Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning pdf ebook

What was your first leadership lesson?
I was a newly appointed production leader in a fac-
tory at the age of 22. On my first day, my boss, a 
64-year-old experienced production manager, came 
to me with a bucket of water. He put his hand in 
the water and said, do you know what this is? No, 
I said. That’s you when you are here and you will 
take some space, like my hand in the water. He then 
pulled out his hand and the water filled the space 
of his hand. He then said, when you leave this is 
how much we will miss you. My first lesson was to 
always be humble and realise that once you leave, 
life goes on.
Source
: from ‘Inter Ikea’s Torbjorn Loof: making the vision clear’, Financial Times, 03/02/19 (Milne, R.).
Discussion questions
1 
What issues is Mr Loof trying to resolve?
2 
How can internal marketing help Mr Loof in solving these issues?
3 
Why doesn’t Mr Loof mind making mistakes?
IKEA growth slows
Source
: “Inter Ikea’s Torbjorn Loof: making the vision clear” The Ft: February 3rd 2019, https://www.ft.com/
content/6b250c0a-2486-11e9-b329-c7e6ceb5ffdf.
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
40
30
20
10
0
Revenues (€bn)
Ikea’s growth slows

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‘All too often, large companies see corporate social responsibility as 
something entirely separate from their business goals. As high unemployment, 
rising poverty, and dismay over corporate greed breed contempt for the 
capitalist market system. . . Serving the intersecting needs of business and the 
community is the only path to winning back respect.’
(Porter, 2010)
‘The concept of shared value – which focuses on the connections between 
societal and economic progress – has the power to unleash the next wave of 
global growth. An increasing number of companies known for their hard-nosed 
approach to business – such as Google, IBM, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé, 
Unilever, and Walmart – have begun to embark on important shared value 
initiatives. But our understanding of the potential of shared value is just beginning.’
(Porter and Kramer, 2011)
CORPORATE SOCIAL 
RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS