Review Questions – chapter 2
Why is it important for a firm to study and understand the external environment?
What are the differences between the general environment and the industry environment? Why are these differences important?
What is the external environmental analysis process (four parts)? What does the firm want to learn when using this process?
What are the seven segments of the general environment? Explain the differences among them.
How do the five forces of competition in an industry affect its profitability potential? Explain.
What is a strategic group? Of what value is knowledge of the firm’s strategic group in formulating that firm’s strategy?
What is the importance of collecting and interpreting data and information about competitors? What practices should a firm use to gather competitor intelligence and why?
Review Questions – chapter 3
Why is it important for a firm to study and understand its internal organization?
What is value? Why is it critical for the firm to create value? How does it do so?
What are the differences between tangible and intangible resources? Why is it important for decision makers to understand these differences? Are tangible resources more valuable for creating capabilities than are intangible resources, or is the reverse true? Why?
What are capabilities? How do firms create capabilities?
What four criteria must capabilities satisfy for them to become core competencies? Why is it important for firms to use these criteria to evaluate their capabilities’ value-creating potential?
What is value chain analysis? What does the firm gain by successfully using this tool?
What is outsourcing? Why do firms outsource?
How do firms identify internal strengths and weaknesses? Why is it vital that managers have a clear understanding of their firm’s strengths and weaknesses?
What are core rigidities? What does it mean to say that each core competence could become a core rigidity?