information systems. Relationships among these areas of business are examined. Strategic implications of important functional area concepts are examined. The process of performing an internal audit is described. The Resource-Based View (RBV) of strategic management is introduced as is the Value Chain Analysis (VCA) concept.
The Nature of an Internal Audit
All organizations have strengths and weaknesses in the functional areas of business. No enterprise is equally strong or weak in all areas. Maytag, for example, is known for excellent production and product design, whereas Procter & Gamble is known for superb marketing. Internal strengths/weaknesses, coupled with external opportunities/threats and a clear statement of mission, provide the basis for establishing objectives and strategies. Objectives and strategies are established with the intention of capitalizing upon internal strengths and overcoming weaknesses. The internal-audit part of the