...Nintendo entered the video game market in 1979 and has been a top competitor ever since. In 2006, with the release of the Nintendo Wii, they secured their competitive advantage in the video game industry. The Wii was created to establish a new standard in game control, using innovative and unprecedented interface with the Wii remote. The remote’s motion sensor capabilities allowed the user to interact and manipulate objects on the screen by moving and pointing the remote in various directions. It really changed the way games were played. In 2010, they were the market leader of that generation of video console sales growth, ahead of Microsoft and Sony. By the fall of 2010, Sony and Microsoft were starting to gain on Nintendo’s competitive advantage when they came out with their own gaming systems that had innovative controllers along with much better graphics. If Nintendo wants to keep their competitive advantage, they will need to reevaluate their strategies. External Environment If a company does not keep up with changes in the external environment, it becomes difficult to sustain competitive advantages. There are two components to the external environment to analyze. The general environment, which consists of demographic, sociocultural, political/legal, technological, economic and global conditions; and the competitive environment, which includes rivals, suppliers, customers and other factors that may directly affect a company’s success. Nintendo used the Wii to expand...
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...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 evaluation. Internal and External Environments Environmental scanning of the internal organizational...
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...Environmental Scan Environmental scanning is very important to a company’s long term and short term run within a business. In this paper there will be two businesses being evaluated through the scanning process. The SWOT analysis is the tool of choice. The SWOT analysis will provide the strengths and weaknesses of each company. The environmental scanning monitors help companies evaluate information from the internal and external factors of a company. The two companies being evaluated is USPS and Wal-Mart. The USPS internal and external factors are as follows: market and economic conditions, competitor actions, regulations, seasonality, and trend (" Internal and External Factors", 2014). The Internal factors are maintenance concepts, pricing strategies, product change, changes in usage factors, and promotions and advertising for products or services"(" Internal and External Factors", 2014). The USPS has to have better pay than the competitors to keep the employees. The carriers are paid well with USPS and tend to stay until the time they are eligible to retire. The "Performance Measurement Systems" (2004) website "External First-Class Measurement System (EXFC) is not a system-wide measurement of all First-Class Mail service performance". The USPS has very effective guidelines and follows protocol to the "T". The USPS takes great steps when ensuring quality service...
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...Chapter 01 What Is Strategy, and Why Is It Important? Multiple Choice Questions 1. | Keeping in mind Apple's competitive advantage, which of the following products was introduced by Apple in 2007? A. | iPad | B. | iPhone | C. | iPod | D. | iTunes | | 2. | _____ is best described as an integrative management field that combines analysis, formulation, and implementation in the quest for competitive advantage. A. | Supply chain management | B. | Integrated technology management | C. | Strategic management | D. | Inventory management | | 3. | _____ is best described as a set of goal-directed actions a firm takes to gain and sustain superior performance relative to competitors. A. | Behavior modification | B. | Strategy | C. | Credo | D. | Competency management | | 4. | Which of the following stages of the strategic management process involves an evaluation of a firm's external and internal environments? A. | Strategy analysis | B. | Strategy implementation | C. | Strategy formulation | D. | Strategy control | | 5. | In _____, a firm frames a guiding policy to address the competitive challenge. A. | strategy control | B. | strategy implementation | C. | strategy formulation | D. | strategy analysis | | 6. | Through _____, a firm puts its guiding policy into practice by employing a set of coherent actions. A. | strategy control | B. | strategy implementation...
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...“Outline Porter’s three generic strategies and discuss whether generic strategies can lead to sustainable competitive advantage” With many views and variations on strategy and a company’s ability to sustain competitive advantage, it seems to be generally acknowledged that Porter’s three generic strategies i.e. Low Cost, Differentiation and Focus strategies, are the most widely accepted. In my following essay I will outline these three generic strategies and discus whether or not generic strategies can lead to sustainable competitive advantage. Cost-leadership strategy, or low cost strategy allows the firm to gain competitive advantage and market share by appealing to cost-conscious consumers. They can either use a no frills approach strategy which combines an inferior product with a low price, or a low-priced strategy where they would produce a product of similar quality but sell it at a lower price. (Johnson et. al, 2009). Pursuing low product cost alone however will not sustain competitive advantage. Managers must attempt to reduce costs in other areas of the firm, such as manufacturing and distribution in order to stay ahead of their competitors. Differentiation strategies involve trying to incorporate unique features to your product or service that will allow consumers to differentiate you from your competitors. This type of strategy can be particularly useful in markets which are saturated or where consumers aren’t particularly price-sensitive. One example of...
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...Cultural Inertia-an established business has its own way of doing things. 5. Internal Politics-managers in established organizations often engage in political infighting. 6. Anti-trust actions by government-government are concerned to ensure that monopolies do not distort the working of an economy. 7. Government intervention to support the new entrant-government are acutely aware of the importance, both economic and political, of small and fast growing new firms in an economy. 8. An economic perspective on entrepreneurial gaps-established businesses leave gaps largely because they lack adeptness in exploiting some opportunities, leaving space into which entrepreneur can move. 9. A word of warning-despite its inherent advantages, leaves gaps into which the ambitious new entrant can move because they often undervalue new opportunities. The Strategic Window: A visual metaphor 1. Seeing the window: scanning for new opportunities-involves scanning the solid wall presented by existing players to find the windows and spots the gaps in what they offer to the market. 2. Locating the window: positioning the new venture-developing and understanding of where the window is located. It demands an understanding both of the positioning of the new offering in the marketplace relative to existing products and services and of how the venture can position itself in the...
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...to its owner a sustainable competitive advantage. Therefore, resources and competencies approach first appeared as a theory of competitive advantage or a theory of “performance of the firm” (Argyres & Zenger, 2007). It is only recently, in the last 20 years that organizations have started using the resource based view approach on strategy. Nowadays, they view it as the most important key development in international business research and strategic management, an approach that gives a coherent vision based on a firm's capabilities to help determine the strategic resources necessary for the firm's survival and growth within a particular market place. As Hitt et al (2001) stated, “the resource based model assumes that each organization is a collection of unique resources and capabilities that provides the basis for its strategy and that is the primary source of return.”. It suggests that in order for a firm to sustain competitive advantage, it must not only have resources and capabilities but also have a firm control over it and they must meet certain basic criteria such as being: valuable, rare, inimitable and non substitutable such that it is impossible to be copied or replicated (VRIN). Although a resource based view strategy sounds like the better way to go, others have wondered if this approach is at all necessary or bring any more insight than the traditional understandings into a successful strategy to survive and thrive into a competitive market,...
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...Essay by Mashell Chapeyama University of the People Competitive advantages of Chipinge Banana Company A competitive advantage refers to any asset or capabilities that a company has that gives value to it or its products and services, which competitors do not have. Competitive advantage creates cost leadership to a firm or enables the firm to produce differentiated products. An example of a competitive advantage is being able to sell the products at low price but still be able to get some profits. This essay explores the competitive advantages which Chipinge Banana Company has. Chipinge Banana Company is a company that is found in Zimbabwe. The company produces bananas only. The bananas are sold to customers in the country and abroad. This company is located in the region where there is abundance of rainfall as well as good soils. One competitive advantage of Chipinge Banana Company is the natural resources it has. Firstly, the company is located in a region with a lot of rainfall. This enables the storage of water in some dams. Most parts of Zimbabwe have got very low rainfall. The land there is also very flat, unlike most parts of the country, where there is ample rainfall, which are mountainous. The flat terrain makes it possible for the use of modern technology in banana farming. At this company, there is usage of overhead cable tractors. This makes it easier and cheaper to harvest bananas. Therefore, the cost of production of bananas is very low, as compared to other...
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...|[pic] |Course Syllaubus | | |School of Business | | |STR/581 Strategic Planning & Implementation | Copyright © 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This capstone course integrates concepts from all prior courses in the program. Students apply the concepts of strategic planning and implementation to create sustainable, competitive advantage for an organization. Other topics include environmental scanning, strategic analysis, corporate social responsibility, implementation and evaluation, and risk management. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities,...
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...| | A "Low cost “ Supermarket | Claire David, P113979 23/01/2012 | Table of Contents Executive summary 3 Introduction 4 Business level strategy 4 Competitive advantage 5 Competitive strategy 6 Strategy clock 7 Hybrid strategy 8 Porters five forces 10 Advantages to using a Hybrid strategy 11 Threat of new entrants: 11 Bargaining power of suppliers: 11 Bargaining power of buyer: 11 Disadvantages to using a Hybrid strategy 12 Threat of substitutes: 12 Threat of rivalry with competitors: 12 Difficulty in sustaining: 12 Conclusion 13 Recommendations 14 Cost reduction that don’t affect quality 14 Deter from price wars 14 Differentiate 14 References 15 Executive summary This report aims to discuss the Hybrid strategy utilised by Asda, this report will be based on the following objectives: * Identify the strategy employed by ASDA in order to achieve competitive advantage * Critically evaluate the strategy identified * Provide recommendations for continued success and sustainability A collection of secondary information and data was gathered in order to obtain appropriate and information. Asda are a subsidiary of Wal-Mart, therefore it is assumed that the strategies used by Wal-Mart are also used by Asda in the same way. Introduction Asda are a well known organisation which started to operate in the 1920’s In June 1999, now a successful company once more, Asda was bought by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and became...
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...or our abilities determine that we can’t get there, we must take the same spirited action to disengage ourselves from that which we can’t make better than the best (Jack Welch, CEO, General Electric). For great business firms, winning is not a one time or now and then thing. Winning is a habit. To be a winner, a firm has to create, exploit, and sustain its competitive advantages vis-à-vis rivals. And it has to do so consistently if it wants to be a perennial winner. Where do competitive advantages come from? What are their contents and effects? Where do they reside inside or outside the firm? In what form can we observe them? How sustainable are they? These are all important questions concerning the multiple facets of the anatomy of competitive advantage. Competitive advantage comes in various shapes and sizes. Understanding the anatomy of competitive advantage helps general managers improve their firms’ chance of gaining and sustaining of competitive advantage hence their chance of winning. This paper advances an integrative framework to help general managers systematically analyze six facets of competitive advantage: its substance, expression,...
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...Defining Strategy Submitted by- Maj Yash Vardhan Naudiyal Roll No – 35, NMP XXIII Strategy The Need for strategy “Change is the only constant” – Gautam Buddha 1. Nothing in the world is constant. Neither is the world itself constant ; its changing, and presenting itself in new forms every time we view it and try to make a sense of it. Change is a continuous processes- ‘to survive it, adapt to it’. Business is also a part of this process. The context in which the business is done keeps on changing. However constant the change, the basic assumption stands, that the needs have remained constant so far, but the means to satisfy the needs will keep on changing. 2. To survive change, businesses, individual or society needs to adapt. And to adapt, one needs as strategy. Hence, the primary function of strategy is to help us adapt to the change. Change and this adaptation to change is the surviving process. It’s a continuous function. The components of change process are interdependent. The pace of one defines the pace the other. Strategy “Strategy is choosing to perform activities differently than rivals do.” 3. Strategy Needs to be understood from two perspectives ie Internal and external. These two factors when in sync, give the premise for strategic decision making. Business is nothing but the amalgamation of certain assumptions about its environment, mission and core competencies. This amalgamation defines the “what to do of the business.” The firm...
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...CAMPUS 04/01/2013 TO 05/06/2013 Copyright © 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. COURSE DESCRIPTION THIS CAPSTONE COURSE INTEGRATES CONCEPTS FROM ALL PRIOR COURSES IN THE PROGRAM. STUDENTS APPLY THE CONCEPTS OF STRATEGIC PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE, COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE FOR AN ORGANIZATION. OTHER TOPICS INCLUDE ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING, STRATEGIC ANALYSIS, CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION, AND RISK MANAGEMENT. POLICIES FACULTY AND STUDENTS/LEARNERS WILL BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR UNDERSTANDING AND ADHERING TO ALL POLICIES CONTAINED WITHIN THE FOLLOWING TWO DOCUMENTS: UNIVERSITY POLICIES: YOU MUST BE LOGGED INTO THE STUDENT WEBSITE TO VIEW THIS DOCUMENT. INSTRUCTOR POLICIES: THIS DOCUMENT IS POSTED IN THE COURSE MATERIALS FORUM. UNIVERSITY POLICIES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. BE SURE TO READ THE POLICIES AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH CLASS. POLICIES MAY BE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT DEPENDING ON THE MODALITY IN WHICH YOU ATTEND CLASS. IF YOU HAVE RECENTLY CHANGED MODALITIES, READ THE POLICIES GOVERNING YOUR CURRENT CLASS MODALITY. COURSE MATERIALS BARNEY, J. B. (2007). GAINING AND SUSTAINING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE (3RD ED.). UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NJ: PEARSON PRENTICE HALL. MINTZBERG, H., GHOSHAL, S., LAMPEL, J., & QUINN, J. B. (2003). THE STRATEGY PROCESS: CONCEPTS, CONTEXTS, CASES (4TH ED.). UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NJ: PRENTICE HALL. PEARCE, J. A., II, & ROBINSON, R. B. (2011). STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: FORMULATION, IMPLEMENTATION...
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...Resource-based view (RBV) has been the most commanding influence in the strategic analysis field for many years. In my opinion, the Barney’s (1991) Resource-Based view is the important factor in gaining competitive advantage for a multinational corporation. In order for a company to have a sustained competitive advantage over a period of time, they need to gain control and fully utilize resources and capabilities that are valuable, rare, inimitable and un-substitutable to the company (Barney and Hesterly, 2012). Basically, the RBV focuses more on the strengths and the weaknesses of the company and try to use the internal resources to ensure superior performance against its competitors. Barney (1991) emphasized three type of internal resources which is the physical, human and organizational capital resources. In today’s globalization, the economy is dynamic and constantly emerging. Madhani (2009) argues that RBV focuses on different types of resources and competencies to attain strategic importance and constantly changing and updating these elements over a period of time to keep competing in the dynamic market place. Managers of the firm need to keep track of the market place and make full use of the existing internal resources to maintain a sustaining competitive advantage. Over time, organizations need to establish a process which allows them to manipulate their services, products, routines and management in parallel with the market. Besides that, Wernerfelt’s work stated...
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...There are a few significant reasons Nucor has done really well in the past. Ken Iverson had a unique strategic vision for the administration of the workforce, optimizing operational efficiency of plants and making wise investment decisions overall. As a result, Nucor demonstrated superior capabilities by effectively using its resources to develop efficiencies in volume production, and bring products to market more cheaply and more quickly than its competitors. To begin, Nucor utilized a combination of research and development activities that advanced the speed and efficiency of its production process. The company invested heavily and steadily in its capacity and made serious efforts to embody technological advances. Nucor was able to lower its overall costs using their extensive experience in building and remodeling minimills in ways other firms were unable to imitate. Not only Nucor has been able to start up its steel mills within 18 months of groundbreaking, but also it had the speed of delivery to customers and suppliers by locating mills in similar geographic regions. Without a doubt, Nucor was the low cost- high efficiency leader in the market. In addition, the workforce was held accountable for the performance of the business at all levels. The company decentralized as many decisions down to the plant as possible but held managers accountable for an annual contribution of 25% of the net assets employed at that plant. The workers also received performance-based...
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