MANAGING FOR

COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE
Lecture 1
Muhammed Zakir Hossain
Assistant Professor
Department of Business Studies
State University of Bangladesh
MANAGING FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

“Competitive advantage is the favorable

position an organization seeks in order to
be more profitable than its competitors.”

"প্রতিযোগিতামূলক সুবিধা হ'ল একটি সংস্থা তার

প্রতিযোগীদের তু লনায় আরও বেশি লাভজনক হওয়ার
জন্য যে অনুকূ ল অবস্থানটি চায়।"
MANAGING FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
 Fundamental success drivers

1. Cost Competitiveness
2. Quality
3. Speed
4. Innovation
MANAGING FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Cost Competitiveness
Cost competitiveness is all about by keeping the price low
by realizing the profit.
 Dell computers are one of the best companies of the
world dealing in computers they provide computers in
affordable prices and deal online in the Internet.
 Chinese products dominating the Asian market by keeping
the price low of products.
 Major company like Intel establish manufacturing plants
to cheap labor countries like china, Pakistan , India and
Bangladesh by managing labor, manufacturing and
minimize taxes result in low cost of the product.
MANAGING FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Quality

“Quality is the excellence of a product, including such

thing as attractiveness, lack of defects, reliability, and
long term dependability.”

 Dell computer maintain quality as well as they are

cheaper than others.
 Intel Corporation deals in many computer products like
processors and motherboard and satisfies people by the
performance, reliability of their products that’s why they
capture computer hardware market.
MANAGING FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Speed

“Fast and timely execution of the response”

 Dell computer get specification of the computer from the

user and deliver the same, within 36 hours, because of
they have good coordination with their supplier to get the
parts in 10 hours.
 Pizza hut deliver each order in 15 minutes people don’t
have to wait too much, that is why they are dominating..
MANAGING FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
INNOVATION
“Creation of new devices, objects, ideas, or procedures
useful in accomplishing human objectives”

 P & G producing thousands of products each year because

they are innovative they share they share the view of
customers and introduce products what they want.
 Samsung leading cell phone company dominating because
they implement new ideas in their products and deliver
continuously new products in the market for every class of
customer
CHALLENGES OF
MANAGER
 CHALLENGES OF MANAGER
1 Achieving a Stretch Goal
2. Bringing Out the Best in Your Employees

3. Dealing with Underperforming Employees

4. Dealing with Outstanding Employees

5. Hiring the Right People

6. Responding to a Crisis

7. Continuous Improvement
 CHALLENGES OF MANAGER

 1 Achieving a Stretch Goal

There are goals associated with your

objectives, and if your organization is
aggressive then those goals require more than
the typical amount of effort. It’s going to take
some careful planning for you to figure out how
to apply your organization’s people and
resources to achieve an aggressive goal.
 CHALLENGES OF MANAGER
 2. Bringing Out the Best in Your Employees
All employees have good days and bad days. Some of the
causes are out of control. But it’s important that you take
steps to make as many days as possible “good days.”
 Treat every employee with respect.
 Help employees align their personal goals with their work
goals.
 Provide a work environment that is appropriate for the
work and conducive to employee well-being
 Encourage employee communication and cooperation
 But these were not your typical awards.
 “team player” and good manager will grow, and your own
career will be enhanced.
 CHALLENGES OF MANAGER

3. Dealing with Underperforming Employees

Manager should help employees cope with personal

issues, you’ll provide motivation and counsel, maybe
steer them to appropriate resources inside or outside
your company. Managers have to balance the needs
of the organization with the needs of the employees.
 
 CHALLENGES OF MANAGER

4. Dealing with Outstanding Employees

 They need recognition for their talents and efforts. They

need encouragement, training and guidance. And above
all they need to know that they have a career path in your
company, even if that career path takes them out of your
organization.
 CHALLENGES OF MANAGER

5. Hiring the Right People

No matter how happy your employees are, you’ll get

occasional turnover. And if your organization is successful
then you’ll often find that your budget and headcount
will grow as you are assigned more and more
responsibility. Either way, you’ll need to hire. Hiring is
easy, but hiring the right person is extremely difficult.
 CHALLENGES OF MANAGER

6. Responding to a Crisis

No matter how much planning you do, things will go

wrong. An employee will get sick at a critical time. A
weather disaster will hit your facility and disrupt your
plans. A crime will be committed — maybe a theft or even
something that harms an employee.
When a crisis hits, you have to be able to deal with it —
calmly, quietly and without being overwhelmed by stress.
 CHALLENGES OF MANAGER

7. Continuous Improvement
 No matter how good your organization gets, it can do
better. There’s always some type of improvement that
can be made: a change in a process, a better working
environment, better employee motivation, more focus on
the essentials.
Conclusion
 Management is complicated. It requires skill and
motivation. But most of all it requires commitment — the
commitment needed to rise to these seven challenges.