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 the competitive….

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. Treacy….

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 development strategy. The table above even reveals that both these strategies have received the highest scores, meaning that they are the….

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 is ensured with the competitive price and the company….

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.

Competitive Strategy

Examining….

Mission and Vision Statements and the Company's Strategic Direction
Mission/Vision/Strategic Dissection

esearch the challenges the organization is facing consider the objectives the organization has established for revitalization;

Evaluate the mission and vision statements to determine whether these statements align with the objectives of the organization (this requires research to identify new objectives);

Mission Statement & Vision Characteristics

Comparison Article & Mission Statement

Mission Statement Critique

Quality products & services

Broad in scope

Increased differentiation through marketing portals

Great value for customers

Are dynamic in orientation

Provided where & when customers want products & services

Finely balanced between specificity & generality

This objective is achieved

Build positive, lasting relationships with customers

Arouse positive feelings & emotions

Shop Your Way and FitStudio

Be a preferred & trusted resource for products & services

Generate the impression that the firm is successful, has direction, and is worthy of time, support, and investment

Genius Award and online successes promote the desirable image for Sears

Enhance customers' home & family life

Provide criteria for selecting strategies

Sears Holdings….

That is not so much a contradiction of the research but a limitation of it in terms of applicability to practitioners running small manufacturing companies.
Critique of Environmental Scanning: Frequency and Scope

Beal (2000) bases his methodology for assessing environmental scanning on twenty eight specific items that CEOs of 101 small manufacturing companies responded to as part of the research effort, and later analyzed them using factor analysis. Using Varimax rotation in factor analysis to explain variances across the results, company's management capabilities and resources (.824) and company's financial capabilities and resources (.811) were found to be the greatest two factors across all twenty-eight measured in terms of explaining variations in environmental scanning resulting impact on related environment/competitive strategy alignment. Scanning multiple situations or events occurring in an environmental sector will be positively related to environment-competitive strategy alignment, which is the second hypothesis of the research project (H2) looks at the….

International usiness
Competitive strategy is the bedrock on which companies base business decisions to reach their targets and achieve profitability. Formulating and implementing strategies in international business is much more complicated and difficult task than doing so in home or familiar markets. Competitive strategy deals with the development of abilities by a firm to keep ahead of competitors in the fields in which it operates. Firms develop competitive edge in global markets by possessing certain assets, abilities or characteristics. The primary elements of competitive advantage are the critical offer, the significant operating factors and the firm's strategic resources. (ennett and lythe, 2002) Corporate strategies and international marketing strategies are linked closely and have a bearing on business performance. (rown, 1994)

While some companies focus on a single source of competitive advantage, it is common for many firms to opt for a combination of options to be flexible and attain the best position….

, 2008).
Examining U.S. Airways it is apparent that the organization does not have superior profits to other airlines; the 10-k for 2012 showed a net profit of 4.61% to 2012, while the firm has a better profit margin compared to some other airlines, it is lower than some other airlines, including American Airlines and Southwest (Yahoo Finance, 2013). As it is not have a superior profit margin the company is not a firm with a cost advantage. Therefore, this leaves the competitive advantage of differentiation.

Examining the organization in order to identify ways in which the service is different from competitors indicates that the service levels in the firm are not a source of differentiation. In 2007 in a consumer report U.S. Airways was ranked as being the worst for the customer service that was provided, where it gained only 5/30 marks of food, 10/30 marks the comfort and 10/30 marks….

Quest Diagnostics Competitive Strategy
Quest Diagnostics is a company that has a lot of potential in Turkey based on its experience in other countries. The company mainly focuses on patients and physician services with the aim of making health care more effective. Turkey as a country has a challenge of having fewer doctors or medical practitioners than in other countries. However, the country has a growing GDP, with a considerable amount being spent on healthcare. Quest Diagnostics stands a chance to benefit from increased spending as the GDP improves. Consequently, the number of older adults in the country is increasing and more diagnostic procedures will be required to deal with issues associated with lifestyle diseases. The analysis focuses on the competitive advantage that Quest Diagnostics has in Turkey.

Competitive Strategy and Target Market

The competitive strategies that Quest Diagnostics should use are the cost leadership and focus. The company should focus on the….

DYNOMITE Haircuts Stage
This case study concerns the needs and objectives of a particular business known as Dynomite Haircuts. Dynomite Haircuts first opened in a college town where it was the only business of its kind in a 10-mile radius. This was ideal as it allowed the company to establish roots, gain a solid reputation and client base and begin to expand in a marked and concerted manner. Now there is a much higher level of competition which has developed over time in this area. In spite of this increased competition, the business is still performing well. However, it could be performing even better: it could still reach a higher level of competition and effectiveness necessary to bring in a higher level of revenue. The areas that need to be improved are: scheduling, supply ordering, inventory management, collecting customer information and marketing. Once these areas are improved, and these obstacles are….

Product Returns is a third process area that Imperial Tobacco has to contend with, specifically from its distributors and channel partners. Typically Tobacco products are returned if a specific lot of tobacco or packaging has been found to be defective. There have at times been product recalls as defined by governments. A third reason for product returns is when a product has been discontinued and Imperial is not willing to pay price protection to cover the distribution partners' inventory carrying costs until they are sold. The Product Returns process begins with the issuance of a Return Material Authorization (RMA) that specifically states how much of a given product is being returned and for what reason.

The RMA is then sent to the distributor who then ships back the tobacco products to Imperial. Once the products have arrived back at the company, if they are defective, they are sent to Quality Assurance….

Five Forces
The concept of the five forces is rooted in the idea that these are the five forces that influence whether an industry or company can be profitable. A company, when formulating its strategy, will seek to find ways to shift these forces and manipulate them in ways that allow the company to be profitable, preferably sustainably profitable. As Porter (2008) elaborates, the five forces that shape competitive strategy are the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitutes and the intensity of rivalry within the industry.

About the Company

The company to which the five forces will be applied is Tesla Motors, the electric car maker. Tesla is a relatively new player in the industry, has a tremendous reputation with respect to product quality, but has yet to turn a profit, has a tremendous bleed rate, but it also cannot produce….

Strategy Development
A directional strategy is a strategy to take the organization in a specific direction. For example Pepsi bought a ussian diary as part of its strategy to create a $20 billion nutrition business. This is not related to market conditions as such, just a focus on growing an area of business. In contrast, an adaptive strategy is one where the company needs a strategy to adjust to some sort of change in the marketplace. An example of this would be an old-school grocery store adding more organic foods to its shelves in response to that market trend.

A market entry strategy is a strategy used to enter a market. There are several of these: exporting, licensing, joint venture, and direct investment (QuickMBA, 2010). These work for entering new domestic markets as well. New products or changes to existing products would also qualify, perhaps, as entering a new market. All strategy….

Competitive Market Analysis to Determine the Product's Potential Success
Issues that the automobile industry faces that affect its competitiveness and long-term profitability

The relevance of a competitive strategy for Car Company A is to establish a position within the 4-cylinder engine car market. This will help the company to compete with Toyota Corolla (LE) 1.8L four-cylinder engine competitive forces. As a potential entrant, Car Company A is at a disadvantage in capital markets. Unless it penetrates the Cylinder engine market through diversification, its four-cylinder car will be at an inherently riskier position than the established (LE) 1.8L four cylinder engine of Toyota (Maxton & Wormald, 2013). This will be reflected in the risk premiums Car Company A will be forced to pay to attract capital.

Car Company A will face barriers because other players like Toyota enjoy economies of scale in the industry. This means a decline in a product's unit costs leads….

Here are some potential essay topics on corporate level strategies of Nestle:

1. Analyze and evaluate Nestle's diversification strategy. How has Nestle expanded its product portfolio over the years and how has this contributed to its overall growth and success?

2. Assess Nestle's international expansion strategies. How has Nestle entered new markets and expanded its global presence? What challenges has the company faced in pursuing a global strategy?

3. Examine Nestle's strategic alliances and partnerships. How has Nestle collaborated with other companies to strengthen its competitive position and drive growth? What benefits has Nestle derived from these strategic alliances?

4. Investigate Nestle's sustainability and....