ummary : Competitiveness/Strategy/Productivity

Chapter 2 Covers three important aspects of any business: competitiveness, strategy and productivity. All three aspects are vital to a company succeeding in the world of business. Any firm, whether a manufacturer or a service provider, must employ all three aspects as they all play in growing revenues. A successful organization must have a competitive advantage, a strategy to meet the company's goals, and the ability to produce goods and services in a cost-effective manner. Most organizations have a single company "motto" called a mission statement that summarizes these described aspects of the company. The mission statement should answer the question "What business are we in?". The mission statement is the basis for organizational goals. Summary: Goal, Mission, Strategies and Tactics (page 42-43) The three important characteristics of any business are competitiveness, strategy, and productivity. Competitiveness refers to how effective an organization meets the wants and needs of customers in comparison to its competitors that produce the same goods/services. Strategy denotes a plan for achieving organizational goals. The two strategies discussed in this chapter are organizational and functional level strategies. Productivity is a measure of the effective use of resources, usually expressed as the ratio of output to input. Productivity measures are useful for tracking an operating units performance over time and judging the performance of an entire industry or country. A correct goal, mission, tactics, and strategies are the necessary things for an organizations success. These four terms are deeply related to each other. First, an organization needs to know its mission, which is the reason for its existence. Such as what kind of business are they going to pursue. Second, the mission statement gives the organization's purpose. Goals further explain this mission. They are like the marketing position, they express how organization wants its self-image and position in peoples mind. Third, the organization can start planning how to reach its goals, in other words, their strategy. Strategies have long, intermediate or short terms for organizations different needs. Finally, the organization can approach the strategies by using tactics. Tactics tell us how to actually operate and process the organization and its strategies specifically.

Chapter 2 Describes the importance of competitiveness, strategy, and productivity in a business. Competitiveness describes how an organization meets the needs and wants of customers compared to the competitors of the organization, in other words, demand. Strategy helps the organization achieve their goals by using tactics, which are the methods and actions taken to accomplish strategies. Lastly, productivity helps the organization know what materials are used effectively. Productivity = Output (Goods and services) / Input. (labor, materials, energy, and other resources.)

Competitiveness is important to a company because it determines an organizations profits. For example, will the company be prosperous or barely get by. A strategy is important to be defined whether they are long term or short term. Also, they can be very specific, for example as in tactics or, in contrast, very broad. Finally, the chapter gives us a way to measure the companys output relative to input. Measuring productivity is important for analyzing, scheduling, and many other type of managerial or external functions. Many organizations are driven by competition. To be successful in todays competitive business environment, companies must know what combinations of factors are most important to satisfy all of their shareholders while also helping to fulfill their mission. These factors may include, but are not limited to: price, quality, services, time or special features. It is critical that organizations as a whole develop goals and strategies to fulfill their mission. Further, each functional area in the business should also have goals and strategies that coincide with accomplishing the larger goals. Employees of the organization should also focus on using all resources efficiently to maximize the productivity of the organization. Productivity has implications not only for the organization at stake, but society as a whole.