Internal Analysis and SWOT Analysis SLP

Background

In the background materials section of this module, we discussed the process and utility of conducting an internal analysis as a means of critically assessing a company’s strengths and weaknesses. One of the tools discussed in the background materials was the Resource Based View (RBV) analysis.

Required Reading

Refer to the required and optional readings on Internal Analysis, the theme for this module.

Assignment

In this SLP, you will completing a modified RBV analysis of the Kraft Foods Company. You will incorporate this information into your Case analysis for this module.

Note: Throughout this course, you should complete the SLP before you undertake the case analysis. Before you begin the SLP, you need to read the background materials thoroughly.

Keys to the Assignment

Step One: Resources are the inputs into a production process. They can be capital, equipment, patents, skill sets of individual employees and/or managers, financial resources, etc. Resources can be tangible or intangible. Individually, they may not necessarily lead to a competitive advantage – it is how they are used and the synergies they create that make them strategically valuable. Give me as much information as you can find about the following as it relates to the Kraft Foods Company:
Tangible Resources

1. Physical Resources

2. Financial Resources

3. Human Resources

4. Other?

Intangible Resources

1. Technical Resources

2. Intellectual Resources

3. Goodwill

4. Other (cultural, reputational, strategic alliances)?

Step Two: Distinctive capabilities are those competencies possessed by a firm that cannot be copied or can be replicated only with great difficulty or resources. Determine the distinctive capabilities of the Kraft Foods Company as it relates to as many of the following as you can:
1) Architecture,

2) Reputation, and

3) Innovation.

Step Three: Provide the above information in a 4-page paper (not including cover page or references).