Strategic leadership and competitive strategy in management

Strategic Management Leadership and Competitive Strategy

Management Strategic Leadership and Competitive Strategy

Strategic Leadership and Innovation at Apple Inc.

Describe two factors you think Apple should consider as the company develops long-term strategy for growth.

While developing its long-term growth strategy, Apple should consider these two factors, its competitive position and technological leadership.

How well a company is able to differentiate the products or services it is offering and how it can create value for its market is referred to as competitive positioning. Due to product imitation by other companies who are trying to duplicate the key competencies of Apple, the company should come up with a long-term strategy that would counter this imitation and ensure the company remains competitive. The following should be defined in its strategy customer segments, market profile, value proposition, competitive strategy, and positioning strategy.

In the market that Apple competes, it has demonstrated that it is the technological leader. The company should endeavor to maintain this leadership as it will ensure that Apple will always be one step ahead of its closest competitors. The customers will be more loyal as they can rely on the company to provide products that ahead of the market.

If Apple were to build a balanced scorecard, what two objectives do you think should be included in the learning and growth perspective?

The two objectives that Apple should include in its balanced score card are corporate culture and employee skills or talents. Apple hires only the best talent. These employees are talented, they have a passion for what they do, and they are excellent. Apple employees work for long hours and they pursue perfection relentlessly. The employees are also proud of working at Apple and this stems from the company's corporate culture which fosters innovation and superiority against competitors.

The corporate culture at Apple is about perfectionism and intense work but all this is in a casual work environment. A culture that encourages employees to think out of the box and experiment with different ideas while sharing them with colleagues, supports the company's strategic growth.

Competitive Strategy PetSmart vs. Petco

What is PetSmart's competitive strategy, and how does their strategy relate to the company's internal assessment? Give an example from the case.

Making the company's large stores feel homier is PetSmart's competitive strategy. The company has achieved this by reducing the size of their stores, and changing the shelves stocking layout from the warehouse format that was not working for the company. These changes plus the addition of other services, which their competitor was not providing gave the company a competitive advantage. As postulated in the case study, these additional services would generate $450 million of sales, which would represent 10% of PetSmart's $4.5 billion total. Since the strategy was developed in 2000 this figure would represent a 26% increment in annual growth. These value adding services provide the pet owners an opportunity to visit the stores, and this boosts the stores sales, as the owners will buy other products.

How does Petco compete with PetSmart and other pet food stores, and how does the company's competitive strategy relate to its internal analysis? Give an example from the case.