Enterprise Strategy and Competitive Advantage Identifying how the enterprise provides value, and creating more profit than the competition Much of the

Enterprise Strategy andCompetitive Advantage

Identifying how the enterprise provides value, and creating more profit than the competition

Much of the material in this presentation was drawn from the following source:

• Porter, M. (1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Corporations. New York: The Free Press.

What is strategy?

Harvard Professor Michael Porter wrote the bestselling strategy book for the business community

Porter defines strategy as:“a broad formula for how a business is going to compete, what its goals should be, and what policies will be needed to carry out these goals.”1

If we look at the larger definition, however, removed from the business application, the definition is:

“the science or art of combining and employing the means of war in planning and directing large military movements and operations.“2

This definition provides some insight into how strategy relates to identifying competitive advantage

BA 553: Business Process Management 2

1. Porter, M. (1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Corporations. New York: The Free Press.

2. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/strategy website, accessed 14 January 2012.

Historical Context Many ancient texts have been written about military strategy

In the 20th century, some of these books were analyzed for their application to modern business practices

Examples include Art of War by Sun Tzu (written around the 6th century BC, and Arthashastra by Kautilya (written around the 4th century BC)

Leadership courses and workshops have been developed around the principles in these manuscripts

One of the key underlying principles shared in these documents is the importance of understanding yourself and your enemy (the competition):

“One who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be endangered in a hundred engagements. One who does not know the enemy but knows himself will sometimes be victorious, sometimes meet with defeat. One who knows neither the enemy nor himself will invariably be defeated in every engagement.”

This understanding is the foundation for developing a strategy


Tzu, Sun and Sawyer, R. (1994). Art of War. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. pp. 135.

Porter’s Steps in Defining a Strategy


1. What is the company doing now?1.1 Identify current strategy1.2 Identify assumptions

2. What is happening in the environment?2.1 Identify key factors for success and failure in the

industry2.2 Identify capabilities and limitations of competitors2.3 Identify likely government and societal changes2.4 Identify company’s strengths and weaknesses

relative to competitors

3. What should the company do next?3.1 Compare present strategy to environmental

situation3.2 Identify alternative courses of action3.3 Choose best alternative

Competitive Advantage

According to Porter, an organization has a competitive advantage when it can make more profits selling its products or services than its competitors

Profit can be seen as total revenue minus total costs

Therefore, an organization can increase its profit by either:

1. increasing revenue for the same total cost expenditure, or

2. reducing total cost expenditure while achieving the same revenue

How can these be achieved?


Strategies for Competing

Cost leadershipThis involves offering the product or service at the cheapest price. It can be accomplished by relying on economies of scale, controlling the supply chain, or increasing efficiency.

Can you think of an example?

DifferentiationThis involves providing better or more desirable products and services. This enables the organization to obtain a higher price for the item. It can be accomplished by using more expensive materials, a unique design, or superior craftsmanship.

What are other ways to differentiate your organization?


Niche specializationThis involves focusing the marketing effort on specific buyers, specific market segments, or particular geographies. It can also involve offering only a subset of the industry’s products or services.



Identifying How to Achieve the Strategy

Once the strategy and competitive advantage are identified, the next step is to establish a plan for achieving the strategy

The first step is to understand some of the key activities in the organization that impact the components of the strategy

Porter studied strategy and competitive advantage for many years

He developed additional tools to help organizations identify the key activities in the organization that help to achieve the strategy, and how these work together as part of a system

He called this a “Strategic Activity-System Map”

The Strategic Activity-System Map documents the strategic themes (in the squares), and the activities that achieve those strategies (in the circles)

An example developed by executives at Southwest Airlines in the early 1990s is shown on the next slide


Strategic Activity-System Map:Example for Southwest Airlines


Harmon, P. (2007). Business Process Change: A Guide for Business Managers and BPM and Six Sigma Professionals. Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers. pp. 46.

Documents

Enterprise Strategy and Competitive Advantage Identifying how the enterprise provides value, and creating more profit than the competition Much of the