Book Review of Business Policy and Strategy: An Action Guide
Submitted in partial fulfillment of B.S. in Business Administration
Century University, New Mexico
Grade = 95% {A}
Business Policy and Strategy: An Action Guide, by Robert Murdick, R.
Carl Moor and Richard H. Eckhouse, attempts to tie together the broad policies
and interrelationships that exist among the many functional areas which
undergraduate students typically study. The authors intend the text to
supplement the typical case book and/or computer simulations used in teaching
business strategy (ix). Situational analysis is presented, as is a structure
for developing strategy. Practicality and real world experience is combined
with educational theory to provide as complete a picture as possible of strategy
in business.
The authors have divided the text into 15 chapters with no further
subdivisions. It is possible, however, to group the chapters into specific areas
of study. For example, the first chapter, "Business Failure -- Business
Success," examines why businesses fail, and provides the reason for continuing
with the remainder of the text. The next two chapters focus on the "field of
action," including the business environment and the business system. The fourth
and fifth chapters introduce strategic management (chapter 4) and the struggle
not only to survive, but to prosper using strategic management (chapter 5).
Chapters Six through Nine address specific functional areas (marketing,
accounting/finance, production, and engineering/research and development).
Chapters 10 and 11 introduce the reader to the problems of managing human
resources (chapter ...