the concept of a strategy, management homework help

Between the assigned readings this week you definitely have the opportunity to gain an understanding of not only how important the concept of a strategy is but also the mere fact that without you are eventually going to experience a failure. Now the previous statement is not to lead on to the fact that if you have a strategy and it is effectively placed that you are going to be guaranteed success. According to Horwath of research conducted on 750 bankruptcies in the previous 25 years there was one commonality and that was not a lack of strategy but ultimately that there were flawed strategies in place. (Horwath, 2014) For me personally this was mind blowing that these companies can become so blinded to the fact that strategic thinking is a very fluid thought process and is something that needs to be constantly revisited. Our text describes strategy as a purposeful attempt to achieve an objective. (Huff, 2009) While extremely basic, it is a perfect definition as it describes the fluidity in a nutshell. Companies are going to utilize the GOST framework that was described by Horwath in Elevate. They are going to set the goals and objectives and then they are going to develop the strategies and tactics that are needed in order to reach those goals. However, this is a road with many options that is experiencing constant construction. While there is a main goal, or mission statement, there are several lower goals that are going to ultimately help that company achieve the main goal. As a direct result of this strategies are constantly evolving and because of this it is extremely important that so does the strategic thinking mind. In our text there is a great excerpt from the Google website from the Co-Founder Larry Page and it is titled never settle for the best. (Huff, 2009) This is one of the best descriptions of a fluid strategic thinking mind. Michael Porter adds in to the sustainable competitive advantage that the activities of the business need to be tailored to the strategy and he also discusses the concept of Fit. He states that Fit locks out imitators by creating a chain that is as a strong as its strongest link. (Porter, 1996) To me this was a very interesting concept in the fact that typical the train of thought is the opposite of that in that the chain is only as strong as the weakest link. But in this aspect it works because of the activities and how they ultimately complement one another. While Horwath, Huff, and Porter all have varying degrees of important placed on different aspects of strategic thinking, they all have the commonality of how important it is as a whole to any company or organization.

The company that I chose to look at that has shown a sustainable competitive advantage is Amazon. They are an amazing online retailer that essentially competes with not only all of the other online stores but also with the prototypical big box stores that sell their items online like Walmart or Best Buy. Amazon has the never settle for the best concept in place within the company. Since Amazon’s inception in 1997 its stock has risen an astonishing 26,500 percent. (Roth, 2014) Amazon is able to do so by constantly offering new products to its customers and offering up the best customer service that it can. On top of the typical online retailer offerings they are also creating services for entrepreneurs and startups. Amazon launched a platform called Amazon Launchpad that is ultimately aimed at giving technology startups the ability to have access to technology that previously they would not have been able to afford. (Zipkin, 2015) Amazon is able to do so by offering access to a number of systems that they have perfected in the online business world as well as web storage that allows these businesses to expand at a much faster rate. Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO, is constantly thinking out of the box and looking for activities that are going solidify Amazons position as the number one online retailer and also to ensure that they are several steps ahead of the nearest competitor.

References

Horwath, R. (2014). Elevate (the Three Disciplines of Advanced Strategic Thinking). John Wiley & Sons: NJ.

Huff, A., Floyd, S., Sherman, H. and Terjesen, S. (2009). Strategic Management (Logic and Action). John Wiley & Sons: NJ.

Porter, M. (1996). What is Strategy? Harvard Business Review. Reprint 96608. EBSCOhost. Retrieved from: http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.pegleg.park.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=b58767f7-1f1d-478c-9d4f-18f42779a8c9%40sessionmgr120&vid=1&hid=117

Roth, C. (2014, January 14). Amazon’s No. 1 competitor-slaying advantage: Its investors. Retrieved June 8, 2016, from http://www.cnbc.com/2014/01/14/

Zipkin, N. (2015, July 28). Amazon Rolls Out New Marketplace for Startups. Retrieved June 08, 2016, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/248945