discussion post response to classmate 1

Initial question:

Select an organization and discuss their competitive advantage in the context of value chain?

My response:

Competitive advantage refers to the conditions that set a company at par in terms of the quality of goods or services they offer. Some companies do significantly better than others at providing the same services as others, and this boils down to their strategies and the quality of their services. One such company is Apple. Despite there being so many technology companies, Apple stands out. It is one of the big four technology companies that includes Facebook, Google, and Amazon. Apple stands out because of its unique and quality design, brilliance in advertising, and the ability to think differently.

The one factor that makes Apple different from its competitors is its design expertise. As said by former Apple executive Tony Fadell the company has got great design principles. They aim at providing what other companies can’t. In simple terms, they are always one step ahead of their competitors when it comes to design. In his Stanford commencement speech, Steve talked about his love for calligraphy and how it inspired his thoughts about design. Steve passed on his passion to his employees and embedded the design DNA into them (Li, 2016). When it comes to design, Apple always thinks outside the box and provides what other companies can’t. They always focus on making technology better than it is by involving all the stakeholders (Thomke & Feinberg, 2009).

Another competitive advantage that Apple has is its brilliance in advertising. Most companies rely on advertising either on social media or television, but apple has invested in influencers. Instead of telling people how good their product is, they give the influential people experience so that they could market them to their followers. Apple is also self-sufficient. It owns its software, applications, and the operating system, all combined with their cloud architecture. The uniqueness in the way apple operates sets them apart with other companies.. This makes it the best in what it does as a company.

Respond to classmate response below:

Apple sure does have a competitive advantage and I think the main reason is because of their connectivity. Apple started out with Ipods and they made them so that they would only work on their proprietary software, Itunes. Apple has stuck with this model as they tackled the personal computer, laptop and cell phone industries. Apples products are all very interactive with each other and all extremely non interactive with other companies products. This is a huge part of their value chain and it is no coincidence. Apple does this on purpose as it creates for more sales.

Thanks