Competitive Advantage Essays (Examples)

Competitive Advantage and International Business

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Competitive advantage and international business

Hello and welcome to today's seminar. Today is a two part seminar that covers two of the hottest and most sort after business topics. These are competitive advantage and international business. Many of you may have heard about these two terms but may not know what they mean so I will start by defining these two terminologies.

Competitive advantage

Competitive advantage can be defined as the advantage which one company or organization has over and above what its competitors have. It is the advantage that one company gains above another by offering consumers greater value.

How does value creation lead to competitive advantage?

When talking about competitive advantage, we have mentioned value. So how exactly does value come in? The company or organization needs to create a certain value in the market. Value refers…

Competitive Advantage in Healthcare Through Competitive Pricing

The healthcare industry is just like any other service sector that needs uniqueness and control over costs to excel. Since the cost of conducting business is increasing, there is a need that the healthcare professionals should understand that cost plays a vital role in attracting physicians as well as the patients. The patients are increasingly getting control over the price than the provider. Organizations realize that the future of industry is becoming more challenging. Simply focusing on the bargaining power will not be enough. The organizations should also try to improve and link the quality to the price of product or service (Miller, 2011). The cost concern should be such that neither the company's revenues should be ignored and nor the client should be over charged. The future seems to be difficult in terms of lowering costs given the increasing energy prices that…

Marks & Spencer further has quality food products that are perishables such as salads and vegetables. This is complex and requires accurate and fast delivery to the UK food stores.

The work entitled: "Keeping Real Time Tabs on Fresh Food Supply Helps Guarantee the quality of Perishable Products" cites the statement of the Head of Supply Chain Logistics and it at Marks and Spencer who states that in order to stay ahead of the competitors Marks & Spencer's management has been expedient and efficient in identification of the potential benefits of RFID (radio frequency identification) for improving the supply chain in fresh food. According to Gary Pile General Manager of Melrow Salads: "Once Marks & Spencer decided to move ahead with RFID, we took the opportunity to work with them. RFID brings real benefits in improving our operational efficiency, giving us constant detailed feedback on our performance. That enables us…

Competitive Advantage

In contemporary times, competition is getting tougher with the passage of time and therefore product leaders are propelled to present novel and unprecedented products, nevertheless, what is meant by 'best product'? And which type of product decisions do the product leaders make in this regard? Generally, when consumers purchase a product they comprehend that it gives them a superior level of satisfaction as compared to the other competing products in the market. For instance, when consumers purchase a Ferrari they comprehend that they are the owner of a car with luxurious interior, better motor, and a superior design compared to a majority of the cars present in the market. Furthermore, when consumers select McKinsey over any other consultant of the business market, they comprehend that they will obtain a better suggestion as compared to the suggestion from other consultants. However, what precise product benefits do the product leaders…

Competitive advantage may be described as the development of an exceptional position of an organization relative to its competitors in consequence of its decisions concerning "the product-market scope of its operations and its pattern of resource allocations" (Gomes, 1988). It is a general assumption that such a position will make it possible for the organization to receive an elevated outcome on investment regardless of competitive stress and demands (Gomes, 1988).

Activities are described as the indispensable components of competitive advantage. If an organization implements a distinctive strategic positioning by competing on the base of elasticity, cost, excellence, momentum, multiplicity and selection and so on, it can definitely have a competitive advantage over the other organizations. The meaning of strategic positioning here is that an organization either performs different activities as compared to its opponents or performs parallel activities in dissimilar manners (Lowson, 2002, p. 58).

Competitive advantage, thus, initiates from…

Production centers then fulfill multiple strategic goals of being supply chain coordination points or hubs, customer listening locations to understand how to better serve local markets with customized products, and also alleviate inventory carrying costs while striving to deliver systems specifically configured to customers' needs within three days or less.

The disadvantages of Dell having their production centers located in diverse locations globally is that knowledge transfer between locations is made more difficult by both distance and varying cultures in each nation. In addition, the economies of scale possible having production located in one physical location are obviously not possible, nor is the ability to synchronize all company demand with just one contact point for each of their suppliers. Diverse production center locations require an inordinately complex supplier relationship management system to make sure the minimum amount of components and subassemblies are in each location at precisely the right time…

Competitive Advantage of Zero Motorcycle

Zero Motorcycle has been the world's largest producer of high performance electric motor cycle. Zero motorcycle has competitive advantage of being highly innovative, customer friendly and good distribution channel. Moreover, some of the models like Zero DS could be used from street to mountains and has more power. Its competitor rammo Inc. has not innovation as the Zero X has and more they are more focused on racing bikes and moreover they have not distribution channel as the Zero motor bike has.

Zero X should continue to focus on the innovation it has got for its customers and moreover, it is also customer friendly. Its growth entirely depends on its innovation, low price and excellent distribution channel. However, Zero distribution channel lacks the coverage of Asia properly as Asia is the largest continent by population so it should also focus on Asia.

Zero motorcycle needs…

Spain is not actively courting this market, whereas the Greek government is. This strategy also allows Greece to leverage the power of its other strengths. Greece has as much sun as Spain, which while not a competitive advantage can be combined with the conference focus to enhance it. Additionally, Greece would also leverage its comparative advantage in history. A conference in Greece would afford the conference-goers an opportunity to do more than simply attend a trade show or meeting. They could take a few extra days to enjoy the sun and the sights. This would enhance the economic potential of the conference market.

The conference business is growing, recent economic troubles notwithstanding. Companies and industry groups are constantly seeking new, exciting destinations for their conference travel. Greece, with its traditional focus on island-tourism, is a new horizon for this market. Because Greece already has a substantial infrastructure and myriad attractions,…

Strategic Planning for a Competitive Advantage in Health Care

Strategic planning is essential for healthcare managers in maintaining high quality and cost effective healthcare in a competitive market. Planning techniques are vital in establishing a sustainable completive advantage. A successful healthcare manager must formulate a concise but comprehensive plan to take inventory of available resources, to discern the strengths, improves on the weakness, and establishes a plan that effectively prioritizes them. The resource-based management tool can be utilized to assist managers in assessing the value of available resources to gain a competitive advantage within their market. Resources in a healthcare organization can include such things as tangible assets, employee capabilities, organizational structures or information processes. The value of a product or service has three qualifiers are rareness, imitability, and sustainability. This paper will briefly introduce value and the three qualifiers of key resources, and offer an opinion as to which…

Competitive Advantage for INVs

Competitive Advantage in Global Economy

The seminal work of Oviatt and McDougall (1994) on international new ventures (INV) informed the literature, particularly with regard to posing different tenets than those commonly accepted in Uppsala model. Principally, the Uppsala model theories pointed to a number of attributes that were considered basic to firms moving into or intensifying their participation in foreign markets. The indicators of the Uppsala model are generally considered to be as follows: (1) firms gain experience from the domestic market before they engage in foreign diversification; (2) foreign operations are typically begun in countries that are geographically or culturally close to those of the home country of the firm, and move gradually to countries that are geographically distal or are culturally more different; (3) firms begin operating in foreign countries through traditional export activity and move gradually to modes of operation that are more…

Operations Management 3
Purchasing
a. The product available for purchase is a pair of Chanel shoes. There are a number of things that I would take into consideration. Buying behavior is strongly related to whether the purchase is a high-involvement purchase or a low-involvement purchase. A high involvement purchase would involve significantly more time and research than might be the case for a low involvement purchase. Therefore, the amount of research, consideration and time that one would take for this pair of shoes will be dependent on whether the consumer views this purchase as high involvement or low involvement. As Deshmukh and Das (2012) note, social class can be a determinant of consumer behavior, and a pair of Chanel shoes is definitely one of those products. For some, this is a low involvement purchase and for others a high involvement one.
For me, this purchase fits a bit in the…

Ethical Scandals in Government Contracts
Competitive advantage involves offering the consumer a unique value proposition that other brands cannot. The core principle behind the act of branding is that to thrive, a business must offer something its nearby competitors does not offer. For example, competitors may offer a similar product, at a similar price point. Thus, savvy businesses must either offer a product that competitors do not (either because the organization is catering to a specific niche), a unique service (such as special delivery service or additional customer service and support), or must strive to offer the product at a price point its competitors cannot meet (such as a company which sells at high volume and can offer lower prices) (“Competitive Advantage,” 2021). Competitive advantage is something that must be attained ethically, however. For example, a company cannot make a promise it can meet a specific price point, then renege…

In terms of Interfunctional Coordination, the company I work for is average, there is not a strong level of functional coordination to deliver customer value; rather the concentration is on creating stand-alone superstar products that carry other divisions financially.

The triad of Customer, Competitor, and Interfunctional Coordination that comprise the definition of a market-oriented culture (Narver, J. & Slater, S., 1990) are essential for competitive differentiation and competitive advantage. Further, the combining of these factors contributes to an organization becoming more agile and capable of responding to market conditions. The essence of competitive advantage is in aligning internal strengths or core competencies with external market opportunities while minimizing threats (Christiansen, C., 2001).

eferences

Narver, J. & Slater, S. (1990). The effect of a market orientation on business profitability. Journal of Marketing, 54/4, 20-36. etrieved December 3, 2007 from EBSCO Host database.

Christiansen, C. (2001) the past and future of competitive…

In addition, it will be necessary for the company to continue to use technology to stay on the cutting edge of shoe innovation.

eferences

Adidas." MarketLine 2006. Datamonitor database. Datamonitor. University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ. November 28, 2006 http://dbic.datamonitor.com.

Beckett, W. "Merging Performance and Fashion." Women's Wear Daily 192(39) 2006 Aug 24: 9. Business Source Complete. EBSCOHost. University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ. November 28, 2006 http://web.ebscohost.com.

Binole, G. "Asian Market Forces Could Affect Nike." Portland Business Journal. (1997 Nov 7). November 28, 2006 http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/1997/11/10/story3.html.

Callaway Golf." MarketLine 2006. Datamonitor database. Datamonitor. University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ. November 28, 2006 http://dbic.datamonitor.com.

Daley, W. The Emerging Minority Marketplace. No date. U.S. Department of Commerce. November 28, 2006 http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS70698.

Fredeen, B. Knowing Nike's Customers. 2000 Feb 1. Motley Fool. November 28, 2006 http://www.fool.com/news/foth/2000/foth000201.htm. v.

Ellis, K. "Global Competition Intensifies Industry Lobbying." Women's Wear Daily 191(86) 2006 April 24: 14-15. Business Source Complete. EBSCOHost.…

Business

itz Carlton Case Study

Question 1; Competitiveness of itz Carlton

itz Carlton appears to compete extremely effective, with a high level of service that has created a strong reputation of the delivery of five star services. To appreciate how and why the firm has been successful it is beneficial to look at the concept of competitive advantage.

Michael Porter examined the ways that firms competed and argued that for firms to be successful they required a sustainable competitive advantage; something that would give them an advantage over their competition (Lynch, 2011). Porter identified four potential sources of competitive advantage; firms could seek a cost advantage or an advantage of differentiation, in turn they could aim to serve the mass market or a niche market for each of these approaches. Cost advantages are achieved when a firm is able to produce a good or provide a service at a cost…

Wal-Mart has recently experimented with diversifying into smaller stores. Its first move in testing smaller stores was on a university campus in Arkansas, where it offered food and non-food ranges in the Campus store replacing their ordinary parapharmacy / drugstore products. Its objective in diversifying into smaller stores is intended as competition against the other two major players, CVS and Wal-Green who showed rapid growth between 2005-2010.

Wal-mart's other decision to diversify arises from the fact that it has saturated its hypermarket and mass merchandiser channels and wishes to grow and find new store locations without destructing existent ones. Its modest growth sales in the U.S. In 2010, and its disappointing consequences of its Project Impact programme, have compelled it to look into the possibility of diversifying into smaller stores.

Porter (2001) presents three essential tests for assessing the conditions under which diversification will create shareholder value:

1. The attractiveness…

Competitive Advantage and Employee Compensation

Indicate whether you agree or disagree with following statement: "Individual incentive plans are less preferable than group incentives and companywide incentives" Explain your answers.

Providing incentive plans for employees can be a complex assignment. hile employee motivation comes from within, it is incumbent upon the organization to find ways of channeling that motivation into a commitment to the goals of the broader organization. According to available research, the best way to do this is to structure and incentivization and compensation plan that is consistent, standardized and streamlined. This can be especially difficult to achieve in the context of an individual incentive plan. Here, the differentiation between incentive opportunities depending on position or even on individual may threaten the morale and motivation of personnel who feel slighted by the hierarchy.

According to the text by the VisionLink Advisory Group (2011), the reason that group incentive plans…

Sustained Competitive Advantage Using Human esources

Theoretical Critique essay format. Within a challenging economic environment role strategic human resource management insignificant. Do approaches strategic

There has been tremendous growth in the strategic management field, and this has made it more popular amongst the practitioners and academics in the previous twenty years. For research structuring, industrial organization strategist rely on the SWOT framework. This has been the case since strategy became a recognized area in the management field Oliver, 1997.

ecently there has been other contributions made to the literature strategy, and this has emphasized the external part of the SWOT framework. The external part focuses mostly on the environmental impacts of the firm's performance. Models that focus on the environmental impacts of the firm's performance have little use to the practitioners though they are well received. These models communicate little regarding the manager's influence.

In strategic management, there has been…

Lolacc

Competitive Advantage

A competitive advantage is something that sets the company apart from its competitors. In order to entice customers, a company needs to have something that it does better than its competitors. The more competitive advantages the firm has, and the stronger they are, the more competitive the company will be in the marketplace.

Lola Savannah has a number of competitive advantages that help it in the marketplace. One advantage that Lola has is with respect to freshness and the quality of the roast. Freshness is important because freshly-roasted coffee tastes better, and this is especially true for coffee that has been pre-ground. Coffee from major food companies or importers like Sunbelt Imports lacks the freshness of Lola's coffee. Lola ensures that it receives its beans as quickly as possible from the harvest by working with wholesalers to shorten the supply chain. The fresh beans are then roasted…

Marketing Information

Competitive Advantage Analysis: How well does the proposed service meet the demands of the market compared with the competition?

The proposed service meets the demands of customers by providing them with products that can be customized. This helps them to create procedures that are effectively monitoring their bottom line results and objectively analyzing the impact of various activities. The below product -- market matrix is illustrating how this can help to give the firm a competitive advantages over others inside the marketplace. ("Top 100 Accounting Firms," 2012) ("Home," 2012)

Product -- Market Matrix

Market Penetration: The market that will be penetrated is the various segments of individuals and businesses that need customizable solutions. The primary competitors in this segment include: Deloitte & Touche, KPMG, Price Waterhouse Cooper and Grant Thornton.

Market Development: Currently, competitors offer similar kinds of products and services to customers. This means that the firm…

Strategic Advantage

Competitive advantage within the global retail sector

The resource based theory

Conceptual framework- esource-Based Theory

The e-retail strategy

In this paper, we explore the concept of resource-based view in gaining of strategic advantage within the global retail industry. Our focus will be in the use of information technology as a resource in drawing an e-strategy for the purpose of gaining a strategic advantage with a focus on the global retail sector. The organizations in our focus being global leading retailers; Wal-Mart, Metro AG, Carrefour and Tesco.

The high level of competition within the global retail industry has seen several players resort to the use of certain resources and competencies in order to maintain a lead over their competitors. These resources are strategically harnessed and applied in order for the affected firms to maintain a strategic advantage. In this paper, we explore the concept of resource-based view in gaining…

Something else that has the potential to set a company like Konad apart is information. People want information. With something like nail art, the various tools and techniques used often need to be explained. After a bit of research of the competitors of Konad, it is apparent that nobody in the stamping nail art industry is big on information. Providing information can really set this company apart. Suggestions, tutorials and instructions can go a long way. If people are able to see how the products work and how easy they are to use, they are more likely to make a purchase. Konad should want to be seen as a leader in their industry, and the dearth of information available online regarding this product in particular, especially on their own website, does not contribute to that expertise.

Another way that Konad can gain a competitive advantage is to establish high switching…

Organization Behavior

Competitive Advantage through Human esource Management Practices

Human esource Management Practices

Competitive Advantage through Human esource Management Practices

HUMAN ESOUCE Management

Human esource Management involves all those activities which are related to the management of workforce or employees of an organization. It is also one of the core functions which managers perform at the workplace. Human esource Management entails activities like recruitment and selection, training and development, performance assessment, compensation, leadership, and motivation at large (Chadwick & Dabu 2009). Basically, Human esource Management focuses on recruitment, management, guidance, and motivation of employees in an organization. In the past, HM was just restricted to two core functions: employee management and motivation. Now, it has emerged as one of the biggest strategic issues in the business world (Kandula 2007).

With the passage of time, the scope and functions of Human esource Management have also increased. Now, it also involves employee…

Business Operations in Your Organization: Strategies for Achieving Competitive Advantage

Organization Selected

The company I have chosen to examine is Walmart Stores, Inc. Walmart Store Inc. became originally established in the year 1945 and is in the present day undertaking its operations in retail stores in over twenty seven countries. The company is split into three key segments. These are Walmart International, Walmart United States and Sam's Club. The business undertaken by Walmart as a company encompasses restaurants, superstores, retail stores and also warehouse clubs. The company also undertakes e-commerce through its website Walmart.com. In terms of retail products, the merchandises being sold in Walmart's retail stores include baby products, healthcare products, household goods, electronics, books, automotive products, clothing, furnishings and decor, alcohol, grocery, paper products and so much more. Walmart is a United States global retailing corporation that operates chains of massive discount department and warehouse stores (Walmart Website,…

e-anking as a Competitive Advantage in razil

The Federative Republic of razil is the largest and most populous country in Latin America, and fifth largest in the world. Spanning a vast area between central South America and the Atlantic Ocean, it is the easternmost country of the Americas and it borders Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, olivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana - every South American nation except for Ecuador and Chile. Named after brazilwood, a local tree, razil is home to both extensive agricultural lands and rain forests. The official language of razil is Portuguese.

Possessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, as well as a large labor pool, razil's economy outweighs that of all other South American countries and is expanding its presence in world markets. Major export products include coffee, soybeans, iron ore, orange juice, steel and airplanes.

After crafting a fiscal adjustment…

Wal-Mart's strategy is to be the low cost seller in the market, but how does a company sell at a lower price that the competition all the time? The answer lies in Wal-Mart's supply chain. While many rightfully point out that Wal-Mart's buying power is better anybody else's (Lu, 2014) , because it is the biggest retailer in the world, technology also plays a huge role in how Wal-Mart is able to sell at prices below all the other companies (Fishman, 2003).

Wal-Mart has long recognized that the only way to offer the lowest prices is by sourcing its goods at the lowest price. This does not necessarily mean buying power – Costco, Target, Amazon and others can more or less match Wal-Mart's buying power – but it means getting goods to the store shelves as cheaply as humanly possible. Purchasing is only one part of that, and Wal-Mart has…

As a strategist for JetBlue I would find differentiation to be the most difficult. The discount airline business is highly commoditized and vigorously competitive. Sources of differentiation are scarce. All competitors have almost equal access to the same technology and same routes. Competitors attempt to differentiate based on service levels, yet none of their service initiatives are a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Furthermore, differentiation is not the main driver of profitability in this sector. Cost control is, but many of the major costs such as airplane leases, landing fees and fuel prices are relatively fixed so acute focus must be placed on the more controllable areas, including those which affect the same service levels upon which differentiation is built.

orks Cited

Sandberg, Kirsten. (2005). inning Customers Through People and Technology: A Conversation with Jeffrey Rayport. Harvard Business School Press. Retrieved April 8, 2008 at http://www.bestfaceforward.info/DocumentDisplayServlet.srv?url=%2FUploadDocumentDisplayServlet.srv%3Fid%3D31157.

Steakhouse

Outback derives competitive advantage by hiring higher quality employees. In the casual dining segment of the restaurant industry, many restaurants fail to be discerning with respect to the staff they hire. They do not provide an enticing pay and benefits package, and they do not screen their workers well. Thus, when a firm like Outback does screen their workers well, this gives Outback a competitive advantage. Better employees are more capable of implementing the company's strategies effectively. Better employees also take more initiative in customer service. In addition, hiring higher quality employees initially makes it easier for Outback to find quality management candidates from within.

The competitive advantage ultimately derives from having a generally higher level of productivity and customer service satisfaction from Outback employees vs. others. The productivity would be measured in revenue/employee and this figure can be impacted both in the numerator or denominator. Employees can sell…

Porter's National Competitive Advantage Theory.

One of the principal differences between Porter's model and the traditional economic theories is that the latter emphasize what Porter refers to as "passive" factors such as land, location, and natural resources whereas Porter's model de-emphasizes such factors by virtue of their being passive and relatively unchangeable (George & Jones, 2008). Porter's model also defines the role of government as a stimulator of business growth in general and of competition between businesses in particular. In that regard, Porter argues that government should stimulate commerce and the demand for the products of business organization as well as to stimulate direct competition between and among business entities such as through enacting anti-trust legislation (George & Jones, 2008).

According to Porter's Competitive Advantage Theory, the relative economic competitive advantage of nations is directly dependent on the relationship between and among the following clusters of entities: (1) interconnected business…

Dell Computer:

Competitive advantages and strategies, innovation, sustainability and strategy effectiveness

When evaluating the competitive advantage of Dell Computers in relation to its competitors, virtually every market analyst emphasizes its mastery of its supply chain. Dell is not known as a particularly innovative company in terms of its product line -- unlike Apple, it has no signature iMac or iPod that is uniquely 'Dell.' &D occupies only 1.3% of Dell's revenues compared with 15% for its competitors Intel and Microsoft. Unlike Apple, Dell does not nurture potentially profitable long-term research projects. It practices a "ruthless form of corporate Darwinism" within its organization, "killing off its own straggling product lines with savage speed" (Schrage 2002:1).

At Dell, the goal has always been "to offer computers at irresistible prices -- and to leave the cost and the risks of innovating to others" (Jones 2003). Its careful micromanagement of its inventories has been…

Human esources Contribution to Competitive Advantage

The human resources department has many opportunities to provide an organization with a competitive advantage. Firms recognizing that human resources can perform beyond simply administering benefits and filing employment documents, but can also play an integral role in shaping corporate culture into a highly productive machine, will experience significant bottom line gains. From quality recruitment, increased employee retention, and diversity, to heightened customer satisfaction and effective job training programs, the human resources department serves as the pulse of leading corporations.

Quality ecruitment

Since the United States has shifted away from manufacturing and is now primarily service-driven, the collective brainpower of an organization is one of the most crucial assets. The human resources department is responsible for recruiting talented individuals who can offer the most value to the organization. Attracting educated, experienced staff members can provide an organization with the knowledge base needed to achieve…

Logistics in Aviation

Aviation logistics: Competitive advantage and technological innovation

Prelude

In the modern era, the worldwide logistics and supply chain is very cut throat and keeping an edge over others is important for all the firms in operation. Worldwide competition in aviation logistics business is cut throat with numerous firms. Firms in this business survive only when they maintain an edge over their rivals in the business in order to keep the clients in check. Most of the firms are very lenient to their clients as they listen to their client's needs and requirements, complaints along the way, implementing long-term marketing programs as well as short-term. Companies also make use of their resources in order to acquire competitive edge over their rivals in the marketplace which leads to satisfactory profits (Sakchutchawan, 2011). The resource advantage theory stipulates that having edge in resources paves way for competitive edge in the…

One aspect of the ethics of electronic communications is that people feel an insular autonomy, not necessarily true but implied by the format and that often times people chose to communicate at many times of the day and night, sometimes regretting that the communication was not made with appropriate forethought and skill. The social aspect of work communications must not be ignored as the dynamic of email communication can seriously alter the human dimension of work. (ooksby, 2002, pp. 2-3) in the management employee relationship, depending upon the size and structure of the organization, the dynamic of distance may be assumed and even relied upon for the foundation of authority. While in contrast the goal of management may be to connect more personally with individuals to ensure then that there is a common vision and understanding as well as a relationship that is demonstrative of teamwork and employee empowerment. Management…

Promotion and Competitive Advantage in Promotion

Promotion

The marketing mix is a business research approach that is used in marketing products or services rendered by a company. The marketing mix approach is made up of four different components or strategies that include product, promotion, price and place strategies (Kotler and Keller, 2012). The marketing mix of Google largely adds to its international business success. Since its inception, the business of the company has expanded to encompass a wide range of products. Taking into account the success level that Google has had up until the present moment, its marketing mix is a proper instance of how wisely designed approaches can aid in business growth (Greenspan, 2015). Promotional strategies within the marketing mix is deemed to be essential for a firm in making sure that its brand is well recognized by the public and also used for appealing to new consumers.

The…

EP related job?

Analysis of responses received for

How does your level of job difficulty compare after EP to before EP?

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How many hours of training did you receive on EP?

Analysis of responses received for

Which of the following processes does your job include?

Analysis of responses received

How valuable was your EP training?

Analysis of responses received

Were you performing your current job prior to EP?

Analysis of responses received for

How long were you in this job role prior to implementation of EP?

Analysis of responses received for

Did the responsibilities of your job increase or decrease after EP?

Analysis of responses received for

Question 9. Has EP helped or hurt your ability to perform your job?

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Question 10. How does the number of steps required to perform your job compare after EP to before EP?

Analysis…

Robert Grant’s “The Resource-Based Theory of Competitive Advantage: Implications for Strategy Formulation” is about exploiting an organization’s internal resources to propel its business model. The author explores the concept of how by simply assessing and becoming aware of a company’s resources, organizations can use that material to optimize their competitive advantage. The author details this information from a scholarly perspective in which he reveals that this approach was a long neglected one for strategy. Originally, organizations simply focused on the external environment and how best to adapt to it as the core of their strategic endeavors. He alludes to the fact that this tendency was partially due to the dearth of a proper framework for implementing strategic measures based on internal resources. Thus, he spends the duration of the article elucidating a framework which he believes effectively fulfills this void. In doing so he places equal emphasis on the capabilities…

Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Levi Strauss is one of the prominent apparel companies in the world. No company can be considered to match the company’s global presence in terms of casual pants and jeans within the marketplace. In the contemporary, the Levi’s brand name is one of the most internationally acknowledged and listed in numerous nations across the globe. This is down to the company’s competitive advantages. Notably, one of the key competitive advantages of the company encompasses merchandising. Levi’s business operations prepare and provide the retail stores with networked personal computers and personal pair kiosks. In these kiosks, the company personnel are able to take measurements of the consumers with the technology and processes and therefore come up with the prospective combinations of sizes. Imperatively, the computer provides a cryptogram for the different correspondents. This conception enabled the company to attain a niche market and facilitate them in the creation…

Coca-Cola's key resources are its brand, its distribution network, its innovation pipeline and its bottlers. The company success is largely related to its ability to leverage the first three, while the bottlers are basically a hygiene factor. Poor relations with bottlers can distract the company but at best the bottlers can only be a minor contributing factor to the other three resources. The company's positioning within the industry is as an industry leader, and the most powerful firm within the industry. Coca-Cola markets itself as a differentiated producer.

Coca-Cola's strong industry position is only somewhat congruent with its key resources. Certainly the strength of the Coca-Cola brand is closely related with the firm's premium status in the industry. The brand supports this status and the differentiated pricing that Coca-Cola has. However, the rocky relationship with the bottles does not support Coca-Cola's premium image. Customers would probably expect that an exceptional…

Pay Grade

The use of pay grades is a common strategic approach to the problem of framing employee compensation packages. The basic premise of the pay grade is that employees function best when their job roles and responsibilities are matched to a clearly structured wage scale. Among the advantages noted in the text by Healthfield (2010), the ability to compensate employees of similar job descriptions with similar salaries is most substantial. Also important is that this provides employees a clear sense of the monetary opportunities contained in each role and department within an organization.

This, however, does not resolve the challenges that come with using the pay grade approach. First and foremost among the obstacles to achieving competitive advantage is the broad spectrum that is usually encompassed by the pay grade. According to Heathfield, "pay steps within each pay grade differ between organizations and may involve as many as 10-15…

It can often leverage the personality of the athlete to reinforce its core values such as the use of John McEnroe, the tennis champion noted for wanted to change the world of tennis. and, it can leverage teams and athletes as part of its marketing localization strategy such as the use of soccer in Europe.

4.Yes, Steve and arry's is a huge threat to Nike. Like Nike, the company is leveraging athletic superstars to endorse its product. NA player en Wallace appears on Steve and arry's home page. To date, the company appears to have a niche base of consumers who cannot afford the more expensive Nike products, but if it can convince consumers that the quality of its product is just as good as Nike's, it could attack Nike's broader market.

ibliography

Urde, Mats (2003). "Core Value-ased Corporate rand uilding," European Journal of Marketing, Vol.…

Microsoft holds a competitive advantage in the computer software industry with both its innovative and functional products. For the past decade Microsoft and its office suite products have held a substantial 94% market share. In addition to being the most prevalent software product offering in the market, more than 500 million individuals worldwide use the product (1). In an effort to maintain this market share, Microsoft continually and consistently upgrades its product offerings to meet growing consumer demand. Most notably, this has come in the form of Windows XP, Windows 2003, and Linux. With these new iterations come very distinct similarities and differences between the individual products.

To begin, the most obvious difference between this operating software is the user interface. With user interface enhancements Microsoft XP intends to streamline the consumer experience. This has been accomplished primarily through the use of shortcut keys within all three iterations. With the…

Internet of things is a metaphor to describe the enhanced capabilities for data gathering and transmission that exist in the world today. Different products, many that have traditionally been viewed as static, have the ability to gather and communication information. The authors outline what they mean with this awkward metaphor. They refer to tracking capabilities, such as FID tags -- Wal-Mart is a big proponent of these in its supply chain, enhanced situational awareness like security cameras and sensor-driven analytics such as advances in health care systems that provide decision-support information in real time. Other examples are process optimization, where data is used to enhance production, optimized resource consumption, seeking to enhance efficiency, and complex autonomous systems. The latter refers to machines that can read the external environment and react according to quasi-intelligent algorithms. I look forward to the day that my automated car steers me head-first into the tractor-trailer…

Fingerprinting

Make SWFT Compliance Your Competitive Advantage for 2014

All government contractors have until December 31, 2013 to be in compliance with the new secure Web Fingerprint Transmission (SWFT) requirement defined by the Defense Security Service (DSS) in January, 2013.

Now Is The Time To Add A Trusted Compliance Advisor To Your Team

Security First Associates can save you the time, costs and hassle of attempting to attain SWFT compliance quickly. Choosing Security First Associates as your trusted advisor for SWFT compliance and filing of Electronic Fingerprint Transmission Specification (EFTS) with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) saves you:

Valuable Time By Having Security First Manage SWFT Compliance. Valuable selling and customer-face time can be saved and invested back in relationships, invested in new proposals, and not rushing through a LifeScan machine purchase and all the training that goes with it.

Having to learn how to work with the Office…

EU's Current Anti-Fraud Strategy

For some time now, the issue of fraud and corruption in public service has been an issue of concern. This has forced many organizations to establish strategies aimed at detecting and minimizing the occurrence of such fraudulent activities in areas under their jurisdiction. This paper discusses the strategic management concepts in the risk-based policing strategy coupled with the principles and importance involved in the enhancement of organisational performance. Complementary factors and organisational culture are components that facilitate and militate against strategic fraud and corruption. The paper established alternative and successful strategies dependent on the factors of willingness of groups and individuals and ways of accepting them. In turn, this is dependent on the people seeking change and an understanding of the organisation's culture. The following study identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) as a strategy used by the European Union in…

The bargaining power of suppliers

Suppliers have a relatively high bargaining power. On a market like organic foods, suppliers are very important for companies' activity. In other words, they practically depend on their suppliers.

As a consequence, suppliers represent the most important environmental factor of influence for Whole Foods, and the same situation applies in the case of any organic foods company. This business consists mainly in the raw materials that the company uses to produce the goods it sells under this brand. The company's activity depends on the quality of the raw materials, and on any potential delays from suppliers. The prices negotiated with suppliers have a direct impact on the production costs, and on the end-user price.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

The company's strong position on the market in ensured by the numerous strengths the company benefits from. First of all, the company is renowned by the quality of…

This is in direct contrast to the efforts afforded by the leagues to try to reduce competitive advantage all around. One reason why the teams with larger media and crowd resources do well could be the fact that as more talented players are able to move into free agency, they seek higher and higher compensation and attention through larger media and crowd outlets (Grant, 1991). A very talented player may not want to play in a small town because there would theoretically be less exposure to media and fans, and as a marketable good or commodity, that player knows that his or her talent would not be compensated for as well as it could be in a larger town.

The basis for argument with ottenberg's presentation of competitive advantage mitigation lies in the basic economic theories that govern other markets. It is only logical that these theories be applied to…

Competitive Strategy

In a free economy, a multitude of firms compete for the business of the same customer segment. Therefore, if a firm is to succeed in attracting and retaining the maximum number of customers from the targeted segment, it must develop and successfully execute a strategy that has a distinct competitive advantage over its rivals. Thus, a competitive strategy is defined as a plan that attempts to define a position for the business, which utilizes the competitive advantages that the business has over its competitors (American Marketing Association, 2004).

Of course, it is important for any competitive strategy to focus on competitive advantages, which can offer customers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing a greater benefit or service that justifies a higher price. In other words, it is key that a competitive strategy is consumer centric. Developing a competitive strategy, therefore, involves closely analyzing…

Companies that do not make such a choice run the risk of being caught in the middle. They may be good at everything, but excel at nothing. In business, however, success comes from developing competitive advantage, in particular sustainable competitive advantage. Firms therefore should focus their limited resources on excellence in one particular area, and be the best in the industry in that area.

In Porter's generic strategies, a firm that is neither a cost leader nor adequately differentiated will be beaten by other firms on both counts. By falling in the middle, the firm essentially condemns itself to failure by virtue of having no source of competitive advantage -- nothing compelling to offer the consumer.

In that respect, Porter agrees completely with Treacy and eiresma. Their value disciplines also speak directly to what a firm can potential offer to customers, or from where they can derive a competitive advantage.…

Cost leadership

Attracting more customers and gaining financial advantage over the competition as profits would increase

4

Forces the company to drastically reduce costs, meaning that product quality could suffer demises

-4

0

6.

Focus strategy

Can achieve either of cost advantage or differentiation

4

Addresses a niche market

-4

0

7.

Differentiation strategy

Product uniqueness which allows for the charging of a premium price to cover for the additionally incurred expenditure

5

Additional costs which will reduce overall financial gains (they will however be recuperated from the premium price)

2

3

7. Description of the Selected Strategy

Based on the analysis conducted at the previous stage, it becomes obvious that the most adequate course of action at this stage is that of implementing differentiation strategies. These actions basically translate into the promotion of new products onto existent markets, meaning that Porter's differentiation strategy is the analogue of Ansoff's product…

Kraft Foods' Competitive Strategy

Kraft Foods is a one of North America's largest packaged food companies. To reach its current competitive position the organization is changed to great deal of the last decade, with increased focus on the core products, and the sale or spin-off of the non-core divisions, for example the sale of the frozen pizza division 2010 to Nestle, and in 2012 the demerger of Mondel-z International (Kraft Foods, 2014). This has left the company with a high level of focus in selected product categories and North American markets. The shift in the company's focus has impacted on the way in which they compete, but despite this change narrowing of focus, the organization still be seen as one which serves the mass market, with some type of Kraft Food product 90% of all households in the United States, 99% of all households in Canada (Kraft Foods, 2014).

2.…

changing and competitive workplace and environment, it has become vital for the organizations to come up with effective strategies for maximum and efficient use of resources (eich, 1991). The most important and critical resource for any organization is the human resource or man power. It has become difficult to find and retain skilled and trained human resource. Organizations are facing increasing challenges in this regard and are striving to formulate effective and efficient human resource policy and practices. The role and importance of human resources and man power is being understood by the organizations in response to the altering and uncertain business landscape and environment.

It is necessary to have proper and well stated policies and standards for hiring, training, appraising, compensating, and utilizing human resources. Efficient human resources and employees facilitate the organization in achieving its strategic goals and objectives. For this reason it is necessary to have strong…

Competitor Analysis and Competitive Strategy

The competitor analysis for the Kia-Motors has been conducted in order to analyze and identify the key factors related to the strengths and weaknesses of its competitors i.e. Toyota and Dacia Automobiles. The competitive strategies are being suggested for Kia-Motors in order to grow its business in Turkey and attract customers and carry out production processes in ways that ensures the profitability and competitive advantage in the long run.

Kia Motors

Analysis of Competitors

Toyota

Suggested Competitive Strategy

Automobile Dacia

Suggested Competitive Strategy

Kia Motors

Kia-Motors with the sales of 2.75 million in the year 2013 is 33.88% owned by the Hyundai Motors and is known widely for its product Kia-Optima and Cadenza. The company possesses strong market position with respect to the quality that it has been providing to its customers. The company has followed the competitive strategy for pricing at which product quality…

Apple Case Study

Apple

Competitive strength assessment of Apple's computer business

A competitive assessment of Apple reveals that Apple has these factors everything ready devices, design and innovation, &D oriented, and greater vertical and horizontal integration. Apple has made its devices be everything ready, which reduces the consumer's headache in sourcing for software or additional hardware to suit their individual purpose. Ensuring that the devices are ready for the consumer's use also offers the consumer the confidence to purchase and use the computers. Consumers are willing to pay premium prices provided they know they can get all they need in one device (Pavlou & El Sawy, 2010), and they will not have to search for additional hardware and devices. This differentiation has offered the company competitive advantage over its computer rivals. The design of the computers are attractive, and they are easy to use. Innovation has ensured that the company…

Personal Statement

At present, I am a graduate student at the Information Systems Department with a 3.7 GPA. Over the course of pursuing my master's degree, I have become increasingly aware of the importance of competitive intelligence (CI) in the business world. With this in mind, I have decided to apply to the certification program in CI to enhance my current studies and marketability as an employee once I graduate.

The success of companies such as Google and Apple have proven that knowing what customers want and need -- even if they cannot fully articulate their desires -- is critical to remaining competitive in the new global marketplace. CI as a field enables businesses to analyze and understand what attributes consumers desire in a product or a service in a data-driven and analytic fashion. The organization can then use such information to develop a competitive advantage. CI enables an enterprise…

Thus, the competitive intelligence assisted the company to align its strategic plan as well as keeping executive informed about the key element of decision-making. The company also derived advantages from market intelligence advantages and the advantages assisted the company to understand the market activities and competitive market environment. Typically, Avnet also used the competitive intelligence to create a Strategic Leverage Matrix (SLM) that the company literarily plots to understand the competitors in 2X 2 matrixes. Using this strategy, the company was able to understand the sales growth and the working capital of the competitors. The CI process includes:

Plan and Collect

Analyze and Access

Make ecommendations

Distribute EIS.

Using CI analysis, the company will able to analyze the industry and be able to make an informed decision about the market and the competitors.

Conclusion

The report shows how the Avnet could use the competitive intelligence tool to achieve a competitive…

272). However, the authors do not include a counterbalance to such arguments -- longer seasons also can result in viewer attrition of interest, the competition from other sports beginning while the season sprawls on, and the anger of fans if they feel that their team has been unfairly treated by new rules.

The authors do acknowledge there are also psychological facilitators of interest in sports besides win-loss competition, and could have treated this critical issue with greater depth. The hope that the underdog will triumph can create a psychological perception of competition that occasionally, as in the case of the recent SuperBowl between the undefeated New England Patriots and the New York Giants, is substantiated in fact, especially in the selective memory of sports fans (Sanderson & Siegfried, 2003, p. 261). The local desire to have a winning team and fan loyalty will also factor into the success of creating…

This program helps the development of the employees which leads to the culture that Sam Walton wants at Wal-Mart attaining them the competitive advantage. (Charles, 2006)

The H practices of Wal-Mart are aligned with the trends of the H practices of the top companies of the world who have responded to the dynamic changes in the field of Human esource Management. One of the upcoming trends in H is to respect employees and appreciate their worth through incentives other than wage bonuses. Wal-Mart treats its employees as partners. Employees are allowed a lot of autonomy and decision making power which enables them to flourish and reach their full potential. The compensation system is also performance-based which is the best compensation practice in the current economic situation of America.

The future of the industry will be heavily influenced by the global economic environment. Wal-Mart is planning a number of foreign expansions…

Marketing

Competitive Advantage through Online promotion

he online environment provides a rich environment for marketing. Marketing is likely to be seen whenever someone goes online; search engines operate with sponsored results at the top, and/or advertisements at the side of the page and many web cites will have advertisements embedded in their pages. Online marketing can also be seen in some less obvious formats such as marketing though maintaining a presence on the social networking mediums and use advergaming. With the high presence of online marketing it may be unsurprising to discover that in 2013 the global spend on internet advertising was estimated to be U.S. $503 billion (Linden, 2013). In the U.S. alone the online advertising spending amounts to U.S. $109.7 billion, accounting for 21.8% of advertising budgets (Linden, 2013). If this amount of money is being spent on internet advertising, it may be assumed the marketers believe that…

KO Advantages

Coca-Cola pursues a differentiation strategy, and has built its company around the pursuit of this strategy. The strengths that the company has -- R&D, marketing, and heavy advertising -- all directly support the differentiation strategy. Coca-Cola uses its strategy to foster sources of sustainable competitive advantage, although the strongest of these is the company's brand. All told, Coke has an excellent strategy that does not result in many missed opportunities. There are different strategic directions that the company could take, but there is also evidence that Coca-Cola management is aware of these options and has rejected them. All told, the approach that the company has taken remains successful, and should be successful for the foreseeable future.

Strategies

Porter's generic strategies typology highlights four main strategies that can be used to succeed in business (QuickMBA, 2010). Two of these are focused on niche markets, which obviously does not apply…

Particularly McDonalds and Starbucks fight daily on sales as well as share prices (Brush, 2011). The Starbucks growth has been slow during last some periods yet it offers a tough competition to the McDonalds by offering extensive sale points. The two companies are in competition war yet the customer base of the two is totally different. The Starbucks customers are more affluent and the McDonalds customers are more price sensitive (Shaughnessy, 2013).

The company can work on the customer pool that lies between total affluent and totally price sensitive. The company, like it has done before in 2012, can float the videos of its hygienic processes on YouTube. It can show that McDonalds operates cleaner that the clean companies and that eating at McDonalds mean eating healthy and quality. Thus there should be deals and sitting areas designed for middle and rich class too so that a big customer base…