St. Jude Medical makes cardiovascular medical devices, including the world's most widely used mechanical heart valve. Its products include tissue heart valves, pacemakers, and implantable cardiovascular defibrillators. St. Jude's innovation in cardiac devices helps it outperform rivals, and thus provides it with a

Advantage in competition. ( competitive advantage)

Explanation: Whenever a hospital is more equipped or fully equipped with tools, machines, and any other factor that favors the saving of lives, that hospital will mostly have the upper hand in competition against it's rivals. It is safe to say a heart patient who is facing a life threatening situation would rather be taken to such a hospital for quick response to save their lives. A hospital less equipped with these kind of machines , especially those needed in critical moments like defibrillating someone who is experiencing cardiac arrest, will less likely be a first choice to treating patients of these nature. In critical moments like these a hospital better equipped will always be the first choice, disregarding other factors like cost. Now distance could be critical, but again, almost always if the distance is not too long then the better equipped gets the patients.

competitive advantage

Explanation:

A competitive advantage refers to a condition that allows a company (e.g. St. Jude Medical) to offer better products than the competition at the same price, or offer similar products at a lower price.

In this specific case, St. Jude Medical is able to sell better products (mechanical heart valves, tissue heart valves, pacemakers, and implantable cardiovascular defibrillators) at similar prices than its competitors.

If a company offers a better product at a higher price, they do not have any type of competitive advantage. Competitive advantages result from higher efficiency and lower opportunity costs.

answer; blank (1) hrm specialists,blank(2); line managers;

1) the stages a new product goes through from beginning to end, i.e., the stages that a product passes through from introduction through growth, maturity, and decline. 2) the time from initial research and development to the time at which sales and support of the product to customers are withdrawn. 3) the period of time during which a product can be produced and marketed profitably.

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