Essay: Otis Elevator Co. - Strategy And Change Analysis" (70 Characters)

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The Growth of Otis and its Competitive Advantage

Otis is a well-known company in the elevator industry with its international coverage of more than 200 countries. The company has ventured into very many countries which has made it stand out among other businesses. Over the years the company has shown growth due to its advancement in technology so as to help integrate the growing needs of the consumers as well as help fight the new companies that have been entering the industry. The growth of the company has been seen since it was started by the founder Elisha Otis. A seen from the case study the company growth was marked by the bold moves of the Otis starting out with the sales of less than five elevators which has grown to its highest levels. A productive strategy by the owner which involved the provision of a product and service that the customer or the consumer needed. The elevator usage over the years has been one of the basic needs in the developing and already developed countries since the industrialization in these countries has seen to it the growth of complex building as well as the skyscrapers and more advanced architectural design (Hitt et al., 2001). The elevator industry has received multiple changes and Otis Company has been in the leading position so as to integrate more advanced technologies.

It is important to analyses the importance of strategy as well as change in the company since most of these have seen the company retain its position. This has helped the company beat the new companies entering the industry, this has also helped the company also have a competitive advantage over the competitors since we have seen that there has are a number of companies in the same industry offering the same product and services (Hair et al., 2015). It is evident that Otis company has managed to add value to is elevators as well which also has significantly added the company’s influence over its customers.

From the case study it is evident that there are multiple environmental factors that influence Otis company and have been influencing the company over the past few years. Since the start of the company, we have seen that the environmental factors have enabled the company to attain its position globally as well as helped it attain its leading position. From the start of the company, Otis the founder came up with the company to solve a problem faced by most of the companies all over the world and managed to integrate the solution in different countries. The environmental factors such as consumer demand were factors the company focused on. This helped the company determine the countries and states to venture in since there was a market for the company (Chesbrough, 2010). With this in mind it is evident that the environmental factors influenced the globalization strategy of the company (Tanner & Raymond, 2015). With the advancement in technology. These have been some of the other main environmental factors that have significantly impacted the company. Factors such as the reduced downtimes, reduced cost of maintenance among other environmental factors have seen the company invest in research centers and advanced innovations to come up with systems such as the remote access systems which enable the companies to carry out elevator maintenance more effectively than before. These advancements have greatly impacted Otis strategies on how to approach the market as well as give the company its competitive advantage (Frynas & Mellahi, 2015). With this in mind the company has also managed to transform the industry in different ways such as the introduction of flat polyurethane coated steel belts which are used to lift the elevator car and provide traction. Such inventions have controlled the industry for a while and have been as a result of environmental factors such as the need to reduce the energy used by the elevators running on the older systems. Environmental factors such as comfort for the customers also played a huge role in the invention of the new technology since the previous technology used which was the steel cables provided such a bumpy ride. With the consideration of such factors Otis managed to capitalize on this and transformed the century used technology so as to meet the changes in the industry. This shows a significant application of change within the industry and its impact to the company (Lasserre, 2017). This new technology has been adapted by most of the other companies in the market but tis remains at the top of the list.

Environmental Factors and their Influence on Otis

It is evident that the company’s business model has been well integrated within the company and has utilized the environmental factors to influence how the company has been operating (Zott, Amit & Massa, 2011).  Within the business model, under the product and service Otis has been in the front line to adapt ne changes as the environmental demands change over time. For instance, the introduction of automatic elevators, and the flat polyurethane coated steel belts under the business mode both inventions have held deliver more beneficia product to its clients. This covers the customer section within the model where customer interests and needs are highlighted further. For the customers the company managed to reduce the expenditure on the elevators by reducing the energy used by the elevators, and also reducing the cost of having an operator in the elevators. These are some of the customer benefit related strategies by the company. For the competitive logic the company on the other hand has been leading with all these new advancements hence making it hard for the competitor companies in the market to keep up with the changes. This shows a well-integrated business model by the company based on the environmental factors surrounding the company and the industry (Osterwalder, & Pigneur, 2010).

The company has proven to have the capability to lead the industry in the coming yeas from the review of the company’s business model. It is evident that the company has embraced technology with the changes in the industry and this has given it a competitive advantage over the other companies in them market. From the analysis it is also possible to identify a well-researched SWOT analysis to see its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities as well as threats the company faces. From the case study one is amble to map out multiple strengths of the company which have laid a foundation to the claims that the company has the capability to lead the industry. Some of the company’s strength includes its effective business model which greatly relies on its ability to change with the changes in he industry as well as the integration of technology (Peng & Vlas, 2017). These have seen the company grow significantly over the past few years. From the case study there have been very limited weaknesses mentioned but its possible for one to identify some of the weaknesses the company may face. With the fast changes within the industry it is possible for the company to get faced out incase it fails to keep up with the changes. This calls for the company to ensure its up to date with all the changes in the industry. On the other hand, there are multiple opportunities that the company can take up in the industry and further satisfy its customers while increasing its revenue (Legris, Ingham & Collerette, 2003). From the study, the advancement in the industry has seen to it the invention and integration of tv’s in the elevators which have been used for marketing as well as a safety measure for the users of the elevators. This has seen the company provide more comfort to its customers making it a more customer friendly service and product provider. As per the company’s strategy it is possible to highlight that the company is effectively utilizing all the opportunities in the industry to gain a competitive advantage. Finally observing the threats, the company faces, the case study has provided information worth analyzing the industry over the years has been receiving new entries but Otis has managed to retain the largest market share which shows its capabilities to hold its position in the market. With this being covered. Threats will remain in the industry but with the right positioning, strategies and change then the company will be in a better position to hold its position.

From the analysis of the company’s capabilities, it has managed to prove its capabilities in facing the future if it maintains its currently effective business model and further dig deeper in integrating technology it its operations. Technology has seen it retain its position in the market so far and also helped the company gain a competitive advantage hence with the constant maintenance of the strategy it is guaranteed that the company is capable to cope with the changes in the industry.

References

Chesbrough, H. (2010). Business model innovation: opportunities and barriers. Long range planning, 43(2-3), 354-363.

Frynas, J. G., & Mellahi, K. (2015). Global strategic management. Oxford University Press, USA.

Hair Jr, J. F., Wolfinbarger, M., Money, A. H., Samouel, P., & Page, M. J. (2015). Essentials of business research methods. Routledge.

Hitt, M., Ireland, R., & Hoskisson, R. (2001) Strategic Management: Competitiveness & Globalisation; ; Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College Publishing.

Lasserre, P. (2017). Global strategic management. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Legris, P., Ingham, J., & Collerette, P. (2003). Why do people use information technology? A critical review of the technology acceptance model. Information & management, 40(3), 191-204.

Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business model generation: a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers. John Wiley & Sons.

Peng, M. W., & Vlas, C. O. (2017). Diffusion of a twentieth-century innovation. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 16(1).

Tanner, J., & Raymond, M. (2015). Principles of marketing. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing.

Zott, C., Amit, R., & Massa, L. (2011). The business model: recent developments and future research. Journal of management, 37(4), 1019-1042.