Competitive Strategy Report: Analysis of Toyota and HP's Strategies

This report provides a detailed analysis of the competitive strategies employed by Toyota Motor Corporation and Hewlett Packard Inc. (HP). It begins with an overview of Toyota, highlighting its lean manufacturing and production strategies, emphasizing the importance of customer value and innovation in achieving market success. The report then examines HP, focusing on its turnaround under CEO Mark Hurd, and its strategies to regain market share through innovative products and strategic resource utilization. The analysis covers key aspects like organizational strategies, innovation models, and the factors contributing to the success of both companies. The report uses examples and references to support its findings, providing a comprehensive understanding of competitive advantage in the automotive and computer industries.

Running head: COMPETITIVE STRATEGY
Competitive strategy
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Table of Contents
Description of the Organization.......................................................................................................3
Organizational Strategies and Innovation........................................................................................3
Description of the Organization.......................................................................................................5
Organizational Strategies and Innovation........................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................7

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Description of the Organization
Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese Multinational automotive manufacturer and is
headquartered in the city of Toyota o, Japan. The company is the ninth largest company in the
world in terms of annual revenue earned. The corporate structure of Toyota consists of more than
3 lakh employees employed all around the world in its different units. The company is now the
world’s largest manufacturer of automobiles in the world. It is also the largest manufacturers of
the hybrid electric vehicles (Barney 2014).
The reason behind the selection of the mentioned automobile company is the example it
has set for itself in the recent years. The philosophy of the management of the organization is one
of the best in the modern world. The strategy of lean manufacturing and Production at the correct
time is the two most key factors that have helped the company to generate huge profits and attain
the desired results (Peteraf et al. 2014).
Organizational Strategies and Innovation
As mentioned in the earlier paragraph the management of Toyota generally implements
two important strategies to achieve the best results in the market. Lean Manufacturing and
production on time are two such strategies. According to (Gilinsky et al. 2015) the management
of the company have orchestrated a high level vision which have helped it to attain ultimate
success. The company has focused basically on four questions while formulating the strategy;
a. Where to compete?
b. What are the values provided to the customers on the products?
c. What are the resources that are utilized?

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The company has focused on the high end car market and has been able to meet the demands of
the potential customers of the market. It has also been successful to make the customers
understand about the values that their products offer. The automobiles manufactured by the
mentioned company come with a lot of additional features. The customer’s gets a free servicing
for a period of 1 and a half year on every car purchased from its own showrooms and a service
period of one year if the car is purchased from any other showrooms. The organization also
provides a yearly accidental insurance at a much cheaper rate than the original market rate. The
following benefits provided to the customers create a great value of the products to the service
users which helps the organization to establish a competitive advantage in the market.
According to (Cusumano et al. 2015) Innovation is another element of the organization
that makes the company sustainable. Toyota has its own set of proper innovation strategy that
helps it to survive in the highly competitive market. There are lots of example of successful
companies that have failed in the market for its inability to innovate new products and services
and improve the organizational performance. To be innovative the company must make sure that
they follow the right path and maintain the right timing. Being involved in managing the daily
activities and neglecting innovation will lead to the failure of the business. The management
team of Toyota has established a research wing to make sure that they continue innovating new
products apart from managing the daily activities smoothly. Increasing the customer value has
been the main reason for the success of the mentioned company (Teeratansirikool et al. 2013).
The high rate of customer value has helped Toyota to maintain the competitive advantage in the
global market. The company generally refines and combines the right set of ideas to formulate
strategies.

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Description of the Organization
Hewlett Packard Inc popularly known as HP is an MNC based in the American state of
California. It manufactures wide variety of computer accessories and PC’s for different
companies as well as individuals. The company was founded in the year1939 in a garage room
and slowly expanded to be the world’s largest PC manufacturers. The company also produces a
large number of software and specializes itself in manufacturing and designing computer data.
The reason behind the selection of Hewlett Packard is the innovation that the company
brings with it and the strategies used by the company to become the best in the market.
Organizational Strategies and Innovation
HP, the manufacturers of personal computers and a range of other computer accessories
was struggling before the appointment of CEO Mark Hurd. Mr. Mark took up such an important
post at the time when the total organization was in a demoralized state. The company was
finding it hard to make profits in the market because of the absence of an innovative strategy
(Salavou 2015). Companies such as Dell which was offering innovative products at a lower price
occupied the largest part of the market share. In just two years after the appointment of the
mentioned person HP made a remarkable turnaround to capture the lost glory and made Dell run
for its money.
A remarkable ad campaigning with the involvement of stars like Jay Z and Gwen Stefani
ensured the rise in the sales of the products. The company also started concentrating on
innovation and designed some technologically advanced new products like Blackbird 002 that
rocked the market. The company thus was able to establish a new market in high margin,
premium PC’s (Dalvi 2014). The creation of the new market was utmost essential as HP was

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struggling to get hold of the old market. The company used the resources in the strategic toolbox
to attain all the objectives. Human resources, Capital and innovative ideas were the main
resources used by the new management to gain competitive advantage in the market (Anderson
et al. 2017). HP also provided a high value proposition for its products to attract the potential
customers. The innovation model of the company was based on four different steps namely;
a. Initiation- This is the time when the research wing of the company starts the process of
innovation. The actual work of innovation starts at this particular moment.
b. Ideation- The people involved in the innovation process selects the right set of ideas that
will help the company to improve its performance.
c. Integration- The time when the innovation is completed and the time when the things
are to be integrated in the business model.
d. Implementation- Implementation of the ideas is the last step in the process of innovation
of the organization.
The innovative strategies of HP have made them one of the best companies in the world. The
main factors that have led to the success of the company are;
a. Selecting and applying one business model at a time
b. Clear Communication
c. Providing adequate time for the strategies to develop
d. Appointing the top management people to implement the innovation processes

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References
Anderson, M., Hampson, A. and Laney, A., 2017. Collaborative Decision-making and Outcomes
in a Competitive, Simulated, Industry Environment.
Barney, J.B., 2014. Gaining and sustaining competitive advantage. Pearson Higher Ed.
Cusumano, M.A., Kahl, S.J. and Suarez, F.F., 2015. Services, industry evolution, and the
competitive strategies of product firms. Strategic management journal, 36(4), pp.559-575.
Dalvi, M., 2014. The project of application and measurement of Machine industry business
competitive strategies. European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences:
Proceedings, 2(3 (s)), pp.pp-1590.
Gilinsky Jr, A., Stanny, E., McCline, R.L. and Eyler, R., 2015. Does size matter? An empirical
investigation into the competitive strategies of the small firm. Journal of Small Business
Strategy, 12(2), pp.1-13.
Peteraf, M., Gamble, J. and Thompson Jr, A., 2014. Essentials of strategic management: The
quest for competitive advantage. McGraw-Hill Education.
Salavou, H.E., 2015. Competitive strategies and their shift to the future. European Business
Review, 27(1), pp.80-99.
Teeratansirikool, L., Siengthai, S., Badir, Y. and Charoenngam, C., 2013. Competitive strategies
and firm performance: the mediating role of performance measurement. International Journal of
Productivity and Performance Management, 62(2), pp.168-184.