Practice Being a Manager

Most Likely to Succeed Organizational strategy is aimed at achieving sustainable competitive advantage over rivals in a particular market. This exercise will offer you the opportunity to consider how companies in the restaurant industry might develop a strategy and attempt to gain sustainable competitive advantage.

For purposes of this exercise, your professor will organize your class into small teams. Each team will be competing for the title of "Most Likely to Succeed." One team will be designated as judges for this competition.

Step 1 (15 minutes): Develop a concept for a new restaurant business. You may choose to develop your concept as a local, regional, or national company- but in all cases, you must plan to open a restaurant in your local area. Your concept should include the following: (a) name for your restaurant/chain; (b) description of your menu, layout, and any other distinguishing features; and (c) likely direct competitors of your new concept. Prepare an informal presentation of not more than 2 minutes.

Step 2 (20 minutes): Present the concepts. Each team will make an informal 2-minute presentation of the restaurant concepts.

Step 3 (5 minutes): Judge the presentations. Judges will confer and reach a decision regarding the top concepts on the basis of "Most Likely to Succeed." Judges should apply the sustainable competitive advantage concept/factors in making their selections. While the judges are conferring, each team should discuss and evaluate the concepts presented by the competing teams. Teams should apply the tools and concepts in this chapter in evaluating these concepts.

Step 4:

Discuss as a class.

• What are the challenges of achieving sustainable competitive advantage in the restaurant business? Consider cases of failure and success in your local market-what factors seemed to play a role in determining success or failure?

• What strategic groups, or clusters of direct competitors (for example, fast-food burgers), were identified in the team presentations? Which strategic groups might be tougher to enter in your local area? Which might be easier to enter?

• Do major restaurant chains have a built-in sustainable competitive advantage over local competition in your area? If you think so, what is the source of this advantage, and is it more pronounced in some strategic groups than in others (e.g., greater in tacos than in fi ne dining)? If not, what strategies have the "locals" used to successfully compete with larger restaurant chains?