I agree with this statement. When it comes to trying to break into an industry and have a competitive advantage over the rest, the strategy we have to use has to be distinctive. This means we have to come up with a different approach to capture our customers to make them want to use our product rather than product’s from the industry’s leaders. The best competitive position is always to have no competition. To achieve that level, organizations should not be following what the leaders are doing instead they should formulate, implement and deploy a distinctive strategy that changes the rules of the business game in their favor.
What wins in business is not in trying to out-muscle competitors, but rather to out-think the competitors by brainpower. For example, there are three major international television networks in the world, CBS, NBC, and ABC. In the last thirty years or so, none of them have managed to get a monopoly of the television industry. However, in the last fifteen years, all three were over-taken by CNN.
This is because the three networks were trying to gain competitive advantage by using the same strategies. Only CNN has a distinctive strategy. Instead of standard broadcasting, CNN went cable and satellite. Instead of going with variety programming, CNN went with news. Instead of staying domestic, CNN went global. And because of these very different strategies CNN is one of the major leaders in the television network industry, making about US$8 billion a year.
Another similar example would be the airline industry. For the last fifteen years or so, CEOs of many major international airlines openly said how difficult it was to make savings in revenues and profits. Except one airline, whose operation has proven profitable since they start business activities in 1973 - Southwest Airlines of the US. This is more because Southwest is not very conventional in their approach or running an Airline business, Southwest Airlines have a distinctive strategy, Some of their more significant strategies would be using a single aircraft instead of multiple aircraft and forgoing having a reservation system like most major airlines. However even though Southwest’s Strategy is to be as plain and simple without all the frills other major airlines are offering, they are still the major leaders in the Airline Industry This proves that in business; if you are not the leader, never play the game according to the rules that the leader has set.
This is the most important rule in Jack Welch’s business strategy. Too many business leaders become comfortable with their performance and refuse to see the need for change. A business leader must understand the importance of accurately defining their company’s current position if they are planning on making successful changes. And once problem areas are discovered, managers must act immediately to correct them. When Welch took over at GE, he quickly addressed the common practice of sugar coating financial paperwork that only left a false since of security and insisted that every business unit in the GE empire must be the number one or number two competitor in its respective marketplaces or it would be fix, close, or sold.
...ies. This kind of competition can only hamper their growth. It is time for them to work with each other and unite in the face of growing competition to ensure success in the new century. New century does not have to bring a new round.
The leader may or not be admired but other firms forfeit its dominance in the industry. (Kotler,2001
Marketing gurus and advertisement experts are all ways looking for an edge over the competition. Every business claims that its product whether, clothing, cars, or the housing market has the edge. In the sports world catches, and athletes our looking for an advantage over their opponent. Swimmers have special suits designed hoping for an edge in their race. Sprinter in track and flied are often times caught cheating using a ban substance all because their want an advantage over their challengers. What will you do to gain an advantage over your opponent? Having an advantage and doing it the right way certainly can secure an edge. Larry Osborne has written a book entitle Sticky Church which gives churches an advantage of our opponent Satan. He
Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 86(1), 25-40.
No company that falls behind the competition is guilty of standing completely still. But sometimes our efforts fail because of the level of commitment to change.
He believes that leaders and managers should be flexible with their strategies (McKeown, 2012). The author states that it is not always the best option to copy the competitor and his strategy. What is good for one business might not always be good for the other even if they are producing identical products. Lastly, the strategies can be changed. If a business person believes that a strategy constructed ten years ago is not conducive anymore then, it can be altered or completely changed according to where the business stands in the present.
Ten years ago you wouldn't have found Intel's name on a list of the world's top chip makers. You might not even have heard of it at all. But even back then, it had the mind-set of the monopolist. Today, Intel is virtually alone in the production of microprocessors. Its share of the worldwide market exceeds 79%. Its nearest rival, AMD, has just 11% of the business. What makes Intel the world's greatest manufacturer (not the world's greatest technology company—a silly pigeonhole not worthy of the firm's pre-eminence) is its understanding of how to think like a true monopolist. It doesn't want to be beaten at anything.(Cramer)
In today’s world, it’s hard to compete for accompany that don’t known well their competitors. It ‘s like walking blind into a fire. For instance, knowing a great deal on what a competitors is offering in term of products can help a company to differentiate it’s product and make it more appealing for the customers. If the competitor’s products have weakness, one could build a better product without the same weakness the competitor had and from there gain competitive advantage. Furthermore, knowing the price of the competition can allow one to set competitive prices as
“The only way to beat the competition is to stop trying to beat the competition.” (Kim and Mauborgne, 2005, 4). Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne explains how to overcome competition by creating uncharted markets. The author, W. Chan Kim, is the professor of strategy and international, management at INSEAD, and the second author, Renée Mauborgne is the INSEAD Distinguished Fellow as well as a professor of strategy and management. The authors use the term “blue ocean” as a metaphor for undiscovered markets. This metaphor is juxtaposed to “red oceans” which signify saturated markets. Although the book contains a good foundation and is well-written, the overuse of anecdotes that trick readers into thinking the strategies are fool-proof, the flaws and self-evident content, and the redundancy of the steps and tools, prevent Blue Ocean Strategy from being a good read.
...ur customers and employees happy, profits and growth will follow. In addition, Enterprise should always be aware of the tough competition that is out there and fight against it with innovative ideas and outstanding customer service. As Andy Taylor said, “We own the high ground in this business, and we aren’t going to give it up.”
Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 25-40.
Hendersern and Stern 2000, ‘Untangling the origins of competitive advantage’,Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 21, pp. 1123-1145.
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.