2. understanding strategies
TRANSCRIPT
2. Understanding
StrategiesChapter 2.
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2. Management control
systems and strategies
Management control systems are tools to implement strategies.
Strategies differ between organizations, and their systems should be tailored to the requirements of specific strategies.
Different strategies require
different task priorities;
different key success factors; and
different skills, perspectives, and behaviors.
Thus, a continuing concern in the design of controlsystems should be whether the behavior inducedby the system is the one called for by the strategy.
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2.1. Goals
Although we often refer to the goals of a Corporation, a Corporation does not have goals;
Corporate is an artificial being with no mind or decision-making ability of its own.
Corporate goals are determined by the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Corporation,
with the advice of other members of seniormanagement,
and they are usually ratified by the board of directors.
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2.1.1. Profitability
In a business, profitability is usually the most important goal.
Profitability is expressed, by an equation that is the product of two ratios:
= ROI
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2.1.1. Example
The first ratio in this equation is the profit
margin percentage:
($10,000 - $9,500)/$10,000 = 5%
The second ratio is the investment turnover:
$10,000/$4,000 = 2.5 times
If we consider the value of the whole business
as an investment, the formula is the same as
the ROA
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2.1.1. 1Investment
“Investment” refers to the shareholders’ investment,
which consists of proceeds from the issuance of stock, plus retained earnings
One of management’s responsibilities is to arrive at the right balance between the two main sources of financing:
debt and equity.
The shareholders’ investment (i.e., equity) is the amount of financing that was not obtained by debt(by borrowing)
For many purposes, the source of financing is not relevant;
„Investment” thus means the total of debt capitaland equity capital.
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“Profitability” refers to profits in the long run,
rather than in the current quarter or year.
Many current expenditures (e.g., amounts
spent on advertising or research and
development)
reduce current profits but increase profits
over time.
2.1.1. Profitability7
2.1.1. Examples 1.
Some CEOs stress only part of the profitability
equation.
Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric
Company, explicitly focused just on revenue;
he stated that General Electric should not be in
any business in which its sales revenues were
not the largest or the second largest of any
company in that business
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2.1.1. Examples 2
Other CEOs, however, emphasize revenuesfor a different reason:
For them, company size is a goal.
Such a priority can lead to problems.
If expenses are too high,
the profit margin will not give shareholdersa good return on their investment.
Even if the profit margin is satisfactory,
the organization may still not earn a goodreturn if the investment is too large.
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2.1.1. Examples 3
Some CEOs focus on profit either
as a monetary amount or
as a percentage of revenue.
This focus does not recognize the simple
fact, that
if additional profits are obtained by a
greater-than-proportional increase in
investment,
each dollar of investment has earned less
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2.1.2. Maximizing Shareholder Value
In the 1980s and 1990s the term shareholdervalue appeared frequently in the business literature.
This concept is that the appropriate goal of a for-profit Corporation is to maximizeshareholder value.
Although the meaning of this term, it probablyrefers to the market price of the corporation’sstock.
Achieving satisfactory profit is a better way ofstating a corporation’s goal, for two reasons:
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2.1.2. Maximizing Shareholder Value
First, “maximizing”means that there is a way of finding the maximum amount that a company can earn. This is not the case.
In deciding between two courses of action,
management usually selects the one it believes will increase profitability the most.
But management rarely, if ever, identifiesall the possible alternatives and theirspective effects on profitability.
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2.1.2. Maximizing Shareholder Value
Furthermore, profit maximization requires that marginal costs and a demand curve be calculated,
and managers usually do not know what these are!!!
If maximization were the goal,
managers would spend every workinghour (and many sleepless nights) thinking about endless alternatives for increasing profitability.
Life is generally considered to be too short to warrant such an effort….
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Second, although optimizing shareholder value may be a major goal, it is by no means the only goal for most organizations.
Certainly a business that does not earn a profit atleast equal to its cost of capital is not doing its job;
unless it does so, it cannot discharge any other responsibilities.
But
economic performance is not the soleresponsibility of a business,
nor is shareholder value.
Most managers want to behave ethically, and most feel an obligation to other stakeholders in the organization in addition to shareholders.
2.1.2. Maximizing Shareholder Value14
Maximizing Shareholder Value
By rejecting the maximization concept, it does not mean to question the validity of certain obvious principles.
1. A course of action that decreases expenseswithout affecting another element, such as marketshare, is sound.
2. So is a course of action that increases expenseswith a greater-than-proportional increase in revenues, Such as expanding the advertisingbudget.
3. So, too, are actions that increase profit with a less than proportional increase in shareholderinvestment (or, of course, with no such increase at all), such as purchasing a cost-saving machine.
These principles assume, in all cases, that the courseof action is ethical and consistent with the corporation’s other goals.
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2.1.3. Risk
An organization’s aspiration of profitability is
affected by management’s willingness to
take risks.
The degree of risk-taking varies with the
personalities of individual managers.
Nevertheless, there is always an upper limit;
some organizations explicitly state that
management’s primary responsibility is to preserve
the company’s assets,
The profitability is considered as a secondary goal.
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2.1.4. Multiple Stakeholder Approach
Organizations participate in three markets:
1. the Capital market,
2. the product market, and
3. the factor market.
1. A firm raises funds in the Capital market,
the public stockholders are therefore an important actors
2. The firm sells its goods and services in the Productmarket,
and customers form a key actors
3. It competes for resources such as human capitaland raw materials in the Factor market,
and the prime actors are the company’s employees
and suppliers and the various communities in which the resources and the company’s operations are located
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The firm has a responsibility to all these
multiple stakeholders:
shareholders, customers, employees,
suppliers, and communities.
Ideally, its management control system should
identify
the goals for each of these groups
and develop scorecards to track
performance
2.1.4. Multiple Stakeholder Approach18
2.2. The Concept of Strategy
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2.2. Strategy
Although definitions differ, there is general
agreement that a strategy describes the
general direction in which an organization
plans to move to attain its goals.
Every well-managed organization has one
or more strategies, although they may not
be stated explicitly.
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2.2. Strategy formulation
A firm develops its strategies by matching its
core competencies with industry opportunities.
Strategy formulation is a process that senior
executives use to evaluate
a company’s strengths and weaknesses in light
of the opportunities and threats present in the
environment
and then to decide on strategies
that fit the company’s core competencies with
environmental opportunities
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2.2. Strategy formulation22
2.2. Strategies at two levels
Strategies can be found at two levels:
1. strategies for a whole organization,
2. strategies for business units within the
organization
Although strategic choices are different at
different hierarchical levels, there is a clear
need for consistency in strategies across
business unit and corporate levels.
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2.2. Two Levels of Strategy24
2.3. Corporate-Level
Strategy
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Corporate Controlling 126
Corporate Controlling 227
Corporate controlling 3 28
Essence of controlling of the enterprise's
activities29
Tasks of controlling30
2.3. Corporate strategy
Corporate strategy is about being in the right mix of businesses.
It is concerned more with the question of where to compete than with how to compete in a particularindustry;
At the corporate level, the issues are
(1) the definition of businesses in which the firm will participate and
(2) the deployment of resources among those businesses.
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2.3. Corporate strategy
Corporatewide strategic analysis results in
decisions involving
businesses to add,
businesses to retain,
businesses to emphasize,
businesses to deemphasize, and
businesses to divest
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2.3. Corporate strategyIn terms of their corporate-level strategy,
companies can be classified into one of threecategories.
1. A single industry firm operates in one line of business.
2. An unrelated business firm operates in businesses that are not related to one another; the connection between business units is purely financial.
3. A related diversified firm operates in severalindustries, and the business units benefit from a common set of core competencies
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2.3. Corporate strategy
1. A single industry:
Exxon-Mobil, which is in the petroleum industry, is an example.
2. An unrelated business firm Textron is an example.
Textron operates in businesses as diverse as writinginstruments, helicopters, chain saws, aircraftengine components, forklifts, machine tools, specialty fasteners, and gas turbine engines
3. A related diversified firm :
Procter & Gamble (P&G) is an example of a relateddiversified firm
P&G has two core competencies that benefit all of its business units:
(1) core skills in several chemical technologies and
(2) marketing and distribution expertise in low-ticketbranded consumer products moving through supermarkets
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2.3. Corporate strategy
One axis: extent of diversification relates to the
number of industries in which the company operates.
Refers to
the
nature of
linkages
across
the
multiple
business
units.
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2.3.1. Single Industry Firms
At one extreme, the company may be totally
committed to one industry.
Firms that pursue a single industry strategy include
Maytag (major household appliances), Wrigley
(chewing gum), Perdue Farms (poultry), and NuCor
(steel).
A single industry firm uses its core competencies to
pursue growth within that industry.
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2.3.2.Unrelated Diversified Firms
(conglomerates)
At the other extreme, there are firms, such as Textron, that operate in a number of different industries.
Here we refer to operating synergies across businesses based on common core competencies and on sharing of common resources.
In the case of Textron, except for financialtransactions, its business units have little in common.
There are few operating synergies acrossbusiness units within Textron
Textron headquarters functions like a holdingcompany, lending money to business units that are expected to generate high financial returns
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2.3.3. Related Diversified Firms
Another group consists of firms that operate in a
number of industries and their businesses are
connected to each other through operating
synergies.
We refer to these firms as related diversified firms.
Operating synergies consist of two types of linkagesacross business units:
1) ability to share common resources, and
2) ability to share common core competencies.
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2.3.3. Operating synergies
One way related diversified firms create operatingsynergies is by having two or more business unitsshare resources such as
a common sales force,
common manufacturing facilities, and
a common procurement function.
Such sharing of resources helps the firm reapbenefits of economies of scale and economies of scope.
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2.3.3. Example
Most of Procter & Gamble’s individual products
share a common salesforce
and a common logistics;
And most of its products are distributed through
supermarkets.
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2.3.3. Related Diversified Firms
Another key characteristic of relateddiversified firms is that they possess corecompetencies that benefit many of their business units.
They grow by leveraging core competencies developed in one business when they diversify into other businesses.
Related diversified firms typically growinternally through research anddevelopment
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2.3.3. The role of the corporate
office
This role in a related diversified firm is twofold:
(1) similar to a conglomerate,
the chief executive of a related diversified firm must
make resource allocation decisions across business
units;
(2) but, unlike a conglomerate,
the chief executive of a related diversified firm must
also identify, nurture, deepen, and leverage
corporate wide core competencies that benefit
multiple business units.
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2.3.4. Core Competence and
Corporate Diversification
Research has shown that, on average,
related diversified firms perform the best,
single industry firms perform next best,
and unrelated diversified firms do not perform well over the long term
This is because corporate headquarters, in a relateddiversified firm, has the ability to transfer corecompetencies from one business unit to another.
A core competency is what a firm excels at and what adds significant value for customers.
Competency-based growth and diversification therefore have significant potential for success.
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2.3.4. Core Competence and
Corporate Diversification
The business units of a related diversified firm might be worse off if they were split up into separate companies
since a related diversified firm can exploit operatingsynergies across its business units.
For instance, if the business units of Honda (motorcycles, automobiles, lawn mowers, etc.) were split up as separate companies,
they would then lose the benefit of Honda’s expertise in small engine technology.
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2.3.4. Unrelated diversified firms
Unrelated diversified firms, do not have
operating synergies.
Most of the failed corporate diversification
attempts in the past were of this type,
But, some unrelated diversified firms (e.g.,
General Electric) are highly profitable.
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2.3.5. Implications of Control
System Design
Corporate strategy is a continuum with single industry strategy at one end of the spectrum and unrelated diversificationat the other end (related diversification is in the middle of the spectrum).
Many companies do not fit into one of the three classes.
However, most companies can be classified along the continuum.
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2.3.5. Implications of Control
System Design
A firm’s location on this continuum
depends on the extent and type of
its diversification.
The following Exhibit summarizes the
key characteristics of the generic
corporate strategies:
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2.3.5. Corporate-Level Strategies:
Summary of Three Generic
Strategies
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2.4. Business Unit Strategies
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2.4. Business Unit Strategies
Competition between diversified firms does not take place at the corporate level.
Rather, a business unit in one firm (Procter & Gamble’s Pampers unit) competes with a business unit in another firm (Kimberly Clark’s Huggies unit).
The corporate central office of a diversified firmdoes not produce profit by itself;
Revenues are generated and costs are incurred in the business units.
Business unit strategies deal with how to create and maintain competitive advantage in each of the industries in which a company has chosen to participate.
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2.4. Business Unit Strategies
The strategy of a business unit depends on two
interrelated aspects:
(1) its mission (“what are its overall objectives?”) and
(2) its competitive advantage (“how should the
business unit compete in its industry to accomplish its
mission?” )
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2.4.1.Business Unit Mission
In a diversified firm one of the important tasks of senior management is resource deployment, that is, make decisions regarding the use of the cash generated from some business units to finance growth in otherbusiness units.
Several planning models have been developed to help corporate level managersof diversified firms to effectively allocateresources.
These models suggest that a firm has businessunits in several categories, identified by their mission; the appropriate strategies for each category differ.
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2.4.1. Business Unit Mission
The several units make up a portfoliotogether, of which components differ as to their risk/reward characteristics just as the components of an investment portfolio differ.
Both the corporate office and the businessunit general manager are involved inidentifying the missions of individual businessunits.
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2.4.1. Planning models
Of the many planning models, two of the
most widely used are
Boston Consulting Group’s two-by-two
growth-share matrix and
General Electric Company/McKinsey & Company’s three-by-three industry
attractiveness-business strength matrix
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2.4.1. The BCG model55
2.4.1. Planning models – missions
While these models differ in the methodologies they
use to develop the most appropriate missions for the
various business units,
they have the same set of missions from which to
choose:
build,
hold,
harvest, and
divest
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Build
This mission implies an objective of
increased market share,
even at the expense of short-term
earnings and cash flow
(e.g., Merck’s bio-technology,
Black and Decker’s handheld
electric tools).
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Hold
This strategic mission is geared to the
protection of the business unit’s
market share and competitive position
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Harvest
This mission has the objective of
maximizing short-term earnings and
cash flow,
even at the expense of market
share (e.g., American Brands’
tobacco products, General
Electric’s and Sylvania’s lightbulbs).
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Divest
This mission indicates a decision to
withdraw from the business either through
a process of
slow liquidation or
outright sale
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2.4.1. The GE planning model61
planning models
While the planning models can aid
in the formulation of missions, they
are not cookbooks
A business unit’s position on a
planning grid should not be the
sole basis for deciding its mission.
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2.4.1.Boston Consulting Group
(BCG) model
every business unit is placed in one of four
categories:
question mark,
star,
cash cow, and
dog
That represent the four cells of a 2 X 2
matrix,
which measures industry growth rate
on one axis and relative market share
on the other
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BCGBCG views:
industry growth rate as an indicator of
relative industry attractiveness and
relative market share as an indicator of
the relative competitive position of a
business unit within a given industry.
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BCGBCG singles out market share as the primary
strategy variable because of the importance it places on the notion of experience curve.
cost per unit decreases predictably with the number of units produced over time (cumulative experience).
Since the market share leader will have thegreatest accumulated production experience, such a firm should have the lowest costs and highest profits in the industry.
The association between market share and profitability has also been empirically supportedby the Profit Impact of Market Strategy (PIMS) database
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Limitations No1
Although the experience curve is a powerful analytical tool, it has limitations:
1. The concept applies to undifferentiatedproducts where the primary basis of competition is on price. For these products, becoming the low-cost player is critical.
However, market share and low cost are not the only ways to succeed.
There are low market share firms (such as Porschein automobiles) that earn high profits by emphasizing product uniqueness rather than low cost
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Limitations No2
2. In certain situations improvements
in process technology may have a
greater impact on the reduction of
per-unit cost
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Limitations No3
3. An aggressive pursuit of reducing
cost via accumulated production of
standardized items can lead to loss
of flexibility in the marketplace.
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Limitations No4
4. Commitment to the experience
curve concept can be a severe
disadvantage if new technologies
emerge in the industry.
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Limitations No5
5. Experience is not the only cost driver.
Other drivers that affect cost behavior are:
scale, scope, technology, and
complexity
A firm needs to consider carefully the
relevant cost drivers at work to achieve
the low-cost position
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Question mark
BCG used the following logic to make strategicprescriptions for each of the four cells.
Business units that fall in the question mark quadrant are typically assigned the mission: “build” market share
The logic behind this recommendation is related to the beneficial effects of the experience curve
BCG argued that, by building market share early in the growth phase of an industry,
the business unit will enjoy a low-cost position.
These units are major users of cash,
since cash outlays are needed in the areas of product development, market development, and capacity expansion
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Question mark
These expenditures are aimed at
establishing market leadership in the
short term, which will depress short-term
profits.
the increased market share is intended
to result in long-term profitability.
Some businesses in the question mark
quadrant might also be divested if their
cash needs to build competitive position
are extremely high.
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Star
Business units that fall in the star quadrant are typically assigned the mission: “hold” market share.
These units already have a high market share intheir industry,
and the objective is to invest cash to maintain that position.
These units generate significant amounts of cash
(because of their market leadership),
but they also need significant cash outlays to maintain their competitive strength in a growingmarket.
these units are self-sufficient
and do not require cash from other parts of the organization.
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Cash cow
Business units that fall in the cash cow quadrant are the primary sources of cash for the firm.
Because these units have high relative marketshare, they probably have the lowest unit costs and consequently the highest profits.
these units operate in low-growth or decliningindustries, they do not need to reinvest all the cash generated.
these units generate significant amounts of positivecash flows
Such units are typically assigned the mission:
“harvest” for short-term profits and cash flows
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Dog
Businesses in the dog quadrant
have a weak competitive position
in unattractive industries.
They should be divested unless
there is a good possibility of
turning them around.
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The corporate office
The corporate office should identify
cash cows with positive cash flows
and
regroup these resources to build
market share in question marks
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BCG vs GE
The General Electric Company/McKinsey
& Company grid is similar to the BCG grid
in helping corporations assign missions
across business units
However, its methodology differs from the
BCG approach in the following respects:
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BCG vs GE
1. BCG uses industry growth rate as a
proxy for industry attractiveness.
In the General Electric grid, industry
attractiveness is based on weighted
judgments about such factors as market
size, market growth, entry barriers,
technological obsolescence, and the
like.
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BCG vs GE
2. BCG uses relative market share as a proxy
for the business unit’s current competitive
position.
The General Electric grid uses multiple factors
such as market share, distribution strengths,
and engineering strengths to assess the
competitive position of the business unit.
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The mission of a business unit
Control system designers need to know whatthe mission of a particular business unit is,
but not necessarily why the firm has chosen that particular mission
These missions constitute a continuum,
with“pure build” at one end and “pure
harvest” at the other end
A business unit could be anywhere on this
continuum
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2.4.2. Business Unit Competitive
Advantage
Every business unit should develop a competitive advantage in order to accomplishits mission.
Three interrelated questions have to be considered in developing the business unit’s competitive advantage:
First, what is the structure of the industry in which the business unit operates?
Second, how should the business unit exploit the industry’s structure?
Third, what will be the basis of the business unit’s competitive advantage?
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2.4.2. Analytical approaches
Michael Porter has described two
analytical approaches
industry analysis and
value chain analysis
as aids in developing a superior and
sustainable competitive advantage.
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2.4.2. Industry Analysis
Research has highlighted the important role
industry conditions play in the performance
of individual firms.
Studies have shown that average industry
profitability is, by far, the most significant
predictor of firm performance
According to Porter, the structure of an
industry should be analyzed in terms of the
collective strength of five competitive forces
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2.4.2. Porter’s five forces model84
2.4.2. 5 competitive forces
1. The intensity of rivalry among existing competitors.
2. The bargaining power of customers.
3. The bargaining power of suppliers.
4. Threat from substitutes.
5. The threat of new entry.
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1. The intensity of rivalry
among existing competitors
Factors affecting direct rivalry are
industry growth,
product differentiability,
number and diversity of competitors,
level of fixed costs,
intermittent overcapacity,
and exit barriers.
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2. The bargaining power of
customers
Factors affecting buyer power are
number of buyers,
buyer’s switching costs,
buyer’s ability to integrate backward,
impact of the business unit’s product on buyer’s total costs,
impact of the business unit’s product on buyer’s product quality/performance, and
significance of the business unit’s volume to buyers.
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3. The bargaining power of
suppliers
Factors affecting supplier power are
number of suppliers,
supplier’s ability to integrate forward,
presence of substitute inputs, and
importance of the business unit’s
volume to suppliers.
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4. Threat from substitutes
Factors affecting substitute threat are
Relative price/performance of
substitutes,
buyer’s switching costs, and
buyer’s propensity to substitute.
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5. The threat of new entry
Factors affecting entry barriers are
capital requirements,
access to distribution channels,
economies of scale,
product differentiation,
technological complexity of product or process,
expected retaliation from existing firms, and
government policy.
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2.4.2. Observations to the
industry analysis
1. The more powerful the five forces are, the less profitable an industry is likely to be.
In industries where average profitability is high (such as soft drinks and pharmaceuticals), the five forces are weak (e.g., in the soft drink industry, entry barriers are high).
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2.4.2. Observations to the
industry analysis
2. Depending on the relative strength of the five forces, the key strategic issues facing the business unit will differ from one industry to another.
3. Understanding the nature of each forcehelps the firm to formulate effective strategies.
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2.4.2. Observations to the industry
analysis
Supplier selection (a strategic issue) is aidedby the analysis of
the relative power of several supplier groups;
the business unit should link with the supplier group for which it has the best competitive advantage.
similarly, analyzing the relative bargaining power of several buyergroups will facilitate selection of targetcustomer segments.
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2.4.2. Generic Competitive
Advantage
The five-force analysis is the starting point for
developing a competitive advantage since it
helps to identify the opportunities and threats in
the external environment.
Porter claims that the business unit has two
generic ways of responding to the opportunities
in the external environment and developing a
sustainable competitive advantage:
Low cost way
Differentiation way
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Low Cost
Cost leadership can be achieved through such approaches as
economies of scale in production,
experience curve effects,
tight cost control, and
cost minimization (in such areas as research and development, service, sales force, or advertising).
Some firms following this strategy include
Charles Schwab in discount brokerage,
Wal-Mart in discount retailing
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Differentiation
The primary focus of this strategy is to differentiate the product offering of the business unit,
creating something that is perceived by customersas being unique.
Approaches to product differentiation include
Brand loyalty (Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola in soft drinks),
Superior customer service (Nordstrom in retailing),
Dealer network (Caterpillar Tractors in constructionequipment),
Product design and product features (Hewlett-Packard in electronics),
and Technology (Cisco in Communications infrastructure)
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2.4.2. Value Chain Analysis
Business units can develop competitive
advantage based on
low cost,
differentiation,
or both.
The most attractive competitive position is to
achieve cost-cum-differentiation
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2.4.2. Value Chain Analysis
Both intuitively and theoretically, competitiveadvantage in the marketplace ultimately derivesfrom
providing better customer value for an equivalentcost or
equivalent customer value for a lower cost.
Competitive advantage cannot be meaningfullyexamined at the level of the business unit as a whole.
The value chain disaggregates the firm into its distinct strategic activities.
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2.4.2. Value Chain Analysis
The value chain is the complete set of activities involved in a product,
beginning with extraction of raw material and
ending with post delivery support to customers.
A company chooses those activities
that it will carry out with its own resources and those
that it will obtain from outside parties
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2.4.2. Competitive advantage
and value chain analysis10
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2.4.2. Value chain analysis
Value chain analysis seeks to determine
where in the company’s operations
from design to distribution
customer value can be enhanced or
costs lowered
For each value-added activity, the
key questions are these:
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2.4.2. Key questions in VCA
1. Can we reduce costs in this activity,
holding value (revenues) constant?
2. Can we increase value (revenue) in this
activity, holding costs constant?
3. Can we reduce assets in this activity,
holding costs and revenue constant?
4. Most importantly, can we do (1), (2), and
(3) simultaneously?
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2.4.2. Value chain analysis
By systematically analyzing
costs,
revenues, and
assets
in each activity, the business unit can
achieve cost-cum-differentiation
advantage.
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2.4.2. The value chain
frameworkIt is a method for breaking down the chain
from basic raw materials to end-use customers
into specific activities
in order to understand the behavior of costs and the sources of differentiation
Few if any firms carry out the entire valuechain of a product with their own resources.
In fact, firms within the same industry vary in the proportion of activities that they carry outwith their own resources.
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2.4.2. Value chainThe value chain helps the firm to understand the entire value delivery system,
not just the portion of the value chain in which it participates.
Suppliers and customers, and suppliers’ suppliers, and customers’ customers have profit margins
that are important to identify in understanding a firm’s cost/differentiation positioning,
since the end-use customers ultimately pay for all the profit margins along the entire value chain.
Suppliers not only produce and deliver inputs used in a firm’s value activities, but they significantlyinfluence the firm’s cost/differentiation position
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