What is Strategy and Why is it Important?

A creative, distinctive strategy that sets a company apart from rivals and provides a competitive advantage is a company's reliable ticket to above$-$average profits. Concepts & Connections $1\mathrm{.}2$ discusses how Apple's strategy led to it becoming one of the most profitable companies in the world, with revenues of more than $$225$ billion. Its reputation for superior technological innovation and design capabilities has made its products and services the most popular in the world.

A company's strategy is management's game plan to grow the business, attract and please customers, compete successfully, conduct operations, and achieve targeted levels of performance. The central thrust of a company's strategy is undertaking moves to build and strengthen the company's long$-$term competitive position and financial performance. Ideally, this results in a competitive advantage over rivals that then becomes the company's ticket to above$-$average profitability. A company's strategy typically evolves over time, arising from a blend of $(1)$ proactive and deliberate actions on the part of company managers and $(2)$ adaptive emergent responses to unanticipated developments and fresh market conditions. Closely related to the concept of strategy is the concept of a company's business model. A company's business model is management's blueprint for delivering a valuable product or service to customers in a manner that will generate revenues enough to cover costs and yield an attractive profit. The two elements of a company's business model are $(1)$ its customer value proposition and $(2)$ profit formula. A winning strategy fits the circumstances of a company's external and internal situations, builds competitive advantage, and boosts company performance.

This exercise is important because it will help you to understand why every company needs a sound strategy to compete successfully, manage the conduct of its business, and strengthen its prospects for long$-$term success.

The goal of this exercise is to aid you in developing an awareness of the five most dependable approaches for setting a company apart from rivals and winning a competitive advantage.

After reviewing Chapter $1,$ including Concepts & Connections $1\mathrm{.}2,$ read the case below and answer the questions that

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