3 - Resources & capabilities

Question 1

the analysis of resources and capabilities is as applicable to

Answer 1

not‐for‐profit organizations as it is to business enterprises

Question 2

resources are

Answer 2

the productive assets owned by the firm

Question 3

capabilities are

Answer 3

what the firm can do

Question 4

Individual resources do not

Answer 4

confer competitive advantage; they must work together to create organizational capability.

Question 5

Once we have identified the KSFs in an industry,

Answer 5

it is a short step to identifying the resources and capabilities needed to deliver those success factors.

Question 6

To take a wider view of a firm’s resources it is helpful to identify three principal types of resource:

Answer 6

tangible, intangible and human resources.

Question 7

Tangible resources are

Answer 7

financial resources and physical assets are identified and valued in the firm’s financial statements.

Question 8

the primary goal of resource analysis is not to value a company’s assets but

Answer 8

to understand their potential for creating competitive advantage.

Question 9

Once we have fuller information on a company’s tangible resources we explore how we can create additional value from them. This requires that we address two key questions:

Answer 9

1. What opportunities exist for economizing on their use?

2. What are the possibilities for employing existing assets more profitably?

Question 10

intangible resources are

Answer 10

more valuable than tangible resources.

Question 11

Among the most important of the undervalued or unvalued intangible resources are

Answer 11

brand names.

Question 12

Intellectual property are

Answer 12

patents, copyrights, trade secrets and trademarks

Question 13

Human resources of the firm comprise

Answer 13

the expertise and effort offered by employees.

Question 14

Many organizations have established assessment centres specifically for the purpose of

Answer 14

providing assessments of skills & attributes of employees, and increasingly appraisal criteria are based upon research into superior job performance

Question 15

Competencies modelling

Answer 15

identifying the set of skills, content knowledge, attitudes and values associated with superior performance within a particular job category

Question 16

Interest in emotional intelligence reflects

Answer 16

the recognition of the importance of interpersonal skills and emotional awareness

Question 17

Organizational culture is

Answer 17

a firm resource of great strategic importance that is potentially very valuable

Question 18

organizational capability definition

Answer 18

a firm’s capacity to deploy resources for a desired end result

Question 19

distinctive competence is used to describe

Answer 19

those things that an organization does particularly well relative to competitors

Question 20

Core competences are those that:

Answer 20

• make a disproportionate contribution to customer value, or to the efficiency with which that value is delivered; and
• provide a basis for entering new markets

Question 21

functional analysis identifies

Answer 21

organizational capabilities in relation to each of the principal functional areas of the firm

Question 22

value chain analysis…

Answer 22

separates the activities of the firm into sequential chain & explores linkages between activities to gain insight into the firm’s competitive position

Question 23

Routinization…

Answer 23

is an essential step in creating organizational capability

Question 24

organizational routines are…

Answer 24

regular & predictable behavioral patterns comprising repetitive patterns of activity

viewed as the fundamental building blocks of what firms do & who they are

Question 25

the hierarchy of organizational capabilities…

Answer 25

1. cross-functional capabilities
2. broad functional capabilities
3. activity, related capabilities
4. specialized capabilities (manufacturing related)
5. single-task capabilities

Question 26

what are the cross-functional capabilities

Answer 26

• new product development
• customer support
• quality management

Question 27

what are the broad functional capabilities

Answer 27

• operations
• R&D & design
• MIS (management information systems)
• marketing & sales
• HR management

Question 28

what are the activity-related capabilities

Answer 28

• manufacturing
• materials management
• process engineering
• product engineering
• test engineering

Question 29

what are the specialized capabilities

Answer 29

• printed circuit-board assembly
• telset assembly
• system assembly

Question 30

what are the single-task capabilities

Answer 30

• automated through-hole component insertion
• manual insertion of components
• surface mounting of components

Question 31

For a resource or capability to establish a competitive advantage, two conditions must be present:

Answer 31

1. Scarcity

2. Relevance: A resource or capability must be relevant to the KSFs in the market.

Question 32

3 characteristics of resources & capabilities determine the sustainability of the competitive advantage they offer:

Answer 32

1. durability: the more durable the resource, the greater its ability to support a competitive advantage in the long-term
2. transferability: competitive advantage is undermined by competitive imitation. If resources & capabilities are transferable – they can be bought and sold – then any competitive advantage that is based upon them will be eroded
3. replicability: capabilities based on complex organizational routines are less easy to copy.

Question 33

benchmarking is…

Answer 33

the process of identifying, understanding practices to help your organization improve its performance

Question 34

The most decisive, and often most successful, solution to weaknesses in key functions is

Answer 34

to outsource.

Question 35

What about superfluous strengths? What about those resources and capabilities where a company has particular strengths that don’t appear to be important sources of sustainable competitive advantage?

Answer 35

It is possible to develop innovative strategies that turn apparently inconsequential strengths into key strategy differentiators.

Question 36

choice of industry context:

Answer 36

In general, it is best to define industry context broadly;