Jockeying for Position Within an Industry
APPENDIX A: ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET
ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET Kunene Surname First Name/s Student Number Subject Assignment Number Tutor’s Name Examination Venue Date Submitted Submission (√) First Submission P.O Box 70756 Overport Postal Address Durban 4067 E-Mail Contact Numbers nkunene@prasa.com (Work) 031 365 7602 (Home)0795155872 (Cell) Course/Intake MBA Year Two Jan 2011 Durban 2 MAY 2012 X .resubmission Ntsoaki 117340 CORPORATE STRATEGY 01
Declaration: I hereby declare that the assignment submitted is an original piece of work produced by myself.
Signature: Signed Ntsoaki Kunene
Date: 2 MAY 2012
1
Table of Contents Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Jockeying for position Industry life cycle Five generic competitive strategies Strategic management processes Development of a dynamic company strategy References 3-8 9-12 13-15 16-19 19-26 26-26
2
QUESTION 1 JOCKEYING FOR POSITION WITHIN AN INDUSTRY
In 2001, as the first Xbox was preparing to launch, the home console market was a fiercely competitive space dominated largely by Japanese stalwarts. Sega were already up and running with the sadly doomed Dreamcast, Sony had released the successor to the hugely successful PlayStation, while Nintendo had their own plans for the 'next-generation’ with the GameCube. The Xbox, it was thought, was folly, the market impenetrable. Especially by an American software company. Chris Lewis, who was the Microsoft’s vice president of Interactive Entertainment for Microsoft Europe at that time, remembers the challenge that first console brought to bear on Microsoft, despite the firm’s success elsewhere. “The industry at that time was dominated by Sega, Nintendo and Sony, “he says. “While we had a great pedigree as a company, people were skeptical about our chance in the console space. We had some experience in PC gaming, with Flight Simulator and our Sidewinder franchise of controllers. But we were new to this highly competitive market,
ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET Kunene Surname First Name/s Student Number Subject Assignment Number Tutor’s Name Examination Venue Date Submitted Submission (√) First Submission P.O Box 70756 Overport Postal Address Durban 4067 E-Mail Contact Numbers nkunene@prasa.com (Work) 031 365 7602 (Home)0795155872 (Cell) Course/Intake MBA Year Two Jan 2011 Durban 2 MAY 2012 X .resubmission Ntsoaki 117340 CORPORATE STRATEGY 01
Declaration: I hereby declare that the assignment submitted is an original piece of work produced by myself.
Signature: Signed Ntsoaki Kunene
Date: 2 MAY 2012
1
Table of Contents Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Jockeying for position Industry life cycle Five generic competitive strategies Strategic management processes Development of a dynamic company strategy References 3-8 9-12 13-15 16-19 19-26 26-26
2
QUESTION 1 JOCKEYING FOR POSITION WITHIN AN INDUSTRY
In 2001, as the first Xbox was preparing to launch, the home console market was a fiercely competitive space dominated largely by Japanese stalwarts. Sega were already up and running with the sadly doomed Dreamcast, Sony had released the successor to the hugely successful PlayStation, while Nintendo had their own plans for the 'next-generation’ with the GameCube. The Xbox, it was thought, was folly, the market impenetrable. Especially by an American software company. Chris Lewis, who was the Microsoft’s vice president of Interactive Entertainment for Microsoft Europe at that time, remembers the challenge that first console brought to bear on Microsoft, despite the firm’s success elsewhere. “The industry at that time was dominated by Sega, Nintendo and Sony, “he says. “While we had a great pedigree as a company, people were skeptical about our chance in the console space. We had some experience in PC gaming, with Flight Simulator and our Sidewinder franchise of controllers. But we were new to this highly competitive market,