One of the important types of organizational strategies is the business-level strategies, which are defined as actions taken to provide value to customers and gain a competitive advantage by exploiting core competencies in specific, individual product or service markets. These strategies are frequently used to create a competitive advantage. For the online activity assignment #3, you will choose three sport organizations whose business-level strategies match the following three strategies.
1. Cost Leadership – Organizations compete for a wide customer based on price. Price is based on internal efficiency in order to have a margin that will sustain above-average returns and cost to the customer so that customers will purchase your product/service. Works well when product/service is standardized, can have generic goods that are acceptable to many customers, and can offer the lowest price. Continuous efforts to lower costs relative to competitors is necessary in order to successfully be a cost leader. This can include:
o Maintain tight control over production and overhead costs
o Minimize cost of sales, R&D, and service
2. Differentiation – Value is provided to customers through unique features and characteristics of an organization\’s products rather than by the lowest price. This is done through high quality, features, high customer service, rapid product innovation, advanced technological features, image management, etc. (Some companies that follow this strategy: Titleist, Rolex, Intel, Ralph Lauren, Apple).
3. Integrated Cost Leadership/Differentiation (Hybrid) – This new strategy may become more popular as global competition increases.
So choose a sport organization for each of the above strategies and with around 200 words, answer to the prompts below:
In your response, you would (a) provide a general description, (b) describe the industry (for instance) competes in, (c) describe how that organization is able to lower/control their costs (i.e., efficient distribution channels and economies of scale), (d) what customer groups they are targeting, (e) who their competitors are, (f) whether this business-level strategy is succeeding for them, why and why not.
Use at least 3 scholarly peer reviewed sources.