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... ing to prevent collisions between vehicles, are also currently at the development stage, as are an infrared night vision system and a pedestrian assistant, which identifies pedestrians and cyclists when the vehicle turns corners (web). Naturally these technological innovations will first be fitted to Daimler Chrysler vehicles namely Mercedes Benz and the Maybach which are the manufacturers prestige vehicles (web). But, in the future these technologies will be seen as standard and will be fitted right across the vehicle manufacturing industry throughout the whole world like its technological breakthroughs with ABS and Airbags, which are standard in many vehicles. This truly shows that Daimler Chrysler are on the brink of innovation and such innovation will lead to core competencies which will be unrivalled in the automotive construction business thus providing access to the whole car making market, with its innovative forward thinking products. DOES THIS COMPETENCE MAKE A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE PERCEIVED CUSTOMER BENEFITS OF THE END PRODUCT?
Daimler Chrysler's core competencies evolve around outstanding safety, powerful engines, innovative technologies and quality design (web). In the previous question I outlined the many innovative competencies that have now swept right through the automotive construction business and the many new innovations along the way and in the construction pipeline, such as road safety for pedestrians. These competencies do not only make a significant contribution to the perceived customer benefits of the end product but is looked upon as imperative for a 21 st century car that has to have the best safety features around. The end product using Mercedes Benz and the Maybach as an example first and foremost is a car that has stylish looks, outstanding safety features and the body which customers know will not crumple if in a severe accident (web).
This all points to safety of passengers and is a huge benefit and significant contribution to the perceived customer benefits of the end product. This doesnt only refer to Daimler Chrysler but to every other car manufacturer in the world. For example, when the corporate professional walks into a car showroom with his wife and two kids safety is naturally at the top of his list whether its a Ford, Holden, BMW, Toyota, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Renault, Jaguar, Lotus or Rolls-Royce is irrelevant. The corporate professional wants his wife and kids to be safe therefore will have Airbags installed along with ABS brakes and active body control therefore utilizing Daimler Chrysler core competencies in his car, regardless of make.
This is seen as a huge benefit to the end product as the corporate professional knows that his family will be safe in the event of his family being in an accident with these value added safety features (Stanton, Miller, & Layton, 1994). Also every country has safety levels and criteria which each car must meet before being given permission to be on the road. Because of Daimler Chrysler's innovative technology in crumple zones and passenger safety, car manufacturers are looking to Daimler Chrysler through research in this area in order for there cars to meet this criteria and being given the ok by the countries automotive safety authority. This all leads to safer cars on the roads and car manufacturers paying Daimler Chrysler for this privilege in research and technology with regards to the best materials to use for manufacturing etc.
An example of Daimler Chrysler's core competencies making a significant contribution to the perceived customer benefits of the end product is that nowadays there are more safer cars on the road using the technology divided by Daimler Chrysler in the form of ABS and Airbags (web). Reading an article in the Herald-Sun on the 9 th of April clearly shows how Daimler Chrysler's core competencies are making a significant contribution to the perceived customer benefits of the end product, which is a safer car, quality innovation and design. The article said: David Beckham (a top soccer player in England) has splashed out $ 407, 000 on an armoured Mercedes Benz S 500 to transport his family in absolute safety. The S 500 has features such as ABS brakes, 8 Airbags, re-strengthened crumple zones as well as the armoured vehicle being able to with stand gunfire, gas attack and a blast from a landmine directly underneath (Herald-Sun, 9 / 04 / 02, pg. 11). IS THIS COMPETENCE DIFFICULT FOR COMPETITORS TO IMITATE? Daimler Chrysler's core competencies of outstanding safety, powerful engines, innovative technologies and quality design can be imitated in parts by other companies such as Honda with engine design and production (web), but to what extent?
Hondas core competencies of engine design and production might be good but what about Hondas other core competencies? In no way imaginable can Honda rival Daimler Chrysler or for that matter can any other car manufacturer rival Daimler Chrysler's core competencies. Then theres the question of really how good are Hondas engines? The fact of the matter is Hondas engines might be good but Daimler Chrysler's engines are also hi-tech and with there association with the McLaren Formula 1 team its engines too cannot be rivaled and not even Honda can compete with Daimler Chrysler.
Ferraris engines are just as great as Daimler Chrysler but then again Ferrari doesnt do too well in Daimler Chrysler's other core competencies. Some companies might have some of the core competencies of Daimler Chrysler for instance safety and Volvo but Daimler Chrysler's core competencies in these other core areas are unrivalled. One car manufacturer might have one core competency like Daimler Chrysler but not any others and that is what sets Daimler Chrysler from the rest of the pack as displayed in the example of ABS brakes, Airbags and crumple zones in which Daimler Chrysler is on the brink of innovative technology (web). Competencies such as these cannot be imitated because they simply dont have the infrastructure and trying to play catch-up now is simply impossible.
Therefore, Daimler Chrysler's core competencies cannot be imitated and it would be impossible even if a company was game enough to try and imitate it because if the entry barriers wouldnt put a rival company off the shear speed at which Daimler Chrysler is producing this technology would. This is the reason that Daimler Chrysler finds itself in this position today. The strategic outlook of its top managers recently in off loading numerous business units outside the core area of the worldwide automotive business has enabled and stamped very clearly Daimler Chrysler's strategic focus on the global automotive industry. Businesses such as the flotation of the European Aeronautic, Defense and Space Company (EADS), into which Dasa has been incorporated and the joint IT venture between debi's System haus and Deutsche Telecom and the sale of the railway engineering subsidiary Adtranz to Bombardier are all expressions of this strategic focus (web). Having disengaged itself from aeronautics, railway systems and telecommunications, Daimler Chrysler AG now generates more than 90 per cent of its sales in the global automotive industry.
It is for this reason that Daimler Chrysler is at the frontier of innovation and well on its way of producing its goal in the not to distant future of being the number one car manufacturer in every major segment in the automotive industry (web). It should be noted that a lot of Daimler Chrysler's innovation with regards to safety and engines derives from Daimler Chrysler's association with the McLaren Formula 1 team, in which Mercedes Daimler Chrysler's premier car, supplies engines to this front running Formula 1 team. A lot of this research information and development into these Formula 1 cars is then transformed into Mercedes engines, which are powerful and resilient (web). Essentially McLaren and Mercedes have a partnership in which they share information and this can only benefit Mercedes which in turn benefits Daimler Chrysler. CONCLUSION Until companies master the science of creating knowledge-management systems, core competencies will continue to reside in the minds of the people inside an organization. Relationships, by definition, are owned by people within companies and not by the companies themselves.
That means that the new focus on core competencies and relationships brings people management to centre stage, and positions talent-pool management as a critical element of business strategy along with core competencies. The explosive growth of the search firm business is just one symbol of this shift. As companies seek out the best talent, competition is heating up, and raiding other companies for talent has become a common place event in a very competitive market place that strives to get that competitive edge on its competitors. Companies will stop at nothing to become the market leader and it appears that a companies core competencies and future for that matter lies within the personnel and skilled workforce they hire, along with the companies direction and futuristic outlook. Essentially, DaimlerChrysler will continue to grow and become market leaders in every major segment of the automotive industry because of there ability to examine the companies core competencies by identifying, cultivating, and exploiting these competencies which continues to grow now and beyond into the future. BIBLIOGRAPHY TEXT BOOKS Brad more, D. , Joy, S. , Kimberley, C. , and Walker, I. (1997), Marketing Visions: classical and topical readings, 2 nd Edition, Prentice Hall, Australia.
Jain, S. , (2000), Marketing: Planning & Strategy, 6 th Edition, South-Western College Publishing, Australia. Kotler, Armstrong, Brown and Adam, (1998), Marketing, 4 th Edition, Prentice Hall, Australia. Lehmann, D. , Winer, R. , , (1996) Analysis for Marketing Planning, 4 th Edition, Irwin, Boston, U. S. A. Stanton, W. , Miller, K. , & Layton, R. , (1994), Fundamentals of Marketing, 3 rd Edition, McGraw Hill, Australia.
JOURNALS Dawes, John, Sharp & Byron, (1994) A Review of Strategy Typology, Southern Marketing: Theory & Applications, AMI, Australia. Prahalad, C. , K. , & Hamel, G, The Core Competence of the Corporation, Harvard Business Review, May-June 1990. WEBSITES web web web web web web web web web web NEWSPAPER ARTICLES Herald-Sun, 09 April 2002, pg. 11
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Research essay sample on The Core Competencies Of Daimler Chrysler
