Analyzing company's resources and competitive position
1. 4-1
Analyzing aAnalyzing a
Company’s ResourcesCompany’s Resources
and Competitive Positionand Competitive Position
44
Chapter
Screen graphics created by:
Jana F. Kuzmicki, Ph.D.
Troy State University-Florida and Western Region
2. ““Before executives canBefore executives can
chart a new strategy, theychart a new strategy, they
must reach commonmust reach common
understanding of theunderstanding of the
company’s current position.”company’s current position.”
W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne
3. 4-3
Chapter RoadmapChapter Roadmap
Question 1: How Well Is the Company’s Present Strategy
Working?
Question 2: What Are the Company’s Resource Strengths and
Weaknesses and Its External Opportunities and Threats?
Question 3: Are the Company’s Prices and Costs
Competitive?
Question 4: Is the Company Competitively Stronger or
Weaker than Key Rivals?
Question 5: What Strategic Issues and Problems Merit Front-
Burner Managerial Attention?
4. 4-4
Company Situation Analysis:Company Situation Analysis:
The Key QuestionsThe Key Questions
1. How well is the company’s
present strategy working?
2. What are the company’s resource
strengths and weaknesses and its
external opportunities and threats?
3. Are the company’s prices and
costs competitive?
4. Is the company competitively stronger
or weaker than key rivals?
5. What strategic issues merit
front-burner managerial attention?
5. 4-5
Fig. 4.1: Identifying the Components ofFig. 4.1: Identifying the Components of
a Single-Business Company’s Strategya Single-Business Company’s Strategy
6. 4-6
Q #1: How Well Is the Company’sQ #1: How Well Is the Company’s
Present Strategy Working?Present Strategy Working?
Identify competitive approach
Low-cost leadership
Differentiation
Focus on a particular market niche
Determine competitive scope
Geographic market coverage
Operating stages in industry’s production/distribution chain
Examine recent strategic moves
Identify functional strategies
Key Issues
7. 4-7
Approaches to Assess How WellApproaches to Assess How Well
the Present Strategy Is Workingthe Present Strategy Is Working
Qualitative assessment –
What is the strategy?
Completeness
Internal consistency
Rationale
Relevance
Quantitative assessment – What
are the results?
Is company achieving its
financial and strategic
objectives?
Is company an above-average
industry performer?
8. 4-8
Key Indicators of How WellKey Indicators of How Well
the Strategy Is Workingthe Strategy Is Working
Trend in sales and market share
Acquiring and/or retaining customers
Trend in profit margins
Trend in net profits, ROI, and EVA
Overall financial strength and credit ranking
Efforts at continuous improvement activities
Trend in stock price and stockholder value
Image and reputation with customers
Leadership role(s) – Technology, quality, innovation,
e-commerce, etc.
9. 4-9
S W O TS W O T represents the first letter in
SS trengths
WW eaknesses
OO pportunities
TT hreats
For a company’s strategy to be well-conceived, it must be
Matched to its resource strengths and weaknesses
Aimed at capturing its best market opportunities and erecting
defenses against external threats to its well-being
S W
O T
Q #2: What Are the Company’s Strengths,Q #2: What Are the Company’s Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats ?Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats ?
10. 4-10
Identifying Resource StrengthsIdentifying Resource Strengths
and Competitive Capabilitiesand Competitive Capabilities
A strength is something a firm does well or an attribute that
enhances its competitiveness
Valuable competencies or know-how
Valuable physical assets
Valuable human assets
Valuable organizational assets
Valuable intangible assets
Important competitive capabilities
An attribute that places a company in a position of market advantage
Alliances or cooperative ventures with partners
Resource strengths and competitive
capabilities are competitive assets!
11. 4-11
Competencies vs. Core CompetenciesCompetencies vs. Core Competencies
vs. Distinctive Competenciesvs. Distinctive Competencies
A competence is the product of organizational learning and
experience and represents real proficiency in performing an
internal activity
A core competence is a well-performed
internal activity central (not peripheral or incidental)
to a company’s competitiveness and profitability
A distinctive competence is a competitively valuable activity a
company performs better than its rivals
12. 4-12
Company CompetenciesCompany Competencies
and Capabilitiesand Capabilities
Stem from skills, expertise, and
experience usually representing an
Accumulation of learning over time and
Gradual buildup of real proficiency in
performing an activity
Involve deliberate efforts to develop the ability to do
something, often entailing
Selecting people with requisite knowledge and skills
Upgrading or expanding individual abilities
Molding work products of individuals into a cooperative effort to
create organizational ability
A conscious effort to create intellectual capital
13. 4-13
A competence becomes a core competence when the
well-performed activity is central to a company’s
competitiveness and profitability
Often, a core competence results from collaboration
among different parts of a company
Typically, core competencies reside in a company’s
people, not in assets on a balance sheet
A core competence gives a company a
potentially valuable competitive capability
and represents a definite competitive asset
Core Competencies -- ACore Competencies -- A
Valuable Company ResourceValuable Company Resource
14. 4-14
Examples: Core CompetenciesExamples: Core Competencies
Expertise in integrating multiple technologies
to create families of new products
Know-how in creating operating systems
for cost efficient supply chain management
Speeding new/next-generation products to market
Better after-sale service capability
Skills in manufacturing a high quality product
System to fill customer orders accurately and swiftly
15. 4-15
Distinctive Competence -- ADistinctive Competence -- A
Competitively Superior ResourceCompetitively Superior Resource
A distinctive competence is a competitively significant
activity that a company performs better than its competitors
A distinctive competence
Represents a competitively valuable
capability rivals do not have
Presents attractive potential for
being a cornerstone of strategy
Can provide a competitive edge in the marketplace —because it
represents a competitively superior resource strength
# 1
16. 4-16
Examples: DistinctiveExamples: Distinctive
CompetenciesCompetencies
Sharp Corporation
Expertise in flat-panel display technology
Toyota and Honda
Low-cost, high-quality manufacturing
capability and short design-to-market cycles
Intel
Ability to design and manufacture
ever more powerful microprocessors for PCs
Wal-Mart
Low-cost distribution and use of
state-of-the-art retail technology
17. 4-17
To qualify as competitively valuable or to be the basis for
sustainable competitive advantage, a “resource” must
pass 4 tests:
1. Is the resource hard to copy?
2. Does the resource have staying power –
is it durable?
3. Is the resource really competitively superior?
4. Can the resource be trumped by
the different capabilities of rivals?
Determining the CompetitiveDetermining the Competitive
Value of a Company ResourceValue of a Company Resource
18. 4-18
A weakness is something a firm lacks, does poorly, or a
condition placing it at a disadvantage
Resource weaknesses relate to
Inferior or unproven skills,
expertise, or intellectual capital
Lack of important physical,
organizational, or intangible assets
Missing capabilities in key areas
Resource weaknesses and deficiencies
are competitive liabilities!
Identifying Resource WeaknessesIdentifying Resource Weaknesses
and Competitive Deficienciesand Competitive Deficiencies
21. 4-21
Opportunities most relevant to a
company are those offering
Good match with its financial and
organizational resource capabilities
Best prospects for profitable
long-term growth
Potential for competitive advantage
Identifying a Company’sIdentifying a Company’s
Market OpportunitiesMarket Opportunities
22. 4-22
Identifying External ThreatsIdentifying External Threats
Emergence of cheaper/better technologies
Introduction of better products by rivals
Entry of lower-cost foreign competitors
Onerous regulations
Rise in interest rates
Potential of a hostile takeover
Unfavorable demographic shifts
Adverse shifts in foreign exchange rates
Political upheaval in a country
23. 4-23
Role of SWOT Analysis inRole of SWOT Analysis in
Crafting a Better StrategyCrafting a Better Strategy
The most important part of S W O TS W O T analysis is not
developing the 4 lists of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and threats, but rather
Using the 4 lists to draw conclusions
about a company’s overall situation and
Acting on the conclusions to
Better match a company’s strategy to its
resource strengths and market opportunities,
Correct the important weaknesses, and
Defend against external threats
24. 4-24
Fig. 4.2: The Three StepsFig. 4.2: The Three Steps
of SWOT Analysisof SWOT Analysis
25. 4-25
Q #4: Are the Company’sQ #4: Are the Company’s
Prices and Costs Competitive?Prices and Costs Competitive?
Assessing whether a firm’s costs are competitive with those of
rivals is a crucial part of company analysis
Key analytical tools
Value chain analysis
Benchmarking
26. 4-26
The Concept of aThe Concept of a
Company Value ChainCompany Value Chain
A company’s business consists of all activities undertaken in
designing, producing, marketing, delivering, and supporting its
product or service
A company’s value chain consists of a linked set of value-
creating activities performed internally
The value chain contains two types of activities
Primary activities – where most of
the value for customers is created
Support activities – facilitate
performance of the primary activities
28. 4-28
Characteristics ofCharacteristics of
Value Chain AnalysisValue Chain Analysis
Combined costs of all activities in a company’s value chain
define the company’s internal cost structure
Compares a firm’s costs activity
by activity against costs of key rivals
From raw materials purchase to
Price paid by ultimate customer
Pinpoints which internal activities are a
source of cost advantage or disadvantage
29. 4-29
Why Do ValueWhy Do Value
Chains of Rivals Differ?Chains of Rivals Differ?
Several factors can cause differences
in value chains of rival companies
Internal operations
Strategy
Approaches used in execution of the strategy
Underlying economics of the activities
Differences complicate task of assessing
rivals’ relative cost positions
30. 4-30
The Value Chain SystemThe Value Chain System
for an Entire Industryfor an Entire Industry
Assessing a company’s cost competitiveness involves
comparing costs all along the industry’s value chain
Suppliers’ value chains are relevant because
Costs, performance features, and quality of inputs
provided by suppliers influence a firm’s own costs
and product performance
Forward channel allies’ value chains are relevant because
Costs and margins are part of price paid
by ultimate end-user
Activities performed affect end-user satisfaction
31. 4-31
Fig. 4.4: Representative ValueFig. 4.4: Representative Value
Chain for an Entire IndustryChain for an Entire Industry
32. 4-32
Example: Value Chain ActivitiesExample: Value Chain Activities
Timber farming
Logging
Pulp mills
Papermaking
Distribution
Pulp & Paper Industry
33. 4-33
Home Appliance Industry
Parts and components manufacture
Assembly
Wholesale distribution
Retail sales
Example: Value Chain ActivitiesExample: Value Chain Activities
34. 4-34
Processing of basic ingredients
Syrup manufacture
Bottling and can filling
Wholesale distribution
Advertising
Retailing
Albertson’s
Example: Value Chain ActivitiesExample: Value Chain Activities
Soft Drink Industry
36. 4-36
Developing Data to Measure aDeveloping Data to Measure a
Company’s Cost CompetitivenessCompany’s Cost Competitiveness
After identifying key value chain activities, the next step
involves breaking down departmental cost accounting data into
costs of performing specific activities
Appropriate degree of disaggregation depends on
Economics of activities
Value of comparing narrowly defined
versus broadly defined activities
Guideline – Develop separate cost estimates for activities
Having different economics
Representing a significant or growing proportion of costs
37. 4-37
Activity-Based Costing: A KeyActivity-Based Costing: A Key
Tool in Analyzing CostsTool in Analyzing Costs
Determining whether a company’s costs are in line with those
of rivals requires
Measuring how a company’s costs compare with those of rivals
activity-by-activity
Requires having accounting data to measure cost
of each value chain activity
Activity-based costing entails
Defining expense categories according
to specific activities performed and
Assigning costs to the activity
responsible for creating the cost
39. 4-39
Benchmarking Costs ofBenchmarking Costs of
Key Value Chain ActivitiesKey Value Chain Activities
Focuses on cross-company comparisons of how certain
activities are performed and costs associated with these
activities
Purchase of materials
Payment of suppliers
Management of inventories
Getting new products to market
Performance of quality control
Filling and shipping of customer orders
Training of employees
Processing of payrolls
40. 4-40
Objectives of BenchmarkingObjectives of Benchmarking
Identify best practices in performing an activity
Understand the best practices in performing
an activity – learn what is the “best” way
to do a particular activity from those
demonstrating they are “best-in-world”
Learn how other firms achieve lower costs
Take action to improve company’s cost competitiveness
41. 4-41
Ethical Standards inEthical Standards in
Benchmarking: Do’s and Don’tsBenchmarking: Do’s and Don’ts
Avoid talk about pricing or competitively
sensitive costs
Don’t ask rivals for sensitive data
Don’t share proprietary data without clearance
Have impartial third party assemble and present competitively
sensitive cost data with no names attached
Don’t disparage a rival’s business to outsiders based on data
obtained
42. 4-42
What Determines if aWhat Determines if a
Company Is Cost Competitive?Company Is Cost Competitive?
Cost competitiveness depends on how well a company
manages its value chain relative to how well competitors
manage their value chains
When costs are out-of-line, high-cost activities can exist in
any of three areas in the industry value chain
1. Suppliers’ activities
2. Company’s own internal activities
3. Forward channel activities
Activities,
Costs, &
Margins of
Forward
Channel Allies
Internally
Performed
Activities,
Costs, &
Margins
Activities,
Costs, &
Margins of
Suppliers
Buyer/User
Value
Chains
43. 4-43
Options to CorrectOptions to Correct
Internal Cost DisadvantagesInternal Cost Disadvantages
Implement use of best practices throughout company
Eliminate some cost-producing activities altogether by revamping
value chain system
Relocate high-cost activities to lower-cost geographic areas
See if high-cost activities can be performed
cheaper by outside vendors/suppliers
Invest in cost-saving technology
Innovate around troublesome cost components
Simplify product design
Make up difference by achieving savings in backward or forward
portions of value chain system
45. 4-45
Translating Performance of Value ChainTranslating Performance of Value Chain
Activities to Competitive AdvantageActivities to Competitive Advantage
A company can create competitive advantage by managing its
value chain to
Integrate knowledge and skills of employees in competitively
valuable ways
Leverage economies of learning / experience
Coordinate related activities in ways
that build valuable capabilities
Build dominating expertise
in a value chain activity critical
to customer satisfaction or market success
46. 4-46
Fig. 4.5: Translating Performance of ValueFig. 4.5: Translating Performance of Value
Chain Activities into Competitive AdvantageChain Activities into Competitive Advantage
47. 4-47
Q. #4: Is the Company StrongerQ. #4: Is the Company Stronger
or Weaker than Key Rivals?or Weaker than Key Rivals?
Overall competitive position involves
answering two questions
How does a company rank relative
to competitors on each important
factor that determines market success?
Does a company have a net
competitive advantage or disadvantage
vis-à-vis major competitors?
48. 4-48
Assessing a Company’sAssessing a Company’s
Competitive Strength vs. Key RivalsCompetitive Strength vs. Key Rivals
1. List industry key success factors and other relevant measures
of competitive strength
2. Rate firm and key rivals on each factor using rating scale of 1
to 10 (1 = very weak; 5 = average; 10 = very strong)
3. Decide whether to use a weighted or unweighted rating system
(a weighted system is superior because chosen strength measures
are unlikely to be equally important)
4. Sum individual ratings to get an overall measure of
competitive strength for each rival
5. Based on overall strength ratings, determine overall
competitive position of firm
51. 4-51
Why Do a CompetitiveWhy Do a Competitive
Strength Assessment ?Strength Assessment ?
Reveals strength of firm’s competitive position
vis-à-vis key rivals
Shows how firm stacks up against rivals, measure-by-measure
– pinpoints firm’s competitive strengths and competitive
weaknesses
Indicates whether firm is at a competitive advantage /
disadvantage against each rival
Identifies possible offensive attacks (pit company strengths
against rivals’ weaknesses)
Identifies possible defensive actions (a need to correct
competitive weaknesses)
52. 4-52
What Strategic IssuesWhat Strategic Issues
Merit Managerial Attention?Merit Managerial Attention?
Based on results of both industry and competitive analysis and
an evaluation of a company’s competitiveness, what items
should be
on a company’s “worry list”?
Requires thinking strategically about
Pluses and minuses in the industry
and competitive situation
Company’s resource strengths and weaknesses and attractiveness
of its competitive position
A “good” strategy must address “what to do”
about each and every strategic issue!
53. 4-53
Identifying the Strategic IssuesIdentifying the Strategic Issues
How to stave off market challenges from new foreign competitors?
How to combat price discounting of rivals?
How to reduce a company’s high costs?
How to sustain a company’s present growth
in light of slowing buyer demand?
Whether to expand a company’s product line?
Whether to acquire a rival firm?
Whether to expand into foreign markets rapidly or cautiously?
What to do about aging demographics of a company’s customer
base?
54. 4-54
A well-stated issue involves such phrases as
“How to . . . ?”
“Whether to . . . ?”
“What should be done about . . . ?”
Issues need to be precise, specific,
and “cut straight to the chase”
Issues on the “the worry list”
raise questions about
What actions need to be considered
What to think about doing
Stating the IssuesStating the Issues
Clearly and PreciselyClearly and Precisely