Thomson, Elza.Pillay, P. N.2011-11-022011-11-0220032003http://hdl.handle.net/10413/4059Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.The objective of grand corporate strategy is the attainment of a sustainable competitive advantage; it defines the company and its business, and selects the means of converting strategic intent into competitive advantage. In addition, a company must formulate its business and functional strategies. These are subordinate to the grand strategy and as such, determine and reveal the corporate purpose and goals, produces the company's principal policies and plans, and provides guidelines for its business units and functions to achieve these goals. At the level of a business unit, strategy aims to differentiate the company from its competitors by creating a unique source of value provided. This determines the company's distinctive competency, which is not what it can do well but what it can do better than its competitors. It is this distinctive competency that must be created if a company is to successfully align resources and processes to create a competitive advantage. As the world becomes a global market, the standards applied to "World Class Performance" takes on a common meaning across international boundaries. South African companies are not exempt and have to compete on a global arena. Global competitiveness has never been more intense as firms scan the world for the right mix of technology, skills, cost and stability. The main area to be researched that was highlighted is an evaluation of what can be done to improve the current strategic practices of the company to a level that exceeds that of world-class companies. By eliciting responses from employees, the researcher hopes to conduct an industry evaluation, generate strategy and culture profiles and utilise these profiles to determine the current position of the company. Based on the findings, recommendations would be made to develop an improvement plan for the company.enTheses--Business administration.Manufacturing industries--Strategic planning.Manufacturing industries--Competition, International.Thesis