Any corporate policy and plan which is typical of the industry is doomed to mediocrity

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Any corporate policy and plan which is typical of
the industry is doomed to mediocrity Bruce
Henderson former Managing Partner of Boston
Consulting Group If a man write a better book,
preach a better sermon, or make a better
mouse-trap than his neighbor, tho he build his
house in the woods, the world will make a beaten
path to his door. Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Table 5.1. 1993-2003 median returns of selected
companies in the US motor industry (Source
Fortune.com)
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There are two generic forms of competitive
advantage or positioning Cost advantage a firm
can do the same things as its rivals but do so at
a lower delivered cost, i.e. total costs not
just product/service costs. Such firms exploit
economies of scale, scope and learning
(experience) effects and are obsessed with
efficiency and cost control. Differentiation
advantage a firm offers something of value that
is unique or sufficiently better than rivals to
be seen as unique. These businesses create a form
of monopoly in that no other firm can deliver the
same product/service-based value to the target
market. Their obsessions centre on protecting and
improving their uniqueness in brand, product,
process for instance.
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Competitive strategic positions manifest
themselves in three ways 1. The position a
company adopts in terms of its stance against
competitors and its choice of buyer segments as
it attempts to fit with industry CSFs. 2. The
source of value that is the primary driver of the
companys offering. 3. The resources and
capabilities underpinning that value and the
position of the firm.
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Mintzbergs four generic approaches to
scope Unsegmentation the firm offers the same
products across a broad range of market segments
e.g. Coca Cola, Wal-Mart, Google Segmentation
the firm still addresses a broad range of market
segments but designs different products for those
segments, e.g. Honda, Dell, British
Airways Niche the firm focuses on one segment
of the market e.g. Ryanair, Cray Computers,
Morgan Cars Customisation the firm focuses on
individual customers and shapes their offering to
the unique requirements of that buyer, e.g.
upmarket homes, event organization, golf course
design
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Slacks five advantage categories from
Manufacturing Advantage 1. Quality advantage
(or, doing it right) 2. Speed advantage (or,
doing things fast) 3. Dependability
advantage (or, doing things on time) 4.
Flexibility advantage (or, being able to adapt
what you do) 5. Cost advantage (or, doing
things cheap).
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Table 5.2 Differentiation strategies
(Source Mintzberg, 1998)
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Resources and capabilities the
resource-based-view (RBV) CASIS outlines how a
resource/capability can provide a competitive
advantage for a company if it is 1. Congruent
with CSFs of the Industry 2. Non-Appropriable
3. Non-Substitutable 4. Non-Imitable a.
Physically unique b. Expensive to develop c.
Path-dependency d. Causal ambiguity 5. Supported
organizationally
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1. Account for the rise of Tescos. 2. Explain
Tescos strategic strength today. 3. What
strategies might J. Sainsbury have pursued to
combat Tescos?
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1. Could you define Ottakars position on the
back of a business card? 2. Ottakars had
generally taken an evolutionary approach to
change in order to build on their existing
resources and capabilities? 3. While Ottakars
new websites may have only constituted a change
to operational facilities how might its
operations and performance ripple through the
organization and its strategic positioning? 4.
If you were James Heneage how would you have
responded to The Sunday Times review?
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1. Do you think that BMIs low-cost,
full-frills position could have provided them
with a competitive advantage? 2. Will the advent
of BMIbaby help or hinder BMIs attempts to
position itself effectively? 3. How would you
seek to position BMI and BMIbaby? Can you express
each of these positions in eight words or less?
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1. Draw up a list of the key questions that are
critical to understanding whether Universal
should enter the UK market. 2. What data would
you need to aquire (and how would you get it) to
be able to answer your questions?
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1. Define Hugyhes strategic advantage. 2.
Define Interbrews strategic advantage. 3. If
you were a fund manager which firm would you
choose to invest in? Give reasons for your
answer. 4. What advice would you give Huyghe and
Interbrew for the future?
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1. Assuming you can get no further information,
what would your overall intention for this
decision making process be? 2. Assuming you can
get no further information, what would your first
decision on furniture be? 3. What then would
your strategy be as the rest of the decision
making process unfolds? 4. What does this case
and the application of game theory teach us about
strategy?
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1. Has IBB identified imperfections in the
market, or is this really a mirage? 2. How can
IBB compete with large well-resourced
incumbents? 3. Should IBB focus on increasing
its product range (scope) or open new
branches? 4. Would the creation of an online
banking facility help? Why?
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1. What resources and capabilities might Taytos
have that will be difficult for Walkers to
replicate? 2. If you were CEO of Taytos, what
strategies would you employ to protect the
companys advantage? 3. If you were CEO of
Walkers Ireland, what strategies would you
employ to build the companys advantage?
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1. Can you broadly draw Komatsus strategic
position (or positions) relative to Catapillar on
the generic strategy matrix? 2. What advantages
might this simple drawing provide to Komatsu
employees, suppliers and distributors? 3. How
might Catapillar position itself in response to
Komatsus encircling strategy, should Komatsus
strategy prove to be successful?
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1. Do you think Cereality have a sustainable
competitive advantage? If not, why not? If so how
would you articulate it?
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