Strategy Planning

This week, our discussion thread is centered on the internal capabilities of organizations. Review the video “The Capability Concept” on Page 1 of the module to refresh your understanding of the capability concept.

To prepare for this discussion, revisit the Cola Wars case (see the Yoffie reading last week), and review this week’s reading by Barney, “Looking Inside for Competitive Advantage.”

• Using Barney's characteristics (VRIO), revisit the Coca-Cola case and identify which resources are most important for competitive advantage.

• Based on the analysis of Coca-Cola’s resources, make recommendations to Coca-Cola’s management as to which of the resources you have identified should be invested in (or divested) and/or which resources should be acquired. 

• In your follow-on response, focus on the viability of the suggestions made by other students: To which degree do these suggestions make sense with regard to the possibility of gaining sustainable competitive advantage (related to value, rareness, inimitability, and non-substitutability of the factors)?

  Post your original comments. When commenting on other students’ posts, compare the two findings of interest from your original post to the two findings presented by others.

   

  This is the video “The Capability Concept” all reading below:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KN81_oYl1s

   

  Reading

• Chapter 3 in Foundations of Strategy

• Chapter 3 PowerPoint slides in Foundations of Strategy

• Barney, J.B. (1995). Looking inside for competitive advantage. Academy of Management Executive, 9(4), 49-61.

• Zhouying, J., & Ying, B. (2011). Sustainable development and long-term strategic management. World Future Review, 3(2) 49-69. Retrieved from http://graduateinstitute.ch/files/live/sites/iheid/files/sites/cies/shared/UNEP%20CIES%20WS/ARTICLE_Jin_Sustainable_Dev_to%20Rick%20%2025Aug11.pdf

• Yoffie, D. (2009, April 16). Cola wars continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2006. Retrieved from http://cvonline.uaeh.edu.mx/Cursos/Lic_virt/Mercadotecnia/DMKT008/Unidad 3/36_lec_Cola_Wars_Continue_coke_and_Pepsi_2006.pdf

 Two pages, APA style