cbmec

• Performing an internal strategic-management audit


  1. Requires gathering and assimilating information about the firm’s management, marketing, finance/accounting, production/operations, research and development (R&D), and management information systems operations

  2. Provides more opportunity for participants to understand how their jobs, departments, and divisions fit into the whole organization
• Resource-Based View (RBV) in strategic management


  • Internal resources are more important for a firm than external factors in achieving and sustaining competitive advantage
  • Organizational performance will primarily be determined by internal resources that can be grouped into physical resources, human resources, and organizational resources
  • For a resource to be valuable, it must be either rare, hard to imitate, or not easily substitutable
• Distinctive competencies are a firm’s strengths that cannot be easily matched or imitated by competitors
• Building competitive advantages involves taking advantage of distinctive competencies
• Organizational culture significantly affects business decisions and must be evaluated during an internal strategic-management audit
• If strategies can capitalize on cultural strengths, such as a strong work ethic or highly ethical beliefs, then management often can swiftly and easily implement changes
• Functions of management


  • Consist of five basic activities: planning, organizing, motivating, staffing, and controlling
  • These activities are important to assess in strategic planning because an organization should continually capitalize on its management strengths and improve on its management weaknesses
• Basic functions or activities that make up management

  • Planning
  • Organizing
  • Motivating
  • Staffing
  • Controlling
• Management Audit Checklist of Questions
• Does the firm use strategic-management concepts?
• Are company objectives and goals measurable and well communicated?
• Do managers at all hierarchical levels plan effectively?
• Do managers delegate authority well?
• Is the organization’s structure appropriate?
• Are job descriptions and job specifications clear?
• Is employee morale high?
• Are employee turnover and absenteeism low?
• Are organizational reward and control mechanisms effective?
• Marketing is the process of defining, anticipating, creating, and fulfilling customers’ needs and wants for products and services
• Functions of Marketing
• Customer analysis involves administering customer surveys, analyzing consumer information, evaluating market positioning strategies, developing customer profiles, and determining optimal market segmentation strategies; essential in developing an effective mission statement
• Desirable Characteristics of Ads Today
• Product and service planning includes activities such as test marketing, product and brand positioning, devising warranties, packaging, determining product options, features, style, and quality, deleting old products, and providing for customer service; important when a company is pursuing product development or diversification
• Five major stakeholders affect pricing decisions: consumers, governments, suppliers, distributors, and competitors. Sometimes an organization will pursue a forward integration strategy primarily to gain better control over prices charged to consumers
• Distribution includes warehousing, distribution channels, distribution coverage, retail site locations, sales territories, inventory levels and location, transportation carriers, wholesaling, and retailing; especially important when a firm is striving to implement a market development or forward integration strategy
• Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services; can uncover critical strengths and weaknesses
• Three steps are required to perform a cost/benefit analysis: compute the total costs associated with a decision, estimate the total benefits from the decision, compare the total costs with the total benefits
• Marketing Audit Checklist of Questions
• Are markets segmented effectively?
• Is the organization positioned well among competitors?
• Has the firm’s market share been increasing?
• Are present channels of distribution reliable and cost effective?
• Does the firm have an effective sales organization?
• Does the firm conduct market research?
• Are product quality and customer service good?
• Are the firm’s products and services priced appropriately?
• Does the firm have an effective promotion, advertising, and publicity strategy?
• Are marketing, planning, and budgeting effective?
• Do the firm’s marketing managers have adequate experience and training?
• Questions to assess product quality and customer service

  • Are the firm’s products and services priced appropriately?
  • Does the firm have an effective promotion, advertising, and publicity strategy?
  • Are marketing, planning, and budgeting effective?
  • Do the firm’s marketing managers have adequate experience and training?
  • Is the firm’s Internet presence excellent as compared to rivals?