Global Business Strategy: Evaluating Competitive Advantage and Posture

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of global business strategy, focusing on competitive advantage, Porter's Six Forces model, and strategic posture. It discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using Porter's model and applies it to Walmart, examining competitive rivalry, the threat of new entrants, buyer and supplier power, substitutes, and complementary products. The essay also explores core competencies, using Google as a case study, and evaluates the role of strategic posture in unpredictable environments. The analysis concludes that strategic posture is a valuable tool for shaping organizational strategies and achieving long-term goals, while core competencies drive the development of effective products and services, though they may face sustainability challenges. Desklib offers this document and many more to aid students in their studies.

Running head: GLOBAL BUSINESS STRATEGY
GLOBAL BUSINESS STRATEGY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1GLOBAL BUSINESS STRATEGY
Question: 1
Introduction
In the recent time, it is becoming more important for the business organizations to
determine the intensity of the competitiveness of the industry apart from just identifying the
close substitutes. This is due to the reason intensity of competitiveness will have impacts on the
potentiality of the organizations (Singh et al., 2014). In this case, six forces model of Porter are
being used for determination of the industry competitiveness. However, it should also be noted
that this model is having its advantages and disadvantages. In this paper, the major merits and
demerits of using six forces model will be discussed.
Advantages of six forces model
One of the major advantages of this model is its simplicity. This is due to the reason that
the six dimensions being discussed in this model are based on generalized assumptions. Thus, the
business organizations will not face any difficulties in using this modal and can use this in
different situational scenarios (E. Dobbs, 2014). Another major advantage of this model is
coverage of all the major elements from suppliers to consumers. Thus the entire supply chain is
being covered, which is further helping the business organizations in having the understanding
about the competitiveness of different business aspects.
Disadvantages of six forces model
However, on the other hand, there are number of disadvantages also being identified. One
of the major disadvantages is less alignment with the changing external forces. It is identified
that industrial environment can get changed at any point of time but this model has not

2GLOBAL BUSINESS STRATEGY
considered changing environmental factors. Another major disadvantage is the limitation of the
model for the small enterprises. This is due to the reason that small enterprises will not all the
relevant factors discussed in this model. The effectiveness and utility of the six forces will be
identified if it is applied in a real world organization.
Six forces model of Walmart
Competition  Competitive rivalry in the retail industry is high with the
present of good number of competitors.
 Industry growth is slow as retail market is already becoming
stagnant (Dan et al., 2013).
 Cost leadership plays an important role in attracting new
customers over other competitors.
New entrants  Threat of new entrants for Walmart is low.
 It is difficult for the new entrants to match the brand value of
Walmart.
 New entrants will also not gain the economies of scale as
Walmart.
 Thus, there are number of barriers present for the new
entrants.
Buyers  Bargaining power of the buyers is high for Walmart.
 There are number of competitors already operating in the
market and thus the customers are having more options.
 Switching cost is also low for the customers.

3GLOBAL BUSINESS STRATEGY
 Thus, the market determined price is being followed by
majority of the retailers.
Suppliers  Bargaining power of the suppliers is low due to the presence
of large number of suppliers in the industry.
 These suppliers are not having the brand identity of Walmart.
Thus, they are more depended on the end retailers.
 However, the pricing of the suppliers will affect the end
pricing of Walmart and this will determine the flow of the
customers.
Substitutes  Threat of substitutes is more for Walmart due to the similar
offerings by their competitors.
 Almost all the retailers are reselling the same manufactured
products to the customers.
 Thus, the differentiation is less among the competitors.
Complementary products  Number of consumer goods of Walmart is depended on the
complementary products.
 Thus, the level of impact of complementary product is high
for Walmart.
 Availability of the finance with the customers will determine
the extent of potentiality for Walmart.

4GLOBAL BUSINESS STRATEGY
Conclusion
Thus it can be concluded that six forced model is one of most effective tools for
determination of the industry level competitiveness. In this paper, different merits and demerits
of the six forces model are being discussed. The model is also being applied on Walmart to
identify the key utilities. It is identified that Walmart is having several high and low level of
impact of competitive forces being faced in their global business organizations. In accordance to
these impacts, they can initiate new business strategies in the long term.
Reference
Dan, Z., Yu, X., Yin, J., Bai, Y., Song, D., & Duan, N. (2013). An analysis of the original
driving forces behind the promotion of compulsory cleaner production assessment in key
enterprises of China. Journal of cleaner production, 46, 8-14.
E. Dobbs, M. (2014). Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry
analysis templates. Competitiveness Review, 24(1), 32-45.
Singh, S., Köpke, U. G., Howard, C. Q., & Petersen, D. (2014). Analyses of contact forces and
vibration response for a defective rolling element bearing using an explicit dynamics
finite element model. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 333(21), 5356-5377.
Question 2
Introduction
Core competencies of an organization are mainly based on the effective combination of
the skills and resources which are required in order to distinguish their operations from others
operating in the same industry. Three major criteria are fulfilled with the help of core

5GLOBAL BUSINESS STRATEGY
competencies which include, access to a variety of markets, significant levels of contribution
which are provided to customer benefits based on end products. Core competencies are thereby
based on the production based techniques and the skills which are a part of the organizational
operations. The access which an organization has in different markets or areas is considered to be
a major core competency (Bryson, 2018).
Discussion based on core competencies
Advantages of core competencies
The major advantages of core competencies are based on the features or qualities which
are inherited by an organization and it is provided with specialized levels of expertise which are
not available for the competitors. The core competencies are also considered to be a major part
of the competitive advantage which is developed by an organization within the industry of
operations. The core competencies are thereby able to provide the organization with an effective
position in the industry. The modern organizations are able to develop the products and services
with the help of proper core competencies which have been gained in terms of its effective
operations in the industry (Bustinza et al., 2015).
Disadvantages of core competencies
The core competencies which have been developed by an organization in the industry are
however not always unique and can be imitated easily by the competitors sometimes. The levels
of misidentification are considered to be a major drawback which has been provided by the core
competencies. The unsustainability is also a major disadvantage of the organizational operations
in different industries. The core competencies are not effective for a long term in the industry

6GLOBAL BUSINESS STRATEGY
and can fail to develop a different position of the organization as well (Espinoza & Ukleja,
2016).
Core competency analysis of Google
The major core competency which has been developed by Google in the industry is
considered to be the powerful levels of algorithms which are based on providing effective
information to the users. The core competencies are mainly used by Google in order to develop
effective products and services that are offered to the customers. Core competencies of Google
have improved over the period of time. The organization has further developed new core
competencies with the aim to operate effectively in the industry. The strong core products which
have been developed by Google Inc. are based on the different core competencies (Rosemann &
vom Brocke, 2015).
The effective survival of Google is considered to be based on the core competencies
which have been developed by the organization. The quality of core products has been improved
by Google by using the core competencies in different organizational activities. The core
competencies of Google have been mapped with the strategy and core products of the
organization. However, some of the core competencies of the organization have not been able to
provide effective levels of sustainability to Google in the technology based industry. The
competitive advantages which have been developed by the organization are based on the core
competencies which have not been retained by Google (Espinoza & Ukleja, 2016).
Conclusion
The analysis can be concluded by stating that the core competencies play a major role in
the effective operations of the organizations. The development of core products of modern

7GLOBAL BUSINESS STRATEGY
organizations is considered to be a major part of the effectiveness of the operations. The
organization which has been considered as an example, namely, Google has been able to use the
core competencies effectively in order to operate profitably in the industry. The core
competencies have played a key role in the development of various products and services of the
organization. However, the core competencies have failed to show high levels of sustainability
which is provided to the operations of Google.
References
Bryson, J. M. (2018). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to
strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. John Wiley & Sons.
Bustinza, O. F., Bigdeli, A. Z., Baines, T., & Elliot, C. (2015). Servitization and competitive
advantage: the importance of organizational structure and value chain position. Research-
Technology Management, 58(5), 53-60.
Espinoza, C., & Ukleja, M. (2016). Managing the Millennials: Discover the core competencies
for managing today's workforce. John Wiley & Sons.
Rosemann, M., & vom Brocke, J. (2015). The six core elements of business process
management. In Handbook on business process management 1 (pp. 105-122). Springer,
Berlin, Heidelberg.
Question 3
Introduction
Business strategy is always considered to be the road map which helps an organization to
attain the place where it seeks to reach. Any typical strategy of a firm covers a plan for the next

8GLOBAL BUSINESS STRATEGY
two to five years. It depicts how to attain the organizational goal and whether the goal is
doubling the sales or is decreasing it or simply keeping it the same (De Clercq & Zhou, 2014). It
is the strategic posture of the business that helps in choosing and shaping the organizational
strategies. This report is going to elaborate on examiningthe notion that “Strategic Posture is a
valuable tool for making strategy in hard to predict environments”.
Discussion based on the strategic posture of organizations
Montiel Campos, Haces Atondo & Ruiseñor Quintero (2014) have defined Strategic
posture as “a consistent pattern or combination of managerial controllable or decision
components are presenting scope, resource deployment and competitive advantages; and the
direction in which these components are shifting overtime, which characterize the way
businesses tend to compete”. The strategic posture of the organization is considered to be an
important tool which is used by the leaders in order to apply the strengths of the business and
fulfill the long term based needs. Formulation of Strategic posture is one of the significant parts
of the process of strategic planning of an organization when the company managers
collaboratively develop the goals, the strategies and a specific vision for the business in the near
future.
The nature of strategic posture needs to be analyzed effectively by the organizations and
also lead them in a proper manner (Etemad, 2015). The strategy which is implemented by the
organizations is considered to be a road map which is able to provide an effective direction to the
operations. The strategic posture of the business is thereby helpful in providing opportunities to
shape the strategies and prepare the future operations as well. This process is considered to be
helpful for the future operations and development of leadership based position in the industry.

9GLOBAL BUSINESS STRATEGY
The changes which take place in the industry are considered by the strategic postures that are
developed by the organizations (Madison, Runyan & Swinney, 2014). The strategic posture is
developed by the organizations with the help of proper analysis of the market and development
of best posture as well. The opportunities which are provided by the industry are considered by
the modern organizations in order to form the strategic posture. It is also to mention that
recognition of the nature of the organizational strategic posture, one could lead the company
more strategically and effectively.
The strategic posture which has been formed by Apple is considered to be an effective
tool for its operations in the technology based industry. The organization has been able to
provide high levels of commitment towards the personal computing based experiences and the
musical experiences which are offered to customers. The highly profitable performance which
has been shown by Apple has been provided with effective back-up by the strategic posture of
the organization. The organization thereby has a unique ability of designing and developing the
software and hardware. The strategic posture of Apple is based on levels of operations and
position which has been developed by the organization in the technology industry. The proper
integration of new technology by the organization is considered to be a major part of the strategic
posture of Apple. The environment or industry in which Apple operates is highly unpredictable
in nature and the strategic posture is an important factor which is helpful for the organization.
Conclusion
Hence, from the above analysis it is to conclude that Strategic posture is truly a very
important tool that helps in making the strategy in hard for predicting the business environment

10GLOBAL BUSINESS STRATEGY
for a firm. It has the potential to provide a company with significant means of attaining
competitive edge over its competitors by achieving superior performance in the business market.
References
De Clercq, D., & Zhou, L. (2014). Entrepreneurial strategic posture and performance in foreign
markets: the critical role of international learning effort. Journal of international
Marketing, 22(2), 47-67.
Etemad, H. (2015). Entrepreneurial orientation-performance relationship in the international
context. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, 13(1), 1-6.
Madison, K., Runyan, R. C., & Swinney, J. L. (2014). Strategic posture and performance:
Revealing differences between family and nonfamily firms. Journal of Family Business
Strategy, 5(3), 239-251.
Montiel Campos, H., Haces Atondo, G., & Ruiseñor Quintero, M. (2014). Towards a theory for
strategic posture in new technology based firms. Journal of technology management &
innovation, 9(2), 77-85.
Question 4
Introduction
Shared value has always been considered to be an important component for most of the
public and private organizations (Bryson, 2018). Creation and implementation of it in every
organizations is very) important. It provides a guidance for the decision making process of
organization. However, this report is going to elaborate on defining what is shared value and
how it helps the companies in making strategy in a sustainable and societally beneficial manner.

11GLOBAL BUSINESS STRATEGY
Discussion
As per Annderson (2016), shared values refers to the organizational values that are
basically developed by the leadership of the organization and then, is adopted by the other
members of the organization. These values are being shared among all the members and are
thereafter followed by them while acting on the behalf of the company. They are also known as
core values. The mutual dependence of society and corporations suggests that both the social
practices and the business decisions need to follow the organizational shared value.
It is to note that Shared Value is not only a social responsibility or sustainability, but it is
also a new way of achieving economic success for the parts of the companies (Schlesinger,
Cervera & Perez-Cabanero, 2017). It is a management strategy by means of which firms find the
business opportunities in the social problems. While the Corporate Social Responsibility and the
philanthropy efforts focus on minimizing the harmful effects that the business have laid on the
society, the shared values lay emphasis on increasing the competitive edge for solving the social
issues among the new markets and customers. There are several firms who are building or
rebuilding the business models that are revolving around the social good. They sets them
different from that of the competition and at the same time, augment their organizational success.
One of the best example of company to consider in this context is that of Nestle.
Nestle is regarded to be one of the shared value pioneers who is leading the way in the
development of the concept from the earliest stages along with a conviction which says that the
firm could do the business in different ways which deliver long term benefit society and
shareholder value. It is an approach that starts with the understanding that in order to ensure long
term prosperity of the business, it is very important to ensure that the communities that the