Title: Identifying and leveraging current or potential organizational strengths (5%)

I. Introduction: The purpose of this brief discussion assignment is to help you further develop your understanding of your employer's current or potential strengths. Because this course is interested in how human behavior can be understood and leveraged for competitive advantage, this should be your focus.

II. Scenario:

Imagine your boss has tasked you with identifying a specific strength your team, unit, division, or organization has that either already distinguishes it from its near competitors or might do so with further development. Your boss explains that senior leadership has asked for this and that it must therefore be both well written and succinct. (Note: For our purposes "competitors" should be interpreted broadly as others competing for the same customers, market, or scarce resources (including human, financial, technology, or information resources)).

In discussing this further with your boss you learn that s/he believes the organization's people and their combined knowledge, experiences, and shared values should be your focus. (This is as opposed to products, services, locations, plant and equipment, or financial capital.)

In its initial brainstorming session the executive team talked about recent articles they have read discussing the importance of being recognized as an employer of choice for global talent. One member, a recent MBA graduate, talked about the importance of resources that are rare, difficult or impossible to imitate, that have "strategic value," and that are likely to result in a "sustainable competitive advantage," contending these should serve as guiding ideas/principles when identifying and investing further in a strength that will set the organization apart from others. 

Your boss says, "I know you are pursuing your MBA and must be learning about these ideas so I am counting on you to help us take the first step in figuring this out, which is to identify a strength or strength we should be building on for the future." He ends by saying, "Oh yes, I need your report by next Tuesday at the latest."

You leave your meeting feeling thankful that you are taking a course that focuses on human behavior and leadership in the workplace. You feel fortunate to have an array of resources not available to those who are not studying. This includes many great journals with all the latest research from experts who have been thinking and writing about these ideas for a while, faculty who also know about these topics, and a wonderfully diverse group of fellow students. Indeed, you realize one of the things you can bring to this task that is rare and valuable is the ability to learn from and with class mates who are working in many different sectors, types of organizations, functional areas, and locations. 

Thinking about these things makes you realize you need to first do your own independent thinking and research and then prepare your report so you can seek input from your cohort colleagues before submitting it to your boss. Specifically, you hope the cohort will help you see whether you are "on target" and whether you have included good evidence to support your points and arguments.

III. Deliverables: Using the information in the scenario above as a guide, post a report that identifies a specific strength your team, unit, division, or organization has that distinguishes it from its near competitors or that might do so with further development. Demonstrate your support for your cohort by responding to at least one member's report with suggestions that are well-considered, value-adding, constructive, and respectful.