Competitive Advantage.What is it really about?

“If a man would write a good book, preach a better sermon, make a better bread, make a better mouse trap, than his neighbor, though his house is in the wood, the world will make beaten paths to his door”- Abraham Lincoln.

Competitive advantage is an advantage over competitors gained by offering consumers greater value, either through lower prices or by providing more benefits that justify higher prices.

•       A firm has competitive advantage when it is able to create more economic value than rival firms.

•       Valuable resources which are difficult to copy can give a sustainable competitive advantage to a company.

For a resource to be able to contribute to a firm´s sustainable competitive advantage:

•       Value

•       Rare

•       Inimitable

•       Organizable

Valuable resources which are difficult to copy can give a sustainable competitive advantage to a company. Such resources are such as:

  Resources based

–      Access to unique raw materials or location

–      Access to license from regulatory authorities

–      Privileged access to information

Assets-based

–      Unique low-cost position owing to accumulated volume

–      Unique low-cost/quality position owing to proprietary process technology

–      Unique low-cost position owing to installed based

–      Control of distribution network

–      Well established brand/reputation

–      patents

Competences-based

–      Proprietary scientific/technological know-how

–      Superior ability to bundle know-how

–      Superior ability in management of critical processes

–      Superiority in time management

–      Faster product development

Customer loyalty

–      Product unique or more valuable

–      Brand

–      High switching costs

Positive feedbacks

–      Network externalities

Experience effects

How to turn Failure into Success

Just because you failed once,does not mean you are going to fail at everything.Keep trying,hold on, and always believe in yourself,because if you don't,then who will-Marlyin Monroe

Just because you failed once,does not mean you are going to fail at everything.Keep trying,hold on, and always believe in yourself,because if you don't,then who will-Marlyin Monroe

             Business Competition.

Business competition is something that brings health and life in the life of businesses.

We have experienced a paradigm shift from monopolistic umbrella to a more competitive business environment.

In a competitive business environment, competitor analysis is important.

Know your competitors by name, numbers, more importantly what are their strengths and strategies.


The very important concept in competition is,' Love your competitor for he/she makes you stronger'.


Therefore the entrepreneurs should pray that there competitors should be alive as their existence ensures their visibility at the market place in terms of quality of products,innovation and efficiency.


The greatest of all commandments in Business competition is 'dont kill your competitor for he/she assures your visibility in business'


There are many ways of fighting competition from price setting,to promotion to offering discounts to customer care to superior product design to offering guarantee to first move advantage to caring for internal customers(employees)

STRATEGIC QUESTIONS

                                                                          PLANNING

PLANNING

According to Richardson and Richardson (1992), Planning is defined as:

-The design of the desired future and effective ways of bringing it about.

-A response to the pessimistic belief that unless something is done, a desired future state will not occur.

-Being proactive as opposed to being reactive in shaping the future.

-It is a common sense and natural activity.

-It is fundamental and important aspect in our lives and it is prerequisite to negotiating our environments and getting safely into our future.

-Without planning, man is bound to reach anywhere.

-failing to plan is planning to fail.

Planning involves decision making as it plays that activity which pursue options among alternatives

  

Who   is   an   entrepreneur?

                                        Little child learning how to become an entrepreneur

Bird (1988) defines an entrepreneur as an individual who starts (create) an independent new, profit making business venture.

Oxford English Dictionary (2000) defines entrepreneur as a person who makes money by starting or running businesses especially when this involves taking financial risks.

can everyone become an entrepreneur?

The 2003 Organization for Economic Cooperation and development (OECD) statistics reports that 10% of adult people are interested in starting a business venture. This means that becoming an entrepreneur is not for everyone.

Is entrepreneurship everyone's cup of tea?

What is entrepreneurship?

The word “entrepreneurship” It is derived from the French word entreprendre,which means “to undertake” Entrepreneurship concept is defined as  the process of creating value by bringing together a unique package of resources to exploit an opportunity (Stevenson et al., 1989 cited in Morris et al., 2002). Entrepreneurship is a creative process, which involves identifying problems, deficiencies, gaps, missing elements and disharmonies, thus identifying business opportunities and finding solutions for eventual implementation.