Introduction
Core competencies are a prerequisite for a company’s survival in the contemporary competitive world. The factors that give one company mileage in terms of customer retention or quality of service are of the key essence in every organization. Numerous studies have been done in this colossal field in a gesture to demystify the demands for survival with the dynamic changes in market demands. The uniqueness of a company’s strategic plan to tackle this issue is very evident in many establishments. The several competencies that have been identified by various researchers safeguard spans across various departments within an establishment therefore teamwork is paramount in the implementation and maintenance of core competence (Bank, 1997).
Core competence
Some of the competencies common in most of the establishments include; product branding, product modification, and service improvisation among others. The main concern of the competence is to single out a particular product or service to maintain clients to find it within their pleasure to remain loyal to the company. Some of the classic examples of core competence are the gesture of Sony to single out its products through the miniaturization of its products which makes them more attractive as well as solving portability issues and the improvement of the engine performance by Toyota to overcome the upcoming car engine models and attract the buyers (Moore, 2005).
My focus is on Telemart, a service industry that dominates the corporate market and is therefore based on the task of maintaining its market as well as increasing its base through the deployment of appropriate core competence. Competence unlike physical products certainly has much to do with human resources. The company deals with the provision of the internet alongside other solutions in the information technology field such as web hosting, server management, and data recovery.
The core competence, that the company has amassed a lot of resources her own the expertise of its human resource who are the champions of their products. It is through the maintenance of such professional personnel that the company has managed to remain at the apex. Constant training and sponsorship of its employees in various academic programs geared towards the company products are one of the most key activities of the company (Perrow, 1970).
Three-part test for the core competence
The three-step test procedure can be used in the determination of this competence’s fulfillment of the set criterion. First, the training of the staff ensures that quality support and efficient services are offered in terms of technical expertise which is vital in the field. This will increase the client’s base since the pro-activeness of the staff will be at its best (Davis, 1999). The effective support will ensure that there are no downtimes and thus the clients will be encouraged to use the services of the company particularly the sensitive institutions such as banks and hospitals. Secondly, the competence will have an impact on the client since the timely support will have an indebted feeling among the clients.
This will also be instrumental in winning the customer’s confidence. Finally, the core competence is not an easy action to take by other investors in the same field, and thus achieving a high-level competency is limited to the company (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990).
The implication of the industry phase
Bernathy model of core competence implementation is applicable in this situation; the Fluid phase where there are several changes as the company tries to establish its technological prowess in the market. The company needs to spend more on raising capabilities on its potentials (Zeithaml, Parasuraman, and Berry, 1990). The next phase is the transition phase where the company will make a great debut in terms of market share taking hold of a greater percentage of the market. The last phase is the specific phase where the company will be very categorical in terms of its services having achieved market awareness and gained dominance in the market (Moore, 2005).
My recommendation to the management is that they should keep on training the members specifically making them consultants in their areas of interest. Furthermore, they should ensure that their employees are satisfied prevent any impending departure to other firms hence maintain a high level of trained personnel.
The impacts of the industrial phase include; product innovation which entails technically equipping the staff with the relevant knowledge (Thomas, 1978). The process innovation is another impact that proceeds where the technical team members are frequently trained to be at par with the most current technology and improve resolution levels of client’s faults. The rearrangement of the team members in their various levels considering their competencies and their passion for championing particular tasks will greatly increase the market awareness through personalized service provision.
At this juncture, the market will be influenced by the strategic alignment of the company and the speedy delivery of services, and prompt resolution of faults as they arise. Finally, the company will supersede the opponents in terms of service provision and therefore comfortably position itself in the market (Schlesinger and Heskett, 1991).
Conclusion: challenges of core competence
The process is not a bed of roses though since various impediments curtail the successful implementation of this core competence. Training of staff can be resource-intensive and therefore the company will take long before attaining the intended apex in terms of market dominance. The company is not also protected from the transfer of the trained staff since the opponents will always be on the search for already trained staff offering attractive remunerations.
Finally, the continuous training of the staff can be adopted by the competitors although it may take them time hence influence the company’s dominance. The trained members will also grow old and redundant therefore reducing the efficiency and thus a reduction in the market dominance which is the key objective of the core competence.
References
Bank, D. (1997). Uneasy Banks Must Make a Deposit on On-line Future. Wall Street Journal, B4.
Davis, T. (1999). Different service firms, different core competencies. Business Horizons, 42(5), 23.
Moore, G.A. (2005). Dealing with Darwin: How great companies innovate at every phase of their business (1st ed.). New York: Portfolio (Penguin).
Perrow, C. (1970). Organizational Analysis: A Sociological View. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Prahalad, C.K. and Hamel Gary. (1990). The Core Competence of the Corporation. Harvard Business Review, 68(3),79-91.
Schlesinger, L.A. and Heskett, J.L. (1991). The Service-Driven Service Company. Harvard Business Review, 71-81.
Thomas, D.R.E. (1978). Strategy Is Different in Service Businesses. Harvard Business Review, 158-165.
Zeithaml, V.A., Parasuraman, A. and Berry, L. (1990). Delivering Quality Service: Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations. New York: Free Press.