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1. A Critique of Porter’s Cost Leadership and Differentiation...
A CRITIQUE OF PORTER'S COST LEADERSHIP AND DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGIES
Y. Datta
Ph.D., State University of New York at Buffalo
Professor Emeritus
College of Business
Northern Kentucky University
Highland Heights, KY 41099 (USA)
7539, Tiki Av.
Cincinnati, OH 45243
USA
Tel: (513) 984–1032 [Home]
Fax: (513) 984–1032
E–Mail: datta@nku.edu
A paper accepted for presentation at the 9th Oxford Business & Economics Conference to be held in
Oxford, England, June 22–24.
Table of Contents
A Critique of Porter's Cost Leadership and Differentiation Strategies 4
ABSTRACT 4
Key Words 4
INTRODUCTION 5
COST LEADERSHIP STRATEGY 5
Major Reliance on Modern Capital Equipment 7
Relying on the Experience Curve to Underprice ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Key Words
Michael Porter
Cost Leadership strategy

2. Differentiation strategy
Market Segmentation
Positioning
INTRODUCTION
A scholarly work that has received widespread attention and recognition in the Strategic
Management area––and beyond––is Porter's (1980, 1985) typology of generic competitive
strategies: Cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. These three actually fall into two basic
categories. The focus strategy calls for concentration on a niche or a narrow segment. But Porter
says that success in this strategy can be achieved either via cost leadership or differentiation. Thus,
cost leadership and differentiation are the two basic strategies in Porter's typology. These two then
are the subject of discussion in this paper. This contribution of Porter (1980, 1985) has had a deep
and pervasive influence on business theory and practice. Since then many strategists from diverse
fields have examined or made reference to his work. Most of this voluminous literature appeared
during the eighties and the nineties. The purpose of this paper is to offer a critique of Porter's work,
and a synthesis of this literature. Thompson and Strickland (2008, chap. 5) have expanded Porter's
generic strategies from three to five: overall low–cost provider strategy, broad differentiation
strategy, best–cost provider
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4. 3m's Conundrum of Efficiency and Creativity Essay
Introduction 3M is an innovative and creative company that flourished since 1930 with the invention
of masking tape and again in the 1950's with Scotchgard the fabric protector. Then during a glue that
was invented that was considered a failure in the 1970's someone came up with the idea of taking
that glue solution and using it on the back of paper to hold the paper to anything. So the invention of
the post–it came out and the business really took off. in the 2000 the newly appointed CEO James
McNerney implemented the Six Sigma management style. He did this because he felt the company
was stale and not growing as much as he felt. This new management style is "designed to identify
problems in work processes, and then use ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Six Sigma has not produced such large scale products for 3M.
Answering the Questions
1. Relative advantage of Six Sigma o Time efficient & Cost effective – eliminate the extra ideas and
create the "right idea the first time" o Customer loyalty o Reduction of incidents o Lower costs for
providing goods and services
– Relative disadvantage Six Sigma o Creativity and innovation decreases due to the lack of
opportunity to come up with ideas. o Complicated process to learn and keep going o Risk of failure /
fear of the unknown
2. Using Six Sigma 3M's programmed decisions are well thought out and researched. On the other
hand, their non–programmed decisions could be better because they lack the ingenuity and inputs of
employees that drive new ideas. So I have to believe that because of the rigidness of the
management style does not allow for the employees to create new products and bring forth the new
ideas.
3. While I am all for putting processes in place and improving effectiveness and eliminating waist, I
have never been a fan of the Six Sigma process. I feel the Six Sigma, just as the expert believe, takes
away the creative processes and does not allow enough flexibility for research and development.
"Society and business are always changing. Consumers develop needs for new products and
preferences for new styles. Businesses look for new technologies that give them
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6. Brand Building Blocks
BRAND BUILDING BLOCKS
Building Strong Brands: Why Is It Hard?
It is not easy to build brands in today 's environment. The brand builder who attempts to develop a
strong brand is like a golfer playing on a course with heavy roughs, deep sand traps, sharp doglegs,
and vast water barriers. It is difficult to score well in such conditions. Substantial pressures and
barriers, both internal and external, can inhibit the brand builder. To be able to develop effective
brand strategies, it is useful to understand these pressures and barriers
Different factors that make it difficult to build brands are shown in the figure above. The first,
pressure to compete on price, directly affects the motivation to build brands. The second reason, the
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What, then, happens to the people who support the brand with market research or other brand–
building activities? They are vulnerable to the organizations new cost culture.
2. Proliferation Of Competitors
New, vigorous competitors come from a variety of sources. A host of food categories have watched
Weight Watchers and Healthy Choice enter their markets through brand extension strategies. In the
snack category, Frito–Lay has seen regional brands expand and Budweiser 's Eagle brand break out
of its niche to become a major competitor. New product forms that provide real alternatives for the
customer have encroached the soft drink market, bottled water, carbonated water, fruit–based drinks,
and "new age" drinks, among others.
Additional competitors not only contribute to price pressure and brand complexity, but also make it
much harder to gain and hold a position. They leave fewer holes in the market to exploit and fewer
implementation vehicles to own. Each brand tends to be positioned more narrowly, the target
markets become smaller, and the non–target market becomes larger. Efforts to market to a broad
segment thus become more difficult in the face of the complex 'brandscape' Further, some new or
desperate competitors may be motivated to take risks or attempt unusual approaches. The result can
be destabilization of the competitive dynamics. There is also an enhanced motivation to copy
anything that is successful, in part because the risks of
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8. Sustainability Strategic Principles Of 3M Management
1.1 Company Background
3M is an American multinational conglomerate which was previously known as Minnesota Mining
& Manufacturing Company. It has more than 55,000 products to offer which includes abrasives,
adhesives, laminates, medical products, optical films, car–care products. The products of the
company can be purchased from the retailer, distributer or directly online from the company. The
company has operations in about 70 countries and is known for its constant innovation in its product
range.
3M basically is a science based company which is renowned for its innovation . It was founded in
1902 in a small town in Minnesota called "Two Harbors". The company claims that almost one–half
of world's population uses at least one of the 3M ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The business models of 3M in India are very unique. They are country specific rather than global
centers like many other multinationals.
1.3 3M Businesses in India
Manufacturing & Industry
This unit of 3M help manufacturers in improving their business through innovative products &
services. Because of a global network structure , 3M is able to fulfil the needs of local as well as
multinational customers. Some of the major & well recognized products of 3M of this division are
Abrasives, 3M Adhesives & Tapes, 3M™ VHB™ Tapes, 3M™ Purification, Dyneon™ Fluoro
polymers.
Figure 1 Product Portfolio
Consumer & Office
3M have always lays emphasis on making innovative products for the office. One of the well
renowned product in this category is the Post–it® brand –– notes, flags, easel pads. With more than
1,000 Post–it® products being sold in more than 100 countries, 3M is the undisputed leader in office
products. These products from 3M have been simplifying life at home with an objective of keeping
you organized at
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10. Value Realized On Vesting Shares
Ingle Thulin
CEO of 3M Co. Inge Thulin, chairman, president, CEO
Total compensation: $15,620,581 for the year 2015
Salary: $1,448,153
Exercised stock options: $3,562,036
Value realized on vesting shares: $7,556,573
New stock options: 229,364
3M had a busy year closing on three big purchases worth around $3.7 billion, also investing another
$1.5 billion in capital improvements including the opening of a new research and development
facility in Maplewood.
3M's overall corporate results for 2015 came in barely on point and Thulin's bonus was $1.2 million
less than he received in 2014. The options that Thulin exercised in 2015 were established in 2006;
he realized about $1.3 million less from options exercises than in 2014. What was born as a small–
scale mining risk in 1902 has grown into a global capital whose products improve the daily lives of
people around the world. When the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. As the company that
would grow into 3M was known at the time–began more than a century ago, the five founders had a
simple goal: it was to harvest minerals from a mine called Crystal Bay.
3M 's Founding Fathers
Ultimately, the mine didn't produce enough, but something more important was born that year: the
spirit of modernization and association that forms the foundation of today's 3M. Today's 3M is
responsible for 60,000 products that is used in homes, businesses, schools, and hospitals all around
the world.
Today, one third of 3M's sales come from products that
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