...Paper The business environment of an organization reveals much about its competitiveness and the possible influences on the success of its strategies. The focus of this paper will be an environmental scan of the internal and external environments of two real-world firms, their competitive advantages and company strategies for creating value and sustaining competitiveness, measurement guidelines for verifying strategic effectiveness and their evaluation. Internal and External Environments Environmental scanning of the internal organizational environment focuses on company culture, employee-employee, manager-employee, and manager-manager, manager-shareholder interactions, in addition to organizational structure, natural resources’ access and brand awareness, among others (Schneider, 1995, p.70). Environmental scanning of the external organizational environment focuses on the analysis of the industry/immediate environment, national, and macro-environments. Analysis of the industry environment appraises the competitive Environmental Scan Paper The business environment of an organization reveals much about its competitiveness and the possible influences on the success of its strategies. The focus of this paper will be an environmental scan of the internal and external environments of two real-world firms, their competitive advantages and company strategies for creating value and sustaining competitiveness, measurement guidelines for verifying strategic effectiveness and their...
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... | |] |Industry Analysis | | |Strategy Description | | |Strategy Evaluation | | |Strategic Issues | | |Strategic Recommendations | | |Copyright 1996-2001 by Dr. William R. Boulton. | | |Understanding the Strategic Analysis Model | | |As shown in the following exhibits, strategic business analysis includes (1) industry analysis, (2) business strategy analysis, and (3) strategy | | |evaluation and recommendations. | | |Industry analysis begins with a definition of products...
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...following: 1. Industry Analysis 2. Strategy Description 3. Strategy Evaluation 4. Strategic Issues 5. Strategic Recommendations Copyright 1996-2001 by Dr. William R. Boulton. Understanding the Strategic Analysis Model As shown in the following exhibits, strategic business analysis includes (1) industry analysis, (2) business strategy analysis, and (3) strategy evaluation and recommendations. Industry analysis begins with a definition of products and markets, skills and competitors contained within the industry, followed by industry structural analysis, and concluded with the identification of the key success factors for the industry. Business strategy analysis begins with a description of the strategic goals and business strategy of the firm. It's implementation is then analyzed in terms of the firm's functional and operational capabilities and the resulting financial and competitive performance. Strategic evaluation or SWOT analysis encompasses the internal and external factors that affect the company's business strategy. The business strategy is compared against the industry's key success factors and competitive resource requirements and the firm's internal capabilities and resources. Critical issues & Recommendations seek to identify the critical issues that the company needs to address. The analysis concludes with recommendations that address the critical issues and result in changes of product-market strategy or functional implementation. Industry...
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...in. With these markets forever changing and evolving the managers of the organisations must constantly be forecasting and predicting what the markets might be doing in the future through past and current market trends to maximise competitive advantage and provide above average returns (Jarzabkowski, Balogun & Seidl 2007:5–7) as well as to understand the difference between discontinues and incremental change. According to Jarzabkowski et al (2007:5–7) In order for organisations to succeed within these markets and to have strategic success the hierarchy of the organisation must formulate and implement a strategy which looks to identify and explore the fundamental aspects in relation to how the organisation is going to succeed and obtain a competitive advantage within their market with in the assignment the focus will be on the inside-out and outside-in perspectives (Louw and Venter, 2013: 10). These fundamentals being what must be done in order to attract and meet the needs of customers, have the ability to compete within the market successfully, develop dynamic capabilities, grow the organisation either nationally or internationally, effectively manage the organisational architecture and achieve the set goals and targets through the correct strategies set in place (Louw and Venter, 2013: 10). 2 DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN DISCONTINUOUS AND INCREMENTAL CHANGE Understanding the difference between discontinues and incremental change is fundamental due to the dynamic nature of the...
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...time, work, and the ability to confront difficult obstacles. Financial outcomes are used as a component to measure the success, failure, and strategy effectiveness. S. Scott (2012) stated in the second paragraph, “The focus of a strategic plan is usually on the entire organization, while the focus of a business strategic plan is usually on a product or service”. Without a realistic plan and obtainable goals an organization has no direction. Market opportunity is a factor in shaping a company’s strategic plan, which is why the advantage and disadvantage evaluation process is important. Team C discussions validate that the following week two course objectives are easily understood and are clear to the team: • Objective 2.1 - Measure an organization’s internal and external environments using environmental scanning. • Objective 2.2 - Determine relevant business competitive strategies. Objective 2.1 is easily understood as it relates to environmental scanning, which is the possession and utilization of information about trends within an organizations internal and external environment. Environmental scanning is similar to the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis, which is the first stage of planning, and helps marketers to focus on key issues (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010). Additionally, preparing for a potential threat is a competitive advantage over the competition. When organizations utilize the environmental scanning method to watch for trends this...
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...and Corporate-Level Strategies Christie Jones Christopher Zapalski Business Admin. Capstone 5-15-15 I am going to be discussing about corporate and business level strategies for C Company. The paper will also talk about valuing the organization, long-term success, differences in fast and slow cycle. C company was an organization in which they gather, valid, electronic data, automat collections, and retrieval system. The company develop and design, personal computer, electronics and software. They have had success and continue to do so. The business strategy for the company is cost leadership. They want to have success and ensure the competitiveness. C company has a competitive edge with products and prices. They also care about the business – level strategy by success, cost efficiency, and sustainability make this company part of who they are. Differentiation is another business-level strategy. They try and provide different characterizations and features for their products. They would make it low cost while still having high quality products. This all can be done with teho features, image, products reviews and features of the products etc, Theses business-level strategies would help have service, quality of control with production, cost of sales, develop and research, and a place where they could advance the arts that go into the products if you know what I mean. You need business level as well as corporate-level strategy for a company to help...
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...generic strategies with particular reference to Apple Inc) Table of contents Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………. Porter’s three Generic Competitive Strategies…………………………………………………………. Cost Leadership…………………………………………………………………………………………… Differentiation………………………………………………………………………………………………. Focus or Niche strategy…………………………………………………………………………………... Apple Inc……………………………………………………………………………………………………. Identification and Critical Evaluation of the Company’s Existing Strategies………………………… Apple Inc Cost leadership Strategy……………………………………………………………………… Apple Inc Differentiation Strategy………………………………………………………………………... Apple Inc Focus or Niche Strategy………………………………………………………………………. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………….. References…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1.0 Introduction A firm's relative position within its industry determines whether a firm's profitability is above or below the industry average. The fundamental basis of above average profitability in the long run is sustainable competitive advantage. There are two basic types of competitive advantage a firm can possess: low cost or differentiation. The two basic types of competitive advantage combined with the scope of activities for which a firm seeks to achieve them, lead to three generic strategies for achieving above average performance in an industry: cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. The focus strategy has two...
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...McDonalds for meeting the increase in demand offer different types of the fast food products like, Fried Chicken, Coffee and etc. This increase In the menu and the successive corporate strategy adopts by McDonalds makes it a leader of the market in USA “in 2011 with the revenues crossing $5.5 billion to $27 billion”. The key competitors of McDonalds are KFC and subways. The success of McDonalds is seen through the effect that more than 64 million customers visit its 33000 restaurants daily around the globe. In 2011, this company is at the 1st position on the Dow jones stock index providing 35% return on its stock. In 2012, the position of this company on the fortune 500 list will be 107, having revenues of $27006 million with the increase of 12.2% from year 2010 (Anonymous, 2012). Why McDonalds Differ from other: The corporate strategic management of any organization contributes towards achievement of competitive advantage. In McDonalds, the success is the base of its strategic management. Their unique and successive implementation of the strategy in the work area is the cause of the success of the McDonalds and is the main reason of the difference between this organization and other organizations. Strategy of McDonalds: The strategy of McDonalds is not a ghost that ensures the success, but it is the combination of some thoughts and the proper implication of them in the work operations to achieve...
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...The Porter Thesis As we have seen (Lecture 1), Michael Porter in Competitive Advantage of Nations argues that the fortunes of economies rest on the competitive advantages held by their firms and industries. National factor and demand conditions encourage the development of specific competitive advantages and specialization, and, therefore, also the development of specific types of industry. Variations in specialization, output and expertise explain differences in the competitive advantages of nations and in levels of value added and living standards. Porter contends, furthermore, that these national advantages may be difficult to replicate elsewhere, and that they may be embedded in a specific geographical location or cluster offering advantages in the acquisition of technology, knowledge, capital, skills, support structure, and so on. [pic] Porter seeks to explain why companies and industries have emerged in some countries and not others, and why certain economies have expanded in recent decades while others have stagnated or declined. In Competitive Strategy, published in 1980, he dealt with matters of industrial structure, competitor behaviour and the formulation of corporate strategy (M.E.Porter, Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1980). Successful firms, he contended, have to guard against the activities of existing rivals, buyers, suppliers, new entrants, and potential providers of substitute products....
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...business environment requires strategic thinking in companies to develop good corporate strategies. Only when developing effective strategies, corporate can remain the competitive position. By creating strategy, organization can remain the competitive advantage which other companies are unable to implement. Corporate strategy is not only for large firms but also for small business. However, there is a quotation suggests that “Strategic management is nothing more than a set a o myths, parables and homilies that give senior management a feeling of comfort that they can control the destinies of their organizations. It has neither theoretical substance nor empirical content and is delusional in its intention. The future is not only unpredictable it is also unknowable”. This assignment shall argue the citation by considering different factors. First, the assignment will identify the meaning of strategy and it does matter. And then the essays will have brief discussion of industry matter for the performance of an organization. Finally, the assignment will draw conclusion through the relevance of strategy in management practices. 1. What is strategy and does it matter? There are many ways to define strategy by various researchers. Henry Minzberg (1971) defines “Strategies are both plans for the future and the patterns from the past”. According to Johnson and Scholes (2005), strategy as follows: "Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long-term: which achieves...
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...than just tactical or operational to take advantage of business opportunities. Important measures of project success such as building market share, extending product lines, increasing revenue, satisfying customers, and building for the future, to enable the projects to have an active element in the implementation of a company's strategic intent, achieve better results, and increase the company's competitive advantage or value should be included. Project success should be measured on more than the ‘triple constraint’ criteria of schedule, budget and specification. Shenhar developed four Success Dimensions that measure project success over time. These measures include "Efficiency”, which is measured immediately after project completion, it measures whether the project was completed on time and within budget. "Impact on the Customer", This is measured within a year of project completion, It measures if specifications were met and if customer satisfaction and quality was met. "Impact on the Business”, Is measured a year or two after project completion, it measures if the project efforts resulted in increasing revenue and profits, creating positive ROI and ROE. Lastly "Building for the future", which is measured in five year's time, it measures if the project created infrastructure, new core competencies, new market opportunities, or extend product lines. Project Strategy is essential to achieving better results and increasing the value obtained from a project as it focuses on...
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...1. A company’s competitive strategy defines the set of customer needs that it seeks to satisfy through its products and services. Answer: True Difficulty: Easy 2. The value chain emphasizes the close relationship between all the functional strategies within a company. Answer: True Difficulty: Moderate 3. A company’s product development strategy defines the set of customer needs that it seeks to satisfy through its products and services. Answer: False Difficulty: Moderate 4. A company’s product development strategy specifies the portfolio of new products that it will try to develop. Answer: True Difficulty: Easy 5. A company’s supply chain strategy specifies how the market will be segmented and how the product will be positioned, priced, and promoted. Answer: False Difficulty: Easy 6. A company’s supply chain strategy determines the nature of procurement and transportation of materials as well as the manufacture and distribution of the product. Answer: True Difficulty: Easy 7. The degree of supply chain responsiveness should be consistent with the implied uncertainty. Answer: True Difficulty: Easy 8. The degree of supply chain responsiveness does not need to be consistent with the implied uncertainty. Answer: False Difficulty: Moderate 9. To achieve complete strategic fit, a firm must ensure that all functions in the value chain have consistent strategies that support the...
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...Generic Competitive Advantage May 2, 2012 The Generic Competitive Strategies can be used as a business tool which helps strategists understand how the position of a company within its industry can be directly related to the strategy it employs. The strategy employed can then be analyzed to understand where a company's competitive advantage lies, with a view to maintaining it. Porter (1985). In the early 1980s the most widely read books on competitive analysis were written by Michael Porter. They consisted of Competitive Strategy, Competitive Advantage, and Competitive Advantage of Nations. In his various books, Porter developed three generic strategies that, he argues, can be used singly or in combination to create a defendable position and to outperform competitors, whether they are within an industry or across nations. Porter states that the strategies are generic because they are applicable to a large variety of situations and contexts. According to Porter's Generic Strategies model, there are three basic strategic options available to organizations for gaining competitive advantage. These options are: Cost Leadership, Differentiation and Focus. The Cost Leadership Strategy is a Strategy that is used by businesses to create a low cost of operation within their niche. The use of this strategy is to gain an advantage over competitors by reducing operation costs below that of others in the same industry. Inside Porter's generic strategies are ways of gaining competitive advantage...
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...Wal-Mart’s competitive advantage is driven by its low-cost, high volume strategy which aims to increase profits and customer satisfaction. Sustainable competitive advantage indicates a company’s future success and is determined by different factors. These factors include organizational capabilities such as tangible resources, intangible resources and human resources. One main component of sustained competitive advantage is having superior returns sustained over a long period of time. Wal-Mart has had superior returns and has achieved competitive advantage in the market by making industry key success factors advantageous; they are committed to being cost-leaders and achieving ultimate customer satisfaction. However, their low-cost strategy alone does not give them complete advantage over its competitors. It distribution capabilities, supplier relationships, advanced R&D, and culture, added to their low prices, make up the core of Wal-Mart’s competitive advantage. Their efficient distribution, aided primarily by the company’s own distribution centers, creates economies of scale which mesh with the high volume strategy. Wal-Mart’s impressive supply chain management involves dealing directly with suppliers and integrating them into their strategy. This eliminates the middleman, reduces distribution costs and strengthens their relationship with their partners. Wal-Mart’s innovative processes, along with their active collection of customer purchase behavior aid their R&D...
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... Title Page “A Written Report about comparison of the achievement attained by two travel firms named the AET and SA exploiting diverse strategies in an akin sets of HR practice.” Date- 10-1-2016 By- Tanzina-Shomy-Motahar Student ID –‘1322288’ Executive Summary This written report emphasised the constant achievement of about 2 travel businesses in 2 different countries named “Southwest Airlines, Dallas, TX, USA” and “Airport Express Train, Oslo, Norway”. It will also be studied the internal consistency of HR of both firms and how they achieved competitive advantages, success and conclusively touched the highest position through HPWS theory into the practices. Yet, both travel firms were monitored accordingly different methods like age, ownership, range of the company, competitive strategy, labour law and national framework, whereas both travel companies were accomplished success applying theory of HPWS into the practice. Generally, the Airport Express Train (AET) and the Southwest Airlines (SA) travel businesses are suggested to follow ‘the chain of impact framework’ as a recommendation for future success in travel business. This report will explain also how the HR and HPWS models are applied in this case. For example, SA company considered they can gain success continuously in any hard position like time of Great Recession (2009) because of the strengths of employee that’s why they contribute main...
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