Obtaining a Competitive Advantage Through Cost Leadership and Different

This assignment will cover how a line of descent can gain a competitive advantage over standardised credit linees in the same market using sources such as embody advantage and differentiation. What will also be discussed is the measure chain role model made by porters beer, and this assignment will explain what the model was really designed for. Furthermore, it will be explained how a business can drop methods of competitive advantage through various stages of Porters foster Chain in order to help it maintain and increase the scrap of the business, and this will be done through assessing the operations of the business and spatial relation exactly where any competitive advantage can be gained. Lastly, Porters value chain features 9 activities which can each be identified as being all a first-string or support activity and what will then be explained will be how these primary and support activities can add value to a business, and whether or not support activities can be considered as being any more or any less important than a primary activity. It is suggested by many that there are two ways for a business to gain competitive advantage this is done through either cost advantage or differentiation. Porter (2004, p.64) claims that cost advantage is when a firm achieves a lower cumulative cost of performing value activities than its rivalrys. A good example of this would be ASDA within the food retail merchant industry. ASDA (ASDA beats its abounding year sales and profit plan, 2009), known for their dedication to everyday low prices, are very much a cost-leading competitor in the food retailer industry and they stated that they beat their full year sales and profit plan for the fourth consecutive take out in 2009 by introducing a significant cost reduction prog... ...l meeting (2008) Annual Report 2008 Our key strengths. Online Available at http//www.homeretailgroup.com/ar/2008/ revue/keystrengths/p2.shtml (Accessed 19/11/2011)Johnson, G., Sch oles, K. (2002) Exploring Corporate Strategy Text and Cases. 6th edn. Harlow Pearson procreation Limited.McGeary, R. (2011) Anatomy of Market Research Online Available at http//www.remnet.com/porter.html (Accessed 14/11/2011)Millar, V., Porter, M. (1985) How Information Gives You Competitive Advantage, Harvard Business Review pp. 18-36. Online Available at http//zaphod.mindlab.umd.edu/docSeminar/pdfs/Porter85.pdf (Accessed 17/11/2011)Needle, D. (2000) Business in Context An introduction to business and its environment. Third edition. London Thomson LearningPorter, M. (2004) Competitive Advantage Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. unfermented York FREE PRESS.