Strategic Tools for Business Research and Analysis
There are many tools and techniques available for business analysis, but the question is whether there is one tool or a set of tools that are most commonly used. What tools or techniques are taught to business managers or business development officers? The literature is reviewed for tools that are most widely taught and in use. The chapter examines the reasons they have been chosen and the comments on how effective they were found to be. The use of tools generally and the need to use more than one tool are discussed. Several authors suggest that the central role of a business analysis tool appears to be to provoke discussion amongst the business development officers. The discussion seems to be more important than the tool in preparation for developing strategic options. The theory of resource-based analysis is discussed with its role in analysing the company and its competition.