Chapter 4 Evaluating A Company's Resources , Capabilities , and Competitiveness.

Learning Objectives : 

1)Learn how to access how well a company's strategy is working.

2)Understand why a company's resources and capabilities are central to its strategic approach and how to evaluate their potential for giving the company a competitive edge over rivals.

3)Discover how to assess the company's strengths and weaknesses in light of market opportunities and external threats.

4)Grasp how a company's value chain activities can affect the company's cost structure and customer value proposition.

5)Understand how a comprehensive evaluation of a company's competitive situation can assist managers in making critical decisions about their next strategic moves . 

The Components of a Single-Business Company's Strategy

 In this chapter we are dealing with some questions which are how well is the firm's present strategy working,what are the firm's competitively important resources and capabilities,Is the firm able to take advantage of market opportunities and overcome external threats to its external well-being,are the firm's prices and costs competitive with those of key rivals,and does it have an appealing customer value proposition,is the firm competitively stronger or weaker than key rivals,what strategic issues and problems merit front-burner managerial attention.

When dealing with the first questions,the firms present a good strategy when it's achieving its stated financial and strategic objectives and it's an above industry performer. The answer for the second questions is based on the competitive assets,the firm's resources and capabilities,the determinants of its competitiveness and ability to succeed in the marketplace and the firm's strategy depending on what factors to develop sustainable competitive advantage over its rivals. 

Types of Company Resource

Dealing with the third question , the key question is whether the company is in a position to pursue attractive market opportunities and defend against external threats to its future well-being. SWOT analysis is the best solution in order to answer the third question . Based on the question 4 , the higher a company's costs are above those of close rivals,the more competitively vulnerable it becomes. The answer for the fifth question is based on how the company rank relative to competitors on each of the important factors that determine market success and does the company have a net competitive advantage or disadvantage versus major competitors . Last but not least , in answering the last question , the company need to get a clear fix on exactly what strategic and competitive challenges confront the company , which of the company's competitive shortcomings need fixing, and what specific problems merit front-burner attention by company managers .