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Strategy Analysis #2: Value System and RBV For this strategy analysis, we’re looking at what your company does to make itself successful

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Strategy Analysis #2: Value System and RBV

For this strategy analysis, we’re looking at what your company does to make itself successful. It has three parts: Value System, Value Chain, and Resource-Based View of the Firm. Instructions for all parts are below.

Purpose

The purpose of this analysis is to identify and understand the entire process of “where we get things,” from extracting raw materials from the ground to disposing of the products after the consumer has finished with them, and to understand what your company does differently from other companies in the same industry.

Overall Reminder

These instructions are written with the assumption that you have read, studied, and understood all of the course materials BEFORE you work on this assignment. Information about concepts is included here as a reminder, *not* as a substitute for the course materials.

1. Choose *one* of your company’s products for this assignment.
   If your company sells but does not manufacture this product (for example, most retail businesses), you still need to begin at the “extraction” stage.
2. If the product you choose is complex, choose the two or three most important raw materials. Think big and general, not detailed.
3. Complete the tables below for your company.
   Be as specific as you can for your industry and your company. When you can’t find specific information, use more general information that would apply to the industry in general.

NOTE: One way to do this is to start at the production of the final product. Then, work backwards, and work forward. Ask “What happens just before this point?” Do this until all processes have been captured, until you get to raw materials. Then ask, “What happens after the product is no longer able to be used?” and continue until the product is reused, recycled, or in a landfill/incinerated.

NOTE: Some steps in your value system and value chain may have more than one process and/or more than one company or actor doing that process. For example, in the value system, your industry may have several steps of processing raw materials before the manufacturing stage. Or, your company may distribute through wholesalers to retail locations, or it may sell directly to the end user, or both. There may be several points along the way where materials or products are sent from one place to another.

 

 

Part 1: Value System for Your Company’s Industry

Review: Value System Activities

This is a VERY general list of steps that are common to most value systems.

• Extraction: What raw materials are used? How are taken from the ground or from plants or animals?
• Processing of raw materials: what needs to happen in order for the raw materials to be used in making the products?
• Distribution: How does the product get from the factory to the customers? This can be several steps, if, for example, the product is sold through a distributor.
• Post-Sales Service: After the product is sold, what other contacts do you have with customers, if any? What kind of services do customers need after they purchase this product?
• Disposal: What happens to the product when it is no longer usable?

Value System

Product:

Industry:

I. WHAT and HOW? What happens at this step in the process of making this product? (Value System Activity)   Name and describe each step.	II. WHY?  (Value Added) Why does this step happen? What value does it add to the final product?	III. WHO? Who owns the organization that does this step? Your company or another?	IV: WHERE? Where does this step happen? (Countries, regions, cities, etc.)
Extraction:

Add as many rows as you need to write the complete process from extraction to disposal.

 

 

Part 2: RBV and VRIO Analysis

1. Make a list of all the resources that your company owns, controls, or has access to. That includes assets, capabilities, competencies, organizational processes, firm attributes, information, knowledge, etc. Be specific to your company.
2. Choose the five most important resources.
3. Then, complete a VRIO analysis on each resource by answering the questions below about each resource. Refer to other course materials about RBV and VRIO to help you decide, if you need to. Fill out the table below.

VRIO Analysis Questions—Answer for Each Resource

(1) Stop when you get a “No”, and (2) the last answer, in the orange(ish) box, will tell you to what extent each resource contributes to your company’s competitive advantage.
	“Valuable” means “can the organization use this resource to make a profit for the company?” It doesn’t mean “is it expensive?” If the answer is “no,” then perhaps you should get rid of this resource.
	“Rare” means that it is not usual among the companies in this industry.
	“Costly” means it would be expensive and/or take a long time for another organization to buy or make its own version of this resource, starting now.
	Remember the video when answering this question! It will be more difficult to answer this correctly because you don’t have a lot of access to inside the company, so try to think about what your company would need to do to avoid being like Xerox.

 

 

 

Type your answers to Question 3 in the table below. Briefly explain your yes or no answers,

Company Name:         

Resource:
Is it Valuable?
Is it Rare?
Is it costly to Imitate?
Is the company Organized to take advantage of the resource?
Is this resource a source of sustained competitive advantage for the company?

 

Please make sure you have done everything on this list before you turn in your work. Thank you!

1. Delete all the instructions; ONLY turn in your work. Thank you!
2. Include your name, your company name, and the product you are using for Parts 1 and
3. Make sure your work is single-spaced (or at least not double-spaced); that makes more of it fit on the screen when I grade it, yay!
4. Save your work as a pdf or as a Word document.