Documents should be based on TOYOTA
Assignment: Analysing and Evaluating Implications of the Internal Environment
In this Individual Assignment, you will essentially repeat the analysis that you performed in the Shared Activity, which was a practice session. Based on the various examples of your peers' analyses, you should be in a better position to do a strong resource-based analysis of the organisation that you selected for your Final Project.
To prepare for this Individual Assignment:
• Examine and critically review the peer and faculty feedback that was offered during the Shared Activity.
• Review the Readings and, in particular, examine the VRIOS framework and internal value chain information in Pitt and Koufopoulos (2012: Chapter 5).
• Review the SCOT Analysis document and consider how to best deploy it. You are not required to use the pre-designed templates, but you will be responsible for a robust and complete analysis with implications clearly stated.
To complete your Individual Assignment:
• Prepare a table in Word that replicates Figure 5.3 on page 138 in Pitt and Koufopoulos (2012: Chapter 5). Rather than just using the phrase ‘distinctive capability' as the left hand column, use the following category boxes, in this order from top to bottom:
Skills: 1, 2, 3, and so on (i.e. core individuals in the organisation who bring distinct value to it)
Competencies and capabilities: 1, 2, 3, and so on (i.e. work-groups, functional units, discrete activities), as ordered by a detailed rendering of the organisation's value-chain activities Other strategic assets
• Using the table to organise your thoughts, make a detailed VRIOS evaluation of the skills, competencies and capabilities and other strategic assets of the organisation that you selected for your Final Project. Use the A through D scale shown in the figure.
• Be sure to explain what the strategic implications of your analysis are and how the set of implications limits or shapes your strategic recommendations.
• Be sure to identify specific future strategy actions and recommendations based on your evaluation of options and to provide a basic defense of why your recommended actions are the most appropriate.
Note: You may use any and all of the Readings from this unit to support your reasoning.
• Be sure to support your postings with evidence from the Readings and current literature from the UoRL Library and other sources.
Shared Activity: Mapping and Evaluating Core Skills, Competencies and Capabilities: SCOT, Value-Chain and VRIOS Analysis
In this Shared Activity you will conduct research and perform critical analyses of the internal resource base of an organisation that is relatedto the one that you are studying as part of your Final Project for this module. You will examine and probe the work of your peers and then offer potential critical directing questions and specific and constructive ideas for improving your peers' work.
To prepare for this Shared Activity:
• Review the Readings and, in particular, examine the VRIOS framework and internal value chain information in Pitt and Koufopoulos (2012: Chapter 5).
• Review the SCOT Analysis document and consider how to best deploy it. You are not required to use the pre-designed templates, but you will be responsible for a robust and complete analysis with implications clearly stated.
• Choose a business and industry that is related to the business you selected for your Final Project. It could be a competitor, supplier, customer or others.
To complete this Shared Activity:
• Prepare a table in Word that replicates Figure 5.3 on page 138 in Pitt and Koufopoulos (2012: Chapter 5). Rather than just using the phrase ‘distinctive capability' as shown in the left hand column, use the following category boxes, in this order from top to bottom:
Skills: 1, 2, 3, and so on (i.e. core individuals in the organisation who bring distinct value to it)
Competencies and capabilities: 1, 2, 3, and so on (i.e. work-groups, functional units, discrete activities), as ordered by a detailed rendering of the organisation's value-chain activities
Other strategic assets
• Using the table to organise your thoughts, make a VRIOS evaluation of the skills, competencies, capabilities and other strategic assets of the organisation you selected for your Final Project. Use the A through D scale as shown in the figure.
• Be sure to explain what the strategic implications of your analysis are and how the set of implications limits or shapes your strategic recommendations.
• Be sure to identify specific future strategy actions and recommendations based on your evaluation of options and to provide a basic defense of why your recommended actions are the most appropriate.
Note: You may use any and all of the Readings from this unit to support your reasoning.
• Review your colleagues' posts.
The V-R-I-O-S Worksheet
An enterprise's strategic assets and distinctive capabilities may be identified through a detailed analysis of its resources and capabilities using the V-R-I-O-S framework.
A suitable resource for this purpose is shown in Figure 5.3.
The five criteria of the V-R-I-O-S framework can be used to examine strategic assets and distinctive capabilities more critically. Each element can be rated, for example, using on a four-point scale outlined in the figure. The higher the combined rating, the more valuable is the asset.
Having completed this analysis, analysts can then identify actions aiming to:
• Defend the current means of value-creation.
• Increase the advantage gained from these means.
• Enhance further the value-creating capabilities of the enterprise.
(Pitt 138-139) Pitt, Martyn R. Essentials of Strategic Management. Sage Publications (UK), 03/2012. VitalBook file.