Competitor Analysis: Four Corner’s Analysis
The automobile industry is highly competitive due to the increase in motor vehicle manufacturers in the sector over the years. Each of these players seeks to achieve specific goals which make an adequate competitor analysis essential. Knowing and understanding competitors makes the development of an organizational strategy to attain competitiveness. Toyota faces competition from other automobile manufacturers like Ford, General Motors, Honda, and Chrysler among others. This paper provides a competitor analysis for Toyota using the Four Corners analysis proposed by Michael Porter. Four Corner’s is an analysis tool that focuses on four aspects of the competitor; goals, strategy, assumptions, and capabilities. The competitor, in this case, is General Motors company.
Competitor’s Goals
General Motors was founded in the year 2009 following financial challenges with the former general motors corporation. The company has a set of specific goals that acts as the key drivers to achieving success. Organizations have begun to appreciate the role of employees in the attainment of operational efficiency and overall success. This has made employee inclusion a management priority. General Motors aims to give its employees more responsibility and authority to accomplish tasks, in doing so, the company hopes to enhance accountability which will is key to maximizing productivity. General Motors recognizes the importance of external partnerships, that is why it is their goal to create long-term working relationships with their; customers, suppliers, communities, dealers and other stakeholders.
General Motors aims to achieve sustainable success in the long-term through undertaking risks. According to Hahn, Pinkse, Preuss, & Figge (2015), every investment has a certain level of associated risk, and the level of uncertainty in the current economic environment increases the rate of perceived risk. General Motors is however determined to undertake a necessary course of action to ensure they achieve success and can sustain it. During the 1990’s, General Motors was ranked as the world’s top automotive manufacture, however, the penetration by Japanese manufacturers into the U.S. automotive industry coupled with internal challenges at GM threated the company’s survival. The new company seeks to regain its prestige and become the leading vehicle manufacturer using advanced technology.
Competitor’s Assumptions
According to Hashai & Buckley (2014), General Motors has survived harsh economic conditions including organizational restructuring and change, the company’s management is therefore aware of their strengths and weaknesses. This explains GM’s goals and objectives which seek to maximize on the strengths and address the challenges. Additionally, the company’s strategy portrays an understanding of industrial forces which might pose a threat or an opportunity to the business. That is why the company emphasizes the need for innovation and new technologies in production. The organization’s culture is one of the primary factors that contribute to its competitiveness. The culture at general motors emphasizes transformational leadership and values like; teamwork, responsibility, innovation, customer interest, and continuous improvement. Having been in the industry for long, general motors has enough experience on how the market operates and therefore, a better perception of its competitors, both new and existing. Market research in the automotive industry is not an option, which means that General Motors must understand the goals and objectives of competitors to have an innovation strategy.
Competitor’s Objectives
General Motors plans to utilize innovation and technology in its operations to meet its goals. With increasing competition from large companies including Toyota Motors, GM must stand out through creating unique products that satisfy consumer needs, thus the focus on innovation. One of the primary objectives of General Motors relates to consumers and their safety. The company has made the safety of their consumers a top priority through ensuring the quality of their products is not compromised.
Becoming the leading company in the global automotive industry requires constant market research to identify customer needs and create new suitable products that will meet these needs (Hashai & Buckley, 2014). General Motors has an objective to enhance their service delivery by creating customer relationships that will ensure all concerns are effectively addressed. This will enhance customer satisfaction which is important for the growth and development of the company. General Motors operates a wide business portfolio through its subsidiaries, and its objective is to ensure its investments facilitate the delivery of value to its consumers. This means that the company operations emphasis value addition to realizing its goals.
Competitor’s Capabilities
One of the factors that make General Motors a strong competitor for Toyota in the automotive industry is the company’s internal capabilities ranging from its technology, employees, culture to leadership and management. General Motors continues to integrate new technologies in their production that seeks to revolutionize the automobile industry. The company has a strong management team under the leadership of Mary Barra, the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors. The company has undergone a series of transformations through the leadership of Barra and her predecessors that has it become one of the most competitive companies in the automotive industry.
The competent and highly skilled employees at the company have also contributed to the success of General Motors making them a critical resource. The company values its employees which has translated to innovativeness and productivity. Another capability that makes General Motors competitive is its culture that encourages inclusion, customer focus, and creativity. According to Ilyas & Abdullah (2016), organizational culture influences several factors such as leadership which determine the extent to which set goals are realized and how resources are utilized. The culture at General Motors is concerned with achieving excellence through teamwork and employee inclusion. Growth at the company is not only focused on the organization, but also on the individuals.
References
Hahn, T., Pinkse, J., Preuss, L., & Figge, F. (2015). Tensions in corporate sustainability: Towards an integrative framework. Journal of Business Ethics, 127(2), 297-316.
Hashai, N., & Buckley, P. J. (2014). Is competitive advantage a necessary condition for the emergence of the multinational enterprise? Global Strategy Journal, 4(1), 35-48.
Ilyas, M., & Abdullah, T. (2016). The effect of leadership, organizational culture, emotional intellegence, and job satisfaction on performance. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE), 5(2), 158-164.
