Hi6006 Competitive Strategy For Employee Assessment Answers

Answer:

Virgin Group

Description of the Company/Business

Virgin Group is a globally recognized brand which was established in 1970 by Sir Richard Branson and Nik Powell. The brand gradually expanded its operations to include more businesses in different industries leading to the globally recognized brand Virgin which comprises of over 30 businesses spanning across all industries. The business is mainly concentrated in Europe but has expanded its operations across all continents to become among the well-recognized brands globally (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2010, p.344). The business is well known for focusing on customer needs and satisfaction which has allowed the business develops rapidly and remains in business despite intense competition within the different industries 

Virgin groups is a well-recognized global brand today and while the brand is not recognized for delivering prestigious products and services the quality of services delivered by the business contributes immensely towards the businesses performance, growth, and development. Some important factors linked to virgin groups competitive strategy is linked to the category of services delivered to its customers and the brands public relations (Lynch, 2007). Virgin’s strategy used to retain its competitive edge among leading global brands has been linked to the brands focus on delivering budget products and services to the middle and lower income group’s citizens. Many brands avoid considering the medium income groups customers which result in the businesses falling into the highly competitive market which increased the intensity linked to businesses securing success.

Expansion of Different Industries

The main factors linked to Virgin group’s success in business and its ability to remain in the global business arena has been linked to the businesses diversification. Unlike many businesses which remain within one industry, the virgin group has spread its operations across different industries which have allowed the business to develop a more stable business environment (Johnson, 2008, p.335). Doing this allows the brand to achieve a constant growth and development rate which is achieved by the different businesses supporting each other during times of hardship.

Involving the Employees towards Decision Making

Other major factors linked to virgins groups success has been employee empowerment and involvement towards planning and implementation of new ideas. Sir Richard is well recognized for encouraging his employees to participate towards proposing new ideas, planning and implementing new projects (Lagner, 2006).  Sir Richard places all the faith in his staff which results in virgin groups tapping into vast amounts of knowledge which is used to help the business develop.

Offering Budget Services As Opposed To Luxury Services

Unlike most businesses today, Virgin group focuses on delivering budget services and products to its customers. This results in the brand tapping into a large medium income group consumer market which compensates for the low-profit margins with lots of sales (Lovelock, 2011).

Strong Human Resource and Public Relations Policy

Sir Richard is well known for allowing each person performs their duties undisturbed and his role is to travel to his different businesses visiting his loyal customers and staff. He knows most of his old serving staff by name and takes time to interact personally with his staff and customers (Moss & DeSanto, 2012). This allows him to build a very strong bond this staff and clients which wins them loyalty and ensures they will be returning again and again to his businesses.

Samsung

Description of the Company/Business

Samsung Group is a globally recognized South Korean brand which specializes in the manufacture and production of electronic gadgets and machines. The brand has gained considerable recognition in the global market for its top quality and affordable smartphones and house hold products. The company was founded in 1938 by Lee Byung-Chul and has since grown to become among the largest brands globally. As of 2016 Samsung has generated a staggering 174 billion USD I revenue and employees a whopping 489,000 staff across the globe on its multiple factories (Michell, 2011). 

Samsung has been operational for many decades but the brand has grown in popularity over the past decade due to having adopted innovation and change at the perfect moment. According to many analysts, Samsung replaced Nokia during the Mobile to smartphone evolutions where by Nokia was trapped catering to its current clients while new technologies and innovations were being developed by competitors (Paley, 2007). This resulted in mobile phone consumers suddenly moving from Nokia to Samsung’s which offered more advanced smartphone technology and helping kick-start the brand's global expansion. Once established in the market Samsung has constantly worked on developing new technologies to deliver to its customers resulting in the brand remaining a favourite among electronic device users over the past decade. Some strategies adopted by Samsung include

Wide Array of Products Budgets

Samsung’s strategy has always been to develop products they fit every consumer's pocket and budget and not only the rich are budget classes. This has resulted in Samsung developing a wide array of products ranging from budget to top end device which has allowed the brand tap on to a huge consumer market (Thompson et al., 2008). This is well noticeable among its smartphones but can be seen on all its products which have a large price difference ranging from budget to luxury products each having different features and fitting different a particulate consumers budget. The strategy has allowed the brand to tap into a huge consumer market which has allowed the brand to secure huge global recognitions, popularity, and growth.

Constant Evolutions despite Critic

Samsung is also famous for being marred by a critic for stealing technologies and patents from Apple and have had several patent suits in court but this hasn’t deterred Samsung or its customers. Samsung has continued working towards its products development and innovation despite the controversies which the business has experienced and its loyal clients have helped fuel this drive.  Today Samsung continues to be a globally recognized brand which focuses on innovations and development as opposed to only focusing on brand dominance and recognition.

Bibliography

Hellriegel, D. & Slocum, J.W., 2010. Organizational Behavior. 13th ed. Mason: Cengage Learning.

Johnson, 2008. Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text & Cases, 7/E. New Delhi: Pearson Education India.

Lagner, T., 2006. Negotiation, Decision-Making and Leadership to Corporate Success - Based on the example of Richard Branson and the Virgin Company. GRIN Verlag.

Lovelock, C., 2011. Services Marketing : People, Technology, Strategy. 7th ed. Noida: Pearson Education India.

Lynch, R., 2007. Corporate Strategy. 4th ed. New Delhi: Pearson Education India.

Michell, A., 2011. Samsung Electronics and the Struggle for Leadership of the Electronics Industry. John Wiley & Sons.

Moss, D. & DeSanto, B., 2012. Public Relations: A Managerial Perspective. SAGE.

Paley, N., 2007. Mastering the Rules of Competitive Strategy: A Resource Guide for Managers. Buca Roton: CRC Press.

Thompson et al., 2008. Crafting & Executing Strategy 19/e: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.