Business Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Business Plan - Essay Example According to Wert (2009), â€Å"carnival’s generic strategy is best described as a blend of low-cost and differentiation.† This is like arguing that the company does not put all its eggs in one basket. Rather, it distributes the available generic strategies prudently to ensure that wider scopes of customer needs are met. By low cost strategy, the company masters in winning the hearts of as many clients with little economic standing as possible. For the high class who would prefer segregated forms of products and services, the company caters for this through the differentiation generic strategy. Scope of Generic Strategy Interestingly, the types of generic strategies identified earlier can be broken further down into whether they are implemented with a broad or narrow focus. Porter explains that the measure of either a broad or narrow focus constitutes the scope of the generic strategy. With reference to the generic strategies blended by Carnival Corporation (which are l ow cost and differentiation), the diagram below may give a representation of the different scopes available to Carnival Corporation. Source: Mind Tools (2012). ... It is not surprising that the current ratio, quick ratio and cash per share are all quoted as low with values of 0.215, 0.154 and 0 respectively (Covestor, 2012). The debt/equity, interest coverage ratio and book value per share are all quoted as average with values of 0.621, 1.17 and 0 respectively (Covestor, 2012). The second way by which the company implements cost leadership is by â€Å"increasing market share through charging lower prices, while still making a reasonable profit on each sale because you've reduced costs† Mind Tools, 2012). Differentiation involves making your products or services different from and more attractive those of your competitors. With reference to the product differentiation broad generic strategy, the company plays the game more to the implication of the name of strategy where by Carnival Corporation makes their products and services different from competitors in terms of the product quality, packaging appearance and attitude towards work. In t he bid to stand out tall in the industry, the company ensures that it trades not just product but quality service to its customers. This way, the company becomes the preferred destination for customers if the customers know they would even have to pay the same low price somewhere else for the same set of product delivery. Primary Competitors Indeed the Management Study Guide (2012) notes that one crutial area of competive analysis for any company is â€Å"identifying present as well as potential competitors. As far as the cruise ship operation industry is concerned, Carnival Corporation has a number of key competitors. These companies are described as key competitors because they trade in the same kind of business as