In our introduction to the topic of business strategy, we used Johnson & Scholes' definition stating that "Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long-term: which achieves advantage for the organisation through its configuration of resources within a challenging environment, to meet the needs of markets and to fulfil stakeholder expectations".
So, what are these "resources" that a business needs to put in place to pursue its chosen strategy?
Business resources can usefully be grouped under several categories:
Financial Resources
Financial resources concern the ability of the business to "finance" its chosen strategy. For example, a strategy that requires significant investment in new products, distribution channels, production capacity and working capital will place great strain on the business finances. Such a strategy needs to be very carefully managed from a finance point-of-view. An audit of financial resources would include assessment of the following factors: