170 FInAnCIAl MAnAGEMEnT FoR non-FInAnCIAl MAnAGERS ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ supply chain; labour supply; competition; industry; foreign exchange rates; environmental responsiveness. Brand acceptance A principal objective of most businesses is to increase their value. Value is sensitive to all of the above factors. Accordingly a business must identify which key internal factors it needs to excel in and how it can position itself in such a way as to minimize its exposure to the largely uncontrollable external factors. For example, developing a strong unique selling proposition (USP) might reduce a company's exposure to competition for a while. A business should determine which factors affect its value the most, and have a plan and strategy to perform well in these. To do this it