Business Integration topic - Essay Example

During this period, the company opened 13 stores. (JB Hi Fi, Annual Report – 2007) The strategies followed by JB Hi Fi will be discussed in light of recommendations for further improvement and growth in this paper. These strategies will be discussed in terms of the phases put forward in the book by Kotter titled Leading Change, as well as theories by various other scholars like Taylor, Porter and others. In the book Leading Change, Kotter has used the word urgency to describe the first phase so as to get a head start into the process of transformation.

This can be seen in JB Hi Fi’s foray into the market of technology with the popularity of its “Big Box”. This has to do with taking stock of competitive and market realities with a focus on crises and opportunities. (Kotter, 1996) This has been paralleled in Organizational Behavior and Management through a focus on competitive advantage which can be described as follows: (Ivancevich et al, 2004) This brings us to a discussion on the technicalities of the model proposed by Porter. Porters Five Forces model provides suggested points under each main heading.

When taken into consideration individually, each of these gives rise to the development of a broad and sophisticated analysis of competitive position. This may further be used during the creation of a strategy, plans, or even where making investment decisions about a business or organization is concerned. These five competitive forces determine industry profitability and attractiveness apart from being responsible for shaping the prices that firms can charge, the costs they have to bear, and the required investments to engage in industry level competition.

We are concerned with the fact that Porter’s essentially ahistorical approach cannot provide a full account of either a nation’s competitive advantage and corporate strategies or the growth and development of industrial