MBA 735 – Reflections on Module 5 Concepts.

MBA 735 – Reflections on Module 5 Concepts.
Even if you are not the top decision maker of an organization, why is it important to understand your organization's competitors?
Because you need you know how you help align to your company's objectives. Many companies achieve success through the little things key personnel do every day that secure the company's competitive advantage. Innovative managers can direct their groups through change, even though the company as a whole does not see the need for change. Effective and innovative management at the top is critical for fast moving industries, but other industries are still cemented in the industrial wave and move slowly. It is not as critical for management to recognize the need for change, but if they do not have visionary manager - they will have a difficult surviving in the long run. The refractory, foundry and steel industries of the USA are examples of this comment. Managements with the inability to adapt and change went into bankruptcy, losing billions of dollars for their stakeholder, with the employees being the biggest losers.

What are your personal competitive advantages?

I have a strong sense of accomplishment. I am detailed oriented enough to outline what is necessary without over doing it. My major goals when undertaking a project is to outline the details, plan for action, implement and execute without worrying what can go wrong, just take it on the chin and shoot from the hip - get it done. I have been involved with too many people who complain and debate what can go wrong, why it will not work, and why something else should be done. If they would have just jumped in with two feet and had faith in themselves, their abilities, and the situation - they would have had the project conquered and completed on time. You can not be afraid of failure or success. Ability to execute and your eye on the ball is critical to maintaining your competitive advantage.

What do you do better than your counterparts in your current job?

Not being distracted by why something can not be done or following the little "yellow brick road" that is not part of the project - no matter how interesting it may be. You must be able to critically focus on the bulls eye - the center of the target. Without that focus, the project will not achieve its full potential. As a manager of a department I also strive to delegate all of my job and the responsibilities down as far as I can. This is based on my philosophy to teach and train those reporting to me to do my job. The only way I can grow and expand my job is through the people with whom I empower to do my job and greater deeds beyond. It does work and I am in the process of a pilot program to show what is possible through believing in the right people.

In your industry? Compared to workers in general (in and out of your field of expertise)?
My industry is much smaller in the USA than it was 20 years ago. Much of the industry has gone overseas, but not to competition in foreign countries in my assessment, but mainly to incompetent management through complacency. This industry began exactly like the steel industry - large salaries, bonuses, and perks to salary and top executives and exploitation of the laborers - no communication from bottom to top. Unions really facilitated this problem that lead to the destruction of wealth for the shareholder - which included the workers themselves. There really was no communications, only confrontations between the "white collared" and the "blue collared" employees, which were fostered by the short-termed gains in profits. This all lead to their destruction, as the manufacturing jobs moved quickly out if the USA. This trend was evident many years before the management of these companies chose to acknowledged the trend. The bottom line is to flatten the structure to ensure that the "bottom" is aligned with the "top" and I may add that the top being aligned with the bottom is more important than the top "being aligned with the top" . Management is what directs the strategy and the profits, but never forget it is the "bottoms" that make it all happen.

As a company grows, will its competitive advantages change?

Allied as a company, I see their competitive advantage growing and changing in an advantageous way. The advantage is the ability to maintain strong R&D expenses, global growth, and resistance against competition. The main problem is gathering enough information that is in turn formed into knowledge. There are so many opportunities and many of them are not a good fit. All of these opportunities take substantial resources to pursue. Pursuing the wrong ones can be damaging to the company.
Have you seen this happen in your place of business?
I have my Master of Science in Ceramic Engineering and I have worked in three different sectors of this industry. Currently, being in the refectory industry, as reclining industry in the USA for metal containment, I have seen Allied take a proactive approach to the market - above the curve when compared to my previous jobs and especially to the market.
Is this good or bad? Explain your responses.
This is good, but resources still need to be better allocated. Competition globally is growing every day. The only competitive advantage that we have and the USA has is the immense knowledge base that a majority of the companies take for granted (in some ways). I do not know of many companies that take full advantage and fully exploit their knowledge base that resides in their workforce.

I will say this is good. Allied is global and the management is globally "committed" to being there first to service and commit to the customer. Being proactive and being first to market is very important to the market. Most customer do not remember who is trying to break in, but who was the first to meet their needs!!