1-what is strategy

Question 1

operational effectiveness is not a strategy

Answer 1

competitive landscape of different companies operational effectiveness means performing simulator activities better than rivals and this refers to best practices/strategic positioning means perform different activities from rivals or performing similar activities in a different ways

Question 2

goal of strategic positioning

Answer 2

to achieve sustainable competitive advantage by preserving what is distinctive about a company

Question 3

productivity Frontier

Answer 3

constitutes the sum of all existing best practices at any given time maximum value that a company can create at a given cause using the best available Technologies

Question 4

three principles underlying strategic positioning

Answer 4

1- strategy is a creation of unique and valuable position including a different set of activities 2- strategy requires you to make trade-offs in competing to choose what not to do 3- strategy involves creating fit among the companies activities

Question 5

distinct sources of strategic position

Answer 5

1-serving few needs of many customers like Jiffy Lube
2-serving broad needs of few customers like trusts Bank serving High individuals
3-serving broad needs of many customers in a narrow Market like Carmike Cinemas operates in cities under 200,000

Question 6

fit drives both competitive advantage and sustainability

Answer 6

when activities mutually reinforce each other competitors can’t easily imitate them it’s like interlocking system

Question 7

OE competition shifts the productivity Frontier outward

Answer 7

this depresses margins like Japanese car manufacturers suffered from persistently profits / competitive convergence is more prominent in the rivals towards the productivity Frontier

Question 8

strategy rests on unique activities example

Answer 8

Southwest Airline offers short haul low cost point-to-point service between midsize cities and secondary airport in large cities and avoids large airports and doesn’t fly great distances

CarMax is based on new way of Performing activities extensive refurbishing of cars product guarantees no haggle pricing sophisticated use of In-House customer financing that has been long open to incumbents

Question 9

three distinct sources of strategic position

Answer 9

variety based positioning
need base positioning
access-based positioning

Question 10

variety based positioning examp ppo

Answer 10

variety based positioning example Jiffy Lube is International specializes in automotive lubricants and doesn’t offer other car repairs or maintenance services

Question 11

need-based positioning example

Answer 11

Ikea seems to meet all the Home Furnishing needs of its Target customers not just a subset of them differences in needs will not translate into meaningful positions unless the best set of activities to satisfy them also diffe

Question 12

access based positioning example

Answer 12

Carmike Cinemas operates movie theater exclusively in cities and towns with populations under 200,000 rural customers are one example of access-driven differences and activities

Question 13

positioning is not only about carving out a niche

Answer 13

a position emerged from any of the sources can be brought or narrow

Question 14

focused versus broadly targeted competitors

Answer 14

Ikea is a focus competitor serving over served or underserved people Delta Airlines is broad competitor with variety of customers and having a different set of activities designed to meet their common needs

Question 15

the basis could be variety needs or access or any combination of these

Answer 15

in particular variety or access differences often a company needs differences

Question 16

sustainable strategic position requires trade-offs such as

Answer 16

first competitors can reposition themselves
second is called straddling they match the benefits of a successful position while maintaining their existing position

especially in airline industry invitation can be achieved readily however comparing Continental Airlines and Southwest the end results wasn’t good enough for Continental because they didn’t do any trade off

Question 17

trade-offs create the need for choice and protect against repositions and straddlers

Answer 17

Neutrogena soap marketing strategy for them looks more like a drug company than a soap marketers the advertising medical journals answer doctors skin care Institute

Question 18

three sources of trade-offs

Answer 18

first inconsistency and image or reputation and customer confusion
second inflexibility in tailoring activities Ikea has configures activities to lower costs the less customers were able to satisfy higher level or service
third limits on internal coordination and control and set priorities in organization with clear framework

Question 19

strategy is making trade-offs

Answer 19

in competing the essence of a strategy is choosing what not to do without trade-offs there would be no need for choice and thus no need for strategy

Question 20

Fit drives both competitive advantage and sustainability

Answer 20

Good operational effectiveness is about achieving Excellence individual activities or functions strategy is about combining activities such as Southwest Rapid turnarounds low cost routes great productivity in Crews

Question 21

how does fit lock out imitators

Answer 21

by creating a chain that is as strong as its strongest link all the activities compliments one another that create real economic value

Question 22

three types of fit

Answer 22

first order fit is simple consistency between each activity and overall strategy
second order fit occurs when activities or reinforcing such as neutrogena’s strategy to use hotels
third order fit goes beyond reinforcement and called optimization of effort which comes from coordination and information exchange across activities to eliminate redundancy and minimize basic effort such as Gap restocking daily out of its Warehouse and no need to carry large in store inventories

Question 23

the growth trap

Answer 23

the desire to grow as perhaps the most perverse effect on strategy

Question 24

trade-offs and limits appear to constrain growth

Answer 24

such as broadly targeted strategies emphasizing on low price result in Lost sales with customer sensitive to features or services

Question 25

change to fulline products growth strategy drawback

Answer 25

Maytag Corporation drawbacks expansion to refrigerators and cooking products and other brands like Jenn-Air increase the sales to 3.4 billion from 600 million will return on sales has declined from 8% to average 1% in 10 years

Question 26

growth in emerging Industries and Technologies

Answer 26

the company’s that are successful are those that start as early as possible to Define an embody interactivities a unique competitive position a period of imitation may be inevitable but that period reflects the level of uncertainty rather than a desired State of Affairs

Question 27

top approach for growth

Answer 27

deepening the strategy position rather than broadening and compromising it this will be achieved by leveraging the existing activity system but offering features or Services the rivals would find impossible or really costly to match on a standalone basis

Answer 28

leadership role defining and communicating the company’s unique position making trade-offs and forging fit among activities not just general management and stewardship of individual functions