Chapter 5 Supplementary NotesThe Five Generic Competitive Strate.docx

Chapter 5 Supplementary Notes
The Five Generic Competitive Strategies
Chapter Overview
Chapter Five describes the five basic competitive strategy
options – which of the five to employ is a company’s first and
foremost choice in crafting overall strategy and beginning its
quest for competitive advantage.
Introduction
By
competitive strategy we mean the specifics of
management’s game plan for competing successfully – how it
plans to position the company in the marketplace, its specific
efforts to please customers, and improve its competitive
strength, and the type of competitive advantage it wants to
establish.
Core Concept
A
competitive strategy concerns the specifics of
management’s game plan for competing successfully and
achieving a competitive advantage over rivals.
A company achieves
competitive advantage whenever it has some type of
edge over rivals in attracting buyers and coping with
competitive forces. There are many routes to competitive
advantage, but they all involve
giving buyers what they perceive as superior value.
Delivering superior value – whatever form it takes – nearly
always requires performing value chain activities differently
than rivals and building competencies and resource capabilities
that are not readily matched.
The Five Generic Competitive Strategies

There are countless variations in the competitive strategies that
companies employ, mainly because each company’s strategic
approach entails custom-designed actions to fit its own
circumstances and industry environment.
The biggest and most important differences among competitive
strategies boil down to:
List of Market Segments for the Retail Clothing Market
Differentiating Your Brand in the Digital World
1. Whether a company’s market target is broad or narrow
1. Whether the company is pursuing a competitive advantage
linked to low costs or product differentiation
These two factors give rise to five competitive strategy options
for staking out a market position, operating the business, and
delivering values to customers.
Five distinct competitive strategy approaches stand out:
1. A
low-cost provider strategy: striving to achieve lower
overall costs than rivals and appealing to a broad spectrum of
customers, usually by underpricing rivals.
1.
A broad differentiation strategy: seeking to differentiate
the company’s product/service offering from rivals’ in ways
that will appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers
0. A
best-cost provider strategy: giving customers more
value for the money by incorporating good-to-excellent product
attributes at a lower cost than rivals; the target is to have the
lowest (best) costs and prices compared to rivals offering
products with comparable attributes

0.
A focused or market niche strategy based on lower cost:
concentrating on a narrow buyer segment and outcompeting
rivals by serving niche members at a lower cost than rivals
0. A
focused or market niche strategy based on
differentiation: concentrating on a narrow buyer segment and
outcompeting rivals by offering niche members customized
attributes that meet their tastes and requirements better than
rivals products
Figure 5.1, The Five Generic Competitive Strategies — Each
Stakes Out a Different Position in the Marketplace, examines
how each of the five strategies stakes out a different market
position.
Low-Cost Provider Strategies
A company achieves low-cost leadership when it becomes the
industry’s lowest-cost provider rather than just being one of
perhaps several competitors with comparatively low costs.
In striving for a cost advantage over rivals, managers must take
care to include features that buyers consider essential.
For maximum effectiveness, companies employing a low-cost
provider strategy need to achieve their cost advantage in ways
difficult for rivals to copy or match.
Core Concept
A low-cost leader’s basis for competitive advantage is lower
overall costs than competitors. Successful low-cost leaders are
exceptionally good at finding ways to drive costs out of their
businesses and still provide a product or service that buyers find

acceptable.
A low-cost advantage over rivals has enormous competitive
power, sometimes enabling a company to achieve faster rates of
growth and frequently helping to boost a company’s
profitability. A company has two options for translating a low-
cost advantage over rivals into attractive profit performance:
1.
Option 1: use the lower-cost edge to underprice
competitors and attract price-sensitive buyers in great numbers
to increase total profits
2.
Option 2: maintain the present price, be content with
the current market share, and use the lower-cost edge to earn
higher profit margin on each unit sold
Illustration Capsule 5.1, Nucor Corporation’s Low-Cost
Provider Strategy, describes Nucor Corporation’s strategy for
gaining low-cost leadership in manufacturing a variety of steel
products.
The Two Major Avenues for Achieving a Cost Advantage
To achieve a low-cost advantage over rivals, a firm’s
cumulative costs across its overall value chain are lower than
competitors’ cumulative costs. There are two ways to
accomplish this:
1. Do a better job than rivals of performing value chain
activities more cost-effectively.
2. Revamp the firm’s overall value chain to eliminate or bypass
some cost-producing activities
Cost-Efficient Management of Value Chain Activities:
Managers must launch a concerted, ongoing effort to ferret out
cost-saving opportunities in every part of the value chain.
1.
Striving to capture all available economies of sale -In

global industries, making separate products for each country
market instead of selling a mostly standard product worldwide
tends to boost unit costs because of lost time in the model
changeover, shorter production runs, and inability to reach the
most economic scale of production for each country model.
2.
Taking full advantage of learning and experience curve
effects – aggressively managed low-cost providers pay diligent
attention to capturing the benefits of learning and experience
and to keeping these benefits proprietary to whatever extent
possible.
3.
Trying to operate facilities at full capacity – higher
rates of capacity utilization allow depreciation and other fixed
costs to be spread over a larger unit volume, thereby lowering
fixed costs per unit.
4.
Improving supply chain efficiency – A company with a
distinctive competence in cost-efficient supply chain
management can sometimes achieve a sizeable cost advantage
over less adept rivals.
5. Using lower cost inputs wherever doing so will not entail too
great a sacrifice in quality
6.
Using the company’s bargaining power vis-à-vis
suppliers or other in the value chain to gain concessions – Home
Depot, for example, has sufficient bargaining clout with
suppliers to win price discounts on large-volume purchases.
7.
Using communication systems and information
technology to achieve operating efficiencies – Numerous

companies now have online systems and software that turn
formerly time-consuming and labor-intensive tasks like
purchasing, inventory management, invoicing, and bill payment
into speedily performed mouse clicks.
8.
Employing advanced production technology and process
design to improve overall efficiency – Companies can also
achieve substantial efficiency gains through process innovation
or through approaches such as business process management,
business process re-engineering, and total quality management
that aim to coordinate production activities and drive
continuous improvement in productivity and quality.
9.
Concessions being alert to the cost advantages of
outsourcing or vertical integration – Outsourcing the
performance of certain value chain activities can be more
economical than performing them in-house if outside
specialists, by virtue of their expertise and volume, can perform
the activities at lower cost.
10.
Integration Motivating employees through incentives
and company culture – A company’s incentive system can
encourage not only greater worker productivity but also cost-
saving innovations that come from worker suggestions.
Revamping the Value Chain to Curb or Eliminate Unnecessary
Activities: Dramatic costs advantages can emerge from finding
innovative ways to eliminate or bypass cost-producing value
chain activities. There are two primary ways companies can
achieve a cost advantage by reconfiguring their value chains
include:
· Selling direct to consumers and bypassing the activities and

costs of distributors and dealers
· Coordinating with suppliers to bypass the need to perform
certain value chain activities, speed up their performance, or
otherwise increase overall efficiency
· Reducing materials handling and shipping costs by having
suppliers locate their plants or warehouses close to the
company’s own facilities
Illustration Capsule 5.2, How Walmart Managed Its Value
Chain to Achieve a Huge Low-Cost Advantage over Rival
Supermarket Chains, describes how Wal-Mart has managed its
value chain in the retail grocery portion of its business to
achieve dramatic cost advantage over rival supermarket chains.
Examples of Companies That Revamped Their Value Chains to
Reduce Costs: One example of accruing significant cost
advantages from creating altogether new value chain systems
can be found in the beef-packing industry. Southwest Airlines
has reconfigured the traditional value chain of commercial
airlines to lower costs and thereby offer dramatically lower
fares to passengers. Dell Computer has proved a pioneer in
redesigning its value chain architecture in assembling and
marketing personal computers.
The Keys to Success in Achieving Low-Cost Leadership
To succeed with a low-cost provider strategy, company
managers have to scrutinize each cost creating activity and
determine what drives its cost.
Core Concept
Success in achieving a low-cost edge over rivals comes from
out-managing rivals in figuring out how to perform value chain
activities most cost-effectively and eliminating or curbing
nonessential value chain activities.
While low-cost providers are champions of frugality, they are
usually aggressive in investing in resources and capabilities that
promise to drive costs out of the business.
Wal-Mart is one of the foremost practitioners of low-cost

leadership. Other companies noted for their successful use of
low-cost provider strategies include Lincoln Electric, Briggs &
Stratton, Bic, Black & Decker, Stride Rite, Beaird-Poulan, and
General Electric and Whirlpool.
When a Low-Cost Provider Strategy Works Best
A competitive strategy predicated on low-cost leadership is
particularly powerful when:
1. Price competition among rival sellers is especially vigorous
2. The products of rival sellers are essentially identical and
suppliers are readily available from any of several eager sellers
3. There are a few ways to achieve product differentiation that
have value to buyers
4. Most buyers use the product in the same ways
5. Buyers incur low costs in switching their purchases from one
seller to another
6. Buyers are large and have significant power to bargain down
prices
7. Industry newcomers use introductory low prices to attract
buyers and build a customer base
Core Concept
A low-cost provider is in the best position to win the business
of price-sensitive buyers, set the floor on market price, and still
earn a profit.
The Pitfalls of a Low-Cost Provider Strategy
Perhaps the biggest pitfall of a low-cost provider strategy is
getting carried away with overly aggressive price cutting and
ending up with lower, rather than higher, profitability.
1. A low-cost/low-price advantage results in superior
profitability only if (1) prices are cut by less than the size of the
cost advantage or (2) the added value gains in unit sales are
large enough to bring in bigger total profit despite lower
margins per unit sold.
2. A second big pitfall is not emphasizing avenues of cost
advantages that can be kept proprietary or that relegate rivals to
playing catch-up.
3. A third pitfall is becoming too fixated on cost reduction.

Even if these mistakes are avoided, a low-cost competitive
approach still carries risk.
Broad Differentiation Strategies
Differentiation strategies are attractive whenever buyers’ needs
and preferences are too diverse to be fully satisfied by a
standardized product or by sellers with identical capabilities.
Core Concept
The essence of a broad differentiation strategy is to be unique in
ways that are valuable to a wide range of customers.
Successful differentiation allows a firm to:
1. Command a premium price for its product
2. Increase unit sales (because additional buyers are won over
by the differentiating features)
3. Gain buyer loyalty to its brand (because some buyers are
strongly bonded to the differentiating features of the company’s
product offering)
Differentiation enhances profitability whenever the extra price
the product commands outweighs the added costs of achieving
the differentiation.
Types of Differentiation Themes
Companies can pursue differentiation from many angles. The
most appealing approaches to differentiation are those that are
hard or expensive for rivals to duplicate.
Core Concept
Easy to copy differentiating features cannot produce sustainable
competitive advantage; differentiation based on competencies
and capabilities tend to be more sustainable.
Where along the Value Chain to Create the Differentiating
Attributes
Differentiation opportunities can exist in activities all along an
industry’s value chain; possibilities include the following:
1. Supply chain activities that ultimately spill over to affect the
performance or quality of the company’s end product.
2. Product R&D activities that aim at improved product designs
and performance features, expanded end uses and applications,
more frequent first-on-the market victories, wider product

variety and selection, added user safety, greater recycling
capability, or enhanced environmental protection.
3. Production R&D and technology-related activities that permit
custom-order manufacture at an efficient cost, make production
methods safer for the environment or improve product quality,
reliability, and appearance.
4. Manufacturing activities that reduce product defects, prevent
premature product failure, extend product life, allow better
warranty coverages, improve the economy of use, result in more
end-user convenience, or enhance product appearance.
5. Distribution and shipping activities that allow for fewer
warehouse and on-the-shelf stockouts, quick delivery to
customers, more accurate order filling, and/or lower shipping
costs.
6. Marketing, sales, and customer service activities that result
in superior technical assistance to buyers, faster maintenance
and repair services, more and better product information
provided to customers, more and better training materials for
end users, better credit terms, quicker order processing, or
greater customer convenience.
Managers need a keen understanding of the sources of
differentiation and the activities that drive uniqueness to devise
a sound differentiation strategy and evaluate various
differentiation approaches.
The Four Best Routes to Competitive Advantage via a Broad
Differentiation Strategy
While it is easy enough to grasp that a successful differentiation
strategy must entail creating buyer value in ways unmatched by
rivals, the big question is which of four basic differentiating
approaches to take in delivering unique buyer value.
1. One route is to incorporate product attributes and user
features that lower the buyer’s overall costs of using the
product.
2. A second route is to incorporate features that raise product
performance.
3. A third route is to incorporate features that enhance buyer

satisfaction in noneconomic or intangible ways.
4. A fourth route is to differentiate on the basis of capabilities –
to deliver value to customers via competitive capabilities that
rivals do not have or cannot afford to match.
Core Concept
A differentiator’s basis for competitive advantage is either a
product/service offering whose attributes differ significantly
from the offering of rivals or a set of capabilities for delivering
customer value that rivals do not have.
The Importance of Perceived Value and Signaling Value
Buyers seldom pay for the value they do not perceive, no matter
how real the unique extras may be. Thus, the price premium
commanded by a differentiation strategy reflects the value
actually delivered to the buyer and the value perceived by the
buyer.
Signals of value that may be as important as actual value
include:
1. when the nature of differentiation is subjective or hard to
quantify
2. when buyers are making first-time purchases
3. when repurchase is infrequent
4. when buyers are unsophisticated.
When a Differentiation Strategy Works Best
Differentiation strategies tend to work best in a market
circumstance where:
1. Buyer needs and uses of the product are diverse
2. here are many ways to differentiate the product or service
and many buyers perceive these differences as having value
3. Few rival firms are following a similar differentiation
approach
4. Technological change is fast-paced and competition revolves
around rapidly evolving product features
Core Concept
Any differentiating feature that works well is a magnet for
imitators.

The Pitfalls of a Differentiation Strategy
Differentiation strategies can fail for any of several reasons.
1. Attempts at differentiation are doomed to fail if competitors
can quickly copy most or all of the appealing product attributes
a company comes up with.
2. A second pitfall is that the company’s differentiation strategy
produces a ho-hum market reception because buyers see little
value in the unique attributes of a company’s product.
3. The third big pitfall of a differentiation strategy is
overspending on efforts to differentiate the company’s product
offering, thus eroding profitability
Other common pitfalls and mistakes in pursuing differentiation
may include:
1. Over-differentiating so that the product quality or service
level exceeds buyers’ needs
2.
Trying to charge too high a price premium
3. Being timid and not striving to open up meaningful gaps in
quality or service or performance features vis-E0-vis the
products of rivals – tiny differences between rivals’ product
offerings may not be visible or important to buyers
A low-cost provider strategy can defeat a differentiation
strategy when buyers are satisfied with a basic product and do
not think extra attributes are worth a higher price.
Best-Cost Provider Strategies
Best-cost provider strategies aim at giving customers more
value for the money. The objective is to deliver superior value
to buyers by satisfying their expectations on key
quality/service/features/performance attributes and beating their
expectations on price.
A company achieves best-cost status from an
ability to incorporate attractive attributes at a lower
cost than rivals.
Best-cost provider strategies stake out a middle ground between

pursuing a low-cost advantage and a differentiation advantage
and between appealing to the broader market as a whole and a
narrow market niche.
From a competitive positioning standpoint,
best-cost strategies are a hybrid, balancing a strategic
emphasis on low cost against a strategic emphasis on
differentiation.
The competitive advantage of a best-cost provider is lower costs
than rivals in incorporating good-to-excellent attributes, putting
the company in a position to underprice rivals whose products
have similar appealing attributes.
When a Best-Cost Provider Strategy Works Best
A best-cost provider strategy is very appealing in markets where
buyer diversity makes product differentiation the norm and
where many buyers are also sensitive to price and value.
Illustration Capsule 5.3, Toyota’s Best-Cost Producer Strategy
for Its Lexus Line, describes how Toyota has used a best-cost
approach with its Lexus models.
The Big Risk of a Best-Cost Provider Strategy
The danger of a best-cost provider strategy is that a company
using it will get squeezed between the strategies of firms using
low-cost and differentiation strategies.
To be successful, a best-cost provider must offer buyers
significantly better product attributes in order to justify a price
above what low-cost leaders are charging.
Focused (or Market Niche) Strategies
What sets focused strategies apart from low-cost leadership or
broad differentiation strategies is concentrated attention on a
narrow piece of the total market.
The target segment or niche can be defined by:
1. Geographic uniqueness
2. Specialized requirements in using the product
3. Special product attributes that appeal only to niche members
A Focused Low-Cost Strategy
A focused strategy based on low cost aims at securing a

competitive advantage by serving buyers in the target market
niche at a lower cost and lower price than rival competitors.
This strategy has a considerable attraction when a firm can
lower costs significantly by limiting its customer base to a well-
defined buyer segment.
Focused low
-cost strategies are fairly common.
Illustration Capsule 5.4, Motel 6’s Focused Low-Cost Strategy,
describes how Motel 6 has kept its costs low in catering to
budget-conscious travelers.
A Focused Differentiation Strategy
A focused strategy based on differentiation aims at securing a
competitive advantage by offering niche members a product
they perceive is better suited to their own unique tastes and
preferences.
50 Ways To Differentiate Your Brand
Successful use of a focused differentiation strategy depends on
the existence of a buyer segment that is looking for special
product attributes or seller capabilities and on a firm’s ability to
stand apart from rivals competing in the same target market
niche.
Illustration Capsule 5.5, Progressive Insurance’s Focused
Differentiation Strategy in Auto Insurance, provides details
about the company’s focused differentiation strategy.
When A Focused Low-Cost or Focused Differentiation Strategy
is Attractive
A focused strategy aimed at securing a competitive edge based
either on low cost or differentiation becomes increasingly
attractive as more of the following conditions are met:
1. The target niche is big enough to be profitable and offers
good growth potential
2. Industry leaders do not see that having a presence in the

niche is crucial to their own success
3. It is costly or difficult for multi-segment competitors to put
capabilities in place to meet specialized needs of the target
market niche and at the same time satisfy the expectations of
their mainstream customers
4. The industry has many different niches and segments
5. Few, if any, other rivals are attempting to specialize in the
same target segment
6. The focuser has a reservoir of customer goodwill and loyalty
The Risks of a Focused Low-Cost or Focused Differentiation
Strategy
Focusing carries several risks such as:
1. The chance that competitors will find effective ways to match
the focused firm’s capabilities in serving the target niche
2. The potential for the preferences and needs of niche members
to shift over time toward the product attributes desired by the
majority of buyers
3. The segment may become so attractive it is soon inundated
with competitors, intensifying rivalry and splintering segment
profits
The Contrasting Features of the Five Generic Competitive
Strategies: A Summary
Deciding which generic competitive strategy should serve as the
framework for hanging the rest of the company’s strategy is not
a trivial matter.
· Each of the five generic competitive strategies positions the
company differently in its market and competitive environment.
· Each establishes a central theme for how the company will
endeavor to outcompete rivals.
· Each creates some boundaries or guidelines for maneuvering
as market circumstances unfold and as ideas for improving the
strategy are debated.
· Each points to different ways of experimenting and tinkering
with the basic strategy.
Deciding which generic strategy to employ is perhaps the most
important strategic commitment a company makes – it tends to

drive the rest of the strategic actions a company decides to
undertake.
Each entails differences in terms of product line, production
emphasis, marketing emphasis, and means for sustaining the
strategy.
Table 5.1, Distinguishing Features of the Five Generic
Strategies, examines the distinguishing features of each of the
five generic strategies.
One of the big dangers here is that managers will opt for “stuck
in the middle” strategies that represent compromises between
lower costs and greater differentiation and between broad and
narrow market appeal.
Only if a company makes a strong and unwavering commitment
to one of the five generic competitive strategies does it stand
much chance of achieving the sustainable competitive advantage
that such strategies can deliver if properly executed.
Successful Competetive Strategies Are Resource-Based
A company’s competitive strategy is unlikely to succeed unless
it is predicated on leveraging a competitively valuable
collection of resources and capabilities that match the strategy.
Module 3: Activity 3 1
Module 3: Activity 3
Tammy Payne
Central State University
EDU 3341 Survey Exceptional Students: Mild/Moderate 4ON

Dr. Shawn DiNarda Watters
September 4, 2022
This study source was downloaded by 100000789621290 from
CourseHero.com on 10-26-2022 17:48:10 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/172128850/Week-3-
assignment-classroom-arrangement-floorplandocx/
Our textbook tells us that our classroom should be an
“environment pleasant and
conducive to learning can facilitate the teaching–learning
process” (Vaughn & Bos, 2020). The
textbook and the video for this week both describe different
types of classroom arrangements, all
with their own distinct advantages and disadvantages.
I have worked in our local school system for the past seventeen
years, and have seen a
variety of classroom layouts. While working in a kindergarten
classroom, I felt that it was
overcrowded and there was too much posted on the walls;
everything was very busy. The

kindergarten classrooms all have two teacher desks, usually on
opposite sides of the room. There
is open space in the front center of the room for circle time, and
instead of desks there are
rectangular tables. There are centers spaced out throughout the
room, with the dress-up center
placed in the middle of the room. I found that to be distracting
to the students while they were at
their tables working. The students seemed to want to do
anything else (that they saw) instead of
what they were supposed to do where they were at.
At the high school where I am currently beginning my eighth
year, I have seen all of the
floorplans described in our textbook and the video for this
week, except for the runway, the
paired groups, and the roundtable. The one time that I
witnessed a debate in a classroom, instead
of moving the desks from their small group arrangement, the
students simply stood on either side
of the classroom. The one time I saw the roundtable was at a
professional development session
for staff; I have never seen this utilized with students. One
particular teacher I worked with

utilized the horseshoe arrangement. It did look a bit different
than noted in the video, as there
were enough desks to form two horseshoes, one in front of the
other. Advantages that I saw were
that all students paid attention to the teacher at the front of the
room, and it made for taking their
guided notes easier. The disadvantage that I saw was that the
students rarely interacted with
students that were not immediately to their right/left.
Most of the high school classrooms I have seen are arranged in
the small groups
arrangement, of four, five, or six desks in each pod. I see this
as advantageous because it
facilitates a small bit of comradery between the students. If
okay with the teacher, the student
can discuss their work easier than if they were situated in any

other floorplan. This classroom
arrangement makes it easier for stations in the classroom, where
the teacher will put one station
at each table grouping and have the students move about the
room. The disadvantage to this type
of arrangement is that the classroom can become very loud.
Another disadvantage is that the
students can help each other with the assignment, even if they
are not supposed to.
The following page shows a map that depicts the current
classroom that I work in (and if
all goes well, my future classroom as lead teacher). It is a very
small classroom, used for a
reading intervention classroom. The main teacher’s desk is
close to the door, while the
instructional assistant’s desk is at the back of the room. The
teacher’s desk has a student chair
next to it, and the assistant’s desk has a student desk attached.
They both call individuals on a
regular basis for testing and assistance. The student desks are
arranged in a modified horseshoe
manner, which is conducive to the curriculum that we teach
(lots of board work). We do not
need pods for small group instruction, as our classes are already

small. When it comes time for
discussion, the students can easily converse with each other.
Our shelves and cabinets are
arranged so that the students can obtain whatever they might
need to have a successful day. The
adults in the room are easily accessible for assistance.
References
Vaughn, S., & Bos, C. S. (2020). Strategies for teaching
students with learning and behavior
problems. Pearson.

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Instructions: Activity 3
Observe or recall several classrooms that utilize different
physical arrangements. What are some of the pros and cons of
each arrangement? What impact did classroom arrangement
have on the students’ behavior?
Design a map of an effective instructional arrangement in an
inclusive classroom (your future classroom). Think about
placement of the teacher’s desk, space for small-group
instruction, individual instruction, centers, independent
learning, cooperative learning groups, and organization of
instructional materials and equipment.
Discussion Question 250 Words
What are the principles of communication, and how can teachers
communicate with parents and professionals?
PART I: Weekly Trend Report: Describe a STRATEGIC
BUSINESS trend (that means NO fashion or social media) that
you find interesting. Think of ideas like mergers & acquisitions,
stock market, sectors or areas that are burgeoning, doing well or
failing - you get the idea. Also, WHY is it interesting? Share a
link, post or image the demonstrates this trend in action.
PART II: THERE's MORE...Please read these detailed

instructions for your Ch. 6 assessment:
Chapter 6 is all about strengthening a company's strategic
position. Read the chapter before attempting this board. The
chapter covers categories (and concepts) to compete that
include (but are not limited to):
·
Offensive & Defensive Actions - the deck (& book) list
many examples, you can only choose 2 out of
this category
· Scope of Operations Along the Industry's Value Chain
·
Vertical Integration
·
Outsourcing
·
Forward Integration
·
Backward Integration
· Timing
·
First-mover Advantage
·
Late-mover Advantage
·
Mergers & Acquisitions
After reading the chapter, take a look at the company you are
following and the strategic problems you've uncovered and
suggest THREE strategies (detailing the problem and a
solution) that is based on one of the concepts in the listed
above.
RULES & FORMAT:
1.
State the strategic problem
2.

Propose a solution
A.
State the concept you will use
B.
Detail your recommended solution that puts the concept
into action
C.
Briefly describe how your proposed solution solves the
problem (3-4 sentences)
3.
You must choose three different concepts, one from
EACH category and you CANNOT use a concept more than
once.
Example:
Netflix
·
Strategic Problem: Netflix does not own a full studio
and relies heavily on many third party providers (smaller
studios and production houses) while competitors such as
Disney and Amazon (which bought MGM) have large in-house
production capabilities. In fact, Disney even pulled all their
Marvel content from Netflix demonstrating a considerable risk
they will want to avoid in the future.
·
Proposed solution: Merger & Acquisition - Netflix
should look to buy a studio such as Sony. This move would give
Netflix production capabilities similar to Amazon, Disney and
other large competitors while also giving them exclusive control
of a large existing library of content that may also draw
subscribers. In addition, Sony, which does NOT have streaming
services would gain Netflix streaming capabilities. (Source:
What's on Netflix -
link)
The Sony idea came from simply Googling "Studios Netflix
should buy" and then clicking this article (
link) that appeared. You are allowed to use Google and

use the ideas of others as long as you CITE them. No plagiarism
- simply post a citation. Once you've use M&A you cannot use
it again. Post three ideas.
Now some of you might say, "
Hey professor, isn't Netflix M&A of Sony also a form
of backward integration where they are bringing a supplier into
the fold?" The answer is possibly YES,
BUT as long as you make a reasonable argument and it
fits the definition you are good. Also, if something can be
defined a multiple ways, you are only required to pick one and
move on. Just because something fits two concepts does not
mean you are knocking two concept off the board.
Once you are done, respond to TWO other peers offering ONE
PROPOSAL TO EACH OF THEM that solves a
strategic problem they have posted.
· To
create your Individual Posting, click "
Reply" button.
·
Individual Posting:Due by Saturday. You might
consider visiting the company’s web site as one source or using
Google and checking articles and media for inspiration.
·
Response Postings:Due by Tuesday. Respond to the
Individual Postings of at least two peers. Response Postings
should be substantive postings (offer new information),
contributing to and advancing the examination of the questions
at hand. Response postings must be at least two paragraphs
(with 3 to 5 sentences each).
Grades will be based on your demonstrated analytical and

interpretive skills in providing thorough analysis of the topic,
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Chapter 5 Supplementary NotesThe Five Generic Competitive Strate.docx

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Chapter 5 Supplementary NotesThe Five Generic Competitive Strate.docx