Managing Value Chain Assignment

The Dimensions of Competitiveness

An effectively and efficiently managed value chain supports competitive advantage and achievement of profitability goals. The textbook identifies four core dimensions by which companies can choose one, some, or all of the dimensions to compete. The four core dimensions are cost, quality, response time, and flexibility. The purpose of this Discussion is to apply these four dimensions of competitiveness to real-world examples.

Directions

1. Choose four different companies (choose examples that are not mentioned in your textbook) that represent each of the four dimensions of competitiveness. It is fine for a company to be an example representing more than one of the dimensions, but there must be examples of four different companies and each of the four dimensions of competitiveness must be covered.

2. Use the Kaplan Library for articles/company profiles providing information related to determining how you categorize each of the four company dimensions of competitiveness strategies. Once you have made your choices, you may use the chosen company's websites as references. No other internet resources are allowed as applied and cited references for this Unit 2 Discussion, although you may use the internet to support your own research and learning. Apply no more than one APA formatted reference and citation per paragraph. Support your response's content by applying and citing at least three separate sources (for example, from a Kaplan Library article, your textbook, and a company website). APA formatting resources are available in Kaplan's Writing Center in the "Research, Citation, and Plagiarism" area.

3. The response should use first person ("I", "me") perspective.

4. Compose a response of at least four paragraphs of 4-5 sentences per paragraph.

5. The response should clearly address how the company achieves competitive advantage by providing value to customers. Include the following in your response: Identify four examples of companies who compete based upon the four dimensions of competitiveness. How does each company use one or more of the four dimensions of competitiveness? How is their strategy evident? How does this competitive strategy differentiate the company from their competition? Explain.

6. Proofread your response, run spell check and grammar check, and proofread again. Post your polished response in the Unit 2 Discussion forum.

The purpose of this Assignment is to confirm your understanding of the direct correlation between an effective value chain and a firm's competitive advantage by examining the relationship between customer delight, profitability, competitive advantage, and effective value chain management.

Directions

1. Use the APA formatted Microsoft® Word® document template in Doc Sharing titled "Unit 2 Assignment Template Competitive Advantage" as the starting point. Download the template and save it as your own document, for example, YourNameUnit2GB570.docx.

2. Write a 4-6 pages paper, not including title and reference pages, making a compelling argument as to why an effective value chain creates competitive advantage.

3. Write your paper using third person perspective (do not use first or second person pronouns; (e.g. "I", "me", "you", "we").

4. In your paper, you will examine the concepts and interrelationships of customer delight, profitability, competitive advantage, and effective value chain management by following the directions included within the Unit 2 Assignment template. Included within this examination:

a. Discuss each of the four elements.
b. Examine the interrelationship between the four elements.
c. Provide two examples of companies that have been successful in this integration, two examples of companies that have not been successful in this integration, and include explanations for your choices.

5. Include a conclusion summarizing the paper's content without introducing any new information.

6. Support your response's content with at least three separate applied and cited references. Accepted sources are: Kaplan Library article(s), your textbook and the chosen example companies websites. No other internet references are acceptable for the Unit 2 Assignment. Apply and cite no more than one referenced sentence per paragraph. Not every paragraph requires use of a reference; originality is appreciated. Use APA in-text citations within the response and list the applied reference(s) at the end of the response using APA formatting. APA formatting resources are available in Kaplan's Writing Center in the "Research, Citation, and Plagiarism" area.

7. Proofread your paper, confirm correct APA formatting, run spell check and grammar check and proofread again.