Reference no: EM13651731

As a newly promoted vice president (VP), your chief executive officer (CEO) has invited you to participate in this year's upcoming strategic planning session. You know that this will be high-level type planning versus the more routine type planning you have done in the past. To prepare for this, you have done some research and noted the generic strategies model (cost leadership, differentiation, and focus) in a lot of the strategic-planning literature.

Using the Generic Strategies model, complete the following requirements:

• Identify and describe 3 retail firms.
• Note which of the 3 broad strategies that each firm seems to have chosen (low-cost producer, niche supplier, or differentiation strategy).
• Identify at least 2 specific tactics that each of the three employ to support your opinion of their method of competing.
• Do the tactics you cited seem to be working? On what evidence can you base your answer?

500-750 words + refs

Step two

Then answer the following: (150-250 words)

In today's competitive business climate, achieving long-term business success has become more difficult. For example, changes in technology cause the demise of technology manufacturers, and changes in the supply of oil and the resulting price of gasoline can have an impact on auto companies that focus on gas guzzlers.

For any company for which you have knowledge, answer the following questions:

• What are two factors or forces external to the company that made them successful or was key to them being successful, now or in the past?
• These are meant to be big-picture forces affecting the overall economy or the industry as a whole (i.e., new regulations, major new competitor, new technology, etc.).
• What specific events could happen that could cause these two favorable factors to change, and therefore, negatively impact the company?
• How do you feel the company should respond if there is a negative impact on it?