UGC NET Management Previous Year Solved Papers MCQ - November 2017

Mintzberg has identified the 5 P’s of strategy. Strategy could be a plan, a pattern, a position, a ploy, or a perspective.
> A plan, a “How do I get there?”
> A pattern, as emerging out of actions consistent over time.
> A position, that is, it reflects the decision of the firm to offer particular products or services in particular markets.
> A ploy, a manoeuvre intended to outwit a competitor.
> A perspective, that is, a vision and direction, a view of what the company or organization is to become.

Michael Porter identifies three types of generic strategies that can be pursued by almost any business. These strategies help the business achieve, build, defend, and sustain its competitive advantage. A business builds competitive advantage by different means through cost leadership, superior product and technology, quality, and reliability of service. Small businesses must build competitive advantages to compete effectively in the marketplace. The common areas of distinctive competence include experience and knowledge, uniqueness of product or service, better than average service, location, low cost and price, quality of the product, variety of products, friendly atmosphere, reputation, and unique method of marketing. As indicated by given Fig. Michael Porter’s generic strategies consist of cost leadership, differentiation, and focus strategies.

Competence is a characteristic of a person, which results ineffective and/or superior performance in a job. Competence is an the underlying characteristic of a person, that is, it may be motive/traits/skills or aspect of one’s self-image or a body of knowledge which one uses. The existence of these characteristics may or may not be known to the person. In this sense, the characteristic maybe an unconscious aspect of the person. In simple terms, competence is a combination of a body of knowledge, soft skills, and cluster of appropriate motives/traits, an individual possesses to perform a given task effectively and efficiently.