How Does Cobra's Core Influences Competitive Advantage

2. In this stage of operational effectiveness, organizations use core capabilities residing in the operations area to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage.

All companies have core competencies that they use to differentiate their company, product, or service from the competition, Sears is no exception. Also, it is common for a company’s core competencies to change, as their industry progresses through phases and shifts its emphasis between product and process innovations (Regis University, 2011), Sears is no exception. Yet, when a company’s core competencies become misaligned and no longer supports their strategic intent the business is in danger of becoming obsolete (Regis University, 2011), as their customers no longer perceive the unique benefits the company has

Edmundson (2013) explains that companies that consistently expand in a profitable manner have learned to take their strength and transform them into a competitive advantage. Edmundson (2013) list nine principals that will help companies turn their strengths into competitive advantages. The nine principals are to be quantifiable, stay objective and creditable, be true and accurate, not stated by you’re competition, contrast, use concrete facts and tangible data, emotional, focused and simple, and tell stories to make your audience relate. Edmundson (2013) continues that typically companies that have

Intel is the preeminent supplier of semiconductor chips and platforms geared toward the global digital economy. Intel’s strategy involves competition in each relative market segment and the use of core competencies in the design and production of integrated circuits. Intel is also notable for their financial assets, global existence, and their significant brand recognition. Intel’s current principal component-level product line includes chipsets, flash memory, and microprocessors. Also, Intel Corporation retains, “A set of integrated and harmonized abilities that distinguish the firm in the marketplace” (Schilling 123). Furthermore, the three applicable tests used to determine a firm’s core competencies, according to Prahalad and Hamel, suggests that

Selecting a business strategy that details valuable resources and distinctive competencies, strategizing all resources and capabilities and ensuring they are all employed and exploited, and building and regenerating valuable resources and distinctive competencies is key. The analysis of resources, capabilities and core competencies describes the external environment which is subject to change quickly. Based off this information a firm has to be prepared and know its internal resources and capabilities and offer a more secure strategy. Furthermore, resources and capabilities are the primary source of profitability. Resources entail intangible, tangible, and human resources.

Barney, J. (2004). Firm resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Strategy: Process Content Context: an international perspective, de Wit & Meyer , 285-292.

He suggested that sustained competitive advantage derives from the resources and capabilities a firm controls that are valuable, rare, imperfectly imitable, and not substitutable. He further added that the resources and capabilities can be viewed in form of tangible and intangible assets. There are four different categories of resources financial, physical, human, and organization.

For a business to be successful and have a competitive advantage, it is important to evaluate the company’s resources and capabilities (Pitt & Koufopoulos, 2012). Resources in a company are the productive assets owned (tangible or intangible) whereas capabilities are what the company can do with this (Grant, 2010). “Establishing competitive

Through an internal environment analysis, companies can identify and understand their own unique resources, capabilities, and competencies that are required for their sustainable competitive advantage. Resources, capabilities, and core competencies are the foundation of competitive advantage. There is no competitive advantages are permanently sustainable in any companies, so they have to consist on their current advantages and develop new advantages by internally understanding and analyzing their resources and capabilities. Competitors have their own unique resources, capabilities, and core competencies to create values for their customers. Both tangible and intangible resources, which include individual, social and organizational phenomena, are combined to generate capabilities. In turn, company’s capabilities are used to build core competencies. Also, core competencies are as a source of competitive advantage for a company to win in the competitive market.

Volkswagen goal is to become the ecological and economical leader in the automotive industry and to be the world’s leading automaker by 2018. Volkswagen has four main objectives through which they will achieve their goals.

Pizza hut is amongst the best fast food chains spread international. They offer wide varieties of pizza as well as include side dishes; salads, wings pasta, buffalo, breadsticks and garlic breads. Moreover pizza is founded in 1958 by two brothers Frank and Dan Carney in Wichita, Kansas and well-known as an American restaurant chain consist over 6000 pizza huts restaurants in the united states and have more 5600 branches in over 94 countries around the world. As the marketing strategy is based on customers centric, customers are being provided the best services, helpful services and create a pleasant atmosphere so as they come back again, as it is believes Pizza Hut make the perfect pizza with extra ordinary menu. Thus the business has adopted value chain activities to operate in a specific industry, by transforming inputs into outputs that value the customers. Customers’ value consists of concept abilities to differentiate products, lower cost and able to respond the demand of customers. Michael Porter was the first introduced the concept of value chain analysis in 1985 and this approach will develop competitive advantage.

1. What is competitive advantage, and how does it relate to a company’s business model?

This strategy emphasizes the use of an organization’s resources and capabilities to achieve a core competence that cannot be imitated by competitors. Furthermore, the resource based school argues that if an organization distinctively improves its internal capability; that is being able to have effective inside machinery to deliver products and services to customers, the organization will enjoy a massive advantage in the market. This school also argues that in order to have a competitive advantage, an organization must have resource and capabilities that are sophisticated to those of competitors (QuickMBA,

The marketplace has been dynamic and competition between companies in the same industry has been increasingly intense (Ranchhod, 2004). Having dynamic capabilities contributes to a company’s “long-term survival or competitive advantage” (Johnson et al., 2008: 84). This is especially essential

Competitive advantage is explained by Mahoney and Pandian (1992) as the function of industry analysis, organizational governance and the firm’s effects in the form of resource advantages and strategies. In order for a firm to be competitive it must adapt to the volatile business environment and through strategic management decisions establish a competitive advantage that will ultimately produce superior performance relative to its competitors (Akimova 2000).