Английский язык. Практический курс для решения бизнес-задач - стр. 58
– Human Resource Management – the activities associated with recruiting, development and compensation of employees.
– Firm Infrastructure – includes activities such as finance, legal, quality management, etc.
Support activities are often viewed as «overhead», but some firms successfully have used them to develop a competitive advantage, for example, to develop a cost advantage through innovative management of information systems.
Value-Chain Analysis
In order to better understand the activities for a competitive advantage, one can begin with the generic value chain and then identify the relevant firm-specific activities. Process flows can be mapped, and these flows used to isolate the individual value-creating activities.
Once the discrete activities are defined, linkages between activities should be identified. A linkage exists if the performance or cost of one activity affects that of another. Competitive advantage may be obtained by optimizing and coordinating linked activities.
The value chain also is useful in outsourcing decisions. Understanding the linkages between activities can lead to more optimal make-or-buy decisions that can result in either a cost advantage or a differentiating advantage.
The Value System
The firm’s value chain links to the value chain of upstream suppliers and downstream buyers. The result is a larger stream of activities known as the value system. The development of a competitive advantage depends not only on the firm-specific value chain, but also on the value system of which the firm is a part.
Source: www.quickmba.com
PEST Analysis
A PEST Analysis is an analysis of the external macro-environment that affects all firms. PEST is an acronym for the Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors of the external macro-environment. Such external factors are usually beyond the firm’s control and sometimes present themselves as threats. For this reason, some say that «pest» is an appropriate term for these factors. However, changes in the external environment also create new opportunities and the letters sometimes are rearranged to construct the more optimistic term of STEP analysis.
Many macro-environmental factors are country-specific and a PEST analysis will need to be performed for all countries of interest.
Political Analysis
–Political stability
–Risk of military invasion
–Risk of nationalization
–Legal framework for contract enforcement
–Intellectual property protection
–Trade regulations & tariffs
–Favored trading partners
–Anti-trust laws
–Pricing regulations
–Taxation system – tax rates and incentives
–Wage legislation – minimum wage and overtime
–Work week
–Mandatory employee benefits
–Industrial safety regulations
–Product labeling requirements
Economic Analysis
–Type of economic system in countries of operation
–Government intervention in the free market
–Comparative advantages of host country
–Exchange rates and stability of host country currency
–Efficiency of financial markets
–Infrastructure quality
–Skill level of workforce
–Labor costs
–Business cycle stage (e.g. prosperity, recession, recovery)
–Economic growth rate
–Disposable income
–Unemployment rate
–Inflation rate
–Interest rates
Social Analysis
–Demographics
–Class structure
–Education