...Best practice does not equal best strategy Benchmarking is an important way to improve operational efficiency, but it is not a tool for strategic decision making. When competitors all try to play exactly the same game, declining margins are bound to follow. PHILIPP M. NATTERMANN The McKinsey Quarterly, 2000 Number 2 Best practice. It may be the most readily recognized and widely used of all business management tools. And why shouldn’t it be? To executives, modeling a company’s performance on its best-in-class competitor is an ambitious but attainable aspiration. To investors, the strategy is a guarantee of the soundness of any company that embraces it. And to consultants, it is the tide that lifts every client’s boat. So why is it killing your margins? Everyone who follows business has seen the fat margins of growing young companies attract scores of new entrants, which eventually crowd the field and drive those very margins down. Why would top executives convert this regrettable fact of business life into a creed, especially when doing so simply hastens the endgame for everyone—first mover and Johnny-come-lately alike? Margins tumble as more and more incumbent companies compete for smaller and smaller segments of customers and industry resources They act as they do because they don’t understand that benchmarking is simply an operational tool. Instead, they all want to occupy the point on the strategic landscape that their most successful competitor has staked out.1 Soon...
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...Stem Cell Research One of the numerous scientific topics that creates a great divide between Americans and political party platforms is the approval or disapproval of stem cell research. There is very firm support and opposition to this topic, and it can often provoke heated discussions amid the general public and those in academia. The core of the debate specifically revolves around embryonic stem cell research and the ethical implications that come with experimentation on human embryos. When discussing stem cell research it is important to obtain some background information to know where the debate originated. “There are three main sources for obtaining stem cells - adult cells, cord cells, and embryonic cells” (Stem Cell Research Pros and Cons). Stem cells are cells that are capable of taking on the form of various types of cells. Research in the 90s began the scientific world’s fascination with stem cells. As studies have progressed, scientists have performed experiments on all three types of stem cells in order to differentiate the stem cells with the purpose of finding possible cures for serious illnesses such as leukemia and even cancer. Doctor Irving Weissman of the American Medical Association states, “Rare leukemia stem cells and cancer stem cells have been isolated that contain all of the tumorigenicity of the whole tumor, and it is their properties that will guide future therapies” (Weissman). Stem cell research opens a world of possibilities for the medical...
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...Embryonic stem cells are specifically acquired from eggs which have been fertilized through in vitro fertilization. Embryonic stem cells are grown in laboratories using a thorough procedure called cell culture. Through this system the human embryonic stem cells are initially secluded by removing the inner cell mass into a plastic culture dish, which contains a certain nutrient medium that is called the culture medium. While being kept at an appropriate temperature, as well as humidity, the stem cells are able to divide and spread throughout the surface of the dish. At random periods of the generation process the cells are tested to determine whether or not they display the fundamental characteristics which classify them embryonic stem cells This reoccurring system is called "characterization." When they are finally read, the undifferentiated embryonic stem cells are then distinguished into the desired type of cells. Mice embryonic stem cells are also used for research along with the human embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells can develop...
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...Introduction Market segmentation, much like its name implies, is a marketing strategy which is involved in the division of a target markets into subsets of markets with consumers who have common needs and wants. Market segmentation then designs and implements strategies to target the customers’ needs and wants by using various channels and other options. Market segments allow companies to create product differentiation strategies to target them. Market segmentation is extremely important in marketing as it allows for customization of products/ services to the customers that have the potential to buy them. Segmentation Marketing may be based on broad markets or small sub-segments. Mass marketing is the process or strategy to use the same marketing channels for all consumers without identifying the needs of a specific group of people. Mass marketing strategy employs mass promotion, mass production and mass distribution in the same way for mass consumers. In the past, companies have used mass marketing to achieve the economies of scale. However, times have changed, and it is almost impossible to create products to appeal to the entire market. Pursuing this strategy, several companies have lost their market leadership or a considerable chunk of their market share. As the customers are looking for the customized services, the marketer can satisfy them by considering the segmentation strategy. The market segmentation strategy is followed by the market targeting and the market positioning...
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...Samsung The Memory Industry Threat of New Entrants: High Because the barriers to entry in the DRAM industry are quite high, it makes the threat of new entrants high as well. These barriers to entry include, extremely high fixed costs, economies of scale, and high switching costs. Huge capital is invested into the first two stages—the design and fabrication stages—of the process, but in addition to that, the investment for human resources is particularly high since they need highly skilled human resources for each of these stages. This implies that as new entrants coms, they need to take a capital risk premium, making barriers to entry high. Another burden for new entrants in this industry is economies of scales. If new entrants only enter on a small scale, this causes a great cost disadvantage for them. Furthermore, since most DRAM producers are vertically integrated, these firms face a cost advantage in procurement and sales. Threat of Substitutes: Low For the DRAM industry, the threat of substitutes is relatively low because there are virtually no substitutes for DRAM that have the same functions. However, in the future, flash memory chips may be a potential substitute for DRAM. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: High The power of suppliers is moderately high since the timing of the supply getting to the producers and the quality of the equipment producers are using to manufacture these chips are critical factors to developing and producing DRAM. On account of the high...
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...scope is a demand-side dimension (Michael E. Porter was originally an engineer, then an economist before he specialized in strategy) and looks at the size and composition of the market you intend to target. Strategic strength is a supply-side dimension and looks at the strength or core competency of the firm. In particular he identified two competencies that he felt were most important: product differentiation and product cost (efficiency). He originally ranked each of the three dimensions (level of differentiation, relative product cost, and scope of target market) as either low, medium, or high, and juxtaposed them in a three dimensional matrix. That is, the category scheme was displayed as a 3 by 3 by 3 cube. But most of the 27 combinations were not viable. In his 1980 classic Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors, Porter simplifies the scheme by reducing it down to the three best strategies. They are cost leadership, differentiation, and market segmentation (or focus). Market segmentation is narrow in scope while both cost leadership and differentiation are relatively broad in market scope. Empirical research on the profit impact of marketing strategy indicated that firms with a high market share were often quite profitable, but so were many firms with low market share. The least profitable firms were those with moderate market share. This was sometimes referred to as the hole in the middle problem. Porter’s explanation of this is that firms...
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...See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236120041 Nanotechnology for tissue engineering: Need, techniques and applications ARTICLE in JOURNAL OF PHARMACY RESEARCH · MARCH 2013 Impact Factor: 2.89 · DOI: 10.1016/j.jopr.2013.02.021 CITATIONS READS 8 485 4 AUTHORS, INCLUDING: J. Danie Kingsley Shivendu Ranjan VIT University VIT University 6 PUBLICATIONS 8 CITATIONS 17 PUBLICATIONS 45 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Nandita Dasgupta VIT University 17 PUBLICATIONS 43 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Available from: Shivendu Ranjan Retrieved on: 14 March 2016 j o u r n a l o f p h a r m a c y r e s e a r c h x x x ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 e5 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jopr Review Article Nanotechnology for tissue engineering: Need, techniques and applications J. Danie Kingsley, Shivendu Ranjan*, Nandita Dasgupta, Proud Saha School of Bioscience and Technology, VIT University, Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India article info abstract Article history: Tissue engineering is very fast growing scientific area in this era which is used to create, Received 1 December 2012 repair, and/or replace cells, tissues and organs by using cell and/or combinations of cells Accepted 27 February 2013 with biomaterials and/or biologically active molecules and it helps to produce materials ...
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...its buyers that exceeds the firm's cost of creating it. Value is what buyers are willing to pay, and superior value stems from offering lower prices than competitors for equivalent benefits or providing unique benefits that more than offset a higher price. There are two basic types of competitive advantage: cost leadership and differentiation.” Michael Porter Competitive strategies involve taking offensive or defensive actions to create a defendable position in the industry. Generic strategies can help the organization to cope with the five competitive forces in the industry and do better than other organization in the industry. Generic strategies include ‘overall cost leadership’, ‘differentiation’, and ‘focus’. Generally firms pursue only one of the above generic strategies. However some firms make an effort to pursue only one of the above generic strategies. However some firms make an effort to pursue more than one strategy at a time by bringing out a differentiated product at low cost. Though approaches like these are successful in short term, they are hardly sustainable in the long term. If firms try to maintain cost leadership as well as differentiation at the same time, they may fail to achieve either. Keywords: Differentiated,...
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...Thalia Coleman Belanger M00349310 MKT3110 – Marketing Strategy and Planning Dr. Costos Priporas Individual Report - Phase 2 Tuesday March 25th 2014 Word Count: 2,738 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………4 I. Marketing Objectives …………………………………………………………………5 Supporting Objectives ……………………………………………………………………6 Summary of Approach ……………………………………………………………………6 II. Targeting and Positioning ………………………………………………………….7 Market Targets …………………………………………………………………………….7 Market Positioning ………………………………………………………………………..8 Market Attractiveness ……………………………………………………………9 Current Market Position ………………………………………………………..10 III. Competitive Advantage ……………………………………………………11 Differential Advantage …………………………………………………………………..12 SWOT Analysis: Matching & Converting ……………………………………………..13 Levels of Product Offering ……………………………………………………………...15 Sustainability ……………………………………………………………………………..15 IV. Growth Strategies …………………………………………………………………17 Marketing Warfare ………………………………………………………………………18 V. Marketing Mix Program …………………………………………………….18 Product ……………………………………………………………………………………19 Price ………………………………………………………………………………………19 Place ……………………………………………………………………………………...19 Promotion ………………………………………………………………………………...20 Communication Tools ………………………………………………………….20 Product Life Cycle Management ……………………………………………...21 Implementation & Control ………………………………………………………………22 VI. Conclusion …………………………………………………………………..24 VII. References ………………………………………………………………….25 Appendix A: Summarized Strategic Analysis:...
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...Case Study # 7: BMW Automobiles INTRODUCTION PROBLEM BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Pestel Analysis Political * Geopolitical tensions and concerns about oil supplies, added to the uncertainty about the political environment due to war. * Employment laws vary in Europe, US and Asia. Economical * The financial crisis reduces the disposable income of consumers. * Taxes imposed by governments due to car’s emissions. * Equity prices fell. * Oil price went up so the derived product’s prices when up as well. Social * BMW have diversified into many different markets and countries meaning that they are dealing with different cultures, expectations, values and incomes. * Customers’ predisposition to select design and prefer brand appeal. Technological * BMW has had to invest in technology in order to maintain its competitive advantage and be able to offer high quality vehicles. * Developing eco-friendly technologies. Environmental * CO2 emission laws * Development of eco-friendly vehicles Legal * CO2 emission laws * Taxation laws in the countries where BWM has presence. As a result from the PESTEL Analysis we can conclude that BMW will require a good marketing plan to preserve their market position. Also, their employees will need to have to skills to develop sustainable technology; they will need to have the knowledge of the current legislation and how to implement it. We can conclude as well that...
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...launching an initial public offering. When other airlines were slow to resume operations, JetBlue tool advantage of the situation by increasing safety measures, boosting services offered, and expanding operations. Between 2002 and 2003, JetBlue grew rapidly until profits dropped significantly in 2004. With rising fuel cost, aggressive competition, and an aging fleet, JetBlue was forced to announce a recovery plan. Just as profits slowly recovered in 2006, a snowstorm hit the United States, causing a huge customer service and database management crisis that negatively affected JetBlue’s reputation. JetBlue initially achieved profitability in the challenging aviation industry due to its business model and processes, positioning and culture. Unlike its competitors, JetBlue chose New York as its base, which allowed for domestic fight leadership at JFK airport. By combining low fares with valuable services, such as snacks and personal satellite television, JetBlue was able to position itself among it customers. Tactically, JetBlue bought economical and easy to maintain aircraft and chose routes and airports that they had less competition but were still highly demanded. Non-unionized crewmembers were encouraged to be positive, proactive, and customer-minded, which stood out to traveling customers. With a solid deliberate strategy at its star, JetBlue was able to achieve profits early. JetBlue’s temporary competitive advantage developed as a direct result of several external...
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...Q.1 What strategies does CRH pursue? Describe the main elements of the successful strategic approach employed by CRH in a difficult industry environment. As the products of this industry are standardized, stable and similar across the markets, the mode of production is also standard within the industry and involves unsophisticated processes. This provides little ground for the implementation of product differentiation strategy for the firms in this industry. With low chances of differentiation and intense competition due to low barriers of entry, the most suitable strategy for CRH is to diversify through market penetration. CRH initiated the competitive strategy of vertical integration in the domestic market and acquisition-led diversification overseas. This made it possible for CRH to diversify its risks and gain more opportunities. In addition, CRH has grown in the market through pursuing relentless market penetration through acquisition-led strategy. They have the best track record of its peer group of growing returns through acquisitions and the Group’s acquisition performance was well known widely. Finally, rigorous, comprehensive and inclusive, CRH’s acquisition strategy was singular in conception and execution and had proven very difficult to duplicate. Q.2 Outline the nature of parenting advantage provided by the centre in CRH and the extent of value created. Most of CRH's acquisitions continue to operate under their former names and management, while taking advantage...
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...scope of an org over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources & competencies with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. * 3-5 plans are appropriate according to Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies, which includes non-food consumer products Porter’s Generic Strategies (Bases of Competitive Advtg) Differentiation Strategy – differentiates its products from competitors’ in a way to make them more appealing across whole market. Customers are willing to pay extra for difference. SABMiller differentiates their products by satisfying customer’s need through a sustainable competitive advantage. It allows SABMiller to desensitize prices and focus on value that generates a comparatively higher price and a better margin. Cost Focus – if premium price unlikely, so could be suitable due to closeness to customers, local firm w/ low costs overall. Bowman’s Strategy Clock – analyse the competitive position of a company in comparison to the offerings of competitors. Hybrid (moderate price/moderate differentiation) They offer products at a low cost, but offer products with a higher perceived value than those of other low cost competitors. Volume is an issue here but these companies build a reputation of offering fair prices for reasonable goods. The quality and value is good and the consumer is assured of reasonable prices. This combination builds customer loyalty. RESOURCE BASE VIEW (RBV): ...
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...PADINI’s 7 Culture Speed Simplicity Self- Confidence Communication Team Work Learning Culture Consistency Targeting From our research, we can say that the targeting strategies used by PADINI is differentiated marketing where PADINI target several segment by offering different products to satisfy the different groups of customer. The targeted groups of customer are derived from the age range that above 7 to 50 and separated according to age and genders. The following table is showing the different targeted groups by offering different products. Group Age Gender Product Type of Product Infants and kids Below 7 Both Miki Kids Casual Childrens 7-12 Both Seed, PADINI Authentic Fashion style Teenagers or youngsters 12-18 Both Seed, PADINI Authentic Casual Adult 18-30 Female P & Co Younger style(Trendy) Adult 18-40 Both Seed Casual plus classic stylish designed Teenagers or Adult 13 - 50 Female Vincci and Vincci Accessories Female Accessories Adult 18-50 Both PDI Casual stylish designed Adult 18 -60 Both PADINI formal Marketing Differentiation & Positioning PADINI used the differentiation strategies of product and image to place the product occupies in the consumer’s minds. The hottest product of PADINI - Seed, use the product differentiation in term of design to place the product occupies in the consumers’ minds. For example, when a consumer want to buy a semi-formal with classic stylish designed, the Seed’s product...
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...HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED (HUL) QUESTION 1. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANISATION HUL is one of the largest FMCG Company with more than 100 factories all over India. It is 75 year old and touches every second Indian’s life, out of three. Its mission statement is- “add vitality to life” (<http://www.hul.co.in/aboutus/introductiontohul/>) One of the most effective tools for analysing external environment of an organisation is PEST ANALYSIS. 1.POLITICAL FACTORS: These factors affect the organisation in many ways. Depending on the situation, these factors can generate opportunities for organisation or may be disadvantages too by imposing taxes and duties. Indian political system is going through various changes. In India, FMCG market can be categorised into rural and urban. Rural sector is mainly dependant on agriculture as its main source of living is with generally lower penetration levels and more unorganised part. Whereas, urban sector has high penetration levels and more spending power. That is why rural sector was the main area of focus for government for development in the recent past. There were many schemes run by government to generate employment and major investments were made in infrastructure development. Because of all this, there was an increase in disposable income level in rural sector and hence rise in FMCGs demand. (<http://www.hul.co.in/>) HUL has its own set standards to deal with political issues. It applies its rapport and experience to...
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