Competitive Edge, Or Uniqueness Within Its Industry

3.1.10. Management and Leadership ................................................................................. 8 Context Analysis ............................................................................................................ 8 Competitors and Industry Analysis .............................................................................. 11 Key Competitors ................................................................................................... 13 Market segmentation and target market group ..................................................... 16 Customer Analysis ....................................................................................................... 14 Collaborators ................................................................................................................ 17

On the other hands, competitive advantage is described as the advantages such as technology, human resources or any other elements that help the firm outperform their competitors (Burns, 2008). Competitive advantage is a dominant factor affecting the enterprise business, particularly the profit that the firm can gain. Combining these two terms together, it is clear that the more competitive advantage the company has in the long-term, the more success the firm can be in such a fierce international competitive

Porter, Michael. 1998. “Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance.” 26 Dec, 2011. Free Press, 1998.

To survive and thrive, an organization must create a competitive advantage. A competitive advantage is a product or service that an organization’s customers place a greater value on than similar offerings from a competitor. Unfortunately, competitive advantages are typically temporary because competitors often seek ways to duplicate the competitive advantage. In turn, organizations must develop a strategy based on a new competitive advantage.

All of these attributes help the company and its workforce to be united in facing the challenges ahead. An added bonus is that employees stay where they know their impact on their company, receive recognition for their efforts, and understand integration.

For an organization to thrive, a clear vision, mission, and set of core values must be developed and instituted. To a certain extent, employees at all levels of the organization should be involved in the process. Solely having upper-level management develop such organizational identities does not accurately reflect the entire organization. Also, having employees contribute to the process allows them to align their own ideologies with that of the company. Studies have found that “workers in the most profitable companies have directly linked their own values, abilities, goals, personalities and interests to what they perceive are the values, abilities, goals, personalities and interests of the companies for which they work.” Consequently, the involvement of the employees results in greater job satisfaction.

Additionally, our patented technology, innovation and the high employee morale are the major factors to provide competitive advantages over the immediate competitors.

Competitive advantage is the point of power for any organization as it is the point from which an organization can maximize it's profits if it's been planned for it well .

Competitive advantage(CA) is an advantage competitors gain by providing or offering customers or consumers greater value for their money through product and service differentiation or through lower prices. Maintaining competitive advantage is crucial to many businesses or organizations' success in order to survive in the market. Competitive advantage is characterized by superior performance which could be an attribute to outperform the competitors whether current or potential; or gaining a higher market share in a particular industry thereby ensuring market leadership; or ultimately, maximization of profit.(JOBBER 2010)

even further by stating that a firm’s human resources form the basis of the firm’s competitive advantage.

Innovation is the key in business. However any new strategy, be it on price or service is immediately known by competitors and replicated. Copying is inevitable. This means that the only real competitive edge is the relationship you have with your employees and your customers. If your employees trust you, respect you and believe in your goals then all the other factors like good customer service, product quality, pricing, marketing and delivery comes automatically.

Secondly, the only long-term sustainable source of uniqueness lies within the personality of the organization, in particular with knowledge. The author stresses the intangible resources, stating that “Determining whether one is winning or losing end product battles is more difficult because measures of product market share do not necessarily reflect various companies underlying competitiveness” (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990). Hall (1992) also agrees that the analysis of company’s intangible resources contributes to the strategic management

It comes through a process by which one entity strives to outperform another through the use of various resources and capabilities.

The firm’s sources of sustainable competitive advantage are (1) its ability to recruit and retain the best talent, (2) its ability to add value to that talent while with the firm, and (3) its ability to develop and maintain relationships with top industry executives.

Competitive advantage is explained by Mahoney and Pandian (1992) as the function of industry analysis, organizational governance and the firm’s effects in the form of resource advantages and strategies. In order for a firm to be competitive it must adapt to the volatile business environment and through strategic management decisions establish a competitive advantage that will ultimately produce superior performance relative to its competitors (Akimova 2000).