The FT Guide to Analysis for Managers gives you the 12 core methodologies that will make the way you evaluate business data and information more effective and more business-focused. Learn the fundamentals of these techniques and you'll be able to analyse the performance and competitive fitness of both your own company and your competitors more effectively and take better strategic decisions about the future direction of your business. The top 12 tools covered, in a straightforward, practical style, are:

* BCG Growth/Share Portfolio Matrix

* Competitor Analysis

* Financial Ratio and Statement Analysis

* Five Forces Industry Analysis

* Issue Analysis

* Product Life Cycles Analysis

* Scenario Analysis

* Macroenvironmental Analysis

* SWOT Analysis

* Value Chain Analysis

* Driving Forces Analysis

* Win/Loss Analyis

STRONGER ANALYSIS DELIVERS BETTER BUSINESS RESULTS

The FT Guide to Analysis for Managers will help you make sense of today's complex, chaotic, globally competitive environment. It will hone your strategic thinking, and give you an improved understanding of the competitive terrain, which in turn will help you steal a march on your competitors. Effective analysis of your competition, environment, organization, and strategy will help you deliver the following:

Early warning of potentially developing opportunities or emerging threats in your competitive environment.

An objective and arm's-length assessment of your organization's relative competitive position.

The ability to help your organization to more quickly and easily adapt to changes in the environment.

For each form of the indispensable 12 methods of analysis covered, the authors present clear descriptions, context, rationales, strengths, weaknesses, step-by-step instructions, and case study examples. The result: a book you can rely on to meet your strategic challenges, and address your business challenges, whatever your role, industry, or environment.

About the authors

Babette E. Bensoussanis Managing Director of The MindShifts Group, a company specializing in competitive intelligence, strategic planning, and strategic marketing projects in the Australasia region. Babette is widely recognized and sought after for her international expertise in competitive analysis and has provided mentoring and training to executives and organizations to assist with the delivery and implementation of competitive intelligence. She has undertaken major studies for and consulted togovernment departments, global Fortune 500 companies as well as mid-sized firms,and has undertaken over 300 projects in a wide range of industries and markets. In 2006 she was recognized for her work in this field by being presented with the highest and most prestigiousinternationalaward in the field of competitive intelligence-the SCIP Meritorious Award.

Craig S. Fleisher holds the Windsor Research Leadership Chair and is Professor of Management, Odette School of Business, University of Windsor, Canada. Craig is a past President and Fellow of the International Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, founder and inaugural chair of the Board of Trustees of the Competitive Intelligence Foundation (Washington, DC), founding editor of the Journal of Competitive Intelligence and Management and a founding member of the International Association of Business and Society. Craig has authored and edited ten books in the areas of applied strategy; competitive intelligence analysis; and performance management, most recently Business and Competitive Analysis (FT Press, 2007).