Naomi is a market researcher for her company, which designs and manufactures carpets and rugs. She travels globally to conferences and trade shows to track current trends in her industry. During one trip, Naomi learns about a new dye technique that results in more resilient color at a lower cost. She brings the relevant information back to her team and other experts in her company to discuss the feasibility of implementing this technique in their products.

Which competitive force has Naomi capitalized on to benefit her company's manufacturing processes?

a$.$ Rivalry among existing competitors

b$.$ Buyer power

c$.$ Supplier power

d$.$ Threat of substitute products or services

Naomi's combanv is able to implement the new dye technique before competitors discover and implement similar techniques, thus increasing her company:

You're an HR director meeting with your CEO to discuss plans for a new application that will allow employees to track their own hours and earned vacation time. There are several pieces and parts that need to be coordinated, and the two of you are trying to decide which employees to bring on board for the project.

CEO:

I like the idea of developing this app in$-$house. Let's talk about who we want to assign to the team for this project. You've got the HR expertise. But who should take charge of converting your ideas into a workable design?

You:

I$\text{'}$m thinking Natalie can take point on this. She's got a background and helped with this kind of thing at her prior company where she developed the initial design for some bookkeeping software.