Page 161 - DCOM506_DMGT502_STRATEGIC_MANAGEMENT

Unit 8: Business Level Strategies

5. Each of these generic strategies has the potential to overcome the .................. of competition. Notes
6. A cost leadership strategy is likely to work better where the product is ..................
7. Compared with the low-cost leader, competitors will have .................. costs.
8. The .................. strategy selects a segment or group of segments in the industry and tailors
its strategy to serve them to the exclusion of others.
9. If the differentiation involves quality, it may not be credible to offer .................. quality
and .................. products under the same brand name.
10. Hybrid strategies include a combination of .................. strategies.

8.8 Review Questions

1. Which industry is Vodafone a part of? Identify the features of that industry and comment
on its status in India.
2. Critically analyse the benefits of positioning for a firm.
3. Suppose you are the CEO of a cosmetic firm. Under what situations would you choose a
low-cost, differentiation, or speed-based strategy?
4. Illustrate how a firm can pursue both low-cost and differentiation strategies.
5. Identify requirements for business success at different stages of industry evolution.
6. Discuss the good business strategies in fragmented and global industries.

7. “Diversification is a double edged sword”. Comment
8. There are many risks in cost leadership strategy. What are they and how would it affect
you as a manager?

9. Under what condition(s) do you think would the cost leadership strategy work better?
10. In which situations do you think that the neither a low cost nor a differentiation strategy
would be possible for an organisation?

11. Are tactics different from business strategies? Give reasons for your answer.
12. “Business strategy and tactics go hand in hand”. Discuss

Answers: Self Assessment

1. Concentration 2. Differential
3. Tactics 4. Specialisation

5. Five forces 6. Standardised
7. Higher 8. Focus
9. High, cheap 10. Generic

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