HOW THIS BOOk IS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER STRATEGY TExTBOOkS
This book contains a Strategic Management Model that runs through the first 12 chap- ters and is made operational through the Strategic Audit, a complete case analysis methodology. The Strategic Audit provides a professional framework for case analysis in terms of external and internal factors and takes the student through the generation of strategic alternatives and implementation programs.
To help the student synthesize the many factors in a complex strategy case, we developed three useful techniques:
■■ The External Factor Analysis (EFAS) Table in Chapter 4 ■■ This reduces the external opportunities and threats to the 8 to 10 most important
external factors facing management. ■■ The Internal Factor Analysis (IFAS) Table in Chapter 5 ■■ This reduces the internal strengths and weaknesses to the 8 to 10 most important
internal factors facing management. ■■ The Strategic Factor Analysis Summary (SFAS) Matrix in Chapter 6
This condenses the 16 to 20 factors generated in the EFAS and IFAS tables into the 8 to 10 most important (strategic) factors facing the company. These strategic factors become the basis for generating alternatives and act as a recommendation for the company’s future direction.
Suggestions for case analysis are provided in Appendix 13.B (end of Chapter 13) and contain step-by-step procedures on how to use a strategic audit in analyzing a case. This appendix includes an example of a student-written strategic audit. Thousands of students around the world have applied this methodology to case analysis with great success. The Case Instructor’s Manual contains examples of student-written strategic audits for each of the full-length comprehensive strategy cases.
22 PREFACE
A01_WHEE5488_15_GE_FM.indd 22 7/13/17 4:01 PM
FEATURES This edition contains many of the same features and content that helped make previ- ous editions successful. Some of the features include the following:
■■ A strategic management model runs throughout the first 12 chapters as a unify- ing concept. (Explained in Chapter 1)
■■ The strategic audit, a way to opera- tionalize the strategic decision- making process, serves as a checklist in case analysis. (Chapter 1)
■■ Corporate governance is examined in terms of the roles, responsibilities, and interactions of top management and the board of directors. (Chapter 2)
■■ Social responsibility and managerial ethics are examined in detail in terms of how they affect strategic decision making. They include the pro- cess of stakeholder analysis and the concept of social capital. (Chapter 3)
PREFACE 23