Business Process, Competitive Strategy, Value Chain and Future of Retail

This document discusses various terms such as business process, competitive strategy, value chain, and future of retail. It also includes a case study on Walmart versus Amazon and an application exercise using Microsoft Excel.

Prof. Eshra MAN 421
Must submit typed homework through Blackboard by due date
No e-mail submissions/hard copies will be accepted
Name:______________________________ Ch. 3&4—Homework
Part I: Define each of the following terms:
Business process The business process can be defined as a collection of connected tasks
which support the delivery of a particular product or service. It is also a set of tasks or activities
which will support the organizational goals once it is completed. The entire system includes the
inputs and the outputs too. The inputs consist of the factor which play a major role in the
addition of value of a product or service (Cacciolatti and Lee 2016). These are the factors which
can be separated in the process of management, in the operations and supports all the business
methods. In a particular organization’s systems the core business processes constitute the
operations. _____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Business process redesign The business process redesign is also referred to as the BPR or
the business process reengineering. It is a process that overhauls the business process along with
the business objectives to achieve vast success in the ROI (return on investment), the cost
reduction, the quality of service. Those business processes which encompass a total range of
crucial processes, from the manufacturing and production to the customer services and the sales.
The business process redesign can include a long range of job redundancies or the layoffs. It is
assumed that those business processes which are faulty can become the main reason for the poo
performance of the company. The inspiration for the process redesign comes from the changes in
the industry which requires better infrastructure in order to remain competitive. A particular
business might have to eliminate those business areas which hurts the profits. A new process
design could have been used for reducing the costs that includes the staff reduction,
consolidation and operational sales. It can also eliminate the layers of executive positions in
order to narrow down the channels of authority. ________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Competitive strategy It is the long term plan of an organization that helps the organization
to gain the competitive advantage in the contemporary market. The competitive strategy is
formed by the proper analysis of the market and the competitors. It is focused on the creation of
defensive position in a particular industry. The proper strategy of the organization helps to
generate superior returns on investment. These types of strategies contribute to provide the best
service to the customers and attract them in a better way than the competitors. According to
Michael Porter, here are four types of competitive strategy such as the cost leadership,
differentiation, cost focus and differentiation focus (Wirtz and Lovelock 2016). It is found that most
of the established companies devise a competitive strategy which evaluates the weaknesses,
strengths, threats ad opportunities to come down to the competitive advantage. _______________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Five forces model The five forces are the forces which shape the strategy. According to
Michael E. Porter, there are five competitive forces which are the basis for a business strategy. It
is rather defined as a tool which analyzes the competition of a business. It is derived from the
industrial organization and economics in order to determine the competitive intensity. The five
forces can reduce the overall profitability of the organization. The Five Force Model of Porter
consists of five components such as threat of entry, bargaining power of the buyers, threat of
substitutes, the bargaining power of the suppliers and the industry rivalry. ___________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
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Prof. Eshra MAN 421
Must submit typed homework through Blackboard by due date
No e-mail submissions/hard copies will be accepted
Primary activities The primary activities of the business involve the production and
distribution of goods. It is a chain of processes in the business. The primary activities of a
business focuses on the product development, distribution of the service or production. These
activities also consist of the outbound and inbound activities, marketing, operations and the sales.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Support activities The support activities are those activities which helps to continue the
business but not directly related to the product. The supply chain network can be made more cost
efficient and also work on the redesigning of the logistics. The support activities exist in the
value chain of a business. __________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Value chain The value chain is a model that is developed by Michael Porter which is used to
describe the process through which a business receives the raw materials along with adding value
to the raw materials. Various processes are used for creating a complete product and sell it to the
customers. There are instances of companies which conduct the analysis of the value –chain after
looking at every step of production to develop a product having identified the methods to
increase the effectiveness of a value chain. ____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Copy right It is a form of protection that is provided by the laws of the U.S to those entities
which establish original works of authorship. A copyright protects the musical, literary, artistic,
dramatic and other creative works. In the year 1976, the copyright Act clarified the protection of
copyright (Fahy and Jobber 2015). The copyright owner possesses the right to reproduce the work,
prepare the spin off works which are founded on the copyrighted work. _____________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Patent It is a grant of the protection of an invention. The United States Patent and Trademark
office (PTO) which has a term of 14 to 20 years. The holding of a Patent provides the right to
stop others from claiming the invention as his own. Only that person can apply for a Patent for
his or her idea. The law expects all the participants to participate in the inventions. It is subject
to the invalidation of the Patent and also criminal penalties if the claimed invention is not his /her
own.___________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Spam It is the use of messaging system in order to send the unsolicited message as well as
sending repeatedly on the particular site. It is economically viable because the advertisers do not
have the operating costs above the management of their lists of mailing, IP ranges, servers,
infrastructures and the domain names too. Those persons who develop the spams are called the
spammers. _____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Spyware The spyware is a type of software that is aimed at gathering information regarding
the person or the organization. It sometimes operates without the knowledge which may send
such kind of information to another entity without the consent of the consumer. It also asserts
control over an electronic device without the knowledge of the consumers. Spyware is most of
the times used for monitoring the habits of internet surfing and it is used to target specific
advertisement according to the tastes of the consumer. ___________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Part II—Business Problem-Solving Case Walmart Versus Amazon and the Future of Retail
Read Case Study “Walmart Versus Amazon and the Future of Retail” at the end of chapter 3 and
answer the questions that follow:
Page 2 of 5

Prof. Eshra MAN 421
Must submit typed homework through Blackboard by due date
No e-mail submissions/hard copies will be accepted
3-13. Both the Walmart and Amazon companies use the value chain and business model
which are: a) Being a manufacturer of the products they sell which reduces the costs of
production. b) Differentiating their services and the products. c) It is also the changing of
competition scope either through the means of market expansion to reach the global market. The
Walmart company purchases connect the suppliers to the consumers directly and immediately.
The suppliers also ensure that the delivery is done to the store. Both the companies use the
competitive force model to describe the interaction between the external influences especially the
threats and the opportunities which affects the industry structure (Kotler and Armstrong 2015). It
effects the industry through providing the technologies which helps the market competitors to
compete on price and rival in the market. It improves the available information to the customers
regarding the increase of bargaining power based on price. It reduces the power supplier and
substitutes the goods._____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
3-14. Both the organizations use the information system in order to attain the minimal operating
costs along with lowest price. In the Walmart, shelves and low pricing applied having used a
well –structured inventory replenishment system. Walmart is considered to be the largest food
retailer in the United States. The persistent replenishment system helps the companies to send the
orders directly for new orders to the supplier as soon as possible. At the cash register, the
consumers pay for their respective purchases. It is also an efficient system for achieving the
organizational objectives. _________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
3-15. the Walmart Company applies the warehousing system. The operations and the track
records are completely computerized. The operations of Walmart manufactures the products. The
sales and the processing are done online (Bowie et al. 2016). It focuses on the customers’
relationship management and the supplier relationship management too. There is an efficient
good distribution. The company has been satisfying the customers through many innovative
ways. In the global marketplace too, the company dominates the retail market (Blakeman 2018).
On the other hand, Amazon provides an extensive range of products along with the information
about the products that enables the customers to compare the price, testimonials and the quality
from people who bought the product. It also provides an exclusive service to convince the
customers. The data storage system is used tack the records which is once purchased by the
customers. The feedbacks of the customers are used to improve the service in future. __________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
3-16. After the analysis, it can be seen that Amazon will dominate the market in future. The
strategies and technology used by Amazon is more customer oriented and the systems facilitate
the customers more efficiently (Armstrong et al. 2015). It is evident that the customers would
prefer this company more than Walmart. It is because they provide a special kind of system that
Page 3 of 5

Prof. Eshra MAN 421
Must submit typed homework through Blackboard by due date
No e-mail submissions/hard copies will be accepted
help the customers to find what they need. It supports the customers to make a choice before
purchasing. _____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Part III: Application Exercise Using Microsoft Excel:
Complete the following exercise using data in file Ch2Ex1.doc (attached).
Suppose that you have been asked to assist in the managerial decision about how much to
increase pay in the next year. Assume you are given a list of the departments in your company,
along with the average salary for employees in that department for major companies in your
industry. Additionally, you are given the names and salaries of 10 people in each of three
departments in your company.
Assume you have been asked to create a spreadsheet that shows the names of the 10 employees
in each department, their current salary, the difference between their current salary and the
industry average salary for their department, and the percent their salary would need to be
increased to meet the industry average. Your spreadsheet should also compute the average
increase needed to meet the industry average for each department and the average increase,
company-wide, to meet industry averages.
a. Use the data in the file Ch2Ex1.doc (attached) and create the spreadsheet.
a. How can you use this analysis to contribute to the employee salary decision?
Based on this data, what conclusions can you make?
This analysis will help to align the HR goals and the strategies. It will also help to relate the
goals accomplishment and the company vision and mission. The pay system analysis will
also help to define the work culture. The competition and the labor markets will be assessed.
The bonus philosophy will be determined and the potential will be judged.
b. Suppose other team members want to use your spreadsheet. Name three ways you
can share it with them and describe the advantages and disadvantages of each.
It can be done by Email , ERP software and organizational communication software.
Remember to upload your answers (attachment) by due date
Page 4 of 5

Prof. Eshra MAN 421
Must submit typed homework through Blackboard by due date
No e-mail submissions/hard copies will be accepted
References
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Buchwitz, L.A., Trifts, V. and Gaudet, D., 2015. Marketing: an introduction.
Blakeman, R., 2018. Integrated marketing communication: creative strategy from idea to implementation.
Rowman & Littlefield.
Bowie, D., Buttle, F., Brookes, M. and Mariussen, A., 2016. Hospitality marketing. Routledge.
Cacciolatti, L. and Lee, S.H., 2016. Revisiting the relationship between marketing capabilities and firm
performance: The moderating role of market orientation, marketing strategy and organisational
power. Journal of Business Research, 69(12), pp.5597-5610.
Fahy, J. and Jobber, D., 2015. Foundations of marketing.
Hartsfield, S., Johansen, D. and Knight, G., 2017. Entrepreneurial orientation, strategy, and marketing
capabilities in the performance of born global firms. International Business: Research, Teaching, and
Practice, 2(1), pp.12-38.
Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G., 2015. Principles of Marketing-Global Edition. Pearson.
Wirtz, J. and Lovelock, C., 2016. Services marketing. World Scientific Publishing Company.
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