GOOD PERFORMANCES IN BUSINESS
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

business does not perform well by accident. Good performances occur because the people directing the affairs of the business interact well with the environment, capitalizing on its strengths and eliminating underlying weaknesses. In other words, to operate successfully in a changing environment, the business should plan its future objectives and strategies around its strengths and downplay moves that bear on its weaknesses. Thus, assessment of strengths and weaknesses becomes an essential task in the strategic process. In this chapter, a framework will be presented for identifying and describing a business’s strengths and weaknesses. The framework also provides a systematic scheme for an objective appraisal of the performance and strategic moves of the marketing side of business. The appraisal of the marketing function has traditionally been pursued in the form of a marketing audit that stresses the review of current problems. From the strategic point of view, the review should go further to include the future as well. Strengths and weaknesses in the context of marketing are relative phenomena. Strengths today may become weaknesses tomorrow and vice versa. This is why a penetrating look at the different aspects of a business’s marketing program is essential. This chapter is directed toward these ends—searching for opportunities and the means for exploiting them and identifying weaknesses and the ways in which they may be eliminated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strengths refer to the competitive advantages and other distinctive competencies that a company can exert in the marketplace. Andrews notes that “the distinctive competence of an organization is more than what it can do; it is what it can do particularly well.” Weaknesses are constraints that hinder movements in certain directions. For example, a business short of cash cannot afford to undertake a large-scale promotional offensive. In developing marketing strategy, the business should, among other things, dig deeply into its skills and competencies and chart its future in accordance with these competencies. As an example, in many businesses, service—speed, efficiency, personal attention—makes a crucial difference in gaining leverage in the marketplace. Companies that score higher than their rivals in the category of service have a real competitive strength. McDonald’s may not be everyone’s idea of the best place in town to dine, but at its level, McDonald’s provides a quality of service that is the envy of the industry. Whether at a McDonald’s in a rural community or in the downtown area of a large city, the customer gets exactly the same service. Every McDonald’s employee is supposed to strictly follow the rules. Cooks must turn, never flip, hamburgers one, never two, at a time. If they haven’t been purchased, Big Macs must be discarded ten minutes after being cooked; french fries after seven minutes. Cashiers must make eye contact with and smile at every customer. Similarly, visitors to Disney World come home impressed with its cleanliness and with the courtesy and competence of the staff. The Disney World management works hard to make sure that the 14,200 employees are, as described in a Fortune article, “people who fulfill an expectation of wholesomeness, always smiling, always warm, forever positive in their approach