To what extent can exceptional organizational skills that are largely invisible to its clients be the basis of an enterprise differentiation strategy?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Any skills or resources that result in create greater value in what the client perceives is worthwhile in
principle. The issue here is whether the enterprise will gain disproportionately more by seeking to
link that perceived value to otherwise invisible skills as a basis for distinctiveness and differentiation
advantage. Rationally, the answer is yes, provided that the invisible organizational skills are credible
and are difficult for others to emulate. For example, management information systems attributable to
its ‘hidden’ IT function are not directly visible to clients, but provide better and more timely and
valuable information to support the work of sales, marketing, logistics and other staff who interact
with clients. In this example, there is still the issue of whether the crucial skill is in-house system
design or how IT systems are deployed. Many enterprises no longer develop proprietary systems, but
have considerably enhanced their skills at adapting and applying externally available systems.