Scenario:
The demand for cell phones is growing rapidly throughout the world. This has resulted in the emergence and growth of many supporting business opportunities such as cell phone accessories, ring tones, integrated services, and pre-paid cell phones. Although the United States has a high propensity of usage, the industry for cell phones is global in nature with even higher usages reported in some European and Asian countries.
The Vice President for your company, Technology Road Inc., recently approached you with a new cell phone that Research and Development designed. He explains that the company is extremely excited about the possibility of entering the industry and taking advantage of the growing demand of cell phones. Your company has extensive technical experience and the ability to build most any feature into the cell phone but they are unsure of what strategic direction to take when marketing the new cell phone. For instance, should your company focus on a specific niche or keep the cell phone more mainstream. Additionally, they would like to know the features, pricing, and marking strategy that would best support the new cell phone.
Given your background and management expertise, your company, Technology Road Inc., would like to offer you a bonus for helping the company implement a strategic plan to get the new cell phone off the ground. The Vice President explains that in order to receive the bonus, you will have to present a plan of action to the Board of Directors in order to obtain funding to launch the new product.
Today, the vice president of your company, Mr. Smith, reveals that you will be assigned to a team/group to assist the company with its quest to implement the new cell phone. He explains to you that the team/group should research the different types of strategic analysis and explain how the strategic analysis will help the company get the cell phone off and running.
The first step in this project is to discuss which of the below strategic options would work best for the company's implementation of the cell phone. You should submit his or her own ideas, but the strategic option should be chosen by consensus. The team/group should combine each member's contributions and decide on a particular strategic option.
Differentiation strategy
Cost leadership strategy
Focus strategy (differentiation or cost leadership)
Vertical integration strategy
Global strategy
Diversification strategy
I selected Focus strategy (differentiation or cost leadership).
Individual Portion
For the individual portion of the project, you must submit a report in which you research your assigned strategic option(s) (Focus strategy), and explain how it can better help your company in its implementation of the new cell phone. For full credit, you must address the following in your report:
Research your assigned strategic option(s) - (Focus strategy).
Discuss how the Focus strategy can be employed to create and sustain a competitive advantage.
Discuss the Focus strategy pricing, features, and the clientele base for the cell phone application.
Discuss the pros and cons of the Focus strategy.
Make a recommendation to the team/group on whether or not to use your Focus strategy.
Explain your group's first consensus on a strategic option to implement.
Discuss which of the above strategic option(s) your recommended and why.
After researching your assigned strategic option(s) (Focus strategy), do you believe your group made the right choice?