Chapter 5
Book: Essentials of Strategic Management: The Quest for Competitive Advantage by Gamble, Peteraf, and Thompson, Jr.

In this chapter, we build on past information by discussing ways in which firms formulate business strategies that capitalize on their resources and capabilities to exploit opportunities in their competitive environments. As we have seen, business strategy refers to the competitive moves and business approaches that a firm makes in an effort to establish its competitive posture.
As a rule, competitive position can be established in many different ways, and the task of finding the best configuration of positions falls to strategic managers. Deciding which generic strategy to employ is perhaps the most important strategic commitment a company makes – it tends to drive the rest of the strategic actions a company decides to undertake, and it sets the whole tone for the pursuit of a competitive advantage over rivals.
Your assignment this week:
1) Identify three (3) companies (other than those listed in Question #4) from dissimilar industries that are pursuing focused differentiation strategies; explain, entirely in your own words, how these firms achieve competitive advantage. (15 points)
2) Identify three (3) companies (other than those listed in Question #4) that are pursuing best- cost provider strategies; describe in detail, entirely in your own words, the specific characteristics that make each of these firms a best-cost provider. (15 points)
3) Explore Kohl’s web sites at kohls.com and corporate.kohls.com, and conduct any additional research you deem necessary to better understand the firm’s vision, mission, and approach. What activities contribute to the company’s differentiation strategy and the unique position in the industry that Kohl’s has achieved? (35 points)
4) Which of the five generic competitive strategies do you think each of the following companies is employing (do whatever research at the various company Web sites that might be needed to arrive at, and support, your answer)? Fully justify your reasoning for each. (35 points)
a. GameStop
b. Amazon
c. ALDI
d. Sears
e. Best Buy
f. Sally Beauty
g. Gallery Furniture