In this case study, you will research an organization and determine how their bu

Question

In this case study, you will research an organization and determine how their business strategy differentiates them from other organizations in the same industry using Porter’s four competitive strategies model (p. 85).   Write a one- to two-page (250-500-word) paper to include the following:

A brief explanation of Porter's four competitive strategies.

o A brief explanation of how competitive strategy determines value chain structure.

Identify and discuss the competitive strategy that the organization you researched utilizes in order to differentiate them from other organizations in the same industry.

Explanation / Answer

Porter's four generic strategies are used by organizations to gain competitive advantage over other organizations in competition. They are-

- cost leadership- this is gained in two ways, when the profits are increased by decreasing the costs or by increasing the market share by decreasing the prices. It works on making the organization leader in the competitive market by lowest cost strategy.

- Differentiation- this is when the product or service is different from and more attractive than the other products in the market in terms of quality, features, functions, durability and gaining advantage from it.

- cost focus- this strategy means when the cost is decresed and set according to the need of the niche market or customers they focus on and gain the advantage through decreasing cost for that market.

- differentiation focus- this imples to the same strategy as cost focus as in the market and customers need is identified and differentiation is brought in products based on it.

Value can be understood as the price one is willing to pay for the product or service. Competitive strategy helps in determining the value chain activities to be processed and the cost of each of them like inbound logistics, outbound logistics, operations and manufacturing, sales and marketing and customer service.

An example of the competitive strategy that an organization utilizes is Amazon Prime using the strategy of differentiation by giving speedy service. It garantees the fastest order fulfillment and delivery service from all the online shopping companies. Customers usually refrain from online shopping due to the long time the companies take in the delivery of the product. Solving this issue and taking just 2 days in delivering the product encourages the customers to rely on the company for the purchasing and then the service provided by any other company of more than two days will seem unattractive to the customers. This makes them distinctive and gives them a competitive advantage over other companies.

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