MT1 Flashcards
Strategy (business-level)
A set of actions designed to exploit core competencies and gain a competitive advantage.
3 questions to ask about Strategy
1) Where are we now?
2) Where do we want to go?
3) How are we going to get there?
Rents
Economic profits
In competitive markets…
No rents in the LR
Shareholder value perspectives
1) Descriptive perspective
2) Normative perspective
3) Legal perspective
4) Evolutionary perspective
Descriptive perspective
Profits simply are the goal of many private-sector companies
Normative perspective
Shareholder value should be the goal of managers who are appointed by shareholders
Legal perspective
Corporate governance rules in publicly listed companies require managers to maximize shareholder value
Evolutionary perspective
Only firms that maximize profits survive in the LR
Competitive advantage
Creating superior value for customers that competitors cannot replicate.
Performance (via profits or rents)…
depends on the position of the business’s demand and cost curve, which depends on the external environment, its strategy, and its internal characteristics
Owners/Shareholders/Board of Directors
Set company goals
General Managers (CEO)
Define and execute strategy
Functional Managers
Define and execute tactics
Today’s competitive markets are affected by…
1) Globalization
2) The global economy
3) Rapid technological change
4) Increasing importance of knowledge and people
The global economy
One in which goods, services, people, skills, and ideas move freely across geographic borders
Globalization
The increasing economic interdependence among countries and its organizations
Knowledge
Information, intelligence, and expertise. An intangible resource
I/O Model of Above-Average Returns
1) Study the external environment
2) Locate an above-average return industry
3) Identify the strategy
4) Develop or acquire assets and skills to implement strategy
5) Use the firm’s strengths to implement strategy
IKEA Example (US)
1) Competitive advantage: Low cost, product selection, experience, user-friendly building
2) Core competency: Operational efficency
3) Strategy (Business model): Manufacture and distribute low cost DIY furniture for the mainstream family
- Outsourcing labour to the buyer, since labour cost is high in developed countries
4) Tactics: Focus on DIY, sell at lower price since cost is coming from consumer’s time
IKEA Example (Japan)
- Entered the market in 1974 during Japanese boom, through a JV
- Exited in 1986
- Consumer market does not like wasting time on DIY projects, since TIME IS MONEY
- DIY favour larger, open spaces. Japan has small, cramped spaces
- Japan’s labour cost was low at the time
Core competencies (How can your capabilities add value to the business?)
Capabilities that serve as a source of competitive advantage over rivals
Capability (What can you do with what you own?)
The capacity for a set of resources to perform a task
Resources (What do you own?)
Input into a firm’s production process. The firm’s assets. Includes capital equipment, employees, patents, etc.
Vision
A enduring picture of what the firm wants to achieve
Mission
Specifies the industry in which the firm intends to compete in (5-10 years), changes according to new environmental conditions
Goals
Gives you milestones. Communicates:
- Objective
- Issues
- Impact
- Solution
Disproportionate your efforts
80% of efforts into your strengths, 20% in improving weaknesses
How to build a competitive advantage?
Need core competencies, including:
1) Product Excellence
2) Service Excellence
3) Locational Excellence
4) Operational Excellence
Product Excellence
Superior quality eg. Apple
Service Excellence
Superior quality eg. Mercedes
Locational Excellence
Market by location (like high foot traffic, high visibility) eg. McDonalds