CHAPTER 6 Business Strategy: Differentiation, Cost Leadership, and Blue Oceans////Module 6: Business StrategyIn this module, we will look at the business model your selected company uses and analyze its business-level strategy to see if it is appropriate for the strategic position. If your firm is a large multi-business entity, you will need to choose one of the major businesses (strategic business unit, or SBU) of the firm for this analysis. In prior chapters, you collected information about this firm’s external environment and some of its internal competitive advantages. Using this informa-tion and any other you have gathered, address the fol-lowing questions
1.Does your selected business have differentiated products or services? If so, what is the basis for this differentiation from the competition
2.Does your firm have a cost-leadership posi-tion in this business? If so, can you identify which cost drivers it uses effectively to hold this position?
3.What is your firm’s approach to the market? If it segments the market, identify the scope of com-petition it is using.
4.Using the answers to the preceding questions, identify which generic business strategies your firm is employing. Is the firm leveraging the appropriate value and cost drivers for the business strategy you identified? Explain why or why not.
5.As noted in the chapter, each business strategy is context-dependent. What do you see as positives and negatives with the selected business strategy of your firm in its competitive situation?
6.What suggestions do you have to improve the firm’s business strategy and strategic position?
7.Create a strategy canvas for your firm. Set on the hori-zontal axis an appropriate selection of the value curve items and on the vertical axis, set the other industry segments (such as strategic groups) for comparison.
