Abstract
This paper examines the competitive and comparative advantages of tourism in Spain and Greece, highlighting various aspects of the industry to make its evaluation. The paper notes the advantages Spain holds over Greece in terms of hotel capacity, more UNESCO World Heritage Sites and tourist-draw cities. It also considers both country's climate and number and types of islands. Greece's comparative advantages to Spain are also listed, such as its historical significance. The paper also suggests ways that Greece could develop its comparative advantages, such as in business travel and conferences. The paper concludes by summarizing Spain's position as a world tourism leader, and also notes ways in which Greece could further develop its comparative advantages.

Outline:

Competitive and Comparative Advantages
Products
Economic Impact
Conclusion

From the Paper
"In terms of absolute advantages, Spain has many. It is the larger of the two countries, and thus has greater capacity. Greece has hotel capacity estimated at 700,000, while Spain has the world's largest hotel capacity. In general, Spain has absolute advantages in tourism infrastructure. This includes international airports and train capacity in addition to hotels. Other advantages are its rental car system and ATM network, both well-suited for tourism (World Economic Forum, 2005) It is unknown which of the two countries has the greater cruise ship capacity, however, due to Greece's large number of islands."

Tags:tourism industry, business travel, Balkans, package holidays

Abstract
The paper examines the methods used by Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket, in the field of innovation to create a competitive advantage. The paper provides some background of Tesco, idenitifies the key stages in facilitating good innovative processes within an organisation and focuses on how they have been implemented by Tesco. The paper discusses key initiatives such as cost saving technologies, the protection of innovation and the innovation process itself. The paper concludes by addressing what future elements Tesco should consider. A figure is included in the paper.

Outline:
Introduction
Tesco: A Background
Organisational Facilitation of Innovation
Innovative Products, Services and Processes
Future Considerations

From the Paper
"With regard to idea generation Tesco may be seen as having strong processes, the company operates a number of processes which may be seen as an attempt by the company to generate ideas aimed at incremental changes. These processes include monthly staff briefings in which staff are not only briefed with communications from higher up the hierarchy but are also expected to contribute ideas for improvements within the store or their specific area. Other processes include a suggestions scheme in which the best ideas are selected and published in the company's magazine and employees have the chance to win a prize for their contribution. Failure to plan is often seen as a key reason for the failure of change initiatives (Schermerhorn et al 2005) and thus the failure of an organisation to be good at innovation, the problem is often one of managers spending little time on the planning stage and jumping straight into the implementation stage with often dire consequences. Interviewing revealed that Tesco has a good system of planning with prior consultation unusually taking place and a general feeling that once an innovation was about to be implemented each person knew there role within the initiative regardless of status within the business."

Tags:change, management, competitive, advantage, offerings, product, life, cycle

Abstract
This paper attempts to show that research and development (R&D) is an important factor of competitive advantage as long as it involves the creation of marketable innovations. It points out that R&D is a rather complex procedure and it is important how R&D expenditure is managed. It also analyzes the contribution of innovation systems on leading economies, namely Japan and the USA.
Outline
Introduction
R&D and Competitive Advantage
R&D and Economic Growth
R&D and National Innovation Systems
R&D, A Complex Process
Characteristics of National Innovation Systems
Japanese and American National Systems of Innovation
Private Sector
Public Sector
Conclusion
Reference List

From the Paper
"A century ago, technological change has been the result of random innovations made by individual and independent inventors only. However, in today's world, characterized by ever increasing global competition, companies as well as governments put their emphasis on organized innovation in their strive for accelerating the process of obtaining technological advance. Organized innovation refers to innovations as the outcome of systematic investments in research and development (R&D) in order to achieve competitive advantage."

Tags:competitive, innovation, porter

Abstract
This paper is a concise critical evaluation of the extent of sustained competitive advantage a firm can attain with the astute use of internal resources. The paper presents the thesis statement of the paper to outline the argument of the paper, followed by a literature review. The review of literature outlines the significance of the topic, the various internal resources available to tourism/hospitality organizations, and the efficient employment of these resources towards the goal of competitive advantage in light of management theories. An analysis by the author follows the literature review to critically analyze the extent of competitive advantage from an astute use of internal resources.

From the Paper
"The tourism and hospitality industries are operating in a global environment. The extent of globalization introduces the organization working in the industry to compete beyond borders, besides the competition faced from within the local market. Therefore organizations need to be highly competitive to get hold of a greater share of consumers in the global markets. However, tourism and hospitality industries are sensitive to global fluctuations in demand and conditions (such as travel safety and seasonal shifts). Keeping this under consideration, organizations need to strengthen the use of their internal resources to solidify their operations in the fierce competition. This generates the need for organization to realize the importance of efficiently utilizing their internal resources towards organizational objectives."

Tags:hotel, guest, management, tour, season, travel

Abstract
It is often asked whether or not diversity is a competitive advantage for an organization. This paper argues that competitive advantage is indeed an advantage for any organization insofar as it allows a corporation to tap into new markets, into new sources of human capital, and permits the operation - from top to bottom - to become receptive to new ideas and to new modes of thinking. To support this argument, the paper looks not only at the arguments in favor of a diverse workplace, but also considers some examples of organizations which have used diversity as an effective business tool.

Tags:diversity, work, place

Abstract
This paper offers a discussion of Rory Granros' article "Food Fight: Gaining Competitive Advantage in Today's Global Market," an article that maintains food manufacturers can achieve competitive advantage in the global market through advanced demand planning, inventory optimization, and building broader markets.

From the Paper
"According to the information in the chapter on competing in global markets, Boone and Kurtz argue that today's firms must achieve competitive advantage to succeed on the global level. From increased competition and shorter product-cycle times to freer trade across borders and rapid technological change, today's firms must leverage their resources in ways that lead to competitive advantage to succeed in the global marketplace. In "Food Fight: Gaining Competitive Advantage in Today's Global Market", Rory Granros, Directory of Industry and Product Marketing for Infor, discusses some of the..."

Tags:costs, supply chain management, strategy, profitability, customer service, trends

Abstract
This paper is a concise critical evaluation of the extent to which a firm can attain a sustained competitive advantage with the astute use of internal resources. The paper contains a thesis statement and a literature review. The literature review outlines the significance of the topic, the various internal resources available to tourism / hospitality organizations, and the efficient employment of these resources. The review is followed by the author's analysis of the relationship between competitive advantage and astute use of internal resources.

From the Paper
"Broadly categorizing these resources leaves us with two variations: external and internal resources. Whereas tourism and hospitability-related organizations are heavily dependant upon shifts and adaptations in external factors and resources, the internal resources are what ultimately determine the competitive advantage of these organizations. The organizations must manage their internal resources most efficiently in order to meet the challenges posed by the external operating conditions of these industries. Therefore it can be suggested that the astute use of internal resources are what gives a firm sustained competitive advantage."

Tags:tourists, travel, adventure, global, environment, information, technology, management, theory

Abstract
The paper examines how manufacturing companies are relying on data warehousing for more effective new product development and introduction (NPDI) processes, workflows and strategies. The paper focuses on data warehousing's contributions to value chain performance and customer relationship management strategies. The paper clearly demonstrates how data warehousing is now a competitive weapon used at the strategic level of companies looking to gain greater efficiencies from every area of their value chains. The paper includes two diagrams.

Outline:
Introduction
Data Warehousing's Contributions to Value Chain Performance
Creating Competitive Advantage Using Data Warehousing in Customer Relationship Management Strategies
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The strategic framework of the value chain (Porter, 1986, 9) provides a frame of reference for illustrating how data warehousing is making strategic contributions across entire enterprises. The increased accuracy and velocity of information made possible through integrated data warehousing strategies has the potential to significantly redefine entire companies (Johnson, 2009, 9). As the value chain framework as defined by Porter (1986, 9) compares the functional areas of Inbound Logistics, Operations, Outbound Logistics, Marketing & Sales and Aftersales Service while also showing support activities, this framework illustrates just how critical interprocess and system integration is in any value chain strategy."

Tags:Continental, Airlines, Wal-Mart, Porter, value, chain

Abstract
The paper examines the methods used by Hanson, one of the largest brick cement and aggregates producers, in the field of innovation to create a competitive advantage. The paper provides some background of Hanson, identifies the key stages in facilitating good innovative processes within an organisation and focuses on how they have been implemented by Hanson. The paper discusses key initiatives such as new product development and the implementation of environmentally friendly technologies, and also considers future challenges facing the company.

Outline:
Introduction
Hanson Cement - Corporate Background
Innovation Within the Organisation
Innovation in Products and Processes
Future Challenges

From the Paper
"Firstly, one should consider a definition of the term "innovation". Whist the term is often associated with technology, Adair (2007) simply states that innovation represents the concept of new ideas. The concept in its application for a business is thus exceedingly wide and may cover areas as wide as new products and services through to new or revised operational and manufacturing processes. The importance of innovation is highlighted in both areas by various constituents of the literature (Adair 2007, Jobber 2007) who point to organisational failure in the long term were innovation in the field of products and services is not given sufficient attention. Despite the concept of innovation being seen as a function of new ideas Adair (2007) goes on to highlight that it is a company's ability to implement an idea which is the critical element, thus implying that the success of a company relies not only on its ability to generate new ideas but also to put them into practise.
"Hanson Cement is currently a subsidiary of the German based company the Heidelberg Cement Group (Hanson 2009). From a financial perspective, the group has a revenue of E60,841m generating a profit of E2,119m in year ending 2008. Of this the cement division contributed 46.8% of the total revenue highlighting the importance of Hanson Cement in the overall make up of the parent company. The Heidelberg Cement company is currently a publicly listed company on the German stock exchange with a current share price of E47 (Yahoo Finance 2009) and a total market capitalisation of E8.81bn."

Tags:product, development, change, product, life, cycle, consumers

Abstract
This paper focuses on environmental scanning, a process involving gathering, analyzing and dispensing information for the purpose of formulating strategic moves that will give a company a competitive advantage. The paper provides details on research from an environmental scan conducted for ManTech International that includes the remote, industry and operating environment. The paper also identifies changes that are expected to affect ManTech International. The author suggests how ManTech can benefit from the environmental scan by using the external and internal sources of information received from the environmental analysis to identify challenges and opportunities.

Outline:
Remote, Industry and Operating Environment
SWOT Analysis
Strategic Long Term Objectives
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Formulating strategic long term objectives can be achieved through profitability, productivity, Competitive Positioning, Employee Development, Employee Relations, Technological Leadership and Public Responsibility. One of ManTech's long-term objective will involve dominating the defense contractor industry. This strategy falls under the competitive positioning strategy. Currently Lockheed Martin, our competitor holds the dominating status. The status is obtained through greatest revenue. Employee development is the second long-term objective for ManTech. Developing employees through education and training not only provide the employees with chance for higher pay and job security, but it also provides ManTech with greater productivity levels and a decrease in employee turnover."

Tags:case study, strategic planning, environmental scan