In this assignment we examine the capabilities your company needs to develop to deliver its strategy. We assume that your team is about to have a meeting to set long range priorities around performance capabilities. This assignment is pre-work for that meeting. At this point you have a vision, and you have a strategic direction. For example, you might be saying, We plan to be a high technology company. We will concentrate our resources upon the High End, Performance, and Size segments. We will compete based upon differentiation. Or you might have decided to be in every segment and compete on price, or any of a dozen other combinations of vision and strategy. But what capabilities do you need to develop to execute your strategy? For example, it is one thing to say, We will compete on price, and another to build a company that can effectively compete on price and still produce a solid return for stakeholders. Lets relate two popular ideas, Core Competence and Competitive Advantage, to your situation. You will find dozens of references to Core Competence (C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel) and Competitive Advantage (Michael Porter) on the Internet. You could develop competencies in awareness, accessibility, product redesign, product invention, automation, plant utilization, human resources, cash flow management, and forecasting. All of these competencies take several years to develop. You would use these competencies to develop competitive advantages. For example, competencies in automation and human resources could lead to a competitive advantage in cost leadership. Competencies in awareness, accessibility, and design could lead to a competitive advantage built upon differentiation. With this as background, present an argument for your teammates. 1. What are the top three competencies you believe necessary to execute your vision and strategy? 2. What decisions do you need to make to develop these competencies? 3. How will they produce competitive advantage?