Competitive Strategy Analysis: German Car Industry, Walmart, GE

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of competitive strategies in various business contexts. It begins by examining the significance of the general environment for the German car industry, highlighting political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal elements. The report then analyzes David Jones' customer relationship-building strategies, emphasizing value provision, complaint resolution, reward programs, and customer loyalty. It further explores the environmental trends Walmart must consider when entering the Chinese market, focusing on political and legal factors. The report also discusses the competitive issues faced by General Electric in managing cooperative strategies, including resource limitations, target market selection, marketing strategies, and product/service selection. Additionally, it addresses the challenges of acquisitions, such as a lack of good motives, targeting the wrong company, overestimation of synergies, overpaying, and trust issues. Finally, the report outlines the responsibilities of leadership, including building trust, effective communication, offering sufficient resources and autonomy, and building self-efficacy.

Competitive
Strategy

Contents
Significance of elements of General Environment for German Car Industry...........................................3
Building of effective relationships with the customers by David Jones...................................................4
Environmental trends to be considered by Walmart for entering the market of China..........................4
Competitive issues faced by General Electric in management of Cooperative strategies.......................5
Challenges of an acquisition....................................................................................................................6
Responsibilities of the leadership............................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................................8

Significance of elements of General Environment for German Car Industry
A business is influenced by a number of factors. These can include both external as well
as internal factors. Thus these factors which can affect a business in both positive and negative
way comprise its environment (What Is Business Environment?, 2020).
There are different elements in the general environment which can create an impact on
the German Car Industry. These are explained as follows-
Political elements- These are crucial to be considered by the businesses because they are
required to make sure that they prepare a strategy to deal with the political forces effectively and
efficiently (Agyapong, Ellis and Domeher, 2016). For the German car industry, these elements
are important because political stability in Germany will be quite crucial for this industry to be
able to make higher-level of profits in the future time period.
Economic elements- These are important for being considered by the businesses because
economic conditions are quite dynamic in nature and can change quite quickly. Therefore for
German car industry, it is very crucial that the economic conditions remain favorable for it which
will allow it to earn higher-level of profits in the future time period.
Social elements- They are necessary for being considered by the businesses as there can
be various types of significant changes which keep on happening within a society. For the
German car industry, there is a requirement to ensure that the social elements remain in its favor
so that sustainable level of success can be attained in the future time period.
Technological elements- They are quite important for the businesses as in technology
there are different sort of dynamic changes (Danso and et.al., 2019). Thus it is very important for
German car industry to keep itself up-to-date with them so that it is able to provide satisfaction to
the various customers effectively and efficiently.
Environmental elements- They are crucial to be considered by the businesses because
the customers have become quite conscious towards the environment. They want the companies
to be environment-friendly by making significant changes to their approach. Thus for the
German car industry, it is important to introduce environment-friendly technology in the cars to
remain competitive in the market.
Legal elements- They are important to be considered by the businesses because the firms
are required to consider the laws of the country in which they operate which are framed by the
government (dos Santos and et.al., 2017). Thus, it is important for the German car industry to be
able to comply with the legal requirements which have been set by the government of the
country in which its various companies are operating.

Building of effective relationships with the customers by David Jones
David Jones is a leading company in Australia. It has put its focus on building of
effective relationship with its customers. It is explained as follows-
Providing value to the customers- For the companies it becomes very crucial that they
are able to provide the customers with the desired value in an effective manner (Gabrielsson,
Seppälä and Gabrielsson, 2016). Thus, David Jones has identified the value which is required to
be provided to the customers. Thus in this manner the company has ensured that it is able to
provide them with those products and services which can be quite helpful for them by fulfilling
their various needs and requirements. Thus, in this way the company has made sure that it can
satisfy the customers in an effective manner.
Solving complaints of the customers- It is important for the businesses to identify and
solve the complaints of the customers. This helps in satisfying them and ensuring that they
provide positive reviews. Therefore, David Jones makes use of a complaint mechanism where
the customers can submit their complaints and thus the management can take the appropriate
action on them.
Reward points- Reward points are very useful in acknowledging the purchases made by
the customers by providing them some points (Kilduff, 2019). David Jones provides these points
to the customers when they make purchases so that they can redeem them later on. This is quite
useful in providing the desired level of satisfaction to the customers.
Customer loyalty scheme- Customer loyalty scheme is useful for the companies to
ensure that their customer base remains loyal towards them. In the context of David Jones, this
scheme has been useful as its managers have used it in the right manner to ensure that they
provide the right rewards to the most loyal customers of the company who regularly purchase its
products and avail its services. Therefore, this leads towards a higher-level of satisfaction for the
customers.
Environmental trends to be considered by Walmart for entering the market of China
The following environment trends are required to be considered by Walmart-
Political factors- The companies need to consider these factors because they are quite
impactful for their businesses (Larsen and et.al., 2018). China is a communist country and thus
its rules regarding the outside countries are quite strict. They have to be followed by the
international companies if they plan their expansion into the market of China. In this way these
firms will be able to become successful in the market of the country.
The Chinese Government keeps bringing on frequent changes in its policies. They are
required to be considered by Walmart and it needs to ensure that it sets up its business according
to them which will help the company in obtaining the desired success in the future and ensuring
that a much-needed strategic edge can be acquired by it.

Legal factors- In China, there are various rules and regulations which have been set by
the Chinese Government on the entry of international companies (Linton and Kask, 2017). As it
is a socialist economy, it is quite conservative. Thus there are also several restrictions which are
put on the international companies which enter into the Chinese market. Thus it is required from
Walmart that its management is able to understand the rules and regulations of operating in the
Chinese market. Thus if they are able to comply with them then Walmart will be able to become
successful in the Chinese market in an effective manner.
Walmart’s managers are required to ensure that they consider all the legal aspects of
conducting their various types of business activities in the Chinese market. In this way, they will
be able to ensure that they can frame a proper strategy which works well according to the rules
and regulations of the country leading towards the company earning higher-level of profits in the
future time period without facing problems and issues.
Thus these are the important environmental trends which are required to be considered by
the managers of Walmart before they can enter into the market of China.
Competitive issues faced by General Electric in management of Cooperative
strategies
Cooperative strategies refer to the strategies which are adopted by the organizations to
ensure that they are able to cooperate with the other organizations in an effective manner to
achieve common goals and objectives (Mitra, 2016). This can be done in two forms- Strategic
Alliance and Joint Venture.
General Electric is an American Company which deals in various types of segments in
the market. The competitive issues which are faced by it in the management of Cooperative
strategies are as follows-
Lack of sufficient resources- It means the organizations which are making use of
Cooperative strategies face a problem related to their resources (Oyewobi and et.al., 2016). This
means that both of them may not have the sufficient resources. Thus in this manner General
Electric faces this issue as when it wants to collaborate with other organizations there is an issue
related with the availability of resources with them.
Selection of a target market- It is quite important for the organizations to be able to
select a right target market in which they can expand in an effective manner. In General Electric,
the management faces this issue when it is collaborating with other firms because there is a
requirement for both of the organizations to agree upon a particular target market to be
considered for the purpose of planning expansion in an effective manner.
Marketing strategies- For the organizations who are collaborating with each other for a
common purpose it is very important to frame the appropriate marketing strategies so that the
desired goals and objectives can be attained easily. This is an issue which is faced by General

Electric when it is managing its cooperative strategies as there are difficulties in agreement over
a common marketing strategy to be applied within the market.
Selection of products and services- The organizations which are collaborating together
and are framing cooperative strategies are required to agree upon the products and services
which they will provide. Thus it is an issue which General Electric faces in the management of
its cooperative strategies as it becomes difficult to maintain an agreement between the companies
related to the products and services. This can create problems and issues for both of the
companies and their management and can thus put an impact on the strategy which they are
going to implement. Thus this can create a significant impact on their profitability level.
Challenges of an acquisition
There are different types of challenges which are faced by the organizations in the
acquisition process. These challenges are explained as follows-
Lack of a good motive- When a company acquires another one without a good motive it
can create quite a challenging situation for its managers. Thus for the organizations it can create
a challenge as it can impact the level of profits which they planned to earn before acquisition.
Targeting of the wrong company- When a company acquires another one without
obtaining substantial information about it this can result in creation of various types of problems
as well as issues for them. Therefore for the organizations it is important that they research about
a company before deciding to acquire it.
Overestimation of synergies- Sometimes the management of a company overestimates
the synergies when deciding to acquire another company. Thus for the firms it can create various
types of problems as well as issues as it can lead them towards losses if they make a wrong
decision regarding the acquisition of a particular company.
Overpaying- The firms sometimes tend to overpay because they estimate the value of a
company which they acquire to be quite high which is not the case in the practical scenario.
Therefore this can create an impact on their financial situation.
Trust- When a company decides to acquire another one it can also result in losing of trust
if the various important stakeholders. Therefore this can create quite an impact on the
organizations.
Responsibilities of the leadership
There are various types of responsibilities which are required to be fulfilled by the
leaders. These are explained as follows-
Building of trust- There is a requirement for the leaders to ensure that they are able to
build sufficient trust in their various types of stakeholders. Thus in this way they will be able to

ensure that they are able to give important responsibilities to the subordinates which they can
fulfill.
Communication- For the leaders in an organization, it becomes quite important that they
are able to communicate in an effective manner with the subordinates (Salunke, Weerawardena
and McColl-Kennedy, 2019). Therefore for the firms this can be highly effective as it can lead
towards achievement of the goals and objectives.
Offering of sufficient resources and autonomy- The leaders are required to provide
sufficient resources and autonomy to the subordinates so that they can operate effectively
without facing problems and issues.
Building of self-efficacy- It is important for the leaders to ensure that proper motivation
is provided to the subordinates by building self-efficacy in them. In this way their maximum
potential can be channelized.
Accountability- The leaders have the responsibility of assigning various types of tasks
and thus holding the team members accountable. Therefore in this way this can create a sense of
responsibility among them and they will be serious towards their tasks which will lead to better
efficiency as well as effectiveness without problems and issues.
Conducting of regular debriefings- It is the responsibility of the leaders in a firm to
make sure that the regular debriefings are done in an effective manner with the team members. In
this way, the leaders will be able to make sure that the team is able to achieve its full potential
without problems and issues in the future time period and can accomplish its goals and
objectives.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Agyapong, A., Ellis, F. and Domeher, D., 2016. Competitive strategy and performance of family
businesses: moderating effect of managerial and innovative capabilities. Journal of Small
Business & Entrepreneurship. 28(6). pp.449-477.
Danso, A. and et.al., 2019. Environmental sustainability orientation, competitive strategy and
financial performance. Business Strategy and the Environment, 28(5), pp.885-895.
dos Santos, R. R. and et.al., 2017. Model For Formulating Competitive strategy: the
supplementary health sector case. Benchmarking: An International Journal.
Gabrielsson, M., Seppälä, T. and Gabrielsson, P., 2016. Realizing a hybrid competitive strategy
and achieving superior financial performance while internationalizing in the high-technology
market. Industrial Marketing Management. 54. pp.141-153.
Kilduff, G .J., 2019. Interfirm relational rivalry: Implications for competitive strategy. Academy
of Management Review. 44(4). pp.775-799.
Larsen, S. B. and et.al., 2018. How the reverse supply chain contributes to a firm’s competitive
strategy: a strategic alignment perspective. Production Planning & Control. 29(6). pp.452-463.
Linton, G. and Kask, J., 2017. Configurations of entrepreneurial orientation and competitive
strategy for high performance. Journal of Business Research. 70. pp.168-176.
Mitra, S., 2016. Models to explore remanufacturing as a competitive strategy under
duopoly. Omega. 59. pp.215-227.
Oyewobi, L. O. and et.al., 2016. Relationship between competitive strategy and construction
organisation performance. Management Decision.
Salunke, S., Weerawardena, J. and McColl-Kennedy, J.R., 2019. The central role of knowledge
integration capability in service innovation-based competitive strategy. Industrial Marketing
Management. 76. pp.144-156.
Online
What Is Business Environment?. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.marketingtutor.net/business-environment/>