Market Leader Elementary 3rd Edition

[Gail Elfert]

Organizationsmay understand why innovation is important in business as they continually review, update and renew their products and processes. This is a regular part of doing business. However, with this focus, they may neglect to spend effort and resources to create bold new initiatives that can enable them to achieve a dominant position in their industry. Their failure in focus may allow new competitors to seize market leadership.

For example, as the COVID pandemic spread worldwide, several companies with leadership positions in VoIP desktop video meeting software were positioned at the right place at the right time. Yet, a relatively unknown company became the dominant worldwide leader by developing a highly reliable, scalable technology that was vastly superior as compared to the incumbents. This new company out-flanked incumbents who had superior resources, capital and existing market positions and customer base.

In many organizations, product management administers processes to regulate product pricing, functionality, marketing direction and even support. The product management process provides a structured approach to continually update specific products and the existing product line. With management oversight and with the use of indicators and metrics, management monitors competition product functionality, pricing and advances in technology.

To achieve administrative efficiency, outliers that are inconsistent with the existing product functionality or target market may be completely removed. However, outliers may provide an early warning indicator that something has changed, such as new technology affecting aggregate demand, changing customer demographics, diminished product quality or inaccurate marketing models.

To enhance the likelihood of creating an internal innovation engine, the product management process needs to distinguish between existing minimal product enhancement and the potential for new product opportunities. When identified, new product opportunities should be transferred to a new process to assess market opportunity, viability and capital requirements. Since the overall goal of innovation is to achieve market dominance, issues of scalability must be addressed at the onset.

A northwest view from the tower (now the Administration Building) showing the Oregon Trail memorial bridge over the Boise River. The 8th street steel bridge is also visible, 1940 (source: campus scenes 1940s).

The advanced business degree emphasized the development of management generalists, rather than specialists in any one or more areas of business. The degree provided maximum flexibility beyond core requirements, with electives that were chosen in consultation with their MBA advisor. Students were admitted for the September (fall), January (spring) or June (summer) start dates and could begin in the term of their choice without scheduling difficulties.

In 1986, with 14 years of MBA history in the rearview mirror, the program started pursuing continuous improvement efforts. One of those efforts was the removal of MBA prerequisite requirements (undergraduate business classes) for admission after AACSB suggestions and a market analysis of other MBA programs across the country. A Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and a business writing proficiency test took the place of these prerequisites, decreasing the barriers for new student admission.

The University had one MBA program serving all students from its inception in 1970. However, COBE saw a need to tailor MBA offerings due to the wide variety of student demographics in the early 2000s. While some students entered the program with 20+ years of professional management experience, others were early in their careers with only 1-2 years of experience. Each of these students required an advanced foundational management / leadership degree, but the curriculum was too broad to provide a customized, graduate-level business education for both groups.

The CTMBA was designed as a full-time, in-person day program for early career professionals that required an internship as part of its curriculum. The PMBA program was launched as a part-time, evening program to accommodate mid-level career professionals with 7-8 years of management experience on average.

Interested in learning more about our programs, or have questions about which MBA program may be the best fit for you? Please contact Rachel Bagnard at: rachel...@boisestate.edu or (208) 426-1289.

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I am a semi-retired information technology professional with over twenty-five years of IT experience. I have enjoyed working in all areas of IT, from computer hardware to the networking devices that help connect us all together. Through my progressions I have held such titles as computer technician, systems administrator, systems engineer, network engineer, and director of network services. I have worked for a small mom and pop type organization, as well as a global market leader.

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is a temporary employment authorization for students maintaining valid F-1 visa status. CPT allows eligible students to take part in paid or unpaid off-campus experiential learning such as internships or practicums.

To apply for CPT, students must first register their internship for academic credit and then complete the CPT application, including obtaining signatures from a faculty sponsor, their employer, and the registrar.

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