Competitive Organization Essay -- Business

How does your organization compete? Walker et al. (2010) write, competitive strategies are based on overall patterns of purpose, practice, and performance. After reviewing the annual report and company website, it appears that Limited Brands Inc. (LTD) does non only have one competitive schema. Since the firm is divided into several(prenominal) distinct strategic calling units (SBU) with differing core competencies and available resources, as easily as disparate customer and competitive characteristics it employs different strategies to create value, fight growth and profitability (i.e. Victorias Secret and tub & luggage compartment Works Walker et al., 2010). For instance, the Victorias Secret SBU appears to leverage a differentiated analyzer schema by actively seeking to thunder into related product markets with differentiated offerings (Walker et al., 2010). Not only does Victorias Secret offer a differentiated line of lingerie, but it overly has expanded its product off erings to include beauty, apparel, and accessories. These expansions are largely financed and supported by the SBUs core business (lingerie) and its profitable, strong brand reputation. In contrast, the Bath & Body Works SBU seems to employ a differentiated defender schema (Walker et al., 2010). Its activities focus on constantly improving existing offerings by modifying products as well as processes. In addition, it also defends its market note with line extensions to help insulate and fortify the companys position from competition. In its annual report LTD notes we are aggressively focusing on bringing compelling merchandise assortments, marketing and store experiences to our customers (LTD, 2011). This implies that LTDs overarching strategy is driv... ...ity. Resources Anderson, J.C., Narus, JA., & van Rossum, W. (2006). Customer value propositions in business markets. Harvard Business Publishing. Retrieved from http//hbr.org/ Johnson, M.W., Christensen, C.M., & Kagermann, H. (2008). Reinventing your business model. Harvard Business Publishing. Retrieved from http//hbr.org/Limited Brands Inc. (LTD). (2011). Proxy statement and annual report. Retrieved from https//materials.proxyvote.com/Approved/532716/20110328/CMBO_86861/HTML2/default.htm Porter, M.E. (1996). What is strategy? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from http//hbr.org/ Treacy, M., & Wiersema, F. (1993). Customer intimacy and other value disciplines. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from http//hbr.org/ Walker, O.C., & Mullins, J.W. (2010). selling strategy a decision focused approach (7th Ed.). New York, NY McGraw-Hill.