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Summary of an Article: “What is Strategy”

An article titled “What is Strategy” was published in 1996 which is still studied and

used as a guide because of the valuable arguments added by Michael Eugene Porter. Because

of his services in the field of business and strategy he is remembered as the father of the

modern strategy field. The article “What is strategy” is based on the analytical approach

which defines that the identification of diverse forces of intra-industry competition is

necessary to make a strategy. However, the diverse forces enable to stand firm in the industry

by avoiding the corresponding barriers. Shortly, this article enables to realize that a stable

position in a competitive market can be achieved by selecting the market position. Whereas,

the market positioning can be achieved by the combination of business activities in different

fashions. These activities result in sustainable competitive advantages which further enable

them to compete and leads to profitability as well. Thus, it can be added that there are diverse

game-changing activities that result in sustainable developments and profitability (Porter,

1996). Furthermore, the article defines the significance of differences and connections

between the operational efficiency and strategy making.

Michael Porter reveals that most of the losses are faced because of the inability to

differentiate between operational effectiveness and strategy. However, these terms cannot be

used interchangeably (Porter, 1996). However, both of them are important for higher

performance. The operational effectiveness is also a game-changing factor as it enables to

perform better than the rivals. For instance, an organization can reduce the defects in the

products whereas the strategy defines to perform better or different from the competitors.

Michael Porter has also discussed several examples from real-world competitors including
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Apple Inc. and other Japanese companies. Thereby, this article enables us to analyze the

paramount importance of the strategy which enables a firm to stand out from the crowd in a

manageable way.
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Works Cited

Porter, M. E. (1996). What is strategy. Harvard business review, 74(6), 61-78.