Desert Industry

devastate Industry INVESTIGATING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGEIN THE SMALL SCALE DESSERT application IN SOUTH WALES.1. INTRODUCTIONFinancial Success often depends on merchandising ability of a menage. Finance, operations, accounting and new(prenominal) job functions idler non facilitate unless in that respect is sufficient demand of harvest-homes and services of a dissolute in the foodstuff. Hence, the focus of the firms today is totally on the clients (Kotler and Keller, 2006). In broader sense, the whole selling process can be defined in the following draw In every stage of the merchandising process, a firm non only has to keep its focus on the nodes only also bedevil to keep the efforts to be ahead of its competitors. Hence, in each stage of the marketing process, a firm tries to be ahead of its competitors by gaining a agonistical favor everywhere them. In redact to do this, real matched strategies are followed. These strategies involve taking offensive or antita nk actions to make water a defendable position in the attention. The best emulous kayoedline for a firm is unique and dependent on the challenges that the firm is facing. However, it is not possible for a firm to enjoy a war-ridden service in the market over a uniform outline for eagle-eyed term basis. So, with the change in the external environment and competitors strategies, the matched strategies of a firm, too, has to undergo certain changes.The project pro localizes to study warring advantage for tiny firm in desserts perseverance, which has created a niche segment for itself-importance in the combative dessert and bread makery market of South Wales. It also aims to study the vastness that such small firms give to free-enterp mount(a) advantage and the way they receive with time.2. FOCUS2.1 AimBy considering the above mentioned facts, the aim of the project has been contract down toTo study Wales dessert market taking into consideration the large players in the industry, thereby, constituteing the evolution of its competitive advantage and strategies over a expiration of time and the possible opport unities and panics in the coming time.2.2 Objectives1) To study Wales sweetness market and evolving competitive strategies of prominent players of industry with time.2) To carry on a comparative study on the competitive strategies of the prominent players of wales dessert market. 3) To identify the upcoming threats and opportunities, hence, making recommendations in equipment casualty of how players can gain competitive advantage over its competitors.3. CONTEXTThe concept of gaining competitive advantage forms the satiate of marketing activities in an organization. Working on a project employ a study on competitive advantage would be a great value addition to me as a student of marketing specialization. This is because of the reason that warring advantage encompasses almost all major aspects/ palm of marketing ranging right from the conception of product development through product promotion to product launch and strategies for its sustenance in the market. The reason for choosing not too developed dessert market was that reading about the competitive advantage and strategies of large firms and MNCs is well talked of in books, articles, word, journals. Even while combination theories and frame works re new-fashionedd to competitive advantage and strategies, theorists pee-pee addicted major consideration to large corporations and MNCs. The Focus of project on such small segment industry is to understand the perspective and dimensions of the concept of competitive advantage and strategies at a small scale.4. LITERATURE REVIEW4.1 close the Conceptual framework war-ridden advantage The ConceptThe concept of Competitive Advantage was compounded by Michael E. gatekeeper in 1985. In order to create a defendable position in the market or in order to survive successfully in the presence of conglomerate comp etitive forces so as to generate high returns on investments, it is classical for a firm to take either offensive or defensive strategies (Porter, 1998).Resource Based TheoryThe major contribution of the resource-based view of the firm to date has been as a hypothesis of competitive advantage.It argues that it is very all important(predicate) for a firm to develop a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) at heart so as to successfully survive in super competitive market. agree to the theory, achieving a SCA allows the firm to earn economic returns over its investments. Also, it lays emphasis on how firms achieve and sustain competitive advantages. The theory puts former the fancy that in order to gain competitive advantage, possession of certain key resources that realise unique features like value, barriers to duplications and appropriability, acts as an effective stimulus. The theory also stresses upon effective deployment of the resources in the market to maximize retur ns and on the countenance strategic choice of the firm (Fahy and Smithee, 1999).A guest should see each competitive advantage as a customer advantage. For example, if a gild sells fresh food than its competitors, this will not be a customer advantage if customers do not value fresh food. Companies must tolerate on building customer advantages because only by focusing on customer advantages, high customer satisfaction and vale can be assured which further leads to repetitive purchases that are i.e. A loyal customer base and ultimately higher market share (Kotler and Keller, 2006). Resource-Based Model of sustainable Competitive Advantage Source (Adapted from Fahy and Smithee, 1999)Porters Generic StrategiesThese are the Basic onrushes to strategic planning that can be adopted by any firm in any market or industry to improve its competitive performance. For an organisation to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage Michael Porter suggested that they should follow either one of three generic strategies1) Cost leadership2) Differentiation3) FocusThese strategies are applied at the business unit level. They are called generic strategies because they are not firm or industry dependent. Each generic strategy implies different skills and requirements for success which commonly translates into differences in organisational structure and culture. Cost Leadership A firm is said to be following the strategy of cost leadership if it is able to deliver a product with same features and quality as its competitors but at a comparative lower cost to the customer. For a business to achieve such a strategy, it is important to achieve low cost of production and distribution. In short, the strategy emphasizes on charging lower impairment than competitors to gain more market share (Kotler and Keller, 2006) (Dibb et al, 2006) and (www.quickmba.com).Differentiation The speciality strategy, unlike cost leadership, lays stress on delivering products with the benefits exc eeding the same products produced by the competitors in the market. According to the strategy superior performance of the product is valued by a large percentage of the market (Kotler and Keller, 2006) (Dibb et al, 2006) and (www.quickmba.com). Focus The focus strategy is also known as a niche strategy. This strategy is adopted when a firm is neither in a position to implement cost leadership nor differentiation strategy. In this strategy the focus in terms of efforts and resources is confined to on a narrow and defined segment of a market. A niche strategy is often used by smaller firms. A companionship could use either a cost focus or a differentiation focus.A firm using a focus strategy often enjoys a high degree of customer truth, and this entrenched loyalty discourages other firms from competing directly (Dibb et al, 2006) (Kotler and Keller, 2006).PROS1) Porters generic strategies model achieves to reduce the strategic fusion of the organisations betwixt cost and differ entiation. The model successfully indicates that differentiation strategy is every bit effective as cost leadership.2) The selection of a generic strategy provides direction to management and staff that helps them acquire inhering consistency between management style, reward system, recruiting policy, etc. so as to shape its internal structure as per the choice of strategy of the firm.CONS1) The concept of porter generic strategies is mostly focused on large multinational companies with multiple business units although the strategy can be implemented on small organisations too, but the tools employed in the strategies are too complex to add optimum value to them.2) Porter verbalize that competitive strategic analysis needfully to happen on an ongoing basis. But even when a vicenary/economic change in the industrys conditions is discover, the reaction is frequently too late to realign the company. Most change occurs bottom-up, intuitively and creatively, and can be detected earl y using soft entropy instead than hard informationPorters fivesome Forces Michael Porters Five Forces of Competitive Position model provides a impartial perspective for assessing and analysing the competitive advantage or strength and position of a corporation or business organization. Industry structure and positioning within the industry are the basis for models of competitive strategy promoted by Michael Porter. The Five Forces diagram captures the main idea of Porters theory of competitive advantage. Source (Adapted from Ankli , 2007) quite a little Strength of Supplier Since a causeful customer always has the finesse of forcing supplier for discounts, delay payment or preferred services, later, sometimes eat up to partly finance the former, so the supplier has to partly finance them. As for examples, Enormous bargaining power is enjoyed by huge Supermarket chains that have huge, concentrated buying power (C Murphy, 2005) (Thompson and Strickland, 2004).Bargain Strength of Customers The bargaining power of the customer depends on the range of choice of suppliers that it has with him/her. In a piazza of monopsony, where one customer has the choice of many another(prenominal) suppliers, the bargaining power of customer is high to an extent where he himself sets the price. Whereas for a situation where customers are naughtily placed, their bargaining power is negligible and hence they have to accept the terms offered by the suppliers (Ankli, 2007) (Aaker and McLoughlin, 2007) (Thompson and Strickland, 2004).Potential Entrants The firm has to be alert from not only the competitors but the new entrants in the market pose equal threat of market share being snatched. The possibility is even higher if there are minimal barriers to the entry and exit to business entities in the market. However, in reality, the industries have the policies that protect the financial interests of existing firms in the market and snare additional rivals from entering the m arket (Thompson and Strickland, 2004) (Ankli, 2007).Substitutes Another set of competitors that may pose threat to the market share of a firm are the firms that produce the products that can be substituted against the existing product of the firm. This threat is of high color if there is high willingness among the customers to switch from the use of current product to its substitute. well-nigh major factors that may stimulate the willingness of customers to switch to the use of substitute can be use of breakthrough technology in substitute, Steep price difference between the existing product and the substitute (C Murphy, 2005) (Ankli, 2007).Industry contention The intensity of competition is directly proportional to the structure of the industry. What matters here is the shape and capability of your rivals if you have many competitors and they offer equally valuable products and services, accordingly in this situation you will have little power. If you are doing the same thing what others are doing i.e. suppliers and buyers are not happy with your deal, theyll go elsewhere. On the other hand, if you do that no-one else can do, then you can often have tremendous advantage and strength (Thompson and Strickland, 2004) (Ankli, 2007). According to Obasi Richard, with the use of the concept of Competitive advantage and strategies, it would be easier for the firms to have a better insight in business situations and the appropriate strategies pertaining to these situations. Also, the managers would be able to make tactical decisions kinda than relying on their intuition, picture, or trial and error alone (Akan et al, 2006).4.2 About the elect Sector The desert industry of UK is although small industry however it is exploitation at a good pace. Since last few years many new players have entered in this segment and have been using competitive marketing strategies like Online foodstuffing, Customisation etc to sustain and do well. According to the website of B ritish baker magazine there is an increase in the patty and cake interdict market by 7% in the year 2008 as compared to 2007 to advert GBP 1.52 bn. According to look for from Mintel out of the whole only twain-third of the neutralizers only consume the cakes, frequency of use and penetration level is declining. Report also stated that the market is likely to grow between 2008 and 2013 by 26 % (www.bakeryinfo.co.uk).According to Reuters the UK biscuit and the cake market in the year 2007 was approximately to be worth GBP 2.96bn, a boost of 13.6% since 2003. It is likely to see a rise in the biscuit and the cake market between 2008 and 2012, even though this may be largely driven by rise in input cost. Biscuits and cakes are getting a tough competition from other alternatives such as fruits and savoury snacks but its value growth is well-kept due to some added value activities (www.reuters.com). It can be seen that the dessert industry is growing and considerable research can fu rther contribute to aspiring small desert industries which is my intention.5. Research Methodology5.1 Research ParadigmThe research paradigm which will be used in the dissertation is Phenomenology. Phenomenological approach to research is so called because it is based on the way people experience social phenomena in the world in which they live. Phenomenologists are concerned with what things mean, rather than with identifying and measuring rod phenomena. They are particularly interested in the idea that humanity experience is a valuable source of data, as opposed to the idea that true research or discovery lies in simply measuring the existence of physical phenomena.5.2 Research ApproachSince the project aims to find out competitive advantage and competitive strategy, so the findings of the project would be qualitative in nature.5.3 Research MethodsDifferent research methods used for primary data are* Surveys* In Depth InterviewsDifferent research methods used for secondary wind ing data are* Self study from internet* Books* Research articles and journals5.4 take inFor the analysis, two samples are considered, namely a. Consumers b. Players in the Dessert IndustryThe consumers would be taken from all age groups, geographic locations and lifestyles. Similarly, players too would range from the biggest players in the market to the small organizations involved in the same business.5.4.1 Sampling CriteriaFor the analysis, two samples are considered, namely a. Consumers b. Players in the Dessert IndustryThe consumers would be taken from all age groups, geographic locations and lifestyles. Similarly, players too would range from the biggest players in the market to the small organizations involved in the same business.5.4.2 Number of Respondents/Participants For Customers 125 one hundred fifty For Players 10-155.4.3 Sampling TechniqueThe luck Technique will be used. The probability sampling is also known as random sampling. It gives each atom of the target po pulation an equal probability of selection.5.5 Methods to analyse Primary entropyThe study would use MS excel for the analyses of the primary data and schoolbook analysis as well.6. ETHICAL CONSIDERATION AND ISSUESEthical considerations towards respondents* Proper information about the study* Anonymity of the participants* Freedom to choiceEthical considerations for self* Clear communication with respondents* Use of authenticated data* Proper variation of data7. REFERENCESMURPHY, C. 2005. Gathering, Analysing and putting it to work 1st edition. Aldershot, Hants Gower Publishing LimitedDoyle, P., Stern, P. 2006. Markeing anxiety and Strategy 4th edition. Harlow, Essex Pearson Education LimitedDibb, S., Simkin, L., Pride, W., Ferrell, O. 2006. Marketing Concepts and Strategies 5th edition. Boston, MA Houghton Mifflin CompanyThompson, A., Strickland, A. 2004. Strategic Management Concepts and Cases 13th edition. New York, NY McGraw-HillAaker, D., McLoughlin, D. 2007. Strategic Mark et Management 7th edition. Chichester, West Sussex John Wiley Sons, LtdKotler, P., Keller, K. 2006. Marketing Management twelfth edition. Harlow, Essex Pearson Education LimitedPorter, M. 1998. Competitive Advantage Creating And Sustaining Superior Performance eleventh edition, New York, NY The Free PressQuickMBA. 2007. Competitive Advantage WWW http//www.quickmba.com/strategy/competitive-advantage/ (15th Nov, 2009)Bakeryinfo.co.uk. 2008. cake market on the up but trends are changing WWW http//www.bakeryinfo.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/3879/Cake_market_on_the_up,_but_trends_are_changing.html (13th Nov,2009)Reuters. 2008.Fahy, J., Smithee, A. 1999. Strategic Marketing and the Resource Based View of the Firm. honorary society of Marketing Science Review, 10, pp. 1-20Ankli, R. 1992. Michael Porters Competitive Advantage and Business History. Business and stinting History, 21, pp. 229-232Akan, O., Allen, R., Helms, M., Spralls, S. 2006. Critical tactics for implementing Porters generi c strategies. Journal of Business Strategy, 27(1), pp. 43-538. TIME picture In 6 calendar months of the dissertation 2 weeks will be commit to introduction 1 month will be dedicated to books Review. 2 months for data analysis. 1 month for research methodology. 1 month for conclusion