Competitive advantage in the business world and work.

There have been a lot of misconceptions associated with the aspect of competitive advantage especially in the world of business today. Competitive advantage is associated with having better products than the competitors especially in the eyes of the customers. It is associated with having benefits customers find from the products that out does the others that exist in the market. It is usually a strategic advantage for most organization, and it allows them to dominate markets for a period where they enjoy the benefits of high market share, great profits, and general success (Amadeo, 2017). a competitive advantage is also associated with having products whose demand is higher compared to those of other competitors within the industry. it is an aspect that is associated with the ability for articulating maximum benefits from the products to the target market in a manner that is better compared to existing competition in the market. Most businesses and organization hold this aspect as their main strategic goal: the creation of a strategic advantage in the market as the most important business strategy. they do this to dominate the market and maximize profits, but this is usually a misconception since most organizations and businesses lack the adequate understanding of competitive advantage and end up enjoying success for a small period followed by becoming irrelevant and eventually collapsing. There exist different businesses within the different industry but some of the most successful business of today is mainly based in the world of technology which is very volatile with a lot of situations and changes that are uncertain (Amadeo, 2017). Despite the major success of most of these businesses, they fall into a state of no change associated with a lot of stability as a result of the competitive advantage they have. Competitive advantage is an important aspect of the business but has several assumptions that are very dangerous especially in a business environment that is dynamic (Amadeo, 2017). Competitive advantage can be very dangerous when used as the most important strategic goal of the business. The world of technology is very volatile. Innovations happen on a daily basis and technologies become obsolete very quickly. In such instances, competitive advantage is never enough. Competitive advantage is associated with a rigidity that is caused by the perception of change and organization find pride in the one innovation that kept them at the top for a while. It is for this reason that these organizations try as hard as possible to protect the advantage from competition within the industry. However, they fail to realize the great possibilities that exist away from the advantage. in an industry such as the tech industry where global competitions are high, and new technologies are developed every minute, a company holding on to a former glory brought about by a competitive advantage as a result of a single technology has no chance and would simply fail. Many companies that dominated the market in the past such as Motorola, Blackberry, and Nokia are good examples of organizations that failed to be flexible and were soon driven out of the market by competitors with better products. Organizations need to understand that competitive advantages do not last long and alternatives need to be identified as fast as the advantage was exploited. The misconception about competitive advantage is associated with frameworks executives utilized that only apply to the markets of the past and not the ones of today which are characterized by a fast pace of change. The old business frameworks do not work and people ought to use new strategies to survive the volatile business environments. Some of the greatest assumptions that formed the bases for the obsolete frameworks include the notion that the industry is most important and that when a business achieves a competitive advantage, then it is believed that it would automatically become sustainable (McGrath, 2013). These are assumptions that could work in particular industry, but not others and the tech world is one of them. This is because the tech industry and the others like it change quickly and if an organization cannot keep up with the changing pace then it is up for doom. Organization need to focus on customer satisfaction by getting the job done instead of focusing on the industry. Too much focus on the industry blinds an organization from competition coming from an industry out of the industry it operates, and a good example is between newspapers and the internet. The organization needs to seek innovation at all times even if they currently have a competitive advantage. Innovation is important because it is a source of new ideas and a major source of better competitive advantage. Another important factor is associated with the difficulties organizations face when trying to reconfigure themselves especially when change arises (McGrath, 2013). This is a factor that most organizations fear and it is dangerous because it can make them stagnate. However, reconfigurations ought to be a normal aspect of business, and the business needs to develop flexibility especially when it has to change. Flexibility makes it easy for an organization to smoothly move from advantage to the next and ensures that a business does not get trapped in competitive advantage (McGrath, 2013). ? References Amadeo, K. (2017, April 7). What Is Competitive Advantage? 3 Strategies That Work. Retrieved 2017, from https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-competitive-advantage-3-strategies-that-work-3305828 McGrath, R. (2013, November 7). The End of Competitive Advantage. Retrieved 2017, from http://www.europeanbusinessreview.com/the-end-of-competitive-advantage/#!prettyPhoto