...entrenched. • You have the capabilities(speed, agility, and creativity) to outmaneuver your opponents, no matter what the balance of strength may be. Use Judo Strategy when: • Dealing with the competition is one of your top strategic priorities • Competitors have the advantage of strength and size. • You’re unlikely to win by going head to head. Judo Principles • Movement o Don’t invite attack-“The Puppy Dog Ploy” Keep a low profile and avoid giving away your game Position alongside competitors instead of attacking head on. Don’t moon the giant – unless you want to lose. o Define the competitive space Change the paradigm by redefining standards for the market Segment the market and make focus the key to success Use first-mover advantage to build a market where you choose the rules o Follow Through Fast Stay focused and sequence growth to avoid becoming overextended Make maintaining internal alignment an early priority – before the challenges of growth emerge. Use partnerships to leverage resources beyond your immediate control. • Balance o Grip your opponent Design joint ventures and equity deals to co-opt or deflect the competition. Sell your services to opponent in order to stop them from developing competing capabilities on their own. Partner with (potential) opponents to strengthen your position in future competition while taking current or future rivals out of the game. o Avoid Tit for Tat Avoid escalatory moves that can drag you...
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...Monarchy vs. Democracy What would be your prefered society? One where you do not have to make many decisions, or one where you can help make all the decisions? One where you could speak out, for your community, or one where all the officials make all the decisions? Hard to decide, is it not? This debate has been talked about, and thrown around for a long time now. The two sides to this debate have been arguing for a long time now, with different points coming up all the time. Why do the people arguing for democracy, say that it is a better system, than a monarchy? First off, democracy makes sure that people retain some power, and know what is going on in their government. Secondly, democracy makes sure that not only one person, gets all the...
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...Business School. They wrote “Happy Money: the Science of Smarter Spending”. In this book they discuss how Money on its own does not give you overall happiness but the way you spend it can buy you happiness. They say ‘Shifting from buying stuff to buying experiences, and from spending on yourself to spending on other, can have a dramatic impact on happiness’. They tell you how to spend money in less typical but more pleasing ways. Here are their five principles. 1. Set aside money for experiences like vacations. 2. Have a special treat something you normally wouldn’t buy. 3. Buy Time. Hire someone to mow you lawn. Less stress. 4. Pay now consume later. Purchase a high end vacation now you will be less likely to be frugal on your vacation because it doesn’t hit you all at once. 5. Invest in others. Giving can be a satisfying thing especially if you’re helping someone in need. You will feel a self-reward. http://www.roanoke.com/news/business/technology/2268635-12/app-helps-users-notify-the-er-of-their.html App helps users notify the ER of their pending arrival By Laurence Hammack Lewis Gale Regional Health Systems is...
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...normal, or relatively weak. Become adept at mapping the market positions of key groups of industry rivals. Learn how to determine whether an industry’s outlook presents a company with sufficiently attractive opportunities for growth and profitability. chapter 3 LO2 LO3 LO4 38 Part 1 Section B: Core Concepts and Analytical Tools In Chapter 2, we learned that the strategy formulation, strategy execution process begins with an appraisal of the company’s present situation. The company’s situation includes two facets: (1) the competitive conditions in the industry in which the company operates—its external environment; and (2) its resources and organizational capabilities—its internal environment. Charting a company’s long-term direction, conceiving its customer value proposition, setting objectives, or crafting a strategy without first gaining an understanding of the company’s external and internal environments hamstrings attempts to build competitive advantage and boost company performance. Indeed, the first test of a winning strategy inquires, “How well does the strategy fit the company’s situation?” This chapter presents the concepts and analytical tools for zeroing in on a single-business company’s external environment. Attention centers on the competitive arena in which the company operates, the drivers of market change, the market positions of rival companies, and the factors that determine competitive success. Chapter 4 explores the methods of evaluating...
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...Understand the role of business strategies in moving a company in the intended direction, growing its business, and improving its financial and market performance. 2. Develop an awareness of the four most reliablestrategic approaches for setting a company apart from rivals and winning a sustainable competitive advantage. 3. Learn that business strategies evolve over time because of changing circumstances and ongoing management efforts to improve the company’s strategy. 4. Understand why a company’s strategy must underpinned by a business model that produces revenues sufficient to cover costs and earn a profit. 5. Gain awareness of the three tests that distinguish a winning strategy from a so-so or flawed strategy. 6. Learn why good strategy and good strategy execution are the most trustworthy signs of good management. 1-4 Chapter Roadmap What Do We Mean by “Strategy?” Strategy and the Quest for Competitive Advantage Identifying a Company’s Strategy Why a Company’s Strategy Evolves Over Time A Company’s Strategy Is Partly Proactive and Partly Reactive Strategy and Ethics: Passing the Test of Moral Scrutiny The Relationship Between a Company’s Strategy and Its Business Model What Makes a Strategy a Winner? Why Are Crafting and Executing Strategy Important? 1-5 Thinking Strategically: The Three Big Strategic Questions 1. What’s the company’s present situation?...
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...that a happy customer is one who will always return. Their major rivals in the movie rental industry are Red Box and online streaming sites such as Netflix and Hulu. | In the table below, categorize different leadership approaches that could be used in the work environment you have described. Provide different suggestions for each of the four approaches to leadership. Directive approach | Supportive approach | The directive approach is one of decisiveness and keeping to the rules laid out by the company. It tells the employees exactly what is expected of them, and allows them time to familiarize themselves with procedures and processes via training materials prior to actually having to do them.A good handbook of procedures is a wonderful start to any job, but particularly a job with repetitive tasks, such as this one. A handbook also allows the employee to have something to look back on if they are unclear on a procedure. | The supportive approach allows for getting to know the employees on a personal basis while giving them the materials to understand the company’s rules and procedures and letting them explore these materials at a more relaxed pace. Using this approach signifies that the person’s wellbeing, comfort, and confidence are more important than rushing to learn the ropes.Support is important in any job. Knowing that your superiors are rooting for your success makes a person try harder to make them proud of his accomplishments. | Participative approach |...
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...1. Develop a cause map depicting Samsung’s situation at the end of the case. See Exhibit 1 2. Strategy: a. Research & Development (R&D): b. Human Resource: c. Finance/Capital: d. Production: e. Marketing/Sale: 3. Cost and differentiation advantage: Samsung had both cost and differentiation advantage over its rivals. Kun Hee Lee, chairman of the Samsung Group, stern advice to his employees were to always demand superiority in product design and price efficiency which were directly related to cost and differentiation advantage. As a high-volume buyer, Samsung benefited discounts offered from raw material suppliers which had resulted Samsung’s cost to manufacture a DRAM chip to be lower than its competitors. Samsung’s ability to produce over 1,200 different variations of DRAM products was a huge advantage which was unmatched by its competitors. Samsung also provided “Specialty products” using customized architecture for niche markets. 4. Describe the resources and capabilities that form the basis of Samsung’s cost or differentiation advantage. a. Resource: Samsung had three types of resources: tangible, intangible and human resources as shown in Exhibit 2. Samsung’s R&D facility and its fab lines were collocated at a single site as opposed to its competitor’s facilities which were located at various locations. Samsung had the capital to invest in its R&D to master new technology, design and marketing of advanced technologies; and which contributed to produce...
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...Strategies to Fight Low-Cost Rivals * Nirmalya Kumar From the December 2006 Issue * Strategies to Fight Low-Cost Rivals Strategy & Execution HBR Article Executive Summary Reprint: R0612F Companies find it challenging and yet strangely reassuring to take on opponents whose strategies, strengths, and weaknesses resemble their own. Their obsession with familiar rivals, however, has blinded them to threats from disruptive, low-cost competitors. Successful price warriors, such as the German retailer Aldi, are changing the nature of competition by employing several tactics: focusing on just one or a few consumer segments, delivering the basic product or providing one benefit better than rivals do, and backing low prices with superefficient operations. Ignoring cut-price rivals is a mistake because they eventually force companies to vacate entire market segments. Price wars are not the answer, either: Slashing prices usually lowers profits for incumbents without driving the low-cost entrants out of business. Companies take various approaches to competing against cut-price players. Some differentiate their products—a strategy that works only in certain circumstances. Others launch low-cost businesses of their own, as many airlines did in the 1990s—a so-called dual strategy that succeeds only if companies can generate synergies between the existing businesses and the new ventures, as the financial service providers HSBC and ING did. Without synergies, corporations...
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...1. How is Google’s mission statement related to its business strategy? Ans：Google’s primary goal is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” (mission statement). Google continues to take risks and expand into new markets to further its reach into the information world. It takes advantage of new avenues to expand its market share by making information freely available on its Intranet, and by willing to take risks by investing in speculative and strange projects if they see a large potential payoff. 2. How does Google’s information systems strategy support its business strategy? Ans：Through openness and innovation. It permits users to download their own software, maintain official and unofficial blogs, and buys and makes software to suit the needs of the business. IT encourages innovation by allowing employees to spend 20% of their time on a project of their own choosing. This “flexible” IT structure supports the innovation and creativity that its business strategy espouses. 3. How does Google’s organizational strategy supports its business strategy? Ans： Google has a culture of innovation and creativity. However, it still provides a level of structure when making decisions. Specifically, Google’s mission statement relates to its business strategy by making data on all ongoing projects and systems available to all of its employees through its corporate Intranet. Any employee can see what is transpiring in other areas...
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...The Art of Standards Wars Carl Shapiro Hal R. Varian S tandards wars—battles for market dominance hetween incompatible technologies—are a fixture of the information age. Based on our study of historical standards wars, we have identified several generic strategies, along with a number of winning tactics, to help companies fighting today's—and tomorrow's—battles. There is no doubt about the significance of standards battles in today's economy. Public attention is currently focused on the Browser War between Microsoft and Netscape (oops, America On-Line). Even as Judge Jackson evaluates the legality of Microsoft's tactics in the Browser War, the Audio and Video Streaming Battle is heating up between Microsoft and RealNetworks over software to deliver audio and video over the Internet. The 56k Modem War of 1997 pitted 3Com against Rockwell and Lucent. Microsoft's Word and Excel have vanquished WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3 respectively. Most everyone remembers the Video-Cassette Recorder Duel of the 1980s, in which Matsushita's VHS format triumphed over Sony's Betamax format. However, few recall how Philips's digital compact cassette and Sony's minidisk format both flopped in the early 1990s. This year, it's DVD versus Divx in the battle to replace both VCRs and CDs. Virtually every high-tech company has some role to play in these battles, perhaps as a primary combatant, more likely as a member of a coalition or Prepared for the Cnlifornia Management Review.Jh'is material...
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........................................................................................ 5 2 Definition and Origin of Competitive Advantage .............................................. 6 3 Approaches and Methods to Achieve Competitive Advantages......................... 8 3.1 The Traditional Approach According to Porter ........................................... 8 3.1.1 Cost Leadership ................................................................................. 10 3.1.2 Focusing on Priorities ........................................................................ 10 3.2 Modern Approaches .................................................................................. 10 3.2.1 The Strategy as a Compilation of Simple Rules ................................ 11 3.2.2 The Blue Ocean Strategy ................................................................... 12 4 Ways to achieve Sustainable Competitive Advantage...................................... 13 5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 15 References ............................................................................................................. 16 3 Declaration We hereby declare that we have developed and written the enclosed term paper entitled „How Companies Could Achieve Sustainable Competitive Advantage” entirely on our own, and have not used outside sources without...
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...Islam and Christianity are similar in their commitments to their God , but different in culture systems and reading scriptures. The commitments to faith include the Five Pillars of Faith and The Ten Commandments. Also the commitments to faith are the rules of being in that religion. Cultural systems includes places of worship to their Gods and different branches of religion that belongs to religion. The Scriptures text from the Islam Qu’ran and Christian Bible includes beliefs and what happens to a person when they die if the are a follower of a religion. Islam and Christianity have similar commitments to their God. Islam commitments to their god is doing the Five Pillars of Faith. The Five Pillars of Faith for the Islam culture means following five rules which is: Acknowledgement that “there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet.” The Islamic religion must pray five times a day facing “Mecca: at dawn, at noon, in the...
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...INDUSTRY AND COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS Crafting strategy is an analysis-driven exercise. Managers need to carry out an assessment of the environment in which the organisation operates. Managers cannot get by with opinions, good instincts and creative thinking. Three situational considerations are: 1. Macro-environmental analysis; 2. Industry and competitive conditions; 3. A company¹s own internal situation and competitive position. MACRO-ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS This includes the political, economic, social, technological, legal and ecological factors (PESTLE Analysis). 1. Political Factors • How stable is the political environment? • What influences has politics on the recruitment of top officials in the organization eg there was a lot of politics that went on in the recruitment of officials in parastals which caused the parastatals to be inefficient. • Forecast of investment in a country including FDI has to be considered in terms of the political unrest eg in Zimbabwe right now, foreign companies are not investing in the country due to the unfavourable political situation. There are takeovers of companies by the government for the purposes on indigenization. Examples of such companies are Lobels, mining companies where it is required that 51% of the shareholding be indigenous people. Foreign companies no longer have faith in business operations in Zimbabwe. This has affected companies that would have ventured into joint ventures...
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...you expect will happend to a.) Your firm's costs of production? explain. b.) The price you can charge for your remodeling services? Why? C.) Profits in home remodeling. Why? a.) The firms cost of production will increase. The home remodeling industry is an increasing-cost industry, therefore the costs associated with inputs will increase, and the demand for these inputs will increase as well. b.) As input prices increases, prices will also increase as well in an attempt to balance out the expenses being incurred by the firm. c.) Profits will decrease as competition keeps the prices low, and input prices consistently increase. Antitrust authorities at the Federal Trade Commission are reviewing your company's recent merger with a rival firm. The FTC is concerned that the merger of two rival firms in the same market will increase market power. A hearing is scheduled for your company to present arguments that your firm has not increased its market power trough this merger. Can you do this? How? What evidence might you bring to the hearing? a.) There are several things that you could present to the Federal Trade Commission in order to prove that the merger between the two firms is legal and not a monopoly. If the two firms have minor market power then you can prove that the merger will not result in a monopoly, and that the market will remain extremely competitive. By merging with another firm, it is impossible to suggest that your market power would not increase...
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...weren’t too happy about their logos being associated with litterbugs. However, the print ad successfully managed to use various elements of other brands to spread awareness of littering. This ad also follows the 40-40-20 rule. 2. Oreo Oreo puts out a really simple advertisement that incorporates the perceived taste of consuming an Oreo. The advertisement uses light color tones and a central positioning to highlight the role of milk in Oreo and how it is a part of the process of consuming or eating an Oreo biscuit. It manages to creatively invoke the taste of Oreo. This ad also follows the 40-40-20 rule. 3. Sebo Museu Do Livro Movies always manage to miss the important bits out. The advertisement aims to address every avid book lover who gets a little tense when a movie adaptation is made of one of their favourite books. Characters, plots and environments are often tampered with - and this brilliant print ad from Brazilian advertising agency RockerHeads perfectly captured this sense of dread with their tagline: 'A big part of the story is lost when it becomes a movie'. This ad also follows the 40-40-20 rule. 4. Whiskas Whiskas manages to use humor while reflecting the nutritional value of its product in this print advertisement. Feeding your cats instincts shows how the product provides the cat with the nourishment...
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