Startegic Management Final (Strategic Plan)
Running Head: MODULE 6 COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES 1
MODULE 6 COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES 2
Week 6 Written Assignment-
Competitive Strategies
Author Note
This assignment for Week 6 Written Assignment-Competitive Strategies is being submitted on November 11, 2017, for Christopher Zombas’ B460/MAN4720 Section 01 Strategic Management Fall 2017 course.
In the fast food industry, competitive strategies must be looked at for a business to remain viable. With so many options to choose from how is a company going to get consumers to choose them? Conducting a competitive strategy analysis can help guide a fast food business down the right path for them.
1. Select a different product or service from last week.
The product or service that I have chosen for this assignment is fast foods.
2. Conduct a competitive strategy analysis on the product or service selected using Porter’s General Competitive Strategies (Cost Leadership Strategy, Differentiation, and Focus).
Cost Leadership Strategy-how can a company be able to consistently reduce their costs of doing business?
Differentiation (sometimes easier for companies who are not able to get their costs lower)-how can a company set themselves apart from the competition?
Cost Focus-how can the company use the principles of a low-cost operation to market affordability to a specific market?
Differentiation Focus-a company would want to market a bigger and better solution to a smaller market.
3. Select one of Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies to develop a competitive edge for your product or service selected, and describe and explain the implementation of that strategy for the product or service selected.
Cost Leadership Strategy-a company would want to maintain low overhead costs and negotiate favorable acquisition costs of supplies. A fast-food company would want to be strategically placed where they can get the most consumers in and also pay the lowest price possible for their materials. They would need to negotiate contracts with their suppliers for the most favorable outcome.
Differentiation-a company would want to research customer needs, design, and develop quality products or services to match those needs and wants. The company would want to effectively market and sell themselves by stressing those differences from their competition.
Cost Focus-a company would want to maintain a low-cost operation which could be done a number of ways, such as possibly only being open during the busiest or peak hours, finding the best suppliers for the cheapest price, buying in large quantities to lower costs, hire well trained or educated staff in order to minimize waste, and not purchasing more than necessary to avoid spoilage.
Differentiation Focus-a company would want to focus on doing one particular thing very well. A fast-food company could focus on having a particular kind of burger such as a healthier option like a vegan burger to stand out from their competition and target their market to the health-conscious consumer base.
Although a competitive strategy analysis can help guide a business by focusing management, the results are still not black and white answers. A lot of time and effort have to be put in to find the best solution for each specific company. Even then, it is a continuing cycle because what is working today may not work in the next year or two. The consumer wants and needs change frequently and therefore; businesses must be willing and able to change with them to stay competitive.
References
Top of Form