Prospective corporate strategy - Essay Example

This lust for new market has triggered a wave of competition which has necessitated the need for organization to differentiate themselves from its competitors in order to sustain themselves in the market (Brakman & Heijdra, 2004, p.413). Task 1: Strategic Positioning Central Arguments In order to take on the increased levels of competition firms have started adopting different strategies that tend to provide greater value to the consumers. Strategists and marketers are increasingly enhancing their focus on aspects like positioning and branding.

Positioning is defined the image of a particular product or service in the minds of the consumer (Hiebing, Hiebing & Cooper, 2004, p.146). Value addition has become the prime aim of business organizations to sustain and differentiate themselves in the global market. Value proposition refers to the value addition that an organization provides to its customers by virtue of its business operations and product or service offering (Hax, 2009, p.42). Michael Porter identified three basic generic strategies that could be used to create strategic positioning for a firm in the market.

He stated that a firm can sustain itself in the business market by adopting one or a combination of the three generic strategies which are focus, cost leadership and differentiation. Strategic positioning involves selecting an optimum mix of the three generic strategies stated above to gain strategic and sustainable advantage while creating greater value for the stakeholders of an organization (Hansen, Mowen & Guan, 2007, p.377-378). The principles of strategic positioning as outlined by Thornton are stated below: 1.

Concept based strategy formulation 2. Long term vision and planning 3. Diversification of thought 4. Strength based planning (Thornton, 2007, p.14). Adopting a strategic positioning would help a firm to pursue activities that would help them differentiate the product or service offering from the rest of its competitors in the business market. It would also act as a guideline towards new product development as well as enhancement of value addition to a product or service offering (Steinbock, 2007, p.273). Task 2: Internet and Strategic Positioning The twenty first century has also been described as the age of information technology.

The backbone for this lies in the advancement in internet technology. Internet has reduced the distance between the individuals. This aspect has been largely used by business organizations to gain competitive advantage. The rise of dotcom sites and online web portals has been accredited with enhancing the business potential of business organizations. However, an article by Michael Porter strongly contradicts this view. The author in his article conveys his reservations about internet technology being used as medium to add value to a product or service offering.

He states that internet has not generated a significant increase in the value offering of the products rather it has created a situation where value addition implies only cost based improvement. He further questions the business model of the dot.com companies as he believes that the present business model ignores the aspect of profitability and value. In this article it has been explicitly stated that the rise of internet in business organiza