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people； part culture； and mostly an appreciation of an ever…shi。。ing and
developing world。
Strategy has three dimensions： the intellectual analytical and thinking
aspect used to devise broad strategic direction； the development and shaping
of specific actions in pursuit of those strategies； and the implementation of
strategy through the execution of business plans。 If an organization gets it
12
262 The Thirty…Day MBA
Michael Dell； gazing around his empire in 2008； had plenty to be pleased
about。 He had e a long way since founding his business from his
dorm at the University of Texas nearly quarter of a century earlier； aged
just 19。 He had turned his 1；000 initial stake into a business generating
over 60 billion a year in revenues making nearly 16 per cent of PCs
sold globally。 It was only in 1980 that he had acquired his first puter；
the Apple II； and on founding his pany； PC Limited； had as his goal
to beat IBM。 His first product； The Turbo PC； was supported by a noquibble
returns policy and a unique home support service。 The IPO in
1988 valued his 1；000 business； founded four years earlier； at 85 million。
From the outset Dell had three golden rules： disdain inventory； always
listen to the customer and cut out middlemen。
An internet pioneer； the pany launched a static online ordering
page in 1994； and by 1997 Dell claimed to be the first pany to
record a million dollars in online sales。
Dell； since its early beginnings； has focused on fundamentally different
strategies from its petitors。 Unlike Apple； it has never tried to
design sexy devices or to build a global network of retail outlets。 Dell’s
strategy was to create the leanest possible supply chain direct to the
end user while allowing them to choose the features they wanted。 It
extended that successful strategy across to related products such as
servers； printers and storage devices to build a business shipping 140；000
systems a day worldwide – more than one every second – ranking 34
in the Fortune 500 listing of panies and one of the world’s leading
brands。
But just as Dell looked to be in an unchallengeable position the
pany lost its position as the world’s biggest maker of personal
puters to Hewlett…Packard （HP）； a pany founded back in 1939
in a Palo Alto garage。 No stranger to setbacks； HP had seen that growth
in the PC world had crossed from corporate markets to consumers and
from developed economies to emerging markets where people had
less access to the internet and were both more wary and less able to
shop online。 In addition； the petition was hotting up on a new front
brought about by past success and galloping innovation； with auction
sites like eBay and uBid enjoying flourishing growth rates in PC sales。 Dell
saw that it had to develop new strategies for the new environment。 As
well as beefing up its website and launching ‘IdeaStorm’； a blog that
has already pulled in 9；000 customer suggestions for improvements；
the pany’s products are now in 10；000 outlets worldwide。 It has set
up a bulk supply chain alongside its lean customized one and started
to design products to hanker after rather than just highly specified
black boxes。 Dell has also bought up several firms in the IT systems
management sector as it sees the shift from product… to service…driven
growth as an important factor in the future of its business sector。 Dell has
had to cut 3 billion of expenses； lay off 8；800 employees and change
the mindset of its engineers and designers to reposition it to execute its
new strategy。
Strategy 263
wrong in any of these areas the results it is aiming for may not be achieved；
it may fall behind others in the market or in the worst case fail altogether。
Ge。。ing all three areas right can be more of an art than a science； rather like
a short…sighted person trying to thread several needles； held in parallel by
different people； in one swi。。 movement。
DEVISING STRATEGY – THE OVERVIEW
Credit for devising the most succinct and usable way to get a handle on
the big picture has to be given to Michael E Porter； who trained as an
economist at Princeton； taking an MBA （1971） and PhD （1973） at Harvard
Business School where he is now a professor。 His book； petitive Strategy：
Techniques for Analyzing Industries and petitors （1980； Free Press； Old
Tappan； New Jersey； United States）； which is in its 63rd printing and has
been translated into 19 languages； sets out the now accepted methodology
for devising strategy。 As well as being essential reading in most business
schools； courses based on Porter’s work are taught in partnership with
more than 80 other universities around the world； using curriculum； video
content and instructor support developed at Harvard。
The three generic strategies
Porter’s first observation was that two factors above all influenced a business’s
chances of making superior profits。 First； there was the a。。ractiveness
or otherwise of the industry in which it primarily operated。 Second； and in
terms of an organization’s sphere of influence more important； was how
the business positioned itself within that industry。 In that respect a business
could only have a cost advantage in that it could make product or deliver
service for less than others。 Or it could be different in a way that ma。。ered
to consumers； so that its offers would be unique； or at least relatively so。 He
added a further twist to his prescription。 Businesses could follow either a
cost advantage path or a differentiation path industry wide； or they could
take a third path – they could concentrate on a narrow specific segment
（see Chapter 3 for more on market segments）； either with cost advantage or
with differentiation。 This he termed ‘focus’ strategy。
Cost leadership
Low cost should not be confused with low price。 A business with low
costs may or may not pass those savings on to customers。 Alternatively；
it could use that position alongside tight cost controls and low margins to
create an effective barrier to others considering either entering or extending
their penetration of that market。 Low…cost strategies are most likely to
264 The Thirty…Day MBA
be achievable in large markets； requiring large…scale capital investment；
where production or service volumes are high and economies of scale can
be achieved from long runs。
Low costs are not a lucky accident； they can be achieved through these
main activities：
。 Operating efficiencies： New processes； methods of working or less
costly ways of working。 Ryanair and easyJet are examples where analysing
every ponent of the business made it possible to strip out
major elements of cost； meals； free baggage and allocated seating； for
example； while leaving the essential proposition – we will fly you from
A to B – intact。
。 Product redesign： This involves rethinking a product or service
proposition fundamentally； to look for more efficient ways to work
or cheaper substitute materials to work with。 The motor industry has
adopted this approach with ‘platform sharing’； where major players
including Citroen； Peugeot and Toyota have rethought their entry car
models to share major ponents； this has bee monplace in
the industry。
。 Product standardization： A wide range of product and service offers
claiming to extend customer choice invariably leads to higher costs。
The challenge is to be sure that proliferation gives real choice and adds
value。 In 2008 the UK railway network took a long； hard look at its
dozens of different fare structures and scores of names； o。。en for identical
price structures； which had remained largely unchanged since the
1960s； and reduced them to three basic product propositions。 Adopting
this and other mon standards across the rail network they estimate
will substantially reduce the currently excessive ￡。 billion transaction
cost of selling ￡5 billion worth of tickets。
。 Economies of scale： This can be achieved only by being big or bold。
The same head office； warehousing network and distribution chain can
support Tesco’s 3；263 stores as well it can； say； the 997 that Somerfiel
