BUSINESS STRATEGY PROJECT

These are general guidelines for the project.

PART I
EXTERNAL ANALYSIS
This module requires you to analyze the industry environment in which the company is
based. It is important in this section that you use as many different analytical tools as
possible, including Porters five forces and complementors, strategic groups, and life-cycle
analysis. Each of these tools provides a different type of insight to a firms managers, and use
of every available tool will provide the most well-rounded and realistic picture of the
industry. This analysis will provide you with the OPPORTUNITIES and THREATS (O&T)
facing the firm.

PART II
INTERNAL ANALYSIS
FIRM RESOURCES AND CAPABILITIES

Once you have identified key success factors in the industry analysis, proceed with the
internal analysis. Please follow this template.



BUSINESS STRATEGY PROJECT (contd.)

FUNCTIONAL LEVEL STRATEGY

Construct a value chain of the firm (restrict to the primary industry it competes in, if it is in
more than one).

BUSINESS LEVEL STRATEGY

Identify the firms core or most important business unit. Describe the firms generic business
strategy, and that strategys advantages and disadvantages.
This module asks you to investigate every major component of a business-level strategy, and
to explore the relationships between those components. The best suggestions would be based
on aligning every component of the business-level strategy. For example, do the firms
capabilities support its generic strategy? If not, then capabilities are one area that needs
suggestions for improvement. The same is true for the other areas.
Also, a look at the strategys advantages and disadvantages should provide ideas for potential
improvements. For example, a differentiator has the disadvantage that they may lose sight of
customers changing needs. Therefore, a differentiator should have a distinctive capability in
understanding customers, and if the firm does not, then that is another possible suggestion.

SUSTAINING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Apply the Ghemawat terta-threat framework (Imitation, Substitution, Slack, Asset
Specificity) here. How can the firm protect its competitive advantage?

CORPORATE STRATEGY

Assess the vertical integration and diversification strategy being pursued by the company,
and explain the reasons why the company integrated/diversified. For companies that have
recently entered a new business, identify and evaluate the reasons and strategy used by the
company. For companies that have recently reduced diversification through restructuring,
identify the reasons and exit strategy used, and evaluate the effectiveness of the restructuring
efforts.

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