Generic business policies entail the views that competitive advantage depends on, in pursuit of a coherent and viable scheme. Competitive advantage underscores the advantage that a business has over its competitors, by ensuring that customers get better value for their money.
Business leaders responsible for establishing and managing business-level strategies face challenges in identifying the key capabilities in the varied business departments, and assembling them together in a manner that enhances competitive advantage.
This paper aims at using three articles in describing how organisations establish generic business strategies to enhance their competitive advantage. This paper then analyses the three articles in relevance to the situation of Ecowash Mobile.
Gutterman (2007), Walters (2012), and Gallagher (2008) effectively outline the three generic business-level strategies that would help an organisation enhance its competitive advantage.
Gallagher identifies three generic strategies, which are employed by organisations to enhance their competitive advantages. These strategies are cost leadership, differentiation, and focus.
In his article, he posits that the overall cost leadership entails the business striving at becoming the leader in manufacturing and distributing products at the lowest cost.
Gallagher’s article uses case studies from numerous renowned companies, which employ the strategies, thus reinforcing their usefulness in understanding generic business-level strategies. For instance, Gallagher affirms how in 1980, Michael Porter popularised generic strategies (Gallagher 2008).
Gallagher describes generic business level policies that give a firm competitive advantage. Similarly, Ecowash Mobile uses these generic business level policies, which have given the company successful operation.
Two companies might be in the same widely classified industry, for example, retail clothing, but choose to compete in dissimilar domains that are characterised by particular target client groups (Gutterman 2007).
Gutterman states that, to achieve competitive advantage, a company has to cut down on operations cost, enhance organisational efficiency, manage labour costs, and do away with marginal consumer accounts.
Gutterman uses the term segmentation strategy to refer to focus. This generic strategy entails concentrating on a certain market segment, product line, or market niche. It helps an organisation serve a small segment efficiently.
Gutterman’s article also clearly describes the three generic strategies thus helping the learner understand the role of each strategy in enhancing competitive advantage. Gutterman identifies the business level strategies of McDonald and Amazon companies that give them competitive advantage.
Like the Ecowash Mobile, these companies execute each strategy firmly and circumspectly through a thorough progression applied all through their franchise system allowing them to control the excellence of the experience that clients have whenever served by the companies.
According to Walters, differentiation entails position the organisation’s brand in a unique manner relative to those of competitors. It involves making consumers develop the notion that ones products are unique.
It is achieved through advertisement or changing product features. It is hard for one to understand a topic area without relevant examples and explanations. By including well-elaborated examples and case studies, this article helps one understand the topic area effectively.
In this article, Porter explains how companies could gain competitive advantage in at least two approaches: operational efficiency (doing similar activities like competitors although doing them better), as well as tactical positioning, (performing things in a different way and bringing unique value for clients) (Walters 2012).
While citing examples like the case between Nike and Adidas companies, Walters illustrates how generic competitive policies offer a competitive advantage to companies. Similarly, Ecowash Mobile employs generic competitive policies like participation in a range of charity occasions and promotional actions to achieve competitive advantage (Grant, Buttler, & Stuart 2011).
These articles however do not explain the future viewpoint of companies when more competitors come up with a similar policy. Ecowash Mobile is thus well positioned for it has formulated its outlook to combat future competitors.
Reference List
Gallagher, S 2008, Business Level Strategies. Web.
Grant, R, Buttler, B, & Stuart, O 2011, Contemporary strategic management: An Australian perspective. Web.
Gutterman, A 2007, Business-Level Strategy. Web.
Walters, B 2012, Generic Competitive Strategies. Web.