| An organisation's competitors are also trying
to understand the external environment and they will plan their
activities to exploit opportunities and reduce threats. Because
competing organisations are often felt to be in a 'zero sum game'
(benefits gained by one must result in an equal loss by others),
managers need to understand and predict competitor activity.
It may be that a manager can see that they are in a better position
than a competitor to exploit a market -in which case they can
compete directly. However, it may also be that an assessment of
competition suggests that an organisation is in a weak market
position. If you think about it, most markets have only a few
very strong brands, so most companies will find themselves in
a weak position. This would require difficult decisions involving
finding some way of identifying new strategies, or new niche markets
where the organisation can compete advantageously. This is often
referred to as the identification of competitive advantage.
If you what to experience the 'cut and thrust' of a competitive
market you could play one of several multi-player online business
simulation games. For example try www.industryplayer.com,
or www.airlinesimulation.com.
|
