Strategic Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Strategic Management - Assignment Example The core competencies of an organisation are focused on satisfying customer needs and demands to achieve more than average returns (Thompson, 2001). The Business-level strategies help the organisation to achieve its targets. The actions of Business level strategies provide value to customers and help the organisation to gain a competitive advantage (Kaplan and Norton, 2001). The Business-level strategies are also concerned with the position of the firm in an industry, with respect to competitors and to the five forces of competition (Hill, Jones and Schilling, 2014). A competitive advantage is a benefit which is gained over its rivals by a company by offering customers value for the products, through lower prices or by providing additional benefits and service that can justify similar or higher prices (Ansoff and McDonnell, 1990). Manufacturers or producers who are involved in niche marketing, exploring a competitive advantage, to them it means increased profit and a sustainable business and its success over the long term (Pearce and Robinson, 2000). The following categorisation defines competitive advantage better and discusses several strategies which help in building a competitive advantage of a company. Cost Leadership is a strategy by which the company makes continuous efforts to cut costs relative to its competitors (Goldman and Nieuwenhuizen, 2006). Here the company aims to compete for a wide range of customers based on price. Differentiation is a strategy by which a unique feature in the product provides value to the customers. It is created by lowering buyer’s cost, sustainability and raising buyer’s performance (Stevenson and Hojati, 2007). In Focused low cost strategy, the company selects a small segment of market to sell its products or services at a competitive price (Thompson, et al., 2008). In