This week you will learn about how functional$-$level strategies can help a company achieve superior efficiency, quality, innovation, and customer responsiveness, leading to competitive advantage. By the end of the week you will be able to:

review the contributions that each of the different functional areas of a company can make toward increasing efficiency

address how functional strategies can achieve superior quality of a company$$s goods and services through the dimensions of reliability and excellence

focus on the means of achieving superior innovation through functional strategies

concentrate on the contribution of functional strategies to improved customer responsiveness.

To prepare for your learning this week, you need to do the following:

Complete your prescribed readings

Figure: Functional Level Strategies

Source: Charles, Schilling, M$.$ A$.,$ & Jones, G$.$ R$.(2019).$ Strategic Management an Integrated Approach.