Reference no: EM132625138
Chapter - Assessing the Internal Environment of the Firm
Learning Objectives
The primary and support activities of a firm's value chain.
How value-chain analysis can help managers create value by investigating relationships among activities within the firm and between the firm and its customers and suppliers.
The resource-based view of the firm and the different types of tangible and intangible resources, as well as organizational capabilities.
The four criteria that a firm's resources must possess to maintain a sustainable advantage and how value created can be appropriated by employees and managers.
The usefulness of financial ratio analysis, its inherent limitations, and how to make meaningful comparisons of performance across firms.
The value of the "balanced scorecard" in recognizing how the interests of a variety of stakeholders can be interrelated.
Reflection and Discussion ( 450 words)
Reflect on the assigned readings for the week. Identify what you thought was the most important concept(s), method(s), term(s), and/or any other thing that you felt was worthy of your understanding.
Also, provide a graduate-level response to each of the following questions:
In Learning from Mistakes at the beginning of the chapter, we saw how KFC became too focused on cutting cost in their supply chain, and how it hampered their ability to serve customers effectively. Imagine you were advising KFC on how they need to emphasize the customer orientation of every link in their value chain. To support this, lay out the key links in KFC's value chain and evaluate how each step is critical to creating customer value.
Respond to the post of at least two peers, using 100 words minimum each.
[Your initial post should be based upon the assigned reading for the week, so the textbook should be a source listed in your reference section and cited within the body of the text. Other sources are not required but feel free to use them if they aid in your discussion].
[Your post should be at least 450+ words and in APA format (including Times New Roman with font size 12 and double spaced). Post the actual body of your paper in the discussion thread then attach a Word version of the paper for APA review]
Assignment (250 words)
Activity 3
Select a firm that competes in an industry in which you are interested (Mechanical engineering) . Drawing upon published financial reports, complete a financial ratio analysis. Based on changes over time and a comparison with industry norms, evaluate the firm's strengths and weaknesses in terms of its financial position.
The assignment is to answer the question provided above in essay form. This is to be in narrative form and should be as thorough as possible. Bullet points should not to be used. The paper should be at least 250 words in length, Times New Roman 12-pt font, double-spaced, 1 inch margins and utilizing at least one outside scholarly or professional source related to competitive strategy. The textbook should also be utilized. Do not insert excess line spacing. APA formatting and citation should be used.