EMBA 560 Executive position week 3 discussion 3 - Research Paper Example

The truth is that all businesses will eventually have to face change, and it is a wise and prudent ship’s captain who knows when to cut loose change course. A company which once commanded industry leadership around the world recently declared bankruptcy largely as a result of failure to adapt strategies to the changing environment, or by adapting change too late. The company is Kodak, formerly the world’s leading name in photography equipment and services. Kodak made its business on film photography, and when the first digital camera was invented in 1975 and was first brought to Kodak, the management considered it “cute” but insignificant because it was filmless (Mui, 2012).

The company executives failed to see that the new invention was potentially disruptive and that the company must grab the opportunity of becoming a first comer and laying stakes on the new technology. Had Kodak not stuck solely to film photography in which it had dominated, and made its shift early by buying the rights to the new invention, the company would have been at the forefront of digital photography and imaging at present, instead of filing for bankruptcy protection. The problem with Kodak and the many other businesses that failed due to a misspecification in their strategy is that they are unable to recognize significant environmental shifts and to adjust accordingly to the opportunities brought about by change.

Mui, C 2012 “How Kodak Failed.” Forbes. 18 Jan 2012. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/chunkamui/2012/01/18/how-kodak-failed/ 2. Consider the industry where you are currently employed (or the one you would choose to work in if currently unemployed). How does a firm in your industry create competitive advantage in the marketplace? The firms in our industry generally acquire competitive advantage in three ways: by coming up with new innovations; by improving services to the customers; or by lowering prices significantly.

The first is the best way, where possible, because the medical devices industry is highly technology driven, and new technologies that help save and improve lives will always have strong first-comer advantages. The problem with this choice of competitive strategy is that it is capital intensive because of the extremely high investment in research and development that it requires. Companies which do not have the financial size and strength to weather long periods of product development from laboratory to market is not going to survive this type of an industry.

The other firms which cannot quite undertake their own innovations will have to compete on the basis of customer service and/or low price. The giving of deep discounts on good quality products is never a good idea, because it does not properly reward the R&D proponent and may become a demotivator for the research and development of new products. In order to maintain the value of a good product even during tight competition, firms have turned to improved customer management. This is ideal because when the company establishes a long-term relationship with a client that has the prospect of repeated transactions, particularly for institutions and physicians and in the case of patients for the prospect of upgrades, then keeping detailed information on them will help the company target those products that will serve their specific purposes better.

That is a value-enhancing service that the company can