Bowman Strategy Essay

1.0 Introduction schema is a long term directions for companies. Bennett (1996, cited by Cousins 2000) describes dodge as The vocalise system is used to describe the direction that the organisation necessitates to fol let out in order to fulfil its mission. Today, strategies ar vital for businesses, in m some(prenominal) a(prenominal) cases it helps to achieve a agonistical receipts. Increasing competition in about sectors and technological development has led to accelerated changes in the global economy. In order to meet the market asks, strategies encourage and enable the adaptation of companies in a changing environment (Tribe, 2010).The aim of the continue is to conduct a research on archers Strategy Clock which volition demonstrate a rational, reflective and critical evaluation of the concept. To do so, the report is outlet to be divided in common chord parts. The first or the report part is going to give an oerview of the archers strategy with its background. The second part pass on analyse the position and its different strategies by victimisation example from companies. Then some springs opinions about the model will be analysed.2.0 Bowmans Strategy Clock 2.1 Strategy Overview In 1980 Michael ostiarius published his seminal book wherein he identified three generic strategies for a business to gain belligerent advantage greet leadership, product specialism and market segmentation (Johnson et al., 2008). Basically, ostiarius analysed that business contend either on expense (cost), on perceived value (differentiation), or by focusing on a really precise client (market segmentation). reference Eldring (2009) With his model, gatekeeper (1980- cited in Eldring, 2009) explained that a company must choose between one of the three generic strategies otherwise it will be stuck in the middle and suffer from be scurvy-average performance.In 1996, Cliff Bowman and David Faulkner essential Bowmans Strategy Clock Looking at Porters Generic strategies in a different mood. This model extends Porters three strategic positions to eighter. Figure 1 below, represents Bowmans eight different strategies that are identified by varying levels of price and value. Figure 2 Bowmans Strategy ClockSource Johnson et al (2008)2.2 toughie explanation Bowman strategy is a competitive strategy. Competitive strategies are tools that businesses use to achieve competitive advantages (Johnson et al. 2005). The Bowmans measure strategy is a more sophisticated approach, which recognizes and deals with certain criticisms of Porters model (Tiwari, 2009). For instance, as it has already been said, according to Porter generic model, a business has to choose one generic strategy are it means that the company is place in the middle which means universe dead. in time what Bowman believes is that a business mint be both low cost and distinguish and still be productive over the long term, such(prenominal) as the companies Swatch, IKEA, Sainsbu ry and many others. In Bowman model, these companies are situated at the hybrid position, as well as known as combined strategy (Dobson et al. 2004). Figure 3 demonstrates that there are eight approaches on the clock in total. Meanwhile, these strategic positions can be class into three- jeopardize strategies, low price strategies and differentiation strategies (Thomson & Banden-Fuller 2010, 184).Figure 3 Bowmans Strategy Clock companies examplesSource (Thomson and Baden-Fuller, 2010 184)To pass on a correct understanding of the eight different positions of Bowmans Strategy clock, the author has decided to illustrate them with some companies examples.2.2.1 Low Price Strategies Number 1 and 2 (No frills and Low price) on the clock are organisations who are going to position themselves in a part of the market which is looking for average prices. The examples given are Ryanair and Easyjet. Indeed these two companies nourish managed to cut their cost by only focusing on their cor e service (every extras have to be paid by customers), also by using online bookings, and using secondary airports. The advantages of these two strategies are that the expectations of the customers who are choosing their services are very low because of the costs of the service/ products they are more likely to be satisfied as figure 4 demonstrate it.Figure 4 Customers expectationsSource Cook (2008 17) However the drawbacks of these two positions are that the only way to succeed here is through cost effectively selling quantity, and by constantly attracting new clients. These businesses will non be winning any customer loyalty contests, but they may be able to keep back themselves as long as they stay one step leading of the consumer (Mindtools, 2012)2.2.2 Differentiation Strategies From number 3 through number 5 (hybrid, differentiation and focused differentiation) are companies that are offering a customised product or service. The service or product is designed separately for each undivided customer, and therefore customers are prepared to liquidate a price amplitude for that. The examples given is British Airways whose goal is to present better-quality service to its customers, stakeholders and employees alike (British Airways, 2010). A lot of companies in hospitality indus tense (such as 3 to 5 star hotels) would not try to cope on price they would try to position themselves near position 4 or 5 on the model by offering something better, or improve a service.However in order to choose focused differentiation as strategy, businesses need to have a strong stationing to make sure their customers are willing to pay a higher price for it. Strong tick have the power to capture consumer preference and loyalty (Armstrong, 2009). This is the reason why this strategy often takes place in the luxury segment. But it can also takes place in other segment such as technology, where for instance with the brand Apple. The company Apple has such strong brand image s that according to a recent survey cited in Hughes (2011) consumers are highly interested in the prospect of an Apple-branded television, that they are willing to pay a twenty percent premium over existing TV prices for such a device.Although it can be delicate for businesses to carry on the roaring hybrid strategy due to the disdain level of margins caused by the low costs products. As it has been mentioned earlier, companies that have both low cost and differentiated can sometimes be successful because they are quite difficult to compete against The value and quality is good and consumers are assured of healthy prices. This combination builds customer fidelity.2.2.3 Risk Strategies The strategies 6, 7 and 8 are called risk strategies because there is a high risk for failure when applying them within a business. For instance number 7, increasing price and keeping a low value product or service is only possible in a monopoly market situation and the customers have no choice els e than to pay high price for poor value (Thomson and Baden-Fuller, 2010).However, in a competitive market, this approach remains unsustainable for long. Generally the companies arbitrarily increasing prices soon resort market share, as consumers migrate to competitors that offer the same value at lower prices. An example of a company in hospitality industriousness that was using high Increased price and standard values is the previous(prenominal) national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001 before its bankrupt (Castle, 2001). Regarding low value and change magnitude price suggests Dwyer et al. (2010) that the night club cover charges as example.2. 3 Model criticisms Although most of the researchers agree that it is an excellent model for companies to understand how to compete in the market place. Some remains sceptical regarding the position number 3 (hybrid). Simister (2011) believes that a differentiated, low cost hybrid position may be an achievable position only under certai n conditions and that therefore it is not it is not applicable for every sector. The strategy clock can also lead to negative thinking and almost justify doing nothing for companies. The models strength is to consider competitive actions to possible moves in the clock but all of them could be damaging to business profit. Sometimes companies have to be ready to take a risk and make a decisive move because if they do not, another competitor will. . ConclusionThe strategy clock represents a set of eight generic strategies for achieving competitive advantage It is a very useful model to help understand how businesses compete in the market place. This is a powerful way of looking at how to establish and sustain a competitive position in a market driven economy. A competitive advantage is an advantage gained over competition by offering consumers superior value, either through lower prices or by providing additional benefits and service that justify similar, or higher, prices. By looking at the different combinations of price and perceived value, companies can take to choose a position of competitive advantage that makes sense for them.