The four building blocks of competitive advantage, including superior efficiency, quality, innovation, and customer responsiveness, allow an organization to improve its status amongst other companies. When utilized in a balanced way, the factors will directly impact the success of a business. In that way, the blocks are related to each other in a similar role of ensuring the work efficiency of an organization. For example, one study demonstrated how incorporating the building blocks of competitive advantage into the business plan of two major cereal companies affected their internal strengths (Kang, 2019). The factors work together to achieve the primary goal of a company.
Top management can play a critical role in helping a company achieve superior efficiency, quality, innovation, and responsiveness to customers. To improve superior efficiency, a clear annual strategy that involves outlining and analyzing the most successful exchanges. Ultimately, the described term is based on the innovative and customer-related aspects of building competitive advantage. One way to achieve innovation through the role of top management includes the encouragement of new knowledge acquisition (Papa et al., 2018). Responsiveness to customers is a factor that can be improved by establishing an accessible network for communication with the employees. Most importantly, the top management must allocate the necessary resources in advance.
The adoption of Six Sigma quality improvement processes will eventually lead to a significant decrease in product defects. This is evident through its definition: Six Sigma is a business management strategy used for quality improvement (Niñerola et al., 2019). At the same time, the processes do not guarantee an advantage, as risks regarding its deployment are also common (Galli, 2018). Hence, over time the implemented tools will ensure minimal waste and reduced costs, which will help to achieve parity with other competitors. Still, the risks involved, including incorrect implementation in various business fields, can lead to adverse consequences for the company’s progress. Therefore, the adoption of Six Sigma processes will only generate productivity in the case of its risks’ minimization and correct implementation.
References
Galli, B. J. (2018). Risks related to lean six sigma deployment and sustainment risks: How project management can help. International Journal of Service Science, Management, Engineering, and Technology, 9(3).
Kang, H. (2019). An application of building blocks of competitive advantage approach to the U.S. cereal market leaders. International Journal of Management Studies, 25(2), 1–17. Web.
Niñerola, A., Sánchez-Rebull, M. V., & Hernández-Lara, A. B. (2019). Six Sigma literature: A bibliometric analysis. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 32(9-10), 959-980. Web.
Papa, A., Dezi, L., Gregori, G.L., Mueller, J., and Miglietta, N.(2018). Improving innovation performance through knowledge acquisition: The moderating role of employee retention and human resource management practices. Journal of Knowledge Management, 24(3), 589-605. Web.