WHO The book describes a strategic alliance as a cooperative strategy in which firms combine some of their resources and capabilities for the purpose of creating a competitive advantage. Cedarhurst is a dedicated company determined to properly assist the elderly and needy, but is also always looking for ways to improve the quality of life they can provide for its residents. After some careful research we found that some great opportunities and potential business lie within a few companies located near our prospective locations in which to expand. We proposed that one of new locations should be Farragut, Tn. There is a company in Farragut called Summit View which strives to provide exceptional and innovative senior care and share many of the same goals and ideas that Cedarhurst boasts. They have a talented staff with state-of-the-art facilities which enable them provide exceptional memory care which is a main focus of the Cedarhurst family. Summit View works hard to rehabilitate its short-term patients and to get them back into their own homes. This is a refreshing example of not only caring for their residents, but also seeking their long-term happiness. Summit View relishes on having high customer service and high quality of life for its residents and this resides closely to Cedarhurst and how they instill a family oriented atmosphere throughout their business. Cedarhurst could have a very successful business-level cooperative strategy with Summit View and could greatly benefit from their educated staff and specialized therapy services. Another company which stood out in Farragut as a potential partner was Lambert’s Health Care. This company specializes in providing high quality medical equipment for in-home use as well as home modifications and respiratory and sleep care. Established in 1956, Lambert’s has been providing medical products and services to the East Tennessee Valley for many years and has done so with rave reviews and an established following. Lambert’s also create and sell their own uniforms, so providing a uniformed staff for our newly established location would be made easy with the partnership of this company. Lambert’s provides a unique opportunity to access high quality medical equipment needed for many residents we cater too with the ease of doing business in a centrally located area. Our second proposed location was Chesterfield, Mo. The company that really stuck out to us in Chesterfield was Garden View Care Center. Garden View is another assisted living, but what they specialize in is a more comprehensive Alzheimer’s memory care program. Their focus on Alzheimer’s was impressive to learn about and they have created a very educated staff, many who specialize in Alzheimer’s, and provide a completely separate wing which solely caters to patients in need of memory care. They have an activity-based memory care program similar to that of Cedarhurst so we believe our companies would coincide well with one another and understand that we have similar goals for our patients and residents. Our competitive advantage with this company would consist of having a more well-rounded staff with specialized workers and a state-of-the-art facility that satisfies the needs of it residents especially with memory care.