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.QUESTION
Where to Play: Playing Field, Competition, & Your Organization
Playing Field, Competition, and Our Organization
(Student will update all sections color-coded in RED)
Introduction
Provide an opening paragraph which explains the intended purpose of this Executive Briefing.
Playing Field
Company Name
Example “Motel Six”
Organization within the company
Example “Motel Division”. (note: If your company is diverse like Apple, it is advised to analyze a specific segment/business unit/product because competitors in the iPhone segment (Samsung/Google) are very different than competitors in their Music division (Spotify, Pandora)
Industry
Example “Hospitality Industry”
Market Size
Provide a market size estimate for the Industry or the Playing Field
Recommended Playing Field
Example: “Two-star motels in the US and Canada serving road travelers.” (note: this is the specific description of the segment of the industry in which you will compete. These often have geographic boundaries and descriptors of the key product attributes.)
Rationale for Recommended Playing Field
Brief explanation of why you selected this segment. (Note: we usually determine target segments based on factors like revenue potential, growth rates, financial attractiveness, conformance with our key capabilities and competencies, our ability to meet this segment’s customer needs, etc.)
Competitor 1
Size
Provide information on the relative size of this competitor in the Playing Field. if specific data is not available, a qualitative description is acceptable like "Company X is believed to be the market leader" or "Company Y is relatively small and focused only in the US and doesn't have a presence in Canada."
Most Significant Strength
Highlight their biggest strength, and briefly explain how it helps them compete effectively.
Most Significant Weakness
Highlight their biggest weakness, and briefly explain how it hinders their ability to compete effectively.
Recent Performance
Explain whether they are generally winning or losing in this Playing Field. Note, you would be well-served to support your conclusions with data
Major Developments?
Has the competitor introduced any game-changing new products, technologies, capabilities, etc. (focus on revolutionary and not evolutionary). Have they developed (or lost) a key competitive advantage?
Competitor 2
Size
Provide information on the relative size of this competitor in the Playing Field – qualitative perspective is acceptable if data is not available
Most Significant Strength
Highlight their biggest strength, and briefly explain how it helps them compete effectively.
Most Significant Weakness
Highlight their biggest weakness, and briefly explain how it hinders their ability to compete effectively.
Recent Performance
Explain whether they are generally winning or losing in this Playing Field. Note, you would be well-served to support your conclusions with data.
Major Developments?
Has the competitor introduced any game-changing new products, technologies, capabilities, etc. (focus on revolutionary and not evolutionary). Have they developed (or lost) a key competitive advantage?
Our Organization
Size
Provide information on our relative size in the Playing Field – qualitative perspective is acceptable if data is not available
Most Significant Strength
Highlight our biggest strength, and briefly explain how it helps us compete effectively.
Most Significant Weakness
Highlight our biggest weakness, and briefly explain how it hinders our ability to compete effectively.
Recent Performance
Explain whether we are generally winning or losing in this Playing Field. Note, you would be well-served to support your conclusions with data.
Major Developments?
Have we introduced any game-changing new products, technologies, capabilities, etc. (focus on revolutionary and not evolutionary). Have we developed (or lost) a key competitive advantage?
Key Conclusions
End with a succinct final paragraph or two which highlights your most insightful “a-ha” conclusions on the target segment and the relative competitive advantage of the three companies you analyzed.
| Subject | Business | Pages | 9 | Style | APA |
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Answer
Playing Field, Competition, & Nissan Motors Corporation
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed analysis of the automotive industry. In particular, the paper is structured into three parts. Part A focuses on the Automotive industry (the Playing field), Part B discusses 2 competitors (Toyota Motors Corporation and Honda Motors), and Part C concentrates on Nissan Motors Corporation, the organization of interest.
PART A: Automotive Industry
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Company Name |
Nissan Group |
|
Organization within the company |
Nissan Motor Corporation |
|
Industry |
Vehicle and vehicle Parts Production (Nissan, 2020) |
|
Market Size |
£2.75Trillion as of 2017 ( Saberi, 2018) |
|
Recommended Playing Field |
Datsun is the third global brand of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., alongside Nissan and INFINITI amid growing clientele in “India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa” (Nissan, 2019). |
|
Rationale for Recommended Playing Field |
Brand popularity, especially the Datsun CROSS variety and the Venucia inspired D60 and M50V varieties in China. Subsequent growth in demand from “Europe, Japan, China, North America” with sales topping 819,000 units as of 2017 (Nissan, 2018). |
PART B: COMPETITORS
Toyota Motors Corporation
|
Size |
Second-largest automotive manufacturer globally and the first to exceed 10 million cars since 2012 and the leading blue chip company in japan by “market capitalization and by revenue” (Madoh, Alenazi, Alkhamees & Panwar, 2019; Sosnovskikh, 2016). The company is the only true frontrunner in the production of hybrid cars, and the leading advocate of global transition to mass production of hybrid cars. In addition, the company is a leading producer of hydrogen “fuel-cell vehicles” (Madoh, Alenazi, Alkhamees & Panwar, 2019; Sosnovskikh, 2016). |
|
Most Significant Strength |
Robust marketing and marque products Toyota’s has 45.5% stake in Japanese market, 12.2% of North America, and 13.4% of the Asian continent (apart from China and Japan) and a further, 4.3% of the European market (Nkomo, 2019). Further, TMC controls 7% of China, and a substantial segment of the “Central America, Oceania, Africa and the Middle East. As a result, Toyota has not only gained a competitive edge but an opportunity to expand portfolio and product lines (Nkomo, 2019). |
|
Most Significant Weakness |
Inferior resource appropriation of resources in comparison to competitors Comparatively weak returns on important metrics, namely return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA). 2018 estimates show that both Honda and Nissan companies have upwards of 4.8% in ROE in comparison to Toyota’s 8% (Nkomo, 2019). Many studies suggest a positive correlation between ROE and ROA to inferior resource appropriation, and a potential reduction in stockholder confidence (Nkomo, 2019). |
|
Recent Performance |
Net income of $1.610 Billion, representing 80.79% decline from the previous year, according to 2018 estimates (Madoh, Alenazi, Alkhamees & Panwar, 2019). Net return of $17.345 Billion in 2019, a 19.63% drop from the previous year (Madoh, Alenazi, Alkhamees & Panwar, 2019). Incidentally, the company had a net return of $22.446 Billon an improvement from 2017 (Madoh, Alenazi, Alkhamees & Panwar, 2019). |
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Major Developments? |
Heavy investment in analytics, “telematics and the connected vehicle” (Betancourt, Mooney & Ross, 2018). Increased use of technology to improve tracking of customer behavior patterns through collaboration with Stanford and MIT in “artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous driving” (Betancourt, Mooney & Ross, 2018). It is projected that the resultant “digital innovation” would expand and engender competitiveness to the company. |
Honda Motors
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Size |
The company is eighth biggest auto company in the world after General Motors (GM) company, Volkswagen (VW) Group company, TMC, Hyundai Motor Group company, Ford company, Nissan company and PSA (Hua, 2016). |
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Most Significant Strength |
Rapid rise in return on assets (ROA) from 2.23% in 2017 to 5.83% in 2018 (Chong, 2019). Trend provides evidence for “efficient use of assets” to engender profitability 2016 (Chong, 2019). Positive ROAs avails more funds for “expansion and product line extensions” (Chong, 2019). Current ratio data of 1.2314 up in 2018, up from 1.087 in 2016; an indication of Honda’s developing ability to honor debt obligations (Chong, 2019). |
|
Most Significant Weakness |
Vacillations in the “average-collection Period”, from 77.8 days in 2014to 68.81 in 2016, and a rise of 68.91 in 2018 (Chong, 2019). This could potentially hurt product rollouts and liquidity. |
|
Recent Performance |
Similar vacillations in the company’s operating margin. For instance, in 2014, the company had an operating margin of 7.57% which declined 4.48% in 2016 (Chong, 2019). Subsequently operating margin rose to 7.28% in 2017, before tailing off at 7.34% the next year (Chong, 2019). Operating margin and profitability are positively correlated (Chong, 2019). |
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Major Developments? |
Many studies regard Honda as a pioneer company in the development of “eco-friendly technology cars” (Kiseleva, Kaminskiy & Presnykov, 2020). For instance, the Honda Hybrid is projected to yield greater fuel efficiency, a key imperative for remaining in the competitive range. |
PART C: Nissan Motor Corporation
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Size |
Nissan Motors Corporation has a market capitalization of US$40.6 billion, a workforce of 138,910 full-time employees, and production in the region of 6 million automobiles in 2017, representing 6% of global output (Kikkas, 2020). |
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Most Significant Strength |
Numerous production plants in “Asia, Europe and America”, and mergers with “Renault and Mitsubishi” causing reduction in production costs and increased rollouts (Kikkas, 2020). |
|
Most Significant Weakness |
Decreased operating margin (from 8.24% in 2017 to 5.95% in 2018 signaling reduced efficiency (Lee, 2019). |
|
Recent Performance |
Revenues surpassing JPY ¥12,189,519 million in 2019, a 7.2% increase in annual growth rate from 2018. Similar growth witnessed in profits amounting to JPY ¥523,841 million, a 14.5% increase from 2017 (Nissan, 2020). |
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Major Developments? |
Launch of the Leaf variety, a”100% electric car” exemplified by sales exceeding 110,000 units internationally (Opazo-Basáez, Vendrell-Herrero & Bustinza, 2018). |
Key Conclusions
The discussions reveal reduction in Nissan’s production costs from joint ventures with Renault and Mitsubishi. In addition, the company registered great success in production of 100% electric cars, as Toyota controls the Hybrid car technologies. However, it is recommended that the company should replicate lean production practices to eliminate waste, and enhance efficiency, greater operating margin, and ROAs.
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References
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Betancourt, P., Mooney, J., & Ross, J. W. (2018). Digital Innovation at Toyota Motor North America: Revamping the Role of IT.
Chong, S. C. (2019). An Analysis of the External and Internal Factors Affecting Honda Motor Company’s Performance.
Groupe, R. (2016). Groupe Renault. Registration Document including the Annual Financial Report 2015. Retrieved From: https://group.renault.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/renault-registration-document-interactive-version-2015.pdf
Hua, A. K. A. (2016). Comprehensive Review In Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study of Honda.
Kikkas, O. A. (2020). FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OF TESLA, INC. AND NISSAN MOTOR COMPANY.
Kiseleva, E. V., Kaminskiy, N. S., & Presnykov, V. A. (2020). Study of Fuel Efficiency of Hybrid Vehicles. E&ES, 459(2), 022086.
Lee, J. Z. (2019). Corporate Governance and Company Performance of Nissan Motor Corporation.
Madoh, A., Alenazi, J., Alkhamees, L., & Panwar, A. (2019). Case Study on Market Mix Strategies of Toyota Motor Corporation. Asia Pacific Journal of Management and Education, 2(3), 70-78.
Nissan, G. (2018). Nissan Global. Nissan Motor Corporation Annual Report 2018. Retrieved from: annual report 2018 - Nissan Global www.nissan-global.com › PDF › AR18_E_All
Nissan, M. C. (2020). Nissan Motor Corporation. Major Subsidiaries and Affiliates in Japan. Retrieved from: https://www.nissan-global.com/EN/COMPANY/PROFILE/SUBSIDIARY/
Nissan, M.C. (2019). Nissan Motor Corporation. Brand & Products. Retrieved from: https://www.nissan-global.com/EN/PRODUCTS/
Nkomo, T. (2019). Analysis of Toyota Motor Corporation. Retrieved from: https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/tnkomo/files/analysis_of_toyota.pdf
Opazo-Basáez, M., Vendrell-Herrero, F., & Bustinza, O. F. (2018). Uncovering productivity gains of digital and green servitization: Implications from the automotive industry. Sustainability, 10(5), 1524.
Saberi, B. (2018). The role of the automobile industry in the economy of developed countries. International Robotics & Automation Journal, 4(3), 179-180.
Sosnovskikh, S. (2016). Toyota Motor Corporation: Organizational Culture. Philosophy Study, 6(7), 442-454.
Uchil, S. A., & Yazdanifard, R. (2014). The Growth of the Automobile Industry: Toyota’s Dominance in United States. Journal of Research in Marketing, 3(2), 265-268