Reply 8.2 (need in 8 hours)

From my experience, I have found that consistent evaluation of internal and external factors is the most important part of establishing, maintaining and improving a competitive advantage. The internal and external assessments that we performed as instructed by the book are extremely intentional to consider internal strengths, internal weaknesses, external opportunities and external threats. Identifying and analyzing each of these components at the beginning of the strategic planning process, as well as throughout the course of a project, can help a firm develop a necessary competitive advantage. As David & David (2017, p. 8) state, competitive advantages are not permanent and can fade away quickly. Understanding internal and external factors enable a firm to turn a strength into an advantage, improve a weakness so that it does not inhibit an advantage, recognize opportunities to establish an advantage and combat threats that may negate a competitive advantage. Considering the availability of information and data, and the speed in which industries change, a firm simply cannot establish a competitive advantage, or even compete, if it is not assessing internal and external factors regularly (David & David, 2017, pp. 60-121)

References

David, F. R., & David, F. R. (2017). Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage Approach. Boston, MA: Pearson.