Strategy: A View from the Top (An Executive Perspective) » (3rd Edition)

This text is a short, up-to-date, practitioner oriented guide to strategy formulation for the established executive.

This edition focuses on strategic “ecosystems,” global tectonics, formulating a base unit strategy, global strategy formulation, shaping the portfolio, and managing the portfolio.

This is intended for practicing executives getting ready to assume executive responsibilities.

Preface     xiii
What Is Strategy?     1
Introduction     1
Strategy Defined     2
Strategic Thinking Continues to Evolve     2
Strategy Versus Tactics     5
Strategy Forces Trade-offs     6
Strategy Should Focus on Value Creation     7
Strategy Is About Creating Options     10
Strategy: An Ecosystem Perspective     11
Strategy as Alignment     12
Is All Strategy Planned?     13
Multiple Levels of Strategy     13
The Role of Stakeholders     13
Vision and Mission     14
Strategic Intent and Stretch     16
Strategy and the Nonprofit Sector     17
The Strategy Formulation Process     19
Steps     19
Strategy and Planning     21
Evaluating Strategic Options     22
Criteria     22
Shareholder Value     23
Strategy and Performance     26
Introduction     26
From Good to Great-About Hedgehogs and Flywheels     28
The 4+2 Formula for Sustained Business Success     31
Excelling at Four Primary Practices     32
Embracing Two ofFour Secondary Practices     34
Strategy and Performance: A Conceptual Framework     36
Strategy, Purpose, and Leadership     38
Strategy and Organizational Change     39
The Balanced Scorecard     44
Performance and Control     47
The Role of the Board     48
Analyzing the External Strategic Environment     53
Introduction     53
Globalization     54
Understanding Globalization     55
Regionalism: A Stepping Stone on the Path Toward a Global Economy?     56
New Powerhouses: India and China     56
Global Tectonics and Their Strategic Implications     58
Global Tectonics     59
12 Global Trends     59
A Global Knowledge Economy-Strategic Implications     68
Risk and Uncertainty     69
Scenario Analysis     70
Global Futures: The Global Scenario Group     71
A New Compact Between Business and Society?     73
Analyzing an Industry     77
Introduction     77
What Is an Industry?     78
Industry Structure and Porter's Five Forces Model     78
Industry Evolution     82
Four Trajectories of Change     83
Industry Structure, Concentration, and Product Differentiation     84
Product Life Cycle Analysis     85
New Patterns     88
Methods for Analyzing an Industry     89
Segmentation     89
Competitor Analysis     90
Strategic Groups     92
Analyzing Product/Market Scope     93
Market Analysis     93
Growth Vector Analysis     94
Gap Analysis     95
Profit Pool Analysis     96
Analyzing an Organization's Strategic Resource Base     97
Introduction     97
Strategic Resources     98
Physical Assets     99
Analyzing a Company's Financial Resource Base     99
Human Capital: A Company's Most Valuable Strategic Resource     105
Organizational Strategic Resources     106
The Importance of Brands     108
Core Competencies     109
Forces for Change     111
Internal Forces for Change     111
Company Life Cycle Forces for Change     111
Strategic Forces for Change     113
Stakeholder Analysis     114
Formulating Business Unit Strategy      116
Introduction     116
Foundations     117
Strategic Logic at the Business Unit Level     117
How Much Does Industry Matter?     117
Relative Position     118
The Importance of Market Share     118
The PIMS Project     119
Formulating a Competitive Strategy     120
Key Challenges     120
What Is Competitive Advantage?     121
Value Chain Analysis     122
Porter's Generic Business Unit Strategies     125
Differentiation or Low Cost?     125
Requirements for Success     127
Risks     129
The Saga of Dell     129
Critique of Porter's Generic Strategies     130
Value Disciplines     132
Product Leadership     132
Operational Excellence     133
Customer Intimacy     134
Designing a Profitable Business Model     136
Business Unit Strategy: Contexts and Special Dimensions     140
Introduction     140
Emerging, Growth, Mature, and Declining Industries     141
Strategy in Emerging Industries     141
Strategy in Growth Industries     142
Strategy in Mature and Declining Industries     143
Industry Evolution and Functional Priorities     144
Fragmented, Deregulating, and Hypercompetitive Industries     147
Strategy in Fragmented Industries     147
Strategy in a Deregulating Industries     148
Strategy in Hypercompetitive Industries     152
Competitive Reactions Under Extreme Competition     154
Business Unit Strategy: Special Dimensions     156
Speed     156
Pressures to Speed     157
Requirements of Speed     159
Methods to Speed     160
Creating Value Through Innovation     161
Global Strategy Formulation     172
Introduction     172
Globalization and Industrial Clustering     173
Porter's National Diamond     175
Industry Globalization Drivers     177
Global Strategy Formulation     181
Global Strategy Dimensions     182
Entry Strategies     189
Region/Country Analysis     191
How Wal-Mart Went Global     192
Global Strategy and Risk     198
Types of Risk     198
Global Strategy-Exploiting Similarities and Differences      200
Corporate Strategy: Shaping the Portfolio     203
Introduction     203
The Economics of Scale and Scope     204
Economies of Scale     205
Economies of Scope     205
What Is "Core"?     207
Growth Strategies     208
Concentrated Growth Strategies     210
Vertical and Horizontal Integration     211
Diversification Strategies     214
Growth and Strategic Risk     226
Disinvestments: Sell-offs, Spin-offs, and Liquidations     229
Pitfalls     229
Corporate Strategy: Managing the Portfolio     232
Introduction     232
Managing a Portfolio of Businesses     233
Early Perspectives: Management as "Structure Follows Strategy"     233
The BCG Approach to Portfolio Management     234
General Electric Business Screen     237
MACS: McKinsey's Market-Activated Corporate Strategy Framework     237
Life Cycle Matrix     241
Limitations of Portfolio Analysis Techniques     242
The Value-Based Approach to Portfolio Management     243
The Resource-Based Approach to Portfolio Management     245
Using a Portfolio Approach for Managing Alliances      246
The Role of the Corporate Office     247
Corporate Strategic Planning     249
From Strategic Planning to Strategic Management     250
Corporate Strategic Planning as a Process     252
Limitations of Strategic Planning     254
Horizontal Strategies for Managing a Portfolio     254
Resource Sharing     255
Learning and Transferring Critical Skills     255
Creating a Learning Organization     256
The Boundaryless Organization     257
Knowledge Management     258
Evaluating Strategy Options at the Corporate Level     259
Index     263