This course is strategic management.

Reference: Figure 4.1 Five Business-Level Strategies Basis for Customer Value Lowest Cost Distinctiveness Broad Market Cost Leadership Differentiation Integrated Target Cost Leadership/ Market Differentiation Narrow Focused Focused Market Cost Leadership Differentiation Segment(s) Source: Based on M. E. Porter, 1998, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, New York The Free Press; D. G. Sirmon, M. A. Hitt, & R. D. Ireland, 2007, Managing firm resources in dynamic environments to create value: Looking inside the black box, Academy of Management Review, 32:273-292; D. G. Sirmon, M. A. Hitt, R. D. Ireland, & B. A. Gilbert, 2011, Resource orchestration to create competitive advantage: Breadth, depth and life cycles effects, Journal of Management, 37: 1390-1412. Figure 2.2 The Five Forces of Competition Model Threat of new entrants Rivalry among Bargaining power competing firms of suppliers Threat of substitute products Bargaining power of buyersKindle Fire: Amazon's Heated Battle for the Tablet Market This case is about how Amazon started to compete in the tablet market from the perspective of its founder Jeff Bezos. It provides an overview of the strategic entrepreneurship process under his vision. emphasizing the entrepreneur mind-set and innovation. Bezos was able to formulate and utilize the entrepreneurial opportunities presented to him. The case opens with a history of Amazon, describing how Bezos started out his company in a 400-square foot garage. By 1999. Amazon became the largest online bookstore. and by 2001. it turned its rst prot. While other brick-and-mortar-based competitors struggled to transit to encommerce. Amazon was able to succeed by many innovative strategic moves. such as user-based reviews of products and 1-Click ordering on the website. All the while. Bezos tried to be innovative and be the rst mover. As he stated in his 2010 annual letter to shareholders, \"invention is in [Amazon's] DNA.\" Amazon continues to offer more innovative products such as cloud-based services. This case focuses on one particular product from Amazon. the Kindle Fire. The Amazon Kindle was launched in 2007 and went through many product development phases. Bezos believed that the e-book ecosystems can bring Amazon many potential revenue streams. and thus Amazon Kindle was selling at cost (or below cost as some analysts believed). Kindle Fire was previewed in 2011 and referred as \"the culmination of the many things we've [Amazon has] been doing for 15 years.\" The strategies of Kindle Fire are examined and the competitors (mainly Apple and Barnes & Noble) are analyzed. QUESTIONS: 1. Describe any ONE (1) Amazon's business-level strategy. Based on the analysis. what changes should Bezos make in his efforts to signicantly differentiate the company? 2. Using FIVE (5) Competitive Forces Model, describe how Amazon's can earn above- average return in local market despite its highly competitive market. 3. Is the current strategy for Amazon's Kindle Fire suitable for the existing market? What recommendations can be made to address strategic concerns and safeguard Amazon's growth and market share