Graded A+ 2025/2026
Key Attributes of Strategic Management - - Directs the organization toward overall goals
and objectives
- Includes multiple stakeholders in decision-making
- Incorporates short-term and long-term perspectives
- Recognizes trade-offs between efficiency and effectiveness
Mastery of Strategic Management enables you to: - o View a firm in its entirety.
o Think like a general manager.
o Position your organization for superior performance.
A good strategy is based on three elements: - 1) A Diagnosis of the Competitive
Challenge
2) A Guiding Policy to Address the Competitive Challenge
3) A Set of Coherent Actions to Implement the Firm's Guiding Policy
1) A Diagnosis of the Competitive Challenge - Analysis of the Internal and External
Environments
2) A Guiding Policy to Address the Competitive Challenge - Formulation of Corporate,
Business, and Functional Strategies.
3) A Set of Coherent Actions to Implement the Firm's Guiding Policy - Strategy
Implementation
Elements of Tesla's Strategy: Competitive Challenge - Manufacture attractive and
affordable vehicles using new technology and build the required infrastructure
Elements of Tesla's Strategy: Guiding Policy - - Build cost-competitive mass-market
vehicles
- Make significant investments in lithium-ion battery production.
Elements of Tesla's Strategy: Coherent Actions - - Ramp up productive to achieve
economies of scale
- New factory in Shanghai
- Make some proprietary technology available to the public
Competitive Advantage: - Is achieved when a firms performance exceeds that of its
competitors or the industry's average.
- Competitive advantage is relative, not absolute.
To Assess Competitive Advantage: - o Compare the firm to competitors in the same
industry.
o Compare the firm to the industry average.
, How to gain Competitive Advantage: - 1) Provide goods or services that:
o Consumers value more highly than those of competitors.
o Are like the competitors at a lower price.
2) The reward of superior value creation:
o Profitability
o Market Share
Competitive Advantage Requires a Unique Strategic Position: - - Unique strategic
position requires a successful combination of activities.
- Competitive advantage comes from:
o Performing different activities than rivals.
o Perform the same activities differently than rivals.
Strategic Positioning (Unique) - - A unique position within an industry to provide value to
customers while effectively managing costs.
o Value Creation - Costs = Economic Contribution
--> The greater, the better.
--> Enhances the likelihood of competitive advantage.
Unique Strategic Planning Requires Trade-offs: - - Managers must make conscious
trade-offs:
o How to allocate resources?
o Which activities to pursue.
Example: the retail industry:
· Walmart: cost leader - big box outlet, low prices.
· Nordstrom: differentiator - professional salespeople, quality goods, luxury setting
Competitive Parity: - Is achieved when two or more firms perform at the same level.
Competitive Disadvantage: - A firm underperforms its rivals or the industry average.
Sustainable Competitive Advantage: - - A firm can outperform its competitors or the
industry average over a prolonged period.
o Example: Apple
--> Sustainable competitive advantage over Samsung for over a decade.
Industry Effects - The underlying economic structure of the industry
Includes:
o Entry and Exit Barriers
o Number and Size of companies