Competitive Strategy for Singapore Airlines - myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theCompetitive Strategy for Singapore Airlines. Answer: Introduction A business strategy competitive success is determined on how well it relates to the environment it operates in A company has therefore to determine the position where it can cope with the forces of competition or be able to influence them to its advantage. Some companies have managed to position themselves competitively and thus succeeded while others have failed (Porter, and Strategy, 1980 p1). This paper will discuss two companies that have been regardedas excellentin their industry namely Singapore Airlines and Universal Music Group and the sources of their excellence. Singapore Airlines: Background Singapore Airlines was founded in 1947 as Malayan Airlines with the name changing to Malaysian Airlines in 1963 and again to Malaysia-Singapore Airlines. In 1972, there was separation of Singapore Airlines and formation Malaysian Airlines System (Singaporeair.com). In the airline industry that experienced underperformance, competitive rivalry, and other environmental factors that have adversely affected profits, the company has consistently outperformed the competition. The company has been outstanding in performance due to the strategy of service excellence achieved through innovation and cost leadership strategy compared to competitors in this industry (Heracleous and Wirtz, 2012 p 479). It is for this reason that the company has been selected as a success in this field. How Singapore Airlines has achieved its Success in the Market One of the strategies the company has adopted is high innovation. The company aims at being better in all of its product offerings and functions that the competitors. The company believes in total innovation and also continuous innovation. One of the innovations includes the on demand entertainment system for all customers. Another innovation was the phone check in and internet for customers in all classes. The company also invested $1m in a simulator that mimics humidity, air pressure and humidity which affects the taste buds and thus influences the taste of food in these conditions with the aim of reducing food spices. The company has pioneered innovations in some areas like the ability for a customer to order their preferred dish in advance and the in-flight entertainment which improves customer experience. The company has also taken advantage of being a fast follower in areas like use of CRM systems thus adopting proven technology and thus reduces on risks of implementation while taking advantage of appropriate functionalities (Heracleous and Wirtz, 2012 p 480). The company also supports the idea of cost effectiveness with all innovations being weighed against the costs and the customer benefits arising from it. All employees understand the need to balance customer satisfaction and the cost effectiveness of their decisions. Employees are empowered to questions decisions or actions that are wasteful. The productivity of the employees is very high ranked second in this industry globally (Heracleous and Wirtz, 2012 p 481). Due to these factors discussed, Singapore Airlines has been a success story in the Airlines industry with competitors trying to catch up on both efficiency and customer service excellence. Another strategy is focused service design and development which is structured and taken as a serious component of the strategy. The company is always improving on its products and service offering and does not shy away from getting rid of those that do not offer them competitive differentiation in the market or those that cannot be improved and offered in the best way. The company does not get comfortable but is always looking for a way to improve especially in an industry where every other airline is doing the same thing. Singapore Airlines is always looking for new ways to meet customers high expectations (Heracleous and Wirtz, 2012 p 480). Universal Music Group (UMG): Background Universal Music Group (UMG) was formed as Music Corporation of America in 1924. It was publicly listed and renamed MCA Inc in 1959. It bought Decca records in1962 and formed a merger with Universal (Rackmil, 1964).UMG bought DreamWorks records rights and established Universal Music Store with eBay in 2003. Vivendi the French media company bought in 2006 (Adegoke, 2007).In 2012, it bought EMI to become among the three highest revenues earners in the music industry. In an industry that is currently faced by stiff competition and innovations that allow artists to record music on their own, the company has managed to curve its niche and attract and retain some of the best artists. How UMG has achieved its CurrentSuccess in the Market UMG operates in an industry that is heavily influenced by innovation in media and technology. The industry has greatly revolutionized in the past few years that artists can now record and distribute their music without the help of a recording company. In this kind of industry, the company that remains successful has to be continuously innovative for it to survive. One of the recent innovations is that the company partnered with Vevo to develop a site where customers can access music and stream videos for free while supporting the business with ads and offer better quality than YouTube (Sinnott, 2008). In their plan, the company hopes to expand in digital delivery of music and form partnerships with different platforms that will carry its music and video content. This will also help the company save on costs as physical copies of music become less popular while earning more from different outlets of the content. The company also plans to expand to other viable markets in the developing countries in Africa and Asia. This is part of the efforts to earn more profits and remain among the top companies in the industry by expanding to other regions that show potential for new business (Vivendi, 2015). With new talent coming up across these regions, the company can only hope to go far by tapping and growing this talent to international stage and thus gain more business and profits. Conclusion A good business strategy guides the business in becoming successful even in industries with high competitiveness. This paper has discussed two companies that are successful in their industries namely Singapore Airlines and UMG. The paper has given a brief background of each of these companies and discussed how each has gained success in the industry they operate. References Adegoke, Y. (2007).Universal Music closes on BMG. Reuters Heracleous, L. and Wirtz, J., 2012. Strategy and organisation at Singapore Airlines: achieving sustainable advantage through dual strategy. InEnergy, Transport, the Environment(pp. 479-493). Springer London. Porter, M.E. and Strategy, C., 1980. Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors.Competitive Strategy. New York: Free. Rackmil, M. (1964).Pioneers' Dream Becomes Reality With Decca.The Billboard. Singaporeair.com. Retrieved August 23, 2017 from: https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/sg/flying-withus/our-story/our-heritage/ Sinnott, S. (2008). Universal to Create Hulu-like Music Video Site. Exclaim. Retrieved August 23, 2017 from: https://exclaim.ca/music/article/universal_to_create_hulu-like_music_video Vivendi Website. Retrieved August 23, 2017 via: https://www.vivendi.com.