Organizational Strategy, And Best-Cost Provider Strategy

In the book Information Systems Today – Managing in the Digital World, authors Joe Valacich and Christoph Schneider describes Organizational Strategy as, “A firm’s plan to accomplish its mission and goals as well as to gain or sustain a competitive advantage over rivals” (Valacich & Schneider, 2014, p. 58). The organizational strategy or strategies are developed by the senior managers of the organization by conducting Strategic Planning session(s) where they form a path forward to where the organization wants to go and the milestones of measurable objectives and performance targets. From a market perspective, an organization may pursue one of the 3 key organizational strategies. These core strategies are: Low-cost Leadership Strategy; Differentiation Strategy; and Best-Cost Provider Strategy. Each of the strategies is discussed below with current market examples and the

Target’s purpose statement from its website states, “We fulfill the needs and fuel the potential of our guests. That means making Target your preferred shopping destination in all channels by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation and exceptional experiences—consistently fulfilling our Expect More. Pay Less® brand promise” (Target Brands, Inc., 2016). Target’s product collection prices are relatively low among other brand name retailers. However, Target carries various designer products (often non premium seasons and lines) to attract trend-conscious consumers. However, this middle of the road strategic approach opens up competition from global and Low-cost Leadership strategic markets since the progression of globalization and technology often able to offer comparable if not substantially cheaper pricing using e-Commerce and other venues with optimized Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM)