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Amazon, being the largest internet-based retailer in the world (Forbes), dominates the “online” selling marketing in the area of books, electronics, music, clothing apparel and jewelry to the chagrin of its competitors. Amazon is known to be the 900 lb elephant in the room where no other competitor comes close to catching it in sales and efficiency.
It recently announced the purchase of “Whole Foods” in which it intends to break into the grocery business where profits are generally known to yield just a 1-2% profit margin. So why in the world would Amazon choose such a cut-throat competitive market where others have come and gone ?
The answer is simple: Amazon has a solid business model and proven strategy to succeed. Are these the reasons its competitors like Walmart, Target, Giant Foods, Safeway, Kroger, etc., decided to strategically aligned themselves with each other to knock Amazon off its perch and regain a bit of the lost market share ?
Let’s first understand what strategy is, and let’s appreciate the value of having such in place.
Question #1:
Thus, describe in detail what strategy is; what role does it play in business; what factors make up a successful strategy to ensure a “long term success and competitive advantage”.
Question #2:
Describe in detail the five (5) most dependable strategic approaches for setting a company apart from rivals and winning a sustainable competitive advantage. Apply your discussion to the above set of facts (Amazon).
As always, you are free to take any position you choose, but your arguments must be supported by specific concepts and discussions found in the textbook under Chapter 1. Your grade is based on such. I want DETAILS, Specificity, and a full discussion. You are also free to cite outside sources in addition to Chapter 1; but, in doing so, you must properly cite that source using the appropriate APA style requirements.
Good Luck; Have Fun
Dr. Stone
The Book: ESSENTIALS OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT | Edition: 5TH 17
Author: GAMBLE
ISBN: 9781259546983
Expert Answer
Describe in detail what strategy is; what role does it play in business; what factors make up a successful strategy to ensure a “long term success and competitive advantage”.
Strategy is the direction plan that is drafted to achieve a goal, which is generally guided by a strong vision to solve a problem and a guided mission, which defines what type of strategy is to be used.
So strategy is a long term plan. It is generally of high level and addresses all conditions of uncertainty. It does not drill down to each steps but defines a broader approach to which a company sticks no matter what situation comes.
It plays a vital role in defining the direction on how the company should focus to achieve the goals, it gives clear focus to the company on which all the short term tactics and plans are built around, hence it checks if all the activities a company is undertaking adheres or it is on the track of achieving the set long term goal.
The components of a strategy are:
- Vision.
- Mission.
- Objectives.
- Strategies.
- Action plans.
And the factors that ensure long term sustainability and competitive advantage are:
The resources are Valuable
The skills and capability are made Rare and not possed by others
The resources and plans are not imitable
And the organization has secret to make it bit through the adaptability
