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MANAGING PROJECTS

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Projects represent nonroutine business activities that often have long-term strategic ramifications for a firm. In this chapter, we examined how projects differ from routine business activities and discussed the major phases of projects. We noted how environmental changes have resulted in increased attention being paid to projects and project management over the past decade. In the second half of the chapter, we introduced some basic tools that businesses can use when planning for and controlling projects. Both Gantt charts and network diagrams give managers a visual picture of how a project is going. Network diagrams have the added advantage of showing the precedence between activities, as well as the critical path(s). We wrapped up the chapter by showing how these concepts are embedded in inexpensive yet powerful software packages such as Microsoft Project. If you want to learn more about project management, we encourage you to take a look at the Web site for the Proj...
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Competitive Dynamics

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A market leader has the largest market share in the relevant product market. To remain dominant, the leader looks for ways to expand total market demand and attempts to protect and perhaps increase its current share.
A market challenger attacks the market leader and other competitors in an aggressive bid for more market share. There are five types of general attack; challengers must also choose specific attack strategies.
A market follower is a runner-up firm willing to maintain its market share and not rock the boat. It can play the role of counterfeiter, cloner, imitator, or adapter.
A market nicher serves small market segments not being served by larger firms. The key to nichemanship is specialization. Nichers develop offerings to fully meet a certain group of customers’ needs, commanding a premium price in the process.
As important as a competitive orientation is in today’s global markets, companies should not overdo the emphasis on competitors. They should maintain a good balance of consumer and competitor monitoring.
Because economic conditions change and competitive activity varies, companies normally must reformulate their marketing strategy several times during a product’s life cycle. Technologies, product for stages are usually introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Most products today are in the maturity stage.
Each product life cycle stage calls for different marketing strategies. The introduction is marked by slow growth and minimal profits. If successful, the product enters a growth stage marked by rapid sales growth and increasing profits. There follows a maturity stage in which sales growth slows and profits stabilize. Finally, the product enters a decline stage. The company’s task is to identify the truly weak products, develop a strategy for each, and phase them out in a way that minimizes impact on company profits, employees, and customers.
Like products, markets evolve through four stages: emergence, growth, maturity, and decline.
In a recession, marketers must explore the upside of possibly increasing investments, get closer to customers, review budget allocations, put forth the most compelling value proposition, and fine-tune brand and product offerings.

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