Reflective Records

Intergration and Reflect Disscussion Strategc Management In general, the concepts that were most interesting to me were those that pertained to mission statements and vision statements. I always believed that these two statements were interchangeable; I now know the difference between them is that mission statements define an organization, whereas vision statements do so as well but include information about an ideal future and the way an organization attempts to do things.

I tend to think that the information I learned about strategic choices and the functional, business and corporate levels will be relevant and useful for me -- both immediately as well as in the future. These different types of strategies represent a hierarchical immediacy approach to strategizing and implementing various tactics for the short, medium, and long-term, respectively. They are even applicable to one's career development, and have helped me to contextualize my approach to my overall career goals from these different temporal perspectives.

Combining these strategic concerns both personally as well as with my organization should greatly inform my tactics in both arenas. I will certainly utilize the concepts that I have learned in MGT599 in the future, specifically those that relate to competitive advantages, by helping to distinguish both my organization and my department in the organization from others. Competitive advantage is actually the crux of business today and, perhaps more than any other factor, can account for success or failure and for attaining and retaining a solid customer base.

In particular, recognizing and leveraging the values of differentiation and of niche/focus areas will remain at the forefront of my strategic objectives. The company that I will use for an external environment analysis and an internal organizational analysis -- which will largely provide the means for a SWOT analysis -- is Dataversity, which is a web site dedicated to covering advanced technology and data management.

Because it is such a niche field and functions as a trade publication/educational website, there are few threats related to technology that apply to it. However, the usage of Porter's Model of Five Forces reveals that there are always threats of new entrants who can create a web site about data management. This threat is more substantial than that of substitution, since web sites are the primary way people obtain substantial information about in-depth topics.

Still, there is significant rivalry between competitors such as The Data Warehouse Institute and other sites covering the same subject. The main bargaining power of suppliers and customers relates to the opportunities afforded through working with different vendors and subject matter experts that can enhance this site. The internal organizational analysis of Dataversity (which informs its strneghts and weaknesses) is best achieved through the Resource-Based View.

Internally, it is apparent that Dataversity's strengths are its subject matter experts and the wide array of contacts it has developed in the field to discuss various aspects of data management. It has excellent writers and bloggers. However, the company's primary.