...Competitive Advantage Tajsha Cheeks BUS 201 Principles of Management Instructor Glenda Riley February 27, 2012 Competitive Advantage The world has been chaining more rapidly than ever before, managers and other employees throughout an organization must perform at higher and higher levels. One of the most important lessons for managers and organizations to learn if they were to reach and remain at the top of the competitive environment of business is to achieve and build a competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is the ability of one organization to outperform other organizations because it produces desired goods or services more efficiently and effectively than its competitors. If company’s follow the four building blocks of competitive advantage, there’s no doubt in my mind their company will be superior to others (Jones, 2011). The four building blocks of competitive advantage consist of efficiency, quality, innovation, and responsiveness to customers. In today’s competitive environment, organizations continually search for new ways to use their resources to improve efficiency. Organizations increase their efficiency when they reduce the quantity of resources they use to produce goods or services. For example, many organizations are training their workforces in the new skills and techniques needed to operate heavily computerized assembly plants. Also, cross-training employees gives them the range of skills they need to perform many different tasks, and organizing...
Words: 836 - Pages: 4
...Organizational Intelligence Roger Brewer HRD 6634: Administration of Human Resource Development Idaho State University Dr. Robert W. Lion 06 October 2013 Abstract Organizational Intelligence can play an important role in developing business values and purpose. Understanding the obstacles surrounding an organization helps us to take action to correct issues that may arise. In this paper, I will briefly touch on Organizational Intelligence, Business Model Logic, and Bloom’s Taxonomy. Introduction Organizational Intelligence (OI) is applied in all organizations to enhance the understanding of managerial processes and resources within the business. Organizations need to understand the barriers that surround them and be able to take the necessary actions to remove them. OI can be definitely, measured, and used to successfully achieve performance improvement when applied. OI can be characterized by various aspects of individual intelligence, cooperate knowledge, and support systems. Business Logic Model Business Logic Model refers to the logic of the organization, how it operates, and creates value for its consumers. Another term that can be used is a company’s stagey. “The firm’s logic for creating and commercializing value” (Osterwalder et al., 2005).To look into Business Logic Model we should first look at our business or service we provide and determine goals and how can we get them accomplished. Look into our customer base and decide what the customer values...
Words: 1047 - Pages: 5
...INTL 4400 – Assignment 1 2012-2013 LEGO Group: Building Strategy Professor: Kelly Lecouvie Celeste Chan, Richard Guo Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Problem statement 2 ANALYSIS 2 External Analysis - Porter’s five FORCES: 2 Internal Analysis – Core Competency 4 Main Issues 4 ALTERNATIVES 5 Recommendation 7 Appendices 8 APPENDIX A – LEGO’s VALUE CHAIN 8 APPENDIX B – Core competencies & LEgo 9 APPENDIX C – FOUNDATION & DIRECTION OF LEGO 10 Problem statement LEGO as a company has withstood many years of changing business environment, and has grown from creating wooden toys to interchangeable blocks, and eventually becoming an international symbol of innovation. It is again facing a changing environment, with its patents expired, its rising number of competitors, and facing losses in court as well as loss of market share to its competitors. ANALYSIS External Analysis - Porter’s five FORCES: Bargaining power of suppliers: LEGO’s suppliers have low bargaining power. After Jorgen Vig Knudstorp took over as the director of strategic development, he was able to cut 80% of LEGO’s suppliers to improve efficiency. The technology needed to create LEGO’s bricks is not specialized, since the company has in house machines to create the blocks. From the above two points, it’s apparent that the bargaining power of suppliers is low, since their services are easily substitutable and disposable. Bargaining power of customers: The bargaining...
Words: 2192 - Pages: 9
...[pic] Build Blocks Academy Jiszelle Ferguson Marketing 500 Charles Richardson Building Blocks Academy Business Plan Company Background: Why are we so different? Jiszelle Ferguson is the founder of building blocks academy. She has an Associate Science degree in early childhood and a Bachelor of Science in Business administration. Her vision came from own experience as a working parent searching for quality care in her area for her children. She experience that many childcare providers tuition in the North Fulton area were not reasonably priced to fit the average middle class American family. Her passion and experience for caring for children is why she decided to develop and start Building Blocks academy home child care center. We are a family based child care facility that was developed for dual and single working parents. At Building Blocks Academy we believe that every child can have a high quality learning environment regardless of cost. We know through experience that quality care can help children achieve higher cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills. Providing quality care in these early years of a child's life makes a difference in their success, education, and helps them achieve early learning skills. Together with parents we create classroom environments for children that incorporate unique enrichment programs that fit their child's needs and developmental level. Following this method allows us to address the needs of your child as an...
Words: 1647 - Pages: 7
... H&R Block 524 reviews - Flower Mound, TX H&R Block Tax Professional/Tax Preparer Seasonal/Part Time Build Your Future at H&R Block. Learn to do taxes from the leaders in tax preparation. H&R Block is the world’s largest tax services provider and the leader in the tax preparation industry. Each year, H&R Block employs thousands of seasonal and part-time associates as Tax Professionals in our tax offices nationwide. To become an H&R Block Tax Professional, you must first successfully complete the H&R Block Income Tax Course. In this course, you will learn everything you need to know to prepare basic tax returns. The course is taught by our best and most experienced Tax Professionals, with convenient locations and class times, you will learn from the best without interrupting your current employment, job search, or school schedule. Experienced tax preparers may satisfy this requirement by passing the Tax Knowledge Assessment. See details below. Being an H&R Block Tax Professional is interesting and challenging work that provides many advantages: Earn extra income Learn valuable tax preparation skills Flexible hours – Seasonal/Part Time Start a new career Opportunities for ongoing training to increase your tax knowledge A Job with a Future It is easy to see why so many Tax Professionals return to H&R Block each year. Some return to earn extra income and others return to grow their career with H&R Block. They are building...
Words: 629 - Pages: 3
...provided by employees, for which Starbuck started selling experience through selling ‘third place’, superior customer services, hiring and training process for employees, progressive compensation policy even to the part time employees like stock option plan grants and medical benefits which was unique in the industry, retaining its customer at higher rate. Starbucks’ these distinctive competencies helped it to differentiate its products from those of rivals and thus achieve higher profitability. 1. Identify the resources, capabilities, and distinctive competencies of Starbucks. Ans: Resources refer to assets of a company. Assets can be of two kinds- tangible and intangible. Tangible resources are physical entities, such as land, buildings, plant, equipment, inventory, and money. Intangible assets are nonphysical entities that are created by managers and other employees, such as brand names; the reputation of the company, the knowledge that employees have gained through experience, the intellectual property of the company protected through patents, trademarks,...
Words: 1179 - Pages: 5
...1|Page Delta Net Media Company is one of the largest and most innovative Media (Paid Satellite TV Network) & Internet Service Provider Company in Myanmar. Delta Net offer consumers in two different categories, DTH – Direct to Home satellite television network and MPS – Multi Play Services which adds satellite broadband internet to television network service. Delta Net is providing these services nationwide in Myanmar. It was launched in November 2010 and started with total 48 channels including sports, entertainment, news, movies, music so on and later expands to 83 channels as of 2013 and keep expanding the network to provide varieties of channels for consumers to be entertained or infotained. In addition, the company is currently building to expand its services to South East Asia region. The headquartered is in Yangon, with 3 sub offices in Nay-Pyi-Taw, Mandalay, and Pathein and partnered with local businesses all around Myanmar to provide regional sale services, delivering the most creative and effective outdoor media programs for clients. Delta Net...
Words: 3364 - Pages: 14
...Building a Learning Organization ABSTRACT This report is a review on two articles on Learning organizations and the practices followed by them. While the article by Garvin focuses on the building blocks that help an organization to recognize where it is, the second article is a review on a Think Tank meet that focuses on 9 best practices the leading learning organizations have followed. Initially, the importance of the meaning, measurement and management of a learning organization is described. Later the five building blocks that learning organizations need to be skilled in are emphasized. The different stages of knowledge are focused on in the next section. The report ends with comments on benchmarking, half-life curves. The report concludes with the comparisons and differences between the articles and the evolution of thought. Table of Contents INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………………………… 1 LEARNING ORGANIZATION……………………………………………………………………… 1 3 M’S DESCRIBED BY GARVIN …………………………………………………………………. 2 STEPPING STONES OF A LEARNING ORGANIZATION…………………………………3 THE STEPS PERTINENT TO LEARNING……………………………………………………… 5 BENCHMARKING ROLE …………………………………………………………………………….6 LEARNING CURVES...…………………………………………………………………………………6 WHITE PAPER AND GARVIN PAPER……………………………………………………………7 REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………………………8 INTRODUCTION: The...
Words: 2896 - Pages: 12
...The Five Factors of a Strategic Alliance by: Jason WakeamIssues: May / June 2003. Tags: Strategy. Categories: Strategy. • Share on LinkedIn • Share on googlePlus • Share on facebook • Share on twitter • Share by email [pic] “Strategic” may be one of the most over-used words in business today. This observation is especially valid in the world of alliances, where managers must distinguish between those alliances that are merely conventional and those that are truly strategic. This author outlines the five factors that make an alliance “strategic.” As companies gain experience in building alliances, they often find their portfolios ballooning with partnerships. While these partnerships may contribute value to the firm, not all alliances are in fact strategic to an organization. This is a critical point, since, as this article will explain, those alliances that are truly strategic must be identified clearly and managed differently than more conventional business relationships. Due to the levels of organizational commitment and investment required, not all partner relationships can be given the same degree of attention as truly strategic alliances. The impact of mismanaging a strategic alliance or permitting it to fall apart can materially impact the firm’s ability to achieve its core business objectives. The five criteria of a “strategic” alliance What is it that makes an alliance truly strategic to a particular company? Is it possible for an alliance...
Words: 2112 - Pages: 9
................................................................................................................................ 3 3.0. Apple Distinctive Competencies ............................................................................................................ 4 3.1. The R-C Model.................................................................................................................................... 4 3.2. Building Blocks of Competitive Advantage ........................................................................................ 6 4.0. Nature of Competition in the PC industry ............................................................................................. 7 4.1. PC Industry Life Cycle ......................................................................................................................... 7 4.2. Porters 5 Forces ................................................................................................................................. 8 5.0. Apple Sustainable Competitive Advantage.......................................................................................... 10 5.1. Value Chain ...................................................................................................................................... 10 5.2. New McKinsey 7S Model ................................................................................................................. 11 5.3. SWOT..................................
Words: 5621 - Pages: 23
...APA style was developed in the 1920's, as a method for standardizing all of the many components of scientific writing (Bethel University, 2014). Due to a growth in the psychology field, editors were becoming inundated with works on topics that they were not always familiar with. With this in mind, psychologists developed the guidelines set forth in APA, oriented towards removing the "idiosyncrasies of authors' writing" styles (Almeida, 2012). By placing emphasis on structure and presentation, APA style "makes sure that the impression of neutrality and impersonal detachment is visible and evident throughout the literature" (Almeida, 2012). This is a critical feature of scientific writing and was important as the fledgling field of psychology...
Words: 281 - Pages: 2
...a team’s emotional intelligence (EI)? Why or why not? What would be the advantages/disadvantages? Discuss specific circumstances/influences/parameters that may impact a leader’s decision to spend time fostering the development of EI. Do you think it is appropriate for a leader to spend time developing a team’s emotional intelligence (EI)? Why or why not? Having the ability to identify emotions is one of the factors in emotional intelligence. It is absolutely important that leaders should spend time to developing a team’s emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence plays a vital part on how we deal with others. The benefit of emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, identify, understand and successfully manage emotion in self and others (Daft, 2008). The ability to perceive emotions means correctly identifying one’s feelings or emotions. We need to be observant and sensitive on one’s facial expression and body language as these can tell us what the other person feels without him/her saying a word. Understanding emotions is another factor in emotional intelligence. This is the ability to analyze the perceived emotions of other person and interpret what it means. Not all people have this ability. Emotional intelligence is managing emotions. This is the most important factor in emotional intelligence. This is the ability to control your emotions and respond appropriately to others. Building a strong base of emotional intelligence allows leaders to direct and guide...
Words: 965 - Pages: 4
...involves four main steps. Which of the following would NOT be among those steps? a. Measuring consumer brand knowledge b. Identifying and establishing brand positioning c. Planning and implementing brand marketing d. Measuring and interpreting brand performance e. Growing and sustaining brand value Answer: a Page: 260 Difficulty: Hard AACSB: Analytic Skills 3. The American Marketing Association defines a ________ as “a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.” a. holistic product concept b. product concept c. service concept d. brand e. brand image Answer: d Page: 260 Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills 4. Consumers learn about brands through ________ and product marketing programs. a. the mass media b. past experiences with the product c. the sales force d. shopping bots e. independent information sources Answer: b Page: 260 Difficulty: Medium AACSB: Analytic Skills 5. ________ is endowing products and services with the power of a brand. a. Brand image b. The branding concept c. Branding d. Brand positioning e. Brand partitioning Answer: c Page: 263 Difficulty: Easy 6. Brand ________ is the added value endowed to products and services. a. loyalty b. equity c. preference d....
Words: 5774 - Pages: 24
...WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS/ DEVELOPMENT? WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE/ GREEN BUILDINGS? In the 21st century, our world is developing from every aspect in a blink of an eye. Everywhere we go, there’s huge tall buildings, shopping centres, etc. But the question is, what is the advantage of a sustainable building? Sustainable building also known as green building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle. The common objective is that green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by: - Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources. - Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity. - Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation. A similar concept is natural building, which is usually on a smaller scale and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally. Sustainability may be defined as meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Green building practices aim to reduce the environmental impact of building. The first rule is that the greenest building is the building that doesn't get built. Since construction almost always degrades a building site, not building at all is preferable to green building, in terms of reducing environmental impact. The...
Words: 774 - Pages: 4
...aware of one another, and who perceive themselves to be a group. Take for example a group of boys. Any number of boys can comprise the group, and there would be a sense of belonging amongst the boys as they are of the same sex. Groups are the building blocks of organizations and are designed to integrate job tasks and people effectively (Credo Reference). Teams in an organizational setting can be as simple as two people working together to write a white paper or technical document, or as complex as multiple businesses working together to bid a proposal or build the next generation destroyer for the Navy (Wienclaw, 2010). In general, groups in an organization comprise two or more individuals who are interdependent and who interact over time (Wienclaw, 2010). A group can be defined as a configuration of two or more interdependent individuals who interact over time. Groups work towards a common goal, are accountable to a manger, and may accomplish their goals. Groups also do not have a clear, stable culture, so conflict is frequent (Wienclaw, 2010). However not every group of people who work together can be considered a team. Teams on the other hand can be viewed as a specific type of group. In a team, there is differentiation of skills where one individual does a specific part of the task, and other individuals do other specific parts also. For example on a soccer team, each of the eleven members that make up the soccer team has different position at which they play. Usually...
Words: 896 - Pages: 4
