Competitive Advantage: Sources, Strategies, and Sustainability
Analysis of Competitive Advantage
Nature and Sources of Competitive Advantage
- Definition: Competitive advantage is when a firm consistently earns a higher rate of profit than its competitors. This definition can also encompass firms with lower profitability but greater market share, advanced technology, strong customer loyalty, or executive perks.
Emergence of Competitive Advantage
- External Sources of Change: Changes in the external environment must have differential effects on firms due to their distinct
Key Concepts in Financial Markets and Interest Rates
Key Concepts in Financial Markets
1) Every financial market performs the following function:
D) It channels funds from lenders-savers to borrowers-spenders.
4) Which of the following can be described as involving direct finance?
B) A corporation buys commercial paper issued by another corporation.
5) Which of the following can be described as involving indirect finance?
A) A corporation takes out loans from a bank.
B) People buy shares in a mutual fund.
C) A corporation buys commercial paper in a secondary
Read MoreOptimization Techniques: Heuristics, Metaheuristics, and Simulation
Heuristics
Heuristics are any approach to problem-solving or self-discovery that employs a practical method, not guaranteed to be optimal, perfect, or rational, but instead sufficient for reaching an immediate goal. Where finding an optimal solution is impossible or impractical, heuristic methods can be used to speed up the process of finding a satisfactory solution. Mathematical models often give the optimum solution. Heuristics give approximations.
Simulation
Simulation is the process of designing
Read MoreMax Weber’s Bureaucracy Model and Decision-Making
Weber’s Model of Bureaucracy
Weber’s model does not introduce formal variables of behavior or consider the human dimension in its framework. The bureaucratic model, according to Weber, is more efficient due to its accuracy, stability, discipline, and functionality. It facilitates control over complex organizations. Organizations require rules that must be enforced for effective functioning. Power is the ability to give orders, and legitimacy is the level of acceptance of those orders. These two concepts
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