Untitled Flashcards Set

What is strategic management?

The process of defining an organization’s strategy, allocating resources, and taking actions to achieve strategic goals.

What are the stages of the strategic management process?

Formulation, Implementation, and Evaluation.

Define SWOT analysis.

A strategic planning tool to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to the internal and external environment.

What are strengths in SWOT analysis?

Internal attributes that are beneficial.

What are weaknesses in SWOT analysis?

Internal attributes that are harmful.

What is a competitive advantage?

Unique attributes or conditions that allow an organization to perform better than its competitors.

What is a sustained competitive advantage?

Advantages that endure over time due to the firm's ability to adapt and maintain its position against competitors.

What are long-term objectives?

Goals an organization aims to achieve over a timeframe of 3-5 years, providing direction and a standard for success evaluation.

List some benefits of strategic management.

Improved decision-making, enhanced organizational performance, better alignment and clarity of purpose, proactive attitude towards future opportunities.

What is a vision statement?

A future-oriented declaration of the organization's purpose and what it desires to achieve in the long run.

What is a mission statement?

A concise explanation of the organization’s fundamental purpose, outlining what it does, for whom, and how.

What are core value statements?

Fundamental beliefs or guiding principles that dictate behavior and action within the organization.

What are core competencies?

Unique strengths and resources that differentiate an organization and provide a competitive advantage.

What is an external audit?

A comprehensive review of external factors affecting an organization, often using frameworks like PEST analysis.

Define PEST Analysis.

A framework for analyzing the external environment based on Political, Economic, Social, and Technological factors.

What is the AQCD test?

A test used to evaluate strategic options based on Acceptability, Quality, Cost, and Delivery.

What is the EFE matrix?

A tool to evaluate external factors affecting an organization by scoring and weighting them based on their importance.

What is a competitive profile matrix (CPM)?

A tool used to evaluate a firm's strengths and weaknesses against key competitors based on critical success factors.

What is an internal audit?

An assessment of internal factors affecting the organization, analyzing strengths and weaknesses in resources, capabilities, and processes.

Define resource-based view.

A perspective suggesting that competitive advantage lies in the firm’s internal resources, emphasizing both tangible and intangible assets.

What are distinctive competencies?

Unique capabilities that provide a competitive edge, often more specialized than core competencies.

List the primary internal concepts.

Culture, Management, Production, Marketing, Finance, Analytics.

What does the internal factor evaluation matrix do?

It assesses internal strengths and weaknesses, allowing for scoring and weighting to analyze the firm's internal environment.

What are conditions that cause high rivalry among firms?

Numerous or equally balanced competitors, slow industry growth, high fixed costs, low differentiation between products, high exit barriers.