Business Policy

PRE-COURSE ASSIGNMENT

BUSINESS POLICY

CASE 1: WYNN RESORTS

1. What are Wynn Resorts' distinctive resources and competencies?

It is obvious that Wynn Resort, Limited has a number of competitive advantages in gaming industry. First and foremost, Steve Wynn himself is the greatest operational strength of Wynn Resorts. He is a man who is obsessed with details and continually strives for perfection. With more than 30 years experience in Las Vegas, he has contacts, alliances, and knowledge that could not be easily replace. That made him to be a great communicator. He is a strategic person with the idea of "Bigger ain't better- Better is better" that lays the foundation in which Wynn Resorts relies to differentiate their resorts from those in direct competition. Mr. Wynn is also a very hands-on manager who can inspire his employees and make his customers feel special. He realized when was the good time for Wynn Resorts, Ltd to make something different while almost other casinos offer the same products and services.

Moreover, when Mr. Wynn left the Mirage, many seniors executives joined he and they built a strong management team at Wynn Resorts that has a tremendous amount of experience with building quality resort casino.

Secondly, Wynn Resorts, Ltd's strategy was to build a high brand image. The company has been successful with direct marketing to its high-end target customers. Wynn Resort's brand is synonymous with high quality goods and services in the casino market. The product that Wynn sells is a luxury destination and experience with high-end facilities that make customers feel pampered and valued, such as: grandiose décor throughout the hotel, entertaining facilities (18-hole golf course), private entry villas, suits, Ferrari and Maserati dealership... The resort is able to charge a premium price due to the clout of the Wynn name. By this way, they really differentiate themselves from others casinos and acquire better impression in customers.

The next competency is having licenses in Macau. In the resort casino industry, the ability to operate gaming licenses is very difficult because many countries have strict regulations about casino resorts. It is even more difficult to find a good location that can support the size which is one of the most important conditions for gaming resorts. Despite this difficulty, Wynn Resorts, Ltd is still the holder of one of only four licenses in Macau and the only golf course of the strip, provides the company with a significant advantage.

Last but not least, it is very good staffs that give Wynn Resorts, Ltd with remarkable resources. Every moment in the casino and each interaction with staff are designed to be the ultimate customer experience. The staff is paid attention on giving the customer a lavishness experience and excellent customer service.

2. What is the industry structure in which Wynn Resorts operates?

Figure 1.

The above diagram defines clearly what industry Wynn Resorts belongs to. It shows that Wynn Resorts is evolved in Hospitality sector. The chart designates general picture about Hospitality sector. This sector consists of Food and beverage Industry, Accommodations Industry, and other Hospitality operations. These industries have relationships among each others. In this structure, Food and beverage services are supply inputs for Accommodations Industry while other hospitality operations play a role as provides complements for Accommodations. Accommodations industry is divided into four smaller industry which are; Hotel Industry, Casino Industry, Resort Industry and Casino Resort Industry. Wynn Resorts, Ltd belongs to Casino Resort Industry which includes three market segments: Tourist, Working and middle class, and High-income class.

To begin with, Hotel Industry is industry that all of operations are related to hotel with products such as rooms, houses, villas and services of renting their products. Beside hotel is the Resort Industry which offer many products for customers who love relax and leisure service such as spa, gaming, golf.... All of them are multipart businesses. The next is Casino Industry, an industry for people who are wealthy and love gambling. Entertainment Industry contains many gaming services inside such as: cinema, shopping, dining, music concert... Casino Resort Industry is Casino and Resort Industry altogether. It is a place for all customers whose love gambling, relaxing and having rest in luxury places. But Casino Resorts care about all the feeling of customers and make them happy not only by gaming but also a luxury and peaceful atmosphere. It really makes their customers feel different and belong to higher-class.

In addition, one important part of the industry structure is the Government Industry which includes Government Agency. In hospitality industry in general and resort casino industry in particular, the ability to find good location and licenses in legal areas due to government regulations and limited availability. Therefore, government industry is generally mentioned as an undeniable component of hospitality industry.

CASE 2: APPLE IN 2008

1. Historically, what were Apple's major competitive advantages?

Hill, J. (2008) stated that the root of competitive advantage is strategy; the root of strategy is distinctive competency in which two key elements are resources and capabilities. Competitive advantages play an important role in producing superior profitability. Therefore, discussing about competitive advantages means