Showing papers on "Competitive advantage published in 1982"

Creating competitive advantage with computer technology

Abstract: Managers have largely overlooked computer technology as a valuable resource in creating competitive advantage. To rectify the situation, companies will have to overcome resistance to change, heal the data processing/general management breach, and take a long, hard look at the economic issues involved.

The Executive's Guide to Successful MRP II

Abstract: From the Publisher: Oliver Wight is one of the pioneers of Manufacture Resource Planning (MRPII). Here he introduces the essential concepts and benefits of MRPII in a practical format with easy-to-follow question-and-answer format. Among MRPII topics covered are: how MRPII can benefit a business, the executive's leadership role in implementation, the requirements of a successful MRPII implementation, guidelines for making MRPII effective in any organization, and managing MRPII for long-term competitive advantage.

Selecting among Alternative Grand Strategies

Abstract: Given the competition existing in most markets and the often surprising parity of capabilities, strategic managers need the competitive advantage which an insightfully selected and developed grand strategy can help bring about. The author discusses twelve grand strategies and presents an approach for the selection of the optimal one.

The Competitive Status of the U.S. Auto Industry: A Study of the Influences of Technology in Determining International Industrial Competitive Advantage

Abstract: 1 Front Matter 2 Summary 3 1 The U.S. Auto Industry in Crisis 4 2 An Industry Primer 5 3 The Evolution of Technology: From Radical to Incremental Innovation 6 4 International Competition: Trade Flows and Industry Structure 7 5 Government Regulation: The Evolution of Public Demands on the Industry 8 6 The Sources of Competitive Advantage: Cost and Quality Comparisons 9 7 Jobs and People: The Impact of Workforce Management on Competition 10 8 Technology and Competition in the U.S. Automobile Market 11 9 The Character of Automotive Innovation in the 1970s and Beyond 12 10 The Automotive Future: Three Scenarios and Their Implications 13 Appendix A: Estimates of Comparative Productivity and Costs Under Alternative Methods 14 Appendix B: Productivity and Absenteeism 15 Appendix C: Statistical Analysis of Technology, Sales, and Prices 16 Bibliography 17 Biographical Sketches

Ethical Concerns in Conflict Management

Abstract: There is a great deal of concern today about ethical practice in society. The Watergate crisis in American politics, corporate payoff schemes, and other similar events have raised significant questions about the ethical and moral value systems of organizations and their leadership. In negotiations, bargainers often confront the decision whether to use “unethical” strategy and tactics or directly experience problems that are created when their opposition employs these same tactics. A close examination of individual conduct in these crises frequently reveals a highly competitive and win-oriented environment and a pattern of ethically questionable conduct by key actors attempting to gain competitive advantage. Yet there has been little research effort by social scientists to systematically investigate the ethical boundaries of competitive interaction or the ethical systems of the key actors. This paper will suggest a direction and method for addressing those issues.

Government‐Owned Businesses: Market Presence, Competitive Advantages and Rationales for Their Support by the State

Abstract: . In the aggregate, within industries and within non-socialist countries, the market presence of State-owned businesses is large and growing. Such concerns accounted for 15 percent of world trade in 1979 and they produced 70 percent of world oil production, 40 percent of world iron and bauxite and they accounted for 40 percent of the world's banking assets. Certain governments tend to accord them competitive advantages. Reasons given for doing so range from the belief that they foster economic growth and employment, that they equalize the domestic businesses' power to compete with big multinational companies, that they make national planning possible, to the idea that government favor should not go to benefit private owners, even domestic ones, and that the country, rather than the corporation, is the relevant unit of competition.

Structural changes in the world auto companies: the emerging japanese role

Abstract: Japan's recent dominance of the international auto industry does not result from some major single factor, such as technological superiority or advanced automation. It derives from twenty years of building flexible, durable industrial systems - integrating assemblers, suppliers, and related companies. Current competitive advantages result from combinations of seemingly unrelated company, government, and labor practices. Japan's position of leadership will instigate major changes in international labor forces, corporate strategies, and government policies, as former auto powers adapt to new competition, and simultaneous shifts in energy and economics.

Federal energy policy and competitive strategy in the us automobile industry

Abstract: United States automobile manufacturers today face unprecedented pressures for change. Not only has the real price of gasoline almost doubled during the past decade, but international competition and a weak domestic economy have challenged the very existence of the manufacturing industry most closely identified with US productivity and affluence. This paper identifies the role that U.S. federal energy policy plays in influencing the competitive strategies of auto manufacturers as they confront pressures for change. The following points are attempted to be established: 1. The nature of the long- and short-term effects of federal energy policy on the manufacturing capacity and product-line strategies of auto manufacturers was reasonably predictable at the time energy policies were being deliberated. (This belief is held even though understanding of the complexities of industrial evolution was, and still is, quite limited.) 2. The short-run effects of public policy appear to have been detrimental to the maintenance of the international competitive position of the US industry in the long run.

Michael E. Porter speaks on strategy

Abstract: Michael Porter, considered by corporate managers and business analysts to be one of strategic planning's leading theorists, is a professor of business policy at the Harvard Business School. Author of the recent bestseller Competitive Strategy and guest columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Professor Porter is noted for his heady stock of insightful planning theories. Here, in an interview conducted by Planning Review Senior Editor Malcolm W. Pennington and Managing Editor Steve M. Cohen, Professor Porter candidly discusses his entry into the field of strategic planning and the application of his theories to specific industries.

The control of technological change in the motor industry : a case study

Abstract: This thesis is based upon a case study of the introduction of automated production technologies at the Longbridge plant of British Leyland in the period 1978 to 1980.The investment in automation was part of an overall programme of modernization to manufacture the new 'Mini Metro' model. In the first Section of the thesis, the different theoretical perspectives on technological change are discussed. Particular emphasis is placed upon the social role of management as the primary controllers of technological change. Their actions are seen to be oriented towards the overall strategy of the firm, integrating the firm's competitive strategy with production methods and techniques.This analysis is grounded in an examination of British Leyland's strategies during the 1970s.. The greater part of the thesis deals with the efforts made by management to secure their strategic objectives in the process of technological change against the conflicting claims of their work-force. Examination of these efforts is linked to the development of industrial relations conflict at Longbridge and in British Leyland as a whole.Emphasis is placed upon the struggle between management in pursuit of their version of efficiency and the trade unions in defence of job controls and demarcations. The thesis concludes that the process of technological change in the motor industry is controlled by social forces,with the introduction of new technologies being closely intertwined with management!s political relations with the trade unions.

A Review of Competitive Strategy

Abstract: During the 1970s many American corporations shifted their strategic thrust from sales growth to dominance over rivals. Preoccupation with commercial rivalry is continuing. Now it is the subject of a trade book that blends the disciplines of industrial organization and business administration into a highly readable exposition. \"This book is written for practitioners, that is, managers seeking to improve the performance of their businesses . . . [and] not from the viewpoint of the scholar. . .' (pp. xv and xvi), who may nevertheless benefit from its conceptual approach, theoretical extensions and empirical illustrations. Competitive Strategy differs from comparable treatments in several respects. It is not procedural but substantive. Examinations of cause-effect relations are deeper and more cohesive than in the relatively few other available books on strategic substance. And, unlike industrial organization texts, Porter's orientation is managerial. Mathematical models and formulas are omitted. Integrating all relevant business functions, this book shows, by logic and examples, strategic thinking in a competitive context. People who have been waiting for this kind of discussion will read and reread Porter's book enthusiastically. Sixteen chapters explain analytical techniques, generic industry environments and strategic decisions. The final section instructs how to perform an industry analysis. It includes brief guides to tapping public data and conducting interviews for finding the information necessary to use the described techniques. A simple framework serves as platform for narrating competitive strategies under a great variety of conditions. The five elements in this basic framework are the rivals within an industry, their buyers' and suppliers' bargaining powers, plus threats of new entrants and substitute products. An astute strategist not only finds suitable buyers but also