There are several factors that can contribute to a firm’s ability to be competitive in its industry. Building blocks of a competitive advantage include efficiency, quality, innovation, and responsiveness to customers. A firm with a competitive advantage may experience higher profits than the average profit in the industry while competing for the same customers. In the case of Honda, this is true. Honda has many distinctive competencies based on its resource and capabilities that allow it to have a competitive advantage in the auto manufacturing industry. Three areas that give Honda a competitive advantage in the auto industry include Honda’s engineering and design, research and development, and brand equity. Honda is unique in that its corporate structure is made of three companies. Honda Research and Development is in charge of research and development of innovative products for the company. Honda Motor produces, sells, and services the all Honda products. Honda Continue reading
Business Analysis Case
Case Study: Mergers and Acquisitions in the Automotive Industry
Different companies, similarly to people, have their own unique culture that is founded on ethnic, regional, temporal and industry-relevant factors. Therefore, when two or more businesses work together or decide to merge, these specific attributes may clash, leading to conflicts and worsened performance outcomes. The process of acquisition has to be planned in detail from the first contact between the companies to their full integration. In most successful cases, firms prepare thoroughly to enter the new relationship by mapping out the process of the merger and trying to predict the potential issues. However, the importance of the steps following the official merger may be overlooked by managers who fail to account for the fundamental cultural and structural differences between the businesses. In foreign mergers, this lack of attention to the whole strategy may be detrimental to the outcome of the project. This problem is especially evident for cultures that have Continue reading
Case Study of Dyson: Competitive Advantage through Innovation
Dyson, an electrical manufacturer, is solely owned by Sir James Dyson, and its headquarters are based in Malmsbury, Wiltshire. Dyson was the first company to introduce a bagless solution to conventional vacuum cleaners. After securing a significant market share in the vacuum cleaner industry, the company decided to diversify in to new products and countries. Dyson’s vision is to make products more environmentally friendly and easy to use; his ongoing mission is to promote design and innovation through the production of his products. Today Dyson has a presence in 45 countries and still maintain a 46 % and 32% share in the UK and US Vacuum cleaner market, respectively. Dyson has strong brand recognition, as the qualities projected by James Dyson become associated with the product itself. The product is instantly identifiable by the brand name, because of the innovative design portrayed. Even though Dyson is a leading vacuum cleaner Continue reading
Case Study: Success of Amazon’s Kindle Fire
In 2007 Amazon introduced the first Kindle e-reader for $359, their first foray into selling a tangible product under their own brand. The media quickly named the product an e-reader, a limited use mobile device designed for downloading and storing content from online. Perpetuating a successful, yet deceptively simple business model, the Kindle e-reader made “online [book] shopping so easy and convenient,” customers could browse, download and read books, magazines and newspaper content, at the click of a button on the Kindle. The e-reader market perked up as Amazon offered an affordable price point of $9.99 for book downloads and blended it with an easy to read e-ink, glare free device along with a simple user interface and operating system. Kindle’s launch success became the catalyst that opened up the e-reader market for big box book retailers, Barnes and Noble and Borders bookstores who shortly followed with introductions of their Continue reading
Case Study: Inventory Management Practices at Walmart
About Walmart Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the largest retailer in the world, the world’s second-largest company and the nation’s largest nongovernmental employer. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates retail stores in various retailing formats in all 50 states in the United States. The Company’s mass merchandising operations serve its customers primarily through the operation of three segments. The Wal-Mart Stores segment includes its discount stores, Supercenters, and Neighborhood Markets in the United States. The Sam’s club segment includes the warehouse membership clubs in the United States. The Company’s subsidiary, McLane Company, Inc. provides products and distribution services to retail industry and institutional foodservice customers. Wal-Mart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,416 retail units under 53 different banners in 15 countries. With fiscal year 2010 sales of $405 billion, Wal-Mart employs more than 2.1 million associates worldwide. Nearly 75% of its stores are Continue reading
Case Study of Nokia: Lessons from the Collapse of a Global Tech Leader
The company Nokia was established in 1865 and focused on the manufacture of paper; at the beginning of the 20th century, Nokia became a power industry company. Only at the end of the 20th century, the company’s core business became the development, production, and sales of mobile phones. The company experienced a peak in sales and popularity in the market at the end of the 1990s and in the 2000s but had to face a decline at the end of the 2000s. In 2013, the company sold its business to Microsoft. The main failure that led to the company’s decline was its inability to adapt to the demands of the market, i.e. provide products that would be efficient in the era of the mobile Internet. The company was not prepared for the emergence of new technology (smartphones) and failed to understand the consumers’ needs. The company’s investment in its operational Continue reading