The global economic recession has created a business world today that is quite different
and more complex than it was just two years ago when the previous edition of this text
was published. Thousands of businesses have vanished, and consumers have become
extremely price sensitive and oftentimes reluctant purchasers of products and services.
Very tight credit markets, high unemployment, and millions of new entrepreneurs have
also changed the business landscape. Business firms that have survived the last three
years of global economic turmoil are today leaner and meaner than ever before.
Gaining and sustaining competitive advantage is harder than ever. Social networking
and e-commerce have altered marketing to its core since the prior edition. This new edition reveals how to conduct effective strategic planning in this new world order.
Since the prior edition, thousands of liquidations, bankruptcies, divestitures, mergers, alliances, and partnerships captured the news. Corporate scandals highlighted the
need for improved business ethics and corporate disclosure of financial transactions.
Downsizing, rightsizing, and reengineering contributed to a permanently altered corporate landscape. Thousands of firms began doing business globally, and thousands more
closed their global operations. Thousands prospered, and yet thousands failed in the last
two years as the global recession spared few. Long-held competitive advantages have
eroded as new ones formed. This new edition captures the complexity of this world business environment.