Chapter 2 – Operations
Strategy for Competitive
Advantage
Introduction



What – How to choose a strategy for
your business
Where – In any strategy that wants to
achieve its mission
Why – To decide how the business will
be conducted
Strategy




Mission: The purpose or rationale for an
organization’s existence
Effective endeavors have a mission
Strategy: How an organization expects
to achieve its missions and goals
Strategy is an organization’s plan to
achieve a mission
Competitive Advantage


We want to craft the strategy that will
achieve the best competitive advantage
Competitive advantage is the creation
of a unique advantage over competitors
Three Basic Strategies



Differentiation
Cost Leadership
Response
Ten Strategic Operations
Management Decisions






Ten OM decisions that support missions
and implement strategies
1. Goods and Service Design
2. Quality
3. Process and Capacity Design
4. Location Selection
5. Layout Design
Ten Strategic Operations
Management Decisions





6. Human Resources and Job Design
7. Supply-Chain Management
8. Inventory
9. Scheduling
10. Maintenance
Strategy Development and
Implementation




SWOT Analysis
Firms position themselves, through their
strategy, to have a competitive
advantage
Recognize internal strengths and
weaknesses
Recognize external opportunities and
threats
Critical Success Factors

Activities that are key to achieving a
competitive advantage