Exam 5: Value Chain Analysis

An analysis of a firm's value chain provides more actionable information for managing strategy than a SWOT analysis and it illustrates how a firm's strengths and weaknesses are produced.

Most companies participate in ________ of the industry value chain.

It has become more difficult to create value in the travel agency industry because

Some sophisticated strategy research has demonstrated that industry structure and conditions can explain only a small portion of the variance in the performance of firms within an industry.

It is possible to create value upstream for suppliers as well as for the community in which the company operates in addition to creating value for customers.

Performance and cost dimensions of activities that are derived from the strategic choices made about the underlying economic logic and structure of the business are known as

The three primary steps in performing a value chain analysis are: 1) identify the value chain activities, 2) evaluate their value-creating properties and cost characteristics, and 3) identify improvements that allow the company to capture greater value.

The complexity of the value chain for Microsoft's Xbox 360 is best illustrated by the fact that

The ________ provides "a systematic way of examining all the activities a firm performs and how they interact..."

Value chain activities that are far less obvious to outsiders and competitors, and therefore far more difficult to imitate are ________ activities.

A SWOT analysis can help uncover a company's strengths and weaknesses, knowledge it can then use as it creates or adjusts its strategy.

Inputs, operations, distribution, and marketing and sales are representative support activities in the value chain.

________ occurs when some other party appreciates something that we do for them and is willing to execute a profitable transaction with us as a result.

A matrix that arrays a company's strengths and weaknesses against its opportunities and threats is called a probability-impact matrix.

In your own words describe some of the benefits and drawbacks of using a SWOT analysis.

A study of employment in the U.S. found that jobs in the economy

The Microsoft Xbox console uses 1,700 components produced by 250 suppliers worldwide.

Which of the following is a potential SWOT analysis drawback?

The benefits of value chain analysis over SWOT analysis include which of the following?

Value capture occurs when a company creates value by acting in ways that its competitors cannot or will not act.