Chapter 4

Question 1

Resource and capability analysis

Answer 1

is a powerful tool for sizing up a company’s competitive assets and determining if the assets can support a sustainable competitive advantage over market rivals

Question 2

Resource

Answer 2

are resources in a competitive asset that is owned or controlled by a company

Question 3

Capability (competence):

Answer 3

is the capacity of a company to competently perform some internal activity. Capabilities are developed and enabled through deployment of a company’s resources

Question 4

Physical Resources:

Answer 4

state of the art manufacturing plants and equipment, efficient distribution facilities, attract real estate locations or ownership of valuable natural resource deposits

Question 5

Financial Resources:

Answer 5

cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, and other financial assets such as a company’s credit rating and borrowing capacity

Question 6

Technological assets:

Answer 6

patents, copyrights, superior production technology and technologies that enable activities

Question 7

Organizational resources:

Answer 7

information and communication systems (servers, workstations, etc.) proven quality control system, and a strong network of distributors or retail dealers

Question 8

Human assets and intellectual capital:

Answer 8

an experienced and capable workforces, talented employees in key areas, collective learning embedded in the organization or proven managerial know-how

Question 9

Brand, image, and reputational assets:

Answer 9

brand names, trademarks, product or company image buyer loyalty, and reputation for quality superior service

Question 10

Relationship:

Answer 10

alliances or joint ventures that provide access to technologies, specialized know-how or geographic markets and trust established with various partners

Question 11

Company culture

Answer 11

the norms of behavior, business principles, and ingrained belief within the company

Question 12

VRIN tests for sustainable competitive advantage

Answer 12

ask if a resource capability is value, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable

Question 13

Social complexity & causal ambiguity

Answer 13

are two factors that inhibit the ability of rivals to imitate a firm’s most valuable resource and capabilities.

Question 14

Resource bundles:

Answer 14

companies that lack a stand-alone resource that is competitively powerful may nonetheless develop a competitive advantage through resource bundles that enable the superior performance of important cross functional capabilities

Question 15

Dynamic capability

Answer 15

is the ability to modify deepen or reconfigure the company’s existing resources and capabilities in response to its changing environment or market opportunities

Question 16

SWOT analysis

Answer 16

is a simple but powerful tool for sizing up a company’s internal strengths and competitive deficiencies its market opportunities and external threats to its future well-being

Question 17

Value Chain:

Answer 17

identifies the primary activities that create customer value and related support activities

Question 18

Supply Chain Management

Answer 18

activities, costs, and assets associated with purchasing fuel energy, raw materials, parts and components, merchandize and consumable items from vendors; receiving, storing and disseminating input from suppliers; inspection and inventory management

Question 19

Operations

Answer 19

activities, costs, and assets associated with converting inputs into final product form production, assembly packaging equipment maintenance facilities, operations, quality assurance, environmental protection

Question 20

Distribution

Answer 20

activities costs, and assets dealing with physical distributing the product to buyer finished good warehousing order processing, order picking and packing, shipping, delivering vehicles operations, establishing and maintaining a network of dealers and distributors

Question 21

Sales and marketing

Answer 21

activities, costs, and assets related to sales force effort, advertising and promotion, market research and planning and dealer/ distributor support

Question 22

Service

Answer 22

activities, cost, assets, associated with providing assistance to buyer such as installation, spare parts delivery, maintenance and repair, technical assistance, buyer inquiries and complaints

Question 23

Product R&D, Technology, and System Development:

Answer 23

activities, costs, and assets relating to product R&D, process R&D, process design improvement, equipment design, computer software development, telecommunications systems, computer- assisted design and engineering, database capabilities, development of computerized support system

Question 24

Human Resource Management

Answer 24

activities, costs, and assets associated with recruitment, hiring, training, development and compensations of all types of personnel; labor relations activities; and development of Knowledge-based skills and core competencies

Question 25

General administration:

Answer 25

activities, costs, and assets relating to general management, accounting and finance, legal and regulatory affairs safety and security, management information system, forming strategic alliances and collaborating with strategic partners and other overhead functions

Question 26

Benchmarking

Answer 26

is a potential tool for learning which companies are best at performing particular activities and then using their techniques or best practices to improve the costs and effectiveness of a company’s own internal activities

Question 27

Best practice

Answer 27

is a method of performing an activity that consistently delivers superior results compared to other approaches

Question 28

Casual ambiguity

Answer 28

Casual ambiguity makes it very hard to figure out how a complex resource contributes to a competitive advantage and therefore exactly what to imitate