Porters Views on Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Porters Views on Strategy - Essay Example Michael Porter is a University Professor at Harvard Business School and a very contributor to the fields of management and economics. In an article he wrote for the Harvard Business Review in 1996, and also in one of his books, he argues that competitive strategy is "about being different". He adds, "It means deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value". It is important to note that Porter has focused on discussing competitive strategy and his views are based more on differentiating the company in the view of the customers. Porter has defined competitive strategy as "a combination of the ends for which the firm is striving and the means by which it is seeking to get there". Porter has provided for a very fresh and different view on the meaning of strategy. He highlights and emphasises on the facts that operational effectiveness is not strategy. Porter has in his article ‘What is Strategy?’, in the Harvard Business Review brought o ut some very important points. He argues that ‘Positioning’, which has been one of the major elements of strategy and has acted as the ‘heart of strategy’, is not being rejected by most managers. He discussed in this article that the current period believed that positioning is considered to be too static in the current dynamic world and the high use of technology. It is important to note that the information that has been provided here has been based on three major heads: 1. variety-based positioning 2. Needs-based positioning and 3 Access-based positioning