Essentials of Strategic Management (4th Edition) (Paperback)

This brief book offers a short, concise explanation of the most important concepts and techniques in Strategic Management. While based on rigorous research studies, the citations and footnotes are minimal. Essentials of Strategic Management is suitable for use in corporate and executive training programs. Offers a sound introduction to strategic management, focusing on the basic concepts and their applications to the management field. Topics include environmental scanning and industry analysis, strategy formulation: corporate strategy, strategy implementation: organizing for action, among others. For professionals in fields of strategic planning and competitive strategy.

We wrote this book to provide you with a short, concise explanation of the most important concepts and techniques in strategic management. There is no fluff in this book. Essentials of Strategic Management is significantly shorter than our other books, but we have not "dumbed it down" or made it "cutesy." It is a rigorous explanation of many topics and concerns in strategic management. We condensed the content of the field into 11 carefully crafted chapters. The key concepts and techniques are here. We cite only enough examples to help you understand the material. Although the content is based on rigorous research studies, we don't report every study and we don't provide endless footnotes. For those who want more research detail and illustrative examples, please see our other textbook, Strategic Management, 7th edition. For a combination of text and cases, please see Strategic Management and Business Policy, 7th edition. If you would like to use cases to accompany Essentials of Strategic Management, please consider our Cases in Strategic Management, 7th edition. CONTINUING FEATURES FROM 1ST EDITION

Both 1st and 2nd editions of Essentials of Strategic Management contain the following features:

A strategic decision-making model based on the underlying processes of environmental scanning, strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and evaluation and control is presented in chapter 1 and provides an integrating framework for the book. Michael Porter's approach to industry analysis and competitive strategy (plus competitive tactics) is highlighted in chapters 3 and 5. The resource-based view of the firm, in chapter 4, serves as a foundation for organizational analysis. Functional analysis and functional strategies receive major attention in chapters 4 and 7. Sections on R&D and R&D strategies emphasize the importance of technology to strategy and product-market decisions. Strategy implementation deals not only with organization design and structure, but also with executive leadership and succession, reengineering, total quality management, MBO, and action planning in chapters 8 and 9. Chapter 10 on evaluation and control explains the importance of measurement and incentives to organizational performance. Benchmarking and economic value-added measures are highlighted. International considerations are included in all chapters and are highlighted in special sections in chapters 3, 8, 9, and 10.Environmental scanning and forecasting is given emphasis equal to industry analysis in chapter 3. Suggested EFAS, IFAS, and SIAS Tables in chapters 3, 4, and 5 enable the reader to better identify and evaluate strategic factors. Top management and the board of directors are examined in detail in their roles as strategic managers in chapter 2. Social responsibility is discussed in chapter 2 in terms of its importance to strategic decision making. Suggestions for in-depth case analysis provide a complete listing of financial ratios, recommendations for oral and written analysis, and ideas for further research in chapter 11. The strategic audit is proposed as an aid to case analysis. This chapter is most useful for those who wish to supplement this book with cases. Each chapter begins and ends with a brief situation vignette of an actual company that helps illustrate the material. Each chapter ends with a list of key terms (which are also italicized within the text) and a set of discussion questions. FEATURES NEW TO THIS EDITION

This second edition of Essentials of Strategic Management contains the following new features:

Introduces the concept of the learning organization as a way to involve everyone in strategic management. Discusses the impact of hypercompetition on industry analysis and competitive strategy. Proposes an industry matrix as a way to compare key competitors in an industry. Discusses how value-chain analysis can be used to assess a company's strengths and weaknesses. Expands business strategy to include both competitive and cooperative strategies. Expands corporate strategy to include corporate parenting of business units. Emphasizes core and distinctive competencies. Adds ISO 9000 and activity-based costing to chapter 10, Evaluation and Control. INSTRUCTORS' MANUAL

An instructor's manual has been carefully constructed to accompany this book. It includes a series of multiple choice questions and answers to discussion questions plus a set of additional discussion and essay questions to use in exams. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to the people who reviewed this book: William E. Lindsey, Loyola Marymount University; Malika Richards, Drexel University; and Nicholas C. Georgantzas, Fordham University; for their constructive criticism and suggestions. Their thought and effort have resulted in a book that is superior to the first edition. Our thanks go to Jennifer Glennon, Managing Editor, Prentice Hall, who supervised this edition. Without her support and encouragement, this edition would never have been written. We are very grateful to Gail Steier de Acevedo of Prentice Hall and the staff of Impressions Book and Journal Services for their patience and expertise during the copyediting and production process. We also thank Lori and Betty Hunger for their help in preparing the index.

In addition, we express our appreciation to Ben Allen, Dean, and Brad Shrader, Management Department Chair, of Iowa State University for their moral support. No support of any type was provided by the University of South Florida in the development and publication of this book. Both of us thank Mary Clare McEwing and Michael Payne of Addison Wesley Publishing Company for their help in developing the first edition of this book. We wish you two the best, wherever you may be!

Finally, to the many strategy and policy instructors and students who have moaned to us about the increasing size and cost of textbooks: We have tried to respond to your concerns as best we could by providing a comprehensive yet usable text that is half the size and cost of other books on the market. Instead of the usual five-course meal (complete with heartburn), we are offering you "lean cuisine." This book should taste good with fewer empty calories. Enjoy!

J.D.H.
T.L.W. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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