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Strategic Management
Strategic Management

2012
2012

1- Competitive Advantage

When a firm sustains profits that exceed the average for its industry, the firm is said to possess a competitive advantage over its rivals. The goal of much of business strategy is to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.
Michael Porter identified two basic types of competitive advantage: * cost advantage * differentiation advantage
A competitive advantage exists when the firm is able to deliver the same benefits as competitors but at a lower cost (cost advantage), or deliver benefits that exceed those of competing products (differentiation advantage). Thus, a competitive advantage enables the firm to create superior value for its customers and superior profits for itself.
Cost and differentiation advantages are known as positional advantages since they describe the firm's position in the industry as a leader in either cost or differentiation.
A resource-based view emphasizes that a firm utilizes its resources and capabilities to create a competitive advantage that ultimately results in superior value creation. The following diagram combines the resource-based and positioning views to illustrate the concept of competitive advantage:

A Model of Competitive Advantage Resources | | | | | | Distinctive
Competencies | | |
Cost Advantage or Differentiation Advantage | | |
Value
Creation | | Capabilities | | | | | |

Resource : http://www.quickmba.com

2- Strategists
Strategists are individuals who are most responsible for the success or failure of an organization. Strategists are individuals who form strategies. Strategists have various job titles, such as chief executive officer, president, and owner, chair of the board, executive director, chancellor, dean, or entrepreneur.
Strategists help