Project Deliverable 3: Exploiting Innovation

Due Week 7 and worth 150 points

From the same case that you have chosen for Deliverables 1 and 2, you will determine the company’s top advantage(s) and recommend alternative strategies that the company could take in order to beat its competitors.

Write a three to five (3-5) page paper in which you:

Evaluate the importance of innovation for the long term survival for your chosen company as well as the industry that your chosen company fits in. Next, recommend an overall strategy in order to foster innovation in your chosen company. Provide a rationale for your response.
Speculate on how you would expect the industry to evolve over a period of five (5) and ten (10) years, based on your analysis on the innovative and technology trends from Project Deliverable 2. Provide a rationale for your response.
Determine your chosen company’s top advantage(s) over its competitors. Justify your answer.
Determine two or three (2-3) strategies that the company could use to exploit its innovation breakthroughs, using the top advantage(s) that you determined in Question 3. Analyze the main advantages and disadvantages of each strategy.
Recommend one (1) of the strategies that you determined for the company, and suggest how pursuing that strategy would exploit the company’s advantages over its competitors and minimize its key weaknesses. Provide a rationale for your response.
Use at least six (6) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Determine competitive advantage strategies that fit an organization.
Assess methodologies and approaches to adapting organizations for the changing strategic environment.
Analyze competitive forces across dynamic and mature environments.
Use technology and information resources to research issues related to business strategic management.
Write clearly and concisely about topics related to business strategic management using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions.

Introduction

Established in 2003 in California, Tesla specializes in the manufacture of electric cars and solar panels. The company has grown and expanded over the years, and currently produces the Model S, X and 3 vehicles as well as different types of batteries and solar panels.  Currently, Tesla operates mostly in North America, and parts of Asia and Europe. Tesla’s competitive advantage is its commitment to designing purely electric cars. Unlike any other automobile manufacturer in the market, Tesla utilizes all its resources towards researching on and creating vehicles that are energy efficient. The corporation’s sole focus on developing this type of vehicles makes it stand out from its competition. Tesla’s second competitive advantage is its vast network of charging stations which are strategically located to ensure that Tesla owners can easily access a point where they can charge their vehicles. In addition to this, the company’s motor vehicles stand out from most competitors as a result of their attractive design and high performance. This paper examines the alternative strategies that Tesla can undertake to stay ahead of its competitors. It also examines the importance of innovation for this company and gives insight into the strategies it can undertake to foster innovation.