Global Business Plan

Innovation and Competitive Advantage on Changing Environments

Any business need to create ways to have competitive advantages as this is the only way it can remain relevant and competitive despite the strong competition in the sector of specialization. According to Hisrich (2014), “working towards achieving a competitive advantage should be the core goal within the management philosophy.” The more reason is that lack of competitive advantages exposes a business to even slightest competition and the business can be easily locked out of business. In the present world, there are a high number of companies that have succeeded in boosting their competitive advantages. As a matter of reality, such companies have managed to be ahead of competition and competition sees them as roles models to the point of trying to copy their operation strategies.

One of such companies is the General Motors Company which is the global leader in the automotive industry. Over the years, General Motors has managed to increase its global market share due to the enormous competitive advantages that the company has managed to build and maintain. The main focus of this essay shall be to explore the General Motors competitive advantages and how the company manages to retain them. Secondly, the essay shall review General Motors organizational leadership philosophy on innovation applied by the company as well as activities that the company takes an active part in to sustain its competitive advantage. Lastly, the essay shall review the research and development initiatives that are employed for long-term competitive advantage.

General Motors was established in 1908 under the leadership of Billy Durant. The company was formed as a consolidation of several motor vehicle companies namely Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Oakland, Ewing, Marquette, and other autos as well as Reliance and Rapid trucks. General Motors headquarters is in Detroit, Michigan, United States but currently, the company has a lot of subsidiaries and outlets all over the world. This is to mean that the company products are sold across the board by different General Motors dealers and offices as they are established in almost all countries.

Since General Motors establishment it has had different individuals taking leadership positions. However, the initial founders developed an innovation philosophy that is applied by all leaders heading the company outlets in different locations across the globe. This innovative philosophy is that the world is an ever-changing thing and that people need quality, stylish, and modern motor vehicles (Greer, 2012). Hence, the company believes that for it to remain competitive in the automobile industry, it must offer the market with the most unique, high-quality, durable, and diverse motor vehicles. The company embraces innovation as this is the only way that new design of products that are unique and meets the clients’ needs can be developed (Hisrich, 2014). The leadership also has an innovation philosophy of supporting creative and innovative ideas from employees and develops a complete innovative idea. This is to mean that employees have always been encouraged to come up with ideas that they believe can be molded and become a great competitive product.

General Motors is aware that the environment both internal and external is important when it comes to promoting and maintaining the competitive advantage. The company takes an active part in improving its internal and external environments hence making it suitable for company operations. for instance, the company management across the globe ensures that the employees have good working conditions and that the employees have the relevant tools and machinery to offer quality results (Greer, 2012). With a good working environment, accidents and incidences are avoided thus not interfering with the innovative levels and becoming highly recognized as a good employer. Moreover, the fact that employees have what it takes to offer the market creative and unique products makes the company to be perceived as reliable and trustworthy.

Externally, the company takes part in corporate affairs like supporting the society in different ways. Apart from selling the products at a cost-effective price, making the products accessible, and getting to know the needs of the clients, the company supports different projects for instance development projects and sports (Nieuwenhuis, 2017). This way the company demonstrates to the public that the welfare of the people is one of the greatest company concerns and by doing so the company has been able to build a strong and reliable relationship with the people (Hisrich, 2014). Additionally, the company has an active way of interacting and engaging with the consumers to know what they want, how they feel about the products, and professionally deal with complaints.

From time to time, the company offers discounted products where the clients can access the products at far much lower price thereby making the products affordable to a much higher number of people. Again, the products have different designs and sizes which mean that there is a product for every client. Lastly, the products are highly durable and this is a competitive advantage that has made the company last as long as it has. The reason is that the clients can feel the value for the money they spent buying the product thereby promoting customer loyalty.

General Motors is aware that the automobile sector is an ever-changing sector and research and development initiatives have been highly applied to retain a company’s competitive advantages on long-term basis (Greer, 2012). The company has a strong and reliable research and development team that plays the role of researching the market extensively and advising the company on clients’ needs. This is to mean that the company is always informed about competition and genera client’s needs at every time. It is for this reason that the company offers the exact products that the consumer need every time. the research and development initiatives also guides the company on products to reduce in production to avoid instances of dead stock that can destabilize company’s financial stability (Hisrich, 2014). The result of such, is that the company has a way of maintaining a stable finance position. Again, the research and development team gathers information on other vital factors in different countries for instance political and economic stability and surety and this information is used by the management to make vital decisions that retains competitiveness on long-term basis. It is also the research and development that searches and recommends the market to venture into and how to handle upcoming competition.

Competitive advantages are important for any business as they keep the business afloat even in the most difficult times. General Motors is the leading company in the automobile sector globally. This is because the company has embraced strategies that builds and sustains its competitive advantages thereby making it hard for competitors to take over the market.

References

Greer, I., & Hauptmeier, M. (2012). Identity work: Sustaining transnational collective action at General Motors Europe. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 51(2), 275-299.