Study The Internal Resources, Capabilities, And Activities Of Firms

the internal analysis of the firm and the external analysis of the industry and competitive environment

Analyze the external and internal environment for opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses that impact the firm’s competitiveness.

Operation and Supply chain management (OSCM) is one of the foundations that successful businesses count on to provide a competitive advantage within their industry. The goal of OSCM is to develop and maintain a system that effectively and efficiently manages the flow of raw material resources into useful end products for consumer use (Chase, 2006). In the fast food industry this process takes center stage in maintaining competitive pricing. A review of the production process in two national chains, Whataburger and McDonald’s, showcases each chain’s approaches to OSCM.

The resource-based view emphasizes the internal accumulation of firms’ resources and capabilities that contribute to firms’ development (Peteraf, 1993). Resources include all assets, attributes, knowledge, etc. (Barney, 1991), which enables the firm to implement

McDonald’s Corporation are the most successful and popular fast food brand in the world, holding the largest fast food market share and being the leading fast food restaurant chain in terms of world sales (8%). They are the second greatest outlet operator with more than 34,000 outlets, serving worldwide to 69 million customers daily, across 119 countries. Their brand is the seventh most valuable and

Competitive advantage is explained by Mahoney and Pandian (1992) as the function of industry analysis, organizational governance and the firm’s effects in the form of resource advantages and strategies. In order for a firm to be competitive it must adapt to the volatile business environment and through strategic management decisions establish a competitive advantage that will ultimately produce superior performance relative to its competitors (Akimova 2000).

The company researched for the purpose of this paper is McDonald 's. This company 's history dates back since 1940 when Mac and Dick McDonald initially opened McDonald 's BBQ restaurant located in San Bernardino, CA. In 1948 they shut down the restaurant, just to reopen it as a self-service drive-in restaurant. According to About McDonald’s (2012), their menu included only 9 items, such as: milk, coffee, soft drinks, cheeseburger, hamburger, potato chips, and a slice of pie. Potato chips were then replaced by French fries. The history of this company is significantly market by Ray Kroc, who in 1954 at a visit to McDonald 's in San Bernardino decides to have a franchise of McDonald 's. A year later, in 1955, he opens his first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois. The franchising plan allowed growth and by 1965 there were more than 700 restaurants across United States. McDonald 's

Have you every thought about every food item you consume in a day? Where does it come from and how did it get to your plate? The activities required for food items to be extracted from its source and delivered to your plate must go through a cycle called a value chain. It consists of 2 sections; primary activities and secondary activities. Primary activities involved are inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service until it reaches the hands and mouths of the consumer (Porter, 1985). Secondary activities include procurement, human resource management, technological development and infrastructure (Porter, 1985). The value chain requires both primary and secondary activities to work efficiently and effectively to ensure that goods get passed down stream to the market. Businesses invest in value chains as they are designed to enhance the value of the product through “effective coordination of operational and organizational support activities” (Gooch, 2005). This paper aims to define two food items consumed during breakfast and track their value chain from start to finish, focusing on the primary activities. The two food items to be discussed in this paper is Tim Hortons coffee and BC eggs. Tim Hortons value chain aims to illustrate environmental impacts, and BC eggs value chains aims to illustrate economic impacts.

Resources are the source of the firm’s capabilities. Resources are bundled to create organisational capabilities. Some of a firm’s resources are tangible and intangible. Tangible resources are assets that can be seen and quantified. Intangible resources include assets that typically are rooted deeply in the firm’s history and have accumulated over time. Intangible resources are relatively difficult for competitors to analyse and imitate. The four types of tangible resources are financial, organisational, physical and technological. And the three types of intangible resources are human, innovation and reputational (Hanson, D., Hitt, M., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E., 2011, pp. 75-78).

Through an internal environment analysis, companies can identify and understand their own unique resources, capabilities, and competencies that are required for their sustainable competitive advantage. Resources, capabilities, and core competencies are the foundation of competitive advantage. There is no competitive advantages are permanently sustainable in any companies, so they have to consist on their current advantages and develop new advantages by internally understanding and analyzing their resources and capabilities. Competitors have their own unique resources, capabilities, and core competencies to create values for their customers. Both tangible and intangible resources, which include individual, social and organizational phenomena, are combined to generate capabilities. In turn, company’s capabilities are used to build core competencies. Also, core competencies are as a source of competitive advantage for a company to win in the competitive market.

line with the existent nature of McDonald's premises and business model. Thus, it is recommendable to

For a business to be successful and have a competitive advantage, it is important to evaluate the company’s resources and capabilities (Pitt & Koufopoulos, 2012). Resources in a company are the productive assets owned (tangible or intangible) whereas capabilities are what the company can do with this (Grant, 2010). “Establishing competitive

exists when the firm is able to deliver the same benefits as competitors but at a

McDonalds Corporation had developed to become the leading fast-food chain of restaurants since its inception to the extent that it serves more than 47 million customers across the globe on a daily basis. The corporation is the largest global food-service retailer since it has over 30,000 local restaurants that serve approximately 52 million people in over 100 countries every day. One of the critical factors attributed to the success of McDonald's global business is operations management, which focuses on the careful control of processes that are used in manufacturing and distribution of goods and/or services.

Competitive advantage is viewed as a explanation of a firm success and long-term survival. With knowing the firm and competitiors, competitive advantage can be established by delivering more value to the customers in a more efficient manner (Day and Wensley 1988; Porter 1985). However, to a competitive advantage, the firm should focusing on the customers needs instead of their internal operations (Czepiel 1992; Zeithaml 1988).