Operations Strategy

Operations strategies

Discussion 2

“Operations Strategy” Please respond to the following:

Choose two service companies with which you are familiar, such as Facebook, Amazon, and UPS. Apply Hill’s Strategy Development Framework to them.

For each company you chose, compare and contrast each sector of the framework and determine which key area(s) provide(s) a competitive advantage. Provide at least two examples to support your position.

Note: Refer to Chapter 3 of the text for information on Hill’s Strategy Development Framework.

Operation strategies refer to the methods used by companies to attain their set objectives. These strategies enable the companies to examine as well as implement effective systems in which they utilize resources, personnel, and dictate the work process. For service companies such as Amazon and Facebook, they implement operational strategies to allow them to integrate short and long-term goals or to create an effective management team. These strategies are also designed to maximize effective production as well as support business services while reducing costs.

The application of the Hills strategy development framework is used by companies to determine what attributes their competitive advantage (Ringim, 2018). For instance, Facebook has continuous innovations to ensure that the user is comfortable using the app or that they spend more time there. They have included the block aspect to ensure that users control who has access to their social media accounts (Shim, 2017). They have also upgraded privacy measures by restricting the sharing of content without the approval of the owner. It has upgraded the way people share content to ensure that it reaches people globally. Its competitive advantage is in its user-friendly interface, affordability, and ease of access. It also uses quantitative metrics to regulate prices.

Amazon’s competitive advantage is in its excellent customer service, range of products, amazing deals, and their image. They also apply quantitative metrics to regulate their prices to get the best deals for their consumers. Their suppliers and employees are motivated, and thus the quality delivery of customer service (Denning, 2019). Amazon has a quality check that needs to be attained for them to sell products on this platform. Its online presence is made available to users globally, is easy to use, and indicates all the information they need, for instance, the shipping fee before they complete their purchase.

References

Denning, S. (2019). How Amazon uses metrics to drive success. Strategy & Leadership.

Ringim, K. J. (2018). Relevance of Hill’s Strategy Development Framework for Rental and Leasing Company in Brunei Darussalam. Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 6, 1.

Shim, D., & Stengel, F. A. (2017). Social media, gender and the mediatization of war: exploring the German armed forces’ visual representation of the Afghanistan operation on Facebook. Global Discourse, 7(2-3), 330-347.