Business Organization Competitiveness

• Competitiveness reflects how effectively an organization meets customer wants and needs relative to other organizations offering similar goods or services.
• Competitiveness is crucial for a company's success, determining whether it prospers, survives, or fails.
• Business organizations compete through marketing and operational functions.

Competition through Marketing:

• Identifying consumer wants and needs is fundamental to an organization's decision-making and competitiveness.
• Achieving a close match between consumer desires and the organization’s offerings is the ideal scenario.
• Price and quality significantly influence consumer buying decisions, necessitating understanding the trade-offs consumers make.
• Advertising and promotion inform potential customers about product or service features, attracting buyers.

Competition through Operations:

• Product and service design should integrate various firm areas to align financial resources, operational and supply chain capabilities, and consumer needs.
• Unique product or service characteristics are vital in consumer decisions, including innovation and time-to-market.
• An organization's output cost is a key factor affecting pricing and profits, with cost-reduction efforts being continuous.
• Productivity is a key determinant of cost; higher productivity offers a competitive cost advantage.
• Outsourcing can lower costs, increase productivity, or improve quality.
• Location impacts costs and customer convenience with proximity to inputs lowering costs and proximity to markets reducing delivery times.
• Convenient location is especially important in the retail sector.
• Quality encompasses materials, workmanship, design, and service, with consumers judging it by how well a product or service meets its intended purpose.
• Customers are generally willing to pay more for higher perceived quality.
• Quick response provides a competitive edge through rapid introduction of new products, fast delivery, and efficient complaint handling.
• Flexibility, the ability to adapt to changes in design, volume, or product mix, provides a competitive advantage in dynamic environments.
• Inventory management offers a competitive advantage by aligning goods supply with demand.
• Supply chain management involves coordinating internal and external operations for timely and cost-effective delivery.
• Service includes value-added after-sale activities, such as delivery, setup, warranty work, and attentive customer support.
• High service quality can be a sustainable differentiator, correlating with higher profitability and growth.
• Competent and motivated managers and workers provide a competitive edge through their skills and ideas.
• Handling phone calls effectively, whether for complaints or information, significantly impacts the company's image.

Reasons for Organizational Failure:

• Organizations may fail due to neglecting operation strategy.
• Failure to leverage strengths and opportunities while ignoring competitive threats can cause decline.
• Prioritizing short-term financial performance over research and development can be detrimental.
• Overemphasizing product design while neglecting process design and improvement is a pitfall.
• Neglecting investments in capital and human resources can lead to failure.
• Poor internal communications and lack of cooperation among functional areas can be harmful.
• Ignoring customer wants and needs results in failure.

Mission and Strategies:

• A mission is the reason for the existence of an organization.
• Strategies are plans for achieving organizational goals.
• Tactics are methods and actions taken to accomplish strategies.
• The mission statement states the purpose of an organization.
• Goals provide detail and scope of the mission.

Types of Strategies:

• Low cost is achieved by outsourcing operations to countries with low labor costs.
• Scale-based strategies use capital-intensive methods for high output and low unit costs.
• Specialization focuses on narrow product lines or limited services to achieve higher quality.
• Newness emphasizes innovation to create new products or services.
• Flexible operations focus on quick response and customization.
• High quality focuses on achieving superior quality compared to competitors.
• Service focuses on various aspects of service.
• Sustainability focuses on environmental-friendly and energy-efficient operations.