Wall Street Journal Article Summary
The article, What is Strategy?, was written in 2010 by Alan Murray. The author explains Michael Porter’s five competitive forces and how they affect your product or service’s strategic positioning in today’s competitive market. Consequently, knowing how to employ these five forces advantageously is critical to marketing a profitable product or service. Five forces analysis can help businesses to comprehend the variables affecting a ventures chance for success. In turn, this determines whether or not to increase capacity in an industry and to design competitive strategies. This can be done by recognizing barriers to entry, threats of substitution, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers,
…show more content…
Cost leadership is a low cost, competitive strategy that aims at the broad mass market and requires “aggressive construction of efficient scale facilities, vigorous pursuit of cost reductions from experience, tight cost and overhead control, avoidance of marginal customer accounts, and cost minimization in areas like R&D, service, sales force, advertising, and so on (Hunger, Wheelen, 2011). Some examples of companies that utilize overall cost leadership are: McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, and Aldi grocery stores. Wal-Mart uses everyday low prices to attract customers, McDonald’s utilizes basic fast food meals at low prices and Aldi grocery stores employ a division of labor strategy and fewer managers to keep labor costs low, thus allowing them to sell their products for less. These businesses are located in close proximity to large population centers, sell the most popular products at all of their locations, and apply standardized pricing throughout their franchises. The application of an overall cost leadership strategy by McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, and Aldi grocery stores results in above average returns on investment (Hunger, Wheelen, …show more content…
Cost focus is a low cost competitive strategy that focuses on a particular buyer group or geographic market and attempts to serve only this niche, to the exclusion of others (Hunger, Wheelen, 2011). Some examples of companies that have employed a cost focus strategy are Checkers restaurants, Redbox video rental, and Mercedes Benz. These companies avoid head to head competition with larger firms such as McDonald’s, Blockbuster, or General Motors. By valuing a narrow focus that enables them to better serve their narrow strategic markets, these companies have been able to target their customers more effectively than their competitors. Checkers utilizes buildings that are cheaper to construct, Red Box video rental uses vending machines inside large box stores such as Wal-Mart, and Mercedes Benz utilizes cutting edge manufacturing technology, styling, and safety features to appeal to its customers. However, these companies have had to compromise between profitability and market share. Serving the specialized needs of a niche market lacks the economy of scale necessary to create large profit
According to article call “Porter’s Five Forces Model/Strategy Framework” it stated, “The Five Forces Model was developed by Michael E. Porter to help companies assess the nature of an industry’s competitiveness and develop corporate strategies accordingly. “ (Martin, 2014). According to article call “Porter’s Five Forces Model/Strategy Framework” it also stated “The framework allows a business to identify and analyze the important forces that determine the profitability of an industry.” (Martin, 2014). According to article call “Porter’s Five Forces: Analyzing the Competition”. It stated that “
Costco’s business strategy is different from their competitor’s in the wholesale retail industry because their purpose is to keep overhead down and pass the savings to their customers. They do this by choosing not to advertise, sell fewer brands and having an innovative approach by having their own manufacturing facilities for a variety of merchandise. Costco does not market their warehouses and their marketing is through word of mouth from current customers who also must have a membership to shop at Costco. When compared to Walmart Costco sells four brands of toothpaste and Walmart sells sixty brands of toothpaste. Costco can buy more for less from the manufacturer of the four brands of toothpaste and pass the savings on to their customers. Costco’s strategy is to sale a limited number of items because this strategy according to (Lutz, 2013) “increases sales volume and helps drive discounts.” Because of Costco’s profitability in the retail market they have managed to continue to be profitable even in an oppressed economy. Costco’s focus is on high-end customers indicated by some of the brands they carry such as Coach Handbags. Costco offers three different levels of membership and is only open to customers who have a membership. Costco’s philosophy is they do not advertise or markup items more than 15% in order to save their customer’s money. These practices lowers the overhead costs and continues passing the savings to the customer. Costco is an international company and has (Costco Wholesale Corporation, n.d.) “462 locations in 43 U.S. States & Puerto Rico; 87 locations in nine Canadian provinces; 25 locations in the United Kingdom; 10 locations in Taiwan; 9...
Historically, Dollar General operated in a highly price sensitive market segment, with 55% of its consumer base earning an average annual gross income of less than $40,000.[2] To attract these customers, Dollar General employed an Everyday Low Price strategy similar to Wal-Mart’s. Thus, keeping costs low and driving high traffic volumes were critical to the company’s financial success. Dollar General achieved this strategy in several ways, including keeping rents and labor costs low, locating in low-income, high traffic areas that offered consumers few substitutes, and offering a wide variety of popular CPG and white label goods.
A focused cost leadership strategy would be appropriate, in other words, a attention to consumers. Cost focus is a strategy that will focus on a particular buyer groups or a geographic market and attempt to serve only that place, to the exclusion of others. When looking at cost factors, there are very few options available to K-Mart in developing a pricing strategy to compete with Target or Wal-Mart. Therefore, K-Mart would not have many price strategy options available. However by using a cost focus strategy, and matching the quality of well known brands but keeping cost low by eliminating advertising and promotional expenses will save K-Mart money.
Narrow focus on limited value chain activities, competitor’s pricing war and lack of differentiation parity can erode the competitive advantage associated with cost leadership strategy. Similarly, imitation of differentiating features by competition and lack of perceived value of the differentiating features can erode the competitive advantage associated with differentiation strategy.
Porter has identified five competitive forces that shape every industry and every market. These forces determine the intensity of competition and hence the profitability and attractiveness of an industry. The objective of corporate strategy should be to modify these competitive forces in a way that improves the position of the organization. Porters model supports analysis of the driving forces in an industry. Based on the information derived from the Five Forces Analysis, management can decide how to influence or to exploit particular characteristics of their industry.
Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 86(1), 25-40.
As strategy consultants of McCormick & Associates, we use Porters Five Forces Model as a framework when making a qualitative evaluation of a firm's strategic position (Appendix 1.2). These five forces determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. These forces affect the ability of a company to serve its customers and make a profit. A change in any of the forces normally requires a company to re-assess the market place.
Porter’s competitive forces model includes five forces that need to be analysed. These forces include the intensity of rivalry from traditional competitors, threat of new market entrants, threat of substitute products and services, bargaining power of customers and bargaining power of suppliers (Laudon & Laudon, 2007). See diagram below;
Cost leadership strategy involves the business winning the market share by appealing to cost-conscious and price-sensitive consumers. This is achieved when you have the lowest prices in the target market. The lowest price of value ratio (price compared to what consumers receive). To be successful at offering the lowest price while still achieving profitability and a high return on investment, the business must be able to operate at a lower cost than its competitors. There are three main ways to achieve this.
Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 25-40.
Because the subject matter of strategic management is so inherently complex and because each one of us brings his own personal biases to the analysis, it was suggested early on that virtually all case material in the field be analyzed from the perspective of more than one methodology. Profit theory and industrial chains were selected as the first of a number of viable approaches to the analytical process. It would have been equally correct to select the Five Competitive Forces analysis refined by Michael Porter, one of the major figures in the field of strategic management. This methodology addresses the same issues but differs only in the language that they use to describe corporate behavior. The five forces are:
Porter’s five forces is a framework for analyzing an industry and business strategy development. It looks at forces that determine the competitive intensity of an industry and hence the overall attractiveness of that industry. The configuration of the five forces differs by industry. Understanding the competitive forces and their underlying causes reveals the roots of an industry’s current profitability while providing a framework for anticipating and influencing competition over time.
Porter, M. E., 1999. The Five Forces that Shape Competitive Strategy. Harvard business review, p. 80.
In a world of free trade, growing competition and accessibility to foreign markets, the need for methodical market analysis and assumptions is steadily rising in today’s business environment. It is just a normal way of thinking to primarily intent to eliminate the financial before entering a new and foreign market. This suggests that enterprises have to develop an overall strategy for their business in order to gain competitive advantage and consequently market share. With the words of Michael E. Porter, professor at Harvard University and leading authority on competitive strategy, this desirable market success is indirectly linked to the individual structure of a market. The unique structure of a single market influences the strategic behaviour and the development of a competitive strategy within a firm. The competitive strategy finally decides whether a company performs successfully on the market or not. Referring to this interpretation of business success, M. E. Porter established his five forces framework that enables directives to gather useful information about the business environment and the competitive forces in industries.