Business Strategy Assignment Help
Business Strategy Assignment Help
1.1 Effect of mission statement, goals and objectives on strategic planning.
Strategy means firm’s plan of action. Mission and vision statement work as foundation for laying down organizational objectives. Mission is the statement of purpose of an organization. Strategic planning is done to achieve the mission. Vision gives a direction to achieve the mission. Strategic planning is done so that in the longer term organization achieves its mission by fulfilling its vision. Goal is a specific short term target. Objective is a measure of change to achieve a goal. Increase mobile subscriber base by 5000 can be a goal of Vodafone. Increasing25% of it by December 2014 can be an objective. (Hill & Jones, 2012). Hence vision and mission give the directional input to the firm while goals and objectives are ways to achieve the same
1.2 Key factors to be assessed for strategic planning
Factors which need to be assessed while making a strategic plan-
When to plan- company has to understand when planning is needed. Planning may be needed at new product development stage, new production facility procurement stage or at new market entry stage. For example Vodafone while launching there 4G technology data plans did lot of planning on the marketing strategy.
Who should be involved- The Company has to decide who all to involve in a particular plan that’s how many managers, workers, stakeholders or directors to be involved in each plan.
Role of planning- The role of planning has to be clear. For example if planning aims at increasing sales it should be focused on marketing strategy.
Targets- targets are smaller aims which are to be fulfilled in the short run in order to achieve the bigger objectives. Targets have to be clear so that plan moves in proper direction (Bamford
&West, 2012). Planning has to be done talent into consideration all the factors as all of them contribute in one way or another.
1.3 Techniques used to develop strategic planning.
Strategic planning can be defined as the effort to create measures and take decisions that form and guide the organization in terms of what to do and how to do. The purpose of strategic planning to develop a plan using which an organization can position itself in the market.
BCG Matrix: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix is a graphical tool used to present the differences in terms of market share and industry growth rate. In the vertical axis, values represent market growth rates while the horizontal axis shows the growth of business share of the firm in market.
General Electric Matrix: The matrix was developed by McKinsey and General Electric. The matrix has 9 cells. The matrix has three zones defined as per the attractiveness. The three zones are high, medium and low
General Electric Matrix
The GE Matrix is better than BCG Matrix as the matrix considers both business’ strength and attractiveness of industry for taking decision. This allows complete view of the situation to decision makers.
Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies: Porter suggested several strategies like market differentiation, differentiation-focus strategy, cost-focus strategy, Cost leadership etc. These strategies needs to be analyzed and the best suited one needs to be implemented.
Directional Policy Matrix- Is a frame work which categorizes a firm’s business activities on the basis of its market position and market attractiveness. The analysis is performed on the basis of ability of each product area to achieve the firm’s objectives. Firm needs to identify factors which determine market attractiveness and business strength. Products lines, segments or business units are classified on basis of these factors as having high, low or medium market attractiveness and business strength. On this basis a firm decides whether to invest, divest, harvest or grow (Ansoff, 2007).
There are a few more techniques like strategic position and business evaluation matric (SPACE) and profit impact of marketing strategy (PIMS). GE matrix is among the best available tool as it gives a complete view of situation before taking decision
.2.3 Importance of stakeholder analysis for new strategy formation
Stakeholders’ analysis is a review of impact of stakeholders like suppliers, customers, employee, shareholders and investors on business.
Stakeholders mapping is done in order to understand the orientation of different stakeholders and to develop better working relationship and trust with them. For Example doe a new product launch stakeholder’s like customers and employees are very important.
Impact/influence grid- This grid helps understand which stakeholder has maximum impact or influence over a project.
High impact, high influence stakeholders- Such stakeholders should be given full attention. Low Influence, high impact stakeholders- These need to be kept informed.
High influence, low impact- These stakeholders need to be kept satisfied.
Low influence, low impact- These stakeholders need to be monitored closely.
The stakeholders in each category differ from project to project and are subject to change (Hill & Jones, 2012). Stakeholders are the key people who matter to a company hence knowing which stakeholders are more important is essential for smooth functioning.
4.1 Importance of personnel in strategy implementation.
Employees or personnel are crucial for successful implementation of any strategy. Sales targets are achieved by the workforce on the field. A committed sales force will be able to influence the customer to a great extent. For successful delegation of work the work is distributed into targets which each employee has to achieve within a stipulated time. Many companies like Vodafone distribute geographical area between their employees and assign area based targets. These targets help the employee keep his job in perspective. Also the entire project is divided in to reams and each team is given a target to achieve. The team leader then divides this target between members of the team. While dividing the target the leader should keep in mind role of individual as well as the team in order to achieve it. Every employee has different capability and capacity hence company cannot expect same amount of target achievement by all. Benchmark target is thedesired level of target which should be achieved by an employee. These targets may change at different levels in the organization (Hussey, 2007). At the end of the day it’s the employee who produces and promotes the product for the company hence they are very important to company’s growth.Conclusion- A well-defined strategic planning process can help the organization in achieving its objectives in an effective and timely way.
PresentationSrraregic
..Planning J>rocessStrategic Planning
Strategic planning is an organized process of defining goals, objectives, mission and vision of the firm.
D It also includes analyzing core competencies, formulating strategies and controlling and monitoring these strategies (Bamford &West,
Mission, Vision , Goals and Objectives
D Mission statement is the statement of purpose of an organization.
D Vision gives a direction to achieve the mission
D Goal is a specific short term target serving a specified purpose for the bigger achievement of the mission. Objective is a measure of change to achieve a goal (Ansoff, 2007).
Key Strategic Planning Factors
When to plan- A company has to understand when in the production or sales process planning is needed.
Who should be involved- The Company has to decide who all to involve in a particular plan
Impact on managers- Company has to assess what impact a particular plan is having on managers. Is a particular
plan motivating managers or not (Bamford &West, 2012).
Techniques of Strategic PlanningBCG Growth-share Matrix (Ansoff, 2007).The BCG Matrix
Relative Market Share Position in the Industry
Techniques of Strategic Planning
Directional Policy Matrix
Olt is a frame work which categorizes a firm’s business activities on the basis of its market position and market attractiveness.
O On the basis of market attractiveness and strength the firm can decide if it should invest, divest, harvest or grove {Hill & Jones, 2012).
O Stakeholders’ analysis is a review of impact of stakeholders like suppliers, customers, employee, shareholders and investors on business.
O Stakeholders mapping is done in order to understand the importance of different stakeholders.
D Stakeholder’s grid is a technique of mapping the impact of stakeholders on the firm (Hill & Jones, 2012).Impact/influence grid-
DHigh impact, high influence stakeholders- Such stakeholders should be given full attention.
DLow Influence, high impact stakeholders- These need to be kept informed.
DHigh influence, low impact-These stakeholders need to be kept satisfied.
DLow influence, low impact- These stakeholders need to be monitored closely (Hill & Jones, 2012).
Importance of personnel in strategy implementation
O Employees or personnel are crucial for successful implementation of any strategy.
O Sales targets are achieved by the workforce on the field. Their role is of great importance.
O Work force is greatly needed at the stage of selling the concept and communicating it to the customer (Hussey, 2007).
References
Ansoff, I., (2007) Strategic Management. New Jersy: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Bamford, C. E. & West, P. G., (2012) Strategic Management : value creation, sustainability, and performance. New York: Cengage Learning.
- Hill, C. & Jones, G., (2009) Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach. New York: Cengage Learning.
- Hill, C. & Jones, G., (2012) Strategic Management: An lntegratedApproach. New York: Cengage Learning.
- Hussey, D. E., (2007) Strategic Management: From
Theory to Implementation. New Jersy : Taylor & Francis.
Part- 2 Report on strategic plan for Mark Lambert
- To
- Managing Director
- Solitaire and Co
- Dear Sir,
2.1 Organizational audit for Solitaire and Co
Organizational audit is a systematic, periodic and comprehensive evaluation of a company’s environment, strategies, objectives and activities to find out areas of improvement. There are various ways to conduct it
Benchmarking- Benchmarking is comparing own performance with industry best practices.(Henry, 2011). Solitaire and Co is known for its quality chocolates but if the company wants to diversify into non organic confectionaries in Europe it needs to upgrade its machinery, distribution network and supply chain to match industry standards.
SWOT Analysis- SWOT is a method of analyzing the external and internal environment of the company. Strengths and weaknesses are internal while threats and opportunities come from outside environment
Strength- Quality organic range product is a major strength
Weakness- No experience of selling in Europe and outdated machinery which is 30 years old is weaknesses.
Opportunity- Huge market in Europe is a big opportunity. Single European market can give huge sales and profits to the countryThreats- UK membership of EU is in doubt which could land the company in trouble.
Value chain analysis- Value chain analysis is an analysis of how the company adds value to a raw material and converts it into something the customer is ready to pay for. It involves inbound logistics, operations and outbound logistics (Bamford & West, 2012). Solitaire and Co aims at diversifying its range of product into inorganic confectionaries for this it will have to change its inbound logistic facilities. It plans to build new premises for production and get new machinery
to replace the outdated one. It also plans to tie up with distributers and agents in various EU
2.2 Environmentalaudit for the company
PESTLE Analysis- This is an analysis of external factors affecting an organization
Political Factors- EU has massive food tax regime which needs evaluation if relocation is the aim
Economic Factors- If the company diversifies to Europe it will be impacted by industry growth rate, inflation rate and trends in business cycles affecting Europe
Social Factors-For its relocation to mainland Europe it has to understand the social-cultural dynamics.Technological factors- The Company plans to shift to inorganic ingredients for which it plans to procure new machinery.
Environmental factors-Company will have to adhere to EU norms of waste disposal, recycling of waste and minimum C02 emission (European Union, 2014).
Legal Factors-the Company would have to abide by EU legal directives like the equity pay directive, workplace distribution directive and racial discrimination directivesBarriers to Entry
- – “me and cost of en
- – Knowledg,;
- – Economies. cf scal
- – Cost eovantaces
- – echnology
- – Barriers
- Suppliers
- – Numl:s-r of suppliers
- – Size of suppliers
- – Switching costs
- – Unique service/product
| STRATEGIC POSITION |
- – Ability to substituteSubstitutes
- – Substitute performance
- – Cost of switching
- – Buyer willingnessBuyers
- – Number of customers
- – Buying volumes
- – Drffereniiation
- – Price elasticity
- – Incentives
- – Brand identity
- – Switching costs
- Competitive Rivalry
- – Number of ccrncettors
- – Exit barriers
- – Niche. quality
- – Differentiation
- – Switching costs
- – Industry concentration
- – Diversity of competitors
Figure 1: Source: Hill & Jones (2012)
Competition among existing firms- Competition in chocolate industry is intense. There are many established players like Nestle, Ferrero group and Lindt (CAOBISCO, 2014).
Bargaining Power of suppliers- As the company will need to tie up with new agents bargaining power will be high initially.
Bargaining power of the customer- Due to many choices their bargaining power will be initially high.
Threat of new entrants- As EU is one market there are low entry barriers but capital required for establishing the plant is high hence threat of new entrain is moderate
Threat of substitutes – Various cooking flavors like vanilla and lemon area substitute to chocolates but, most people love chocolates hence threat of substitute products is low.
.1 Competitive marketitng entry strategies
\Figure 1: Ansoff matrix
(Source: What is the Ansoff Matrix?. 2015)
Market penetration
Under this case Solitaire and Co will be undergoing least risk with respect to marketing strategies. It is because the product is already familiar among the consumer and has an established market. Another way that can be adopted by Solitaire and Co is that they can take an initiative under which they can increase the usage of the product.
Product development
Under this scenario it will be essential for Solitaire and Co needs to come with new products within the existent market. The Solitaire and Co can develop product that differ introduction of a new product within the existent market or it can also bring out modification in the existing product (What is the Ansoff Matrix? 2015). The modification is going to change the presentation and is also increase the overall effectiveness of the product.
With the help of this strategy Solitaire and Co business can carry out their selling activities of existing products in the new markets. It can be done by the organization through appropriate market segmentation. Under this strategy it is necessary for carrying out assumption by Solitaire and Co that existing market has been fully exploited. For undertaking this strategy business can undergo various approaches such as new geographical markets, new distribution channels, different pricing policies etc.
Product market diversification
In this strategy Solitaire and Co have to carry out marketing and selling of their new products in the market in a simultaneous time period (What is the Ansoff Matrix? 2015). This is considered to be the most risky strategy as under this business have to look after both new products and the development problems.
2.4 & 3.2 new strategy for Solitaire and Co
A company can choose various strategies. Few of them are-
Horizontal and vertical integration- horizontal integration is partnership, merger, acquisition or alliance with a similar firm. Vertical integration is taking over suppliers’.
Related and unrelated diversification- going into new markets with similar business is related divarication while starting a new business is unrelated diversification
The An off matrix Market penetration– It is the strategy of increasing market share of a firm in its existing market.
Product development-It is the strategy of developing new product for existing market.
Market development- It is the strategy of developing new market for existing product lines. The product may get minor modification.
Diversification- It is the strategy of setting up new business venture m new markets with diversifies product
Market development strategy is suggested for Solitaire and Co for venturing into Europe. Lambert finest is a good brand name in UK the company should use the same to launch the product in Europe. This wills help the company to use its goodwill in a positive manner. Goodwill will help it in positive positioning. It can also market itself in a way that customers perceive it as an old brand coming to Europe. Market development strategy entails expansion with new uses or new users. The company will have to find new users through new geographical segmentation in Europe. Market development strategy targets new customers hence company will be better able to position its new inorganic content chocolate. Company is planning to tie up with new agents, vendors and distributers in this case also market development strategy is more suitable
4.2 Estimated resource requirement for the proposed strategy.
Any new strategy requires resources to reach the implementation stage Major resources which are needed are-Finance- financial strength is very important because any new venture costs a lot of money. The Company is planning to venture into Europe. It would require finance for setting up plant and machinery, vendor and supplier payments, employees’ payment, marketing cost, payment of taxes and tariffs etc. For this purpose the company is planning to become a public limited company to raise funds,Human Resources- It is the workforce who actually creates the product and sells it hence good human resource planning is essential for successful strategy implementation. The company plans to relocate and open a new factory in Europe. For this the company requires skilled workforce managers, supervisors, marketing and sales staff and other administrative staff. It can transfer its
existing employees to Europe and also recruit from local population.
Material- Material requirement should be analyzed in detail while implementing the strategy The Company would need to procure the raw material required to produce the chocolates. It would also need to buy new machines as existing ones are 30 years old. For this company should forge partnerships with suppliers
Time- Plan should always be time bound otherwise it will never be achieved Company plans to achieve a sizable amount of marker share in terms of sales within the next five years.
4.3 Evaluation of SMART targets for the achievement of the proposed strategy
A strategy can be successful if its operational, corporate and individual targets are met in a specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time bound (SMART) way Through the use of marker development strategy the objectives of the firm can be given a direction. SMART targets can help achieve the strategic objectives in a fruitful manner
Specific- market development strategy of developing new market for existing products through specific corporate targets like establishing a factory in Europe, arrangements and tie ups with vendors and specific operational targets like purchasing new machinery
Measurable- The targets should always be quantifiable so that they can be measures. For example in the current situation targets can be measures on number of machines purchased or area of the factory premises or sales volumes.
Achievable- target should always be achievable. Under market development Strategy Company should be able to achieve its target of setting up new factory and buying new machines.
Realistic- target should be always realistic. The targets of Solitaire and Co of becoming a public limited company, new factory, new machines and distributer tie ups are very realistic
Time bound- timely target achievement is a key to success of strategic planning; Solitaire and Co has put a time limit of five years to achieve its targets.
References
Ansoff, I., (2007) Strategic Management. New Jersy: Palgrave Macmillan,.
Bamford, C. E. & West, P. G., (2012) Strategic Management: value creation, sustainability, and performance. New York: Cengage Leaming.
CAOBISCO, (2014) Association of Chocolate, Biscuit and Confectionery Industries of the
European Union. [Online]
Available at: //www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/member/caobisco/ [Accessedjuly july 2014].
Downs, C. W., (2012) Assessing Organizational Communication: Strategic Communication
Audits. New York: Guilford Press.
European Union, (2014) EU Home Page. [Online]
Available at: //europa.eu/index en.htm [Accessed 18 July 2014].
Henry, A., (2011) Understanding Strategic Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hill, C. & Jones, G., (2009) Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach. New York: Cengage Leaming.
Hill, C. & Jones, G., (2012) Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach. New York: Cengage Leaming.
Hussey, D. E., (2007) Strategic Management: From Theory to Implementation. New Jersy: Taylor & Francis.
Steiner, G. A., (2010) Strategic Planning. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Tielmann, V., (2010) Market Entry Strategies. Norderstedt: GRIN Verlag.
Ungson, G. R. & Wong, Y.-Y., (2012) Global Strategic Management. Mew York: M.E. Sharpe.
What is the Ansoff Matrix?. 2015. [Online]. Accessed from <//www.ansoffmatrix.com/>. [Accessed on: 23rd November 2015]
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