Operations Strategy and Competitiveness. DQ Week 2 – Operations Strategy and Competitiveness Research a company of interest in the service or manufacturing industries and answer the following questions.
You may use an online source or a source from the Berkeley library. Usually, the company website is the best place to start.
Q1. Discuss your selected company’s mission statement, target markets, and specifics of their product and service offerings.
Q2. How does their operations function support their business strategies?
Competition and market conditions in the industry guide the general thrust of the operations process, which provide the basis for determining the organizations strategy. A careful analysis of market segments and the ability of the competitors to meet the needs of these segments will determine the best direction for focusing an organization’s efforts. In doing so, competitive priorities should be established in the various areas of an organization. These will help the managers identify their abilities or competencies, which will arm the organization with the competitive edge.
Distinctive Competencies
One way to compare manufacturing among industrial centers is to examine the varying competitive priorities, such as, quality, performance, price, adaptation, after sales service, etc. Competitiveness or competitive advantage denotes a firm’s ability to achieve market superiority over its competitors. In the long run, a sustainable competitive advantage provides above-average performance. A strong competitive advantage is derived from an organization’s competitive priorities or rather distinctive competencies.
A distinctive competency should have six (6) characteristics:
i. It is driven by customer wants and needs.
ii. It makes a significant contribution to the success of the business.
iii. It matches the organization’s unique resources with the opportunities in the environment.
iv. It is durable and lasting and difficult for competitors to copy.
v. It provides a basis for further development.
vi. It provides direction and motivation to the entire organization.
Hence, we can conclude that distinctive competencies can be defined as those special attributes or abilities possessed by an organization that give it a competitive edge. In effect, distinctive competencies relate to the way that organizations compete. The most effective organizations seem to use an approach that develops distinctive competencies based on customer needs as well as on what the competition is doing. Merely matching a competitor is not sufficient, it is necessary to exceed the quality level of the competitor.