期末复习题Word文档格式.docx

期末复习题Word文档格式.docx

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Threats,Competition,andCompetitorAnalysis

ANSWERSTOREVIEWQUESTIONS

1.Explaintheimportanceofanalyzingandunderstandingthefirm’sexternalenvironment.

Theexternalenvironmentinfluencesthefirm’sstrategicoptionsaswellasthedecisionsmadeinlightofthem.Thefirm’sunderstandingoftheexternalenvironmentisespeciallyusefulwhenitismatchedwithknowledgeaboutitsinternalenvironment.Matchingtheconditionsofthetwoenvironmentsisthefoundationthefirmneedstoformitsvision,mission,andtotakestrategicactionsinthepursuitofstrategiccompetitivenessandabove-averagereturns.Theimportanceofunderstandingtheexternalenvironmentisfurtherunderscoredbythefactthattheenvironmentalconditionsfacingfirmsintheglobaleconomyofthe21stcenturydifferfromthosefirmsfacedpreviously.Forexample,technologicalchangesandtheexplosionininformationgatheringandprocessingcapabilitiesdemandmoretimelyandeffectivecompetitiveactionsandresponses.Therapidsociologicalchangesoccurringinmanycountriesaffectlaborpracticesandthenatureofproductsdemandedbyincreasinglydiverseconsumers.Governmentalpoliciesandlawsaffectwhereandhowfirmschoosetocompete.Competitiveadvantagegoestothosefirmswhoknowtheirexternalenvironmentandplantheirstrategiessotheyarerelevanttotheseconditions.

2.Defineanddescribethegeneralenvironmentandtheindustryenvironment.

Thegeneralenvironmentrepresentsthoseelementsinthebroadersocietythatcaninfluenceall（ormost）industriesandthefirmsthatcompeteinthoseindustries;

itrepresentselementsorsegmentsthatfirmscannotdirectlycontrol.Thegeneralenvironmentiscomposedofthefollowingsegments:

demographic,economic,political/legal,sociocultural,technological,andglobalsegments.

Theindustryenvironmentistheconstellationoffactorsthatdirectlyinfluencesafirmanditscompetitiveactionsandresponses.Firmsareinfluencedbythesefactorsandshouldattempttoestablishapositionintheindustrythatenablesthefirmtofavorablyinfluencethefactorsortosuccessfullydefendagainstthefactors’influence.Thesefactorsare:

threatofnewentrants,bargainingpowerofsuppliers,bargainingpowerofbuyers,threatfromsubstituteproducts,andintensityofrivalryamongcompetitors.

3.Discussthefouractivitiesoftheexternalenvironmentalanalysisprocess.

Theenvironmentalanalysisprocessrepresentsanorganizedattemptbythefirmtobetterunderstandturbulent,complex,andglobalenvironments.Thisisachievedbyscanning（studyingallsegmentsofthegeneralenvironmenttoidentifyexistingorpotentialchanges）,monitoring（observingthepatternofchangesovertimeinanattempttodetectmeaningoridentifytrends）,forecasting（developingfeasibleprojectionsofwhatmight

happen,andhowquickly,asaresultofchangesandtrendsidentifiedfromscanningandmonitoringactivities）andassessing（determiningthetimingandsignificanceofenvironmentalchangesandtrendsonthestrategicmanagementofthefirm）.Stateddifferently,thisanalysisshouldexamineandprocessexternaldataonacontinuousbasis.

Animportantobjectiveoftheenvironmentalanalysisprocessistoidentifypotentialthreats（conditionsthatmayhinderthefirm’seffortstoachievestrategiccompetitiveness）andopportunities（thatmayassistorhelpthefirminitseffortstoachievestrategiccompetitiveness）.

4.Nameanddescribethegeneralenvironment’ssevensegments.

Thedemographicsegmentisconcernedwithcharacteristicsofthepopulationorsocietythatmakesupthegeneralenvironment.Characteristicsofinterestaresize,age,structure,geographicdistribution,ethnicmix,andincomedistribution.

Theeconomicsegmentreferstothenatureanddirectionoftheeconomyinwhichafirmcompetesormaycompeteinthefuture.Importantcharacteristicsincludeinflationandinterestrates,tradedeficits（orsurpluses）,budgetdeficits（orsurpluses）,individualandbusinesssavingsandinvestmentrates,andgrossdomesticproduct.

Thepolitical/legalsegmentisthearenainwhichorganizationsandinterestgroupscompeteforattention,resources,andavoiceinoverseeingthebodyoflawsandregulationsguidinginteractionsbetweennations.Inotherwords,thissegmentisconcernedwithhowfirmsandotherorganizationsattempttoinfluencegovernmentandhowgovernmentalentitiesinturninfluencethem.

Thesocioculturalsegmentisconcernedwiththesocialattitudesandculturalvaluesofdifferentsocieties.

Thetechnologicalsegmentismadeupoftheinstitutionsandactivitiesinvolvedwithcreatingnewknowledgeandtranslatingthatknowledgeintonewoutputs,products,processes,ormaterials.

Theglobalsegmentincludesrelevantnewglobalmarketsandexistingonesthatarechanging,importantinternationalpoliticalevents,andcriticalculturalandinstitutionalcharacteristicsofrelevantglobalmarkets.Thissegmentrecognizesthatfirmsnowcompeteinacompetitivelandscapewherebothcompetitorsandcustomersareglobal,dueinparttotherapiddiffusionofbothinformationandtechnology.Competitorswillnolongerbedomestic;

theycanoriginatefromindustrialized,newlyindustrialized,oremergingcountries.Customerdemandsandexpectationshavechanged;

theyarebasedonanever-increasingawarenessofglobalproductsandservices.

Thephysicalenvironmentsegmentreferstopotentialandactualchangesinthephysicalenvironmentandbusinesspracticesthatareintendedtopositivelyrespondtoanddealwiththosechanges.Ecological,social,andeconomicsystemsinteracttoinfluencewhathappensinthissegment.Globalwarming,energyconsumption,andsustainabilityareallexamplesofissuesrelatedtothephysicalenvironment.

5.Identifythefivecompetitiveforcesandexplainhowtheydetermineanindustry’sprofitpotential.

Anindustry’scompetitiveintensityandprofitpotentialcanbedeterminedbytherelativestrengthsoffivecompetitiveforces.Thismodelofindustrycompetitionrecognizesthatsupplierscaninfluenceindustryprofitabilitybyraisingpricesorreducingthequalityofgoodssoldifindustryparticipantsareunabletorecovercostincreasesthroughpricingstructures.Buyerscaninfluencetheprofitpotentialofanindustryifthebuyergroupisabletosuccessfullybargainforhigherquality,greaterlevelsofservice,andlowerprices.Substituteproductsinfluenceanindustry’sprofitpotentialbyplacinganupperlimitonpricesthatcanbecharged.Newentrantstoanindustryinfluenceindustryprofitabilitybecausetheybringadditionalproductioncapacitytotheindustry.Unlessproductdemandisincreasing,additionalcapacityholdsdown（orreduces）buyers’costs,reducingprofitabilityforallfirmsintheindustry.Theintensityofrivalryamongcompetitorsreflectscompetitoractionsandresponsesasfirmsinitiatemovestoimprovetheircompetitivepositionorwhentheyactinretaliationforcompetitivepressuresbroughtaboutbythestrategicactionsofrivalfirms.Generally,thegreatertheintensityofcompetitiverivalry,thelowertheoverallprofitabilityofanindustry.

6.Definestrategicgroupsanddescribetheirinfluenceonthefirm.

Astrategicgroupisagroupoffirmswithinanindustrythatgenerallyfollowthesame（orasimilar）strategy,competingalongthesamestrategicdimensions（suchasproductquality,pricingpolicy,distributionchannels,orlevelofcustomerservice）.

Thestrategicgroupconceptisvaluabletoafirm’sstrategicdecisionmakersbecauseafirm’sprimarycompetitorsarethosewithinitsstrategicgroup（allgroupmembersaresellingsimilarproductstoasimilargroupofcustomers）,thestrengthsofthefivecompetitiveforcesvariesacrossstrategicgroups,andstrategicgroupsthataresimilar（intermsofstrategiesfollowedandcompetitivedimensionsemphasized）increasesthepossibilityofincreasedcompetitiverivalrybetweenthegroups.

Thenotionofstrategicgroupscanbeusefulforanalyzinganindustry’scompetitivestructure.Suchanalysescanbehelpfulindiagnosingcompetition,positioning,andtheprofitabilityoffirmswithinanindustry.Strategicgroupanalysisshowswhichcompaniesarecompetingsimilarlyintermsofhowtheyusesimilarstrategicdimensions.Atthesametime,researchhasfoundthatstrategicgroupsdifferinperformance,suggestingtheirimportance.Strategicgroupmembershipalsoremainsrelativelystableovertime,makinganalysiseasierandmoreuseful.

Strategicgroupshaveseveralimplications.First,becausefirmswithinagroupoffersimilarproductstothesamecustomers,thecompetitiverivalryamongthemcanbeintense.Themoreintensetherivalry,thegreaterthethreattoeachfirm’sprofitability.Second,thestrengthsofthefiveindustryforces（thethreatsposedbynewentrants,thepowerofsuppliers,thepowerofbuyers,productsubstitutes,andtheintensityofrivalryamongcompetitors）differacrossstrategicgroups.Third,thecloserthestrategicgroupsareintermsoftheirstrategies,thegreateristhelikelihoodofrivalrybetweenthegroups.Intheend,havingathoroughunderstandingofprimarycompetitorshelpsafirmformulateandimplementanappropriatestrategy.

7.Describewhatfirmsneedtoknowabouttheircompetitorsanddifferentmethods（includingethicalstandards）usedtocollectintelligenceaboutthem.

Competitoranalysiscanhelpthefirmtounderstandandbetteranticipatecompetitors’futureobjectives,currentstrategies,assumptions,andcapabilities.Thefirmshouldgatherintelligenceaboutitscompetitorsaswellasaboutpublicpoliciesi