HRM3704
Assignment 2 Semester 2 2026
Unique number:
Due date: August 2026
QUESTION 1
1.1 Sustained competitive advantage and application to ULCC
Sustained competitive advantage refers to a situation where an organisation follows
a value-creating strategy that competitors are not using and cannot easily reproduce.
This advantage becomes stronger when the organisation controls resources that are
valuable, scarce, difficult to copy and properly arranged for effective use (Dodd,
Brewster and Holland, 2021:40–41). ULCC reflects this type of advantage because it
has remained successful for ten years, earned national and international quality
awards, and has not had a vehicle returned because of mechanical defects during
that period (Gumede, 2026:1).
, QUESTION 1
1.1 Sustained competitive advantage and application to ULCC
Sustained competitive advantage refers to a situation where an organisation follows
a value-creating strategy that competitors are not using and cannot easily reproduce.
This advantage becomes stronger when the organisation controls resources that are
valuable, scarce, difficult to copy and properly arranged for effective use (Dodd,
Brewster and Holland, 2021:40–41). ULCC reflects this type of advantage because it
has remained successful for ten years, earned national and international quality
awards, and has not had a vehicle returned because of mechanical defects during
that period (Gumede, 2026:1).
ULCC’s employees are an important part of this advantage because qualified
engineers still receive specialised internal training before they are fully appointed.
Human capital includes workers’ knowledge, skills, experience, judgement and
working relationships, and a unique combination of these qualities can become a
strategic resource for an organisation (Dodd, Brewster and Holland, 2021:41). The
Mech Eng School of Excellence builds ULCC-specific engineering and safety skills,
while the one-year mentoring process allows experienced engineers to pass
practical knowledge to new recruits. This gives ULCC a workforce with more
specialised knowledge than engineers who only have general external qualifications
(Gumede, 2026:1–2).
The company also has resources that are not easy for competitors to copy quickly.
Its long-standing quality culture, experienced mentoring relationships and internal
training systems were developed over many years, which makes them difficult to
reproduce in a short period. Resources are usually harder to imitate when they are
connected to organisational history, trust and strong working relationships (Dodd,
Brewster and Holland, 2021:41). ULCC also protects its specialised knowledge
through employment contracts that retain trained engineers for at least five years
and prevent them from producing identical vehicles after leaving the company
(Gumede, 2026:2).
ULCC’s physical and organisational resources support the same competitive
position. The company uses modern manufacturing technology, operates close to
Assignment 2 Semester 2 2026
Unique number:
Due date: August 2026
QUESTION 1
1.1 Sustained competitive advantage and application to ULCC
Sustained competitive advantage refers to a situation where an organisation follows
a value-creating strategy that competitors are not using and cannot easily reproduce.
This advantage becomes stronger when the organisation controls resources that are
valuable, scarce, difficult to copy and properly arranged for effective use (Dodd,
Brewster and Holland, 2021:40–41). ULCC reflects this type of advantage because it
has remained successful for ten years, earned national and international quality
awards, and has not had a vehicle returned because of mechanical defects during
that period (Gumede, 2026:1).
, QUESTION 1
1.1 Sustained competitive advantage and application to ULCC
Sustained competitive advantage refers to a situation where an organisation follows
a value-creating strategy that competitors are not using and cannot easily reproduce.
This advantage becomes stronger when the organisation controls resources that are
valuable, scarce, difficult to copy and properly arranged for effective use (Dodd,
Brewster and Holland, 2021:40–41). ULCC reflects this type of advantage because it
has remained successful for ten years, earned national and international quality
awards, and has not had a vehicle returned because of mechanical defects during
that period (Gumede, 2026:1).
ULCC’s employees are an important part of this advantage because qualified
engineers still receive specialised internal training before they are fully appointed.
Human capital includes workers’ knowledge, skills, experience, judgement and
working relationships, and a unique combination of these qualities can become a
strategic resource for an organisation (Dodd, Brewster and Holland, 2021:41). The
Mech Eng School of Excellence builds ULCC-specific engineering and safety skills,
while the one-year mentoring process allows experienced engineers to pass
practical knowledge to new recruits. This gives ULCC a workforce with more
specialised knowledge than engineers who only have general external qualifications
(Gumede, 2026:1–2).
The company also has resources that are not easy for competitors to copy quickly.
Its long-standing quality culture, experienced mentoring relationships and internal
training systems were developed over many years, which makes them difficult to
reproduce in a short period. Resources are usually harder to imitate when they are
connected to organisational history, trust and strong working relationships (Dodd,
Brewster and Holland, 2021:41). ULCC also protects its specialised knowledge
through employment contracts that retain trained engineers for at least five years
and prevent them from producing identical vehicles after leaving the company
(Gumede, 2026:2).
ULCC’s physical and organisational resources support the same competitive
position. The company uses modern manufacturing technology, operates close to
