BUSINESS ANALYSIS - A HOTBED FOR STRATEGY IDEAS

The rapidly changing business environment of the 1990's forced the oil and gas industry to develop new corporate and regional strategies to remain competitive. To support strategy development, much attention ha s been given to such analytical tools as decision and risk analysis an d probabilistic modeling. Often overlooked, however, is that a solid f oundation of information and a thorough understanding of the underlyin g business environment are required for these tools to be effective. T he business-analysis process provides this understanding and serves as a ''hotbed'' for new strategic ideas. This paper presents several bus iness-analysis tools that enhance awareness of the business environmen t and provide the foundation of information necessary for sound strate gic modeling. Examples from a recent study show how tools, such as inf luence diagrams, value-chain analysis, benchmarking, competitor analys is, scenario development, and strength and weakness analysis, are used .