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Core Competence
A core competency is a concept in management theory introduced by C. K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel.Prahalad, C.K. and Hamel, G. (1990)The core competence of the corporation", Harvard Business Review (v. 68, no. 3) pp. 79–91. It can be defined as "a harmonized combination of multiple resources and skills that distinguish a firm in the marketplace" and therefore are the foundation of companies' competitiveness. Core competencies fulfill three criteria: # Provides potential access to a wide variety of markets. # Should make a significant contribution to the perceived customer benefits of the end product. # Difficult to imitate by competitors. For example, a company's core competencies may include precision mechanics, fine optics, and micro-electronics. These help it build cameras, but may also be useful in making other products that require these competencies. Background A core competency results from a specific set of skills or production techniques that deliver additional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gary Hamel
Gary P. Hamel (born 1954) is an American management consultant. He is a founder of Strategos, an international management consulting firm based in Chicago. Biography Hamel graduated from Andrews University in 1975, and from Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in 1990. Hamel has worked as a visiting professor of International Business at the University of Michigan and at Harvard Business School; he currently teaches as a visiting Professor of Strategic Management at the London Business School. Work Gary Hamel is the originator (with C.K. Prahalad) of the concept of core competencies. He is also the director of the Woodside Institute, a nonprofit research foundation based in Woodside, California. He was a founder of the consulting firm Strategos, serving as chairman until 2003. The UTEK Corporation acquired Strategos in 2008 in an all-stock transaction as reported by the SEC. In 2012 Strategos became an independent strategy and innovation consultancy on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vertical Integration
In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration is a term that describes the arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each member of the supply chain produces a different product or (market-specific) service, and the products combine to satisfy a common need. It contrasts with horizontal integration, wherein a company produces several items that are related to one another. Vertical integration has also described management styles that bring large portions of the supply chain not only under a common ownership but also into one corporation (as in the 1920s when the Ford River Rouge Complex began making much of its own steel rather than buying it from suppliers). Vertical integration and expansion is desired because it secures supplies needed by the firm to produce its product and the market needed to sell the product. Vertical integration and expansion can become undesirable whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strategic Business Unit
A strategic business unit (SBU) in business strategic management, is a profit center which focuses on product offering and market segment. SBUs typically have a discrete marketing plan, analysis of competition, and marketing campaign, even though they may be part of a larger business entity. An SBU may be a business unit within a larger corporation, or it may be a business into itself or a branch. Corporations may be composed of multiple SBUs, each of which is responsible for its own profitability. General Electric (GE) is an example of a company with this sort of business organization. SBUs are able to affect most factors which influence their performance. Managed as separate businesses, they are responsible to a parent corporation. GE has 49 SBUs. Companies today often use the word '' segmentation'' or '' division'' when referring to SBUs or an aggregation of SBUs that share such commonalities. Commonalities A SBU is generally defined by what it has in common, as well as the tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Information Technology
Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (IT system) is generally an information system, a communications system, or, more specifically speaking, a Computer, computer system — including all Computer hardware, hardware, software, and peripheral equipment — operated by a limited group of IT users. Although humans have been storing, retrieving, manipulating, and communicating information since the earliest writing systems were developed, the term ''information technology'' in its modern sense first appeared in a 1958 article published in the ''Harvard Business Review''; authors Harold Leavitt, Harold J. Leavitt and Thomas L. Whisler commented that "the new technology does not yet have a single established name. We shall call it information technology (IT)." Their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cost Reduction
Cost reduction is the process used by companies to reduce their costs and increase their profits. Depending on a company’s services or products, the strategies can vary. Every decision in the product development process affects cost: design is typically considered to account for 70–80% of the final cost of a project such as an engineering project or the construction of a building. Companies typically launch a new product without focusing too much on cost. Cost becomes more important when competition increases and price becomes a differentiator in the market. The importance of cost reduction in relation to other strategic business goals is often debated. Cost reduction strategies * Supplier consolidation: see examples in the aerospace manufacturing industry * Component consolidation * Low-cost country sourcing * Request for quotations (RFQ) * Supplier cost breakdown analysis * Function cost analysis / Value analysis / Value engineering * Design for manufacture / ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Resource-based View
The resource-based view (RBV) is a managerial framework used to determine the strategic resources a firm can exploit to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Barney's 1991 article "Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage" is widely cited as a pivotal work in the emergence of the resource-based view. However, some scholars argue that there was evidence for a fragmentary resource-based theory from the 1930s. RBV proposes that firms are heterogeneous because they possess heterogeneous resources, meaning firms can have different strategies because they have different resource mixes. The RBV focuses managerial attention on the firm's internal resources in an effort to identify those assets, capabilities and competencies with the potential to deliver superior competitive advantages. Origins and background During the 1990s, the ''resource-based view'' (also known as the ''resource-advantage theory'') of the firm became the dominant paradigm in strategic planning. RBV can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Resource-based View
The resource-based view (RBV) is a managerial framework used to determine the strategic resources a firm can exploit to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Barney's 1991 article "Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage" is widely cited as a pivotal work in the emergence of the resource-based view. However, some scholars argue that there was evidence for a fragmentary resource-based theory from the 1930s. RBV proposes that firms are heterogeneous because they possess heterogeneous resources, meaning firms can have different strategies because they have different resource mixes. The RBV focuses managerial attention on the firm's internal resources in an effort to identify those assets, capabilities and competencies with the potential to deliver superior competitive advantages. Origins and background During the 1990s, the ''resource-based view'' (also known as the ''resource-advantage theory'') of the firm became the dominant paradigm in strategic planning. RBV can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Core Business
The core business of an organization is an idealized construct intended to express that organization's "main" or "essential" activity. Core business process means that a business's success depends not only on how well each department performs its work, but also on how well the company manages to coordinate departmental activities to conduct the core business process, which is; 1. The market-sensing process Meaning all activities in gathering marketing intelligence and acting on the information. 2. The new-offering realization process Covering all activities in research, development and launching new quality offerings quickly and within budget. 3. The customer acquisition process all the activities defining the target market and prospecting for new customers 4. The customer relationship management process all the activities covering building deeper understanding, relationships and offerings to individual customers. 5. The fulfillment management process all the activities in rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Competitive Advantage
In business, a competitive advantage is an attribute that allows an organization to outperform its competitors. A competitive advantage may include access to natural resources, such as high-grade ores or a low-cost power source, highly skilled labor, geographic location, high entry barriers, and access to new technology and to proprietary information. Overview The term ''competitive advantage'' refers to the ability gained through attributes and resources to perform at a higher level than others in the same industry or market (Christensen and Fahey 1984, Kay 1994, Porter 1980 cited by Chacarbaghi and Lynch 1999, p. 45). The study of this advantage has attracted profound research interest due to contemporary issues regarding superior performance levels of firms in today's competitive market. "A firm is said to have a competitive advantage when it is implementing a value creating strategy not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential player" (Barney 1991 cited ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
How To Think Several Moves Ahead Of The Competition
How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidman * ''HOW'' (magazine), a magazine for graphic designers * H.O.W. Journal, an American art and literary journal Music * "How", a song by The Cranberries from ''Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?'' * "How", a song by Maroon 5 from ''Hands All Over'' * "How", a song by Regina Spektor from ''What We Saw from the Cheap Seats'' * "How", a song by Daughter from ''Not to Disappear'' * "How?" (song), by John Lennon Other media * HOW (graffiti artist), Raoul Perre, New York graffiti muralist * ''How'' (TV series), a British children's television show * ''How'' (video game), a platform game People * How (surname) * HOW (graffiti artist), Raoul Perre, New York graffiti muralist Places * How, Cumbria, England * How, Wisco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
