Discussion: Applying Strategies to Achieve Competitive Advantage
How do business leaders know how to choose the best strategy for an organization? This question can be complex and nearly impossible to answer because there are multiple strategies that organizations can integrate, and some may work better in certain situations than others. For example, if a company produces luxury cars, it may not want to pursue a strategy that includes offering the lowest price in the market because that could be interpreted as a compromise on quality or some other aspect that consumers in that market might expect. Likewise, a company that competes in a market that is saturated with other brands of the same product might find that creating a cost-cutting strategy would allow it to be more profitable and to achieve a competitive advantage.

In this Discussion, you will play the role of consultant and will give a selected organization some recommendations for what strategic approaches they should take to achieve competitive advantage.

To prepare for this Discussion:
Identify an organization with which you are familiar that is in need of a change in its strategy in its pursuit of competitive advantage.
Consider the concept of the Blue Ocean strategy, as well as Porter’s five forces, vertical integration strategies, and others.

Write an analysis of how your selected organization can use competitive business strategies to create competitive advantage. In your analysis, include the following:
• Examine two strategies that the organization could take to create and sustain competitive advantage. Explain why these strategies could be effective for the organization’s achievement of competitive advantage.
• Devise recommendations for how the organization could implement a Blue Ocean strategy or strategic approach to achieve and sustain competitive advantage.