Core Competency
A core competency is a concept in management theory introduced by C. K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel.Prahalad, C.K. and Hamel, G. (1990)The core competence of the corporation", Harvard Business Review (v. 68, no. 3) pp. 79–91. It can be defined as "a harmonized combination of multiple resources and skills that distinguish a firm in the marketplace" and therefore are the foundation of companies' competitiveness. Core competencies fulfill three criteria: # Provides potential access to a wide variety of markets. # Should make a significant contribution to the perceived customer benefits of the end product. # Difficult to imitate by competitors. For example, a company's core competencies may include precision mechanics, fine optics, and micro-electronics. These help it build cameras, but may also be useful in making other products that require these competencies. Background A core competency results from a specific set of skills or production techniques that deliver additional ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gary Hamel
Gary P. Hamel (born November 9, 1954) is an American management consultant. He is a founder of Strategos, an international management consulting firm based in Chicago. Education Hamel was born on November 9, 1954, in St. Joseph, Michigan. He graduated from Andrews University in 1975, and from Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in 1990. Career Hamel has worked as a visiting professor of international business at the University of Michigan and at Harvard Business School; he currently teaches as a visiting professor of Strategy, strategic management at the London Business School where he has been working for three decades. Work Gary Hamel is the originator (with C.K. Prahalad) of the concept of core competency, core competencies. He is also the director of the Woodside Institute, a nonprofit research foundation based in Woodside, California. He was a founder of the consulting firm Strategos, serving as chairman until 2003. The UTEK Corporation acquired S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vertical Integration
In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration, also referred to as vertical consolidation, is an arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each member of the supply chain produces a different Product (business), product or (market-specific) service, and the products combine to satisfy a common need. It contrasts with horizontal integration, wherein a company produces several items that are related to one another. Vertical integration has also described management styles that bring large portions of the supply chain not only under a common ownership but also into one corporation (as in the 1920s when the Ford River Rouge complex began making much of its own steel rather than buying it from suppliers). Vertical integration can be desirable because it secures supplies needed by the firm to produce its product and the market needed to sell the product, but it can become undesirable wh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Strategic Business Unit
A strategic business unit (SBU) in business strategic management, is a profit center which focuses on product offering and market segment. SBUs typically have a discrete marketing plan, analysis of competition, and marketing campaign, even though they may be part of a larger business entity. An SBU may be a business unit within a larger corporation, or it may be a business into itself or a branch. Corporations may be composed of multiple SBUs, each of which is responsible for its own profitability. Companies today often use the word '' segmentation'' or '' division'' when referring to SBUs or an aggregation of SBUs that share such commonalities. General Electric (GE) is an example of a company with this sort of business organization. SBUs are able to affect most factors which influence their performance. Managed as separate businesses, they are responsible to a parent corporation. GE has 49 SBUs. Business writer Michael Porter has developed a value chain model which focusses on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Information Technology
Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Information technology is an application of computer science and computer engineering. The term is commonly used as a synonym for computers and computer networks, but it also encompasses other information distribution technologies such as television and telephones. Several products or services within an economy are associated with information technology, including computer hardware, software, electronics, semiconductors, internet, Telecommunications equipment, telecom equipment, and e-commerce.. An information technology system (IT system) is generally an information system, a communications system, or, more specifically speaking, a Computer, computer system — including all Computer hardware, hardware, software, and peripheral equipment � ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cost Reduction
Cost reduction is the process used by organisations aiming to reduce their costs and increase their profits, or to accommodate reduced income. Depending on a company’s services or products, the strategies can vary. Every decision in the product development process affects cost: design is typically considered to account for 70–80% of the final cost of a project such as an engineering project or the construction of a building. In the public sector, cost reduction programs can be used where income is reduced or to reduce debt levels. Importance Companies typically launch a new product without focusing too much on cost. Cost becomes more important when competition increases and PRICE becomes a differentiator in the market. The importance of cost reduction in relation to other strategic business goals is often debated. Examples of cost reduction strategies and programmes Commercial businesses Consultants Deloitte reported in 2006 that over three-quarters of the FTSE 100 listed ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Design Structure Matrix
The design structure matrix (DSM; also referred to as dependency structure matrix, dependency structure method, dependency source matrix, problem solving matrix, incidence matrix, ''N2'' matrix, interaction matrix, dependency map or design precedence matrix) is a simple, compact and visual representation of a system or project in the form of a square matrix.S.D. Eppinger and T.R. BrowningDesign Structure Matrix Methods and Applications MIT Press, Cambridge, 2012. It is the equivalent of an adjacency matrix in graph theory, and is used in systems engineering and project management to model the structure of complex systems or processes, in order to perform system analysis, project planning and organization design. Don Steward coined the term "design structure matrix" in the 1960s, using the matrices to solve mathematical systems of equations. Overview A design structure matrix lists all constituent subsystems/ activities and the corresponding information exchange, interactions, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Resource-based View
The resource-based view (RBV), often referred to as the "resource-based view of the firm", is a managerial framework used to determine the strategic resources a firm can exploit to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Jay Barney's 1991 article "Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage" is widely cited as a pivotal work in the emergence of the resource-based view, although some scholars (see below) argue that there was evidence for a fragmentary resource-based theory from the 1930s. RBV proposes that firms are heterogeneous because they possess heterogeneous resources, meaning that firms can adopt differing strategies because they have different resource mixes. The RBV focuses managerial attention on the firm's internal resources in an effort to identify those assets, capabilities and competencies with the potential to deliver superior competitive advantages. Origins and background During the 1990s, the ''resource-based view'' (also known as the ''resource-advantage ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Core Business
Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (laboratory), a highly specialized shared research resource * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber), the signal-carrying portion of an optical fiber * Core, the central part of a fruit * Hydrophobic core, the interior zone of a protein * Nuclear reactor core, a portion containing the fuel components * Pit (nuclear weapon) or core, the fissile material in a nuclear weapon * Semiconductor intellectual property core (IP core), is a unit of design in ASIC/FPGA electronics and IC manufacturing * Atomic core, an atom with no valence electrons * Lithic core, in archaeology, a stone artifact left over from toolmaking Geology and astrophysics * Core sample, in Earth science, a sample obtained by coring ** Ice core * Core, the central part of a galaxy; see Mass deficit * Core (anticline), the central part of an anticline or syncline * ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Competitive Advantage
In business, a competitive advantage is an attribute that allows an organization to outperform its competitors. A competitive advantage may include access to natural resources, such as high-grade ores or a low-cost power source, highly skilled labor, geographic location, high entry barriers, and access to new technology and to proprietary information. Overview The term ''competitive advantage'' refers to the ability gained through attributes and resources to perform at a higher level than others in the same industry or market (Christensen and Fahey 1984, Kay 1994, Porter 1980 cited by Chacarbaghi and Lynch 1999, p. 45). The study of this advantage has attracted profound research interest due to contemporary issues regarding superior performance levels of firms in today's competitive market. "A firm is said to have a competitive advantage when it is implementing a value creating strategy not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential player" (Barney 1991 cited ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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How To Think Several Moves Ahead Of The Competition
How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidman * ''HOW'' (magazine), a magazine for graphic designers * H.O.W. Journal, an American art and literary journal Music * ''How?'' (EP), by BoyNextDoor, 2024 * "How?" (song), by John Lennon, 1971 * "How", a song by Clairo from ''Diary 001'', 2018 * "How", a song by the Cranberries from ''Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?'', 1993 * "How", a song by Daughter from '' Not to Disappear'', 2016 * "How", a song by Lil Baby from '' My Turn'', 2020 * "How", a song by Maroon 5 from '' Hands All Over'', 2010 * "How", a song by Regina Spektor from '' What We Saw from the Cheap Seats'', 2012 * "How", a song by Robyn from ''Robyn Is Here'', 1995 Other media * HOW (graffiti artist), Raoul Perre, New York graffiti muralist * ''How'' (TV seri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |