...Chapter 1 Mastering Strategy: Art and Science LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand and articulate answers to the following questions: 1. What are strategic management and strategy? 2. Why does strategic management matter? 3. What elements determine firm performance? Strategic Management: A Core Concern for Apple The Opening of the Apple Store Image courtesy of Neil Bird, http://www.flickr.com/photos/nechbi/2058929337. March 2, 2011, was a huge day for Apple. The firm released its much-anticipated iPad2, a thinner and faster version of market-leading Apple’s iPad tablet device. Apple also announced that a leading publisher, Random House, had made all seventeen thousand of its books available through Apple’s iBookstore. Apple had enjoyed tremendous success for quite some time. Approximately fifteen million iPads were sold in 2010, and the price of Apple’s stock had more than tripled from early 2009 to early 2011. Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org 4 But future success was far from guaranteed. The firm’s visionary founder Steve Jobs was battling serious health problems. Apple’s performance had suffered when an earlier health crisis had forced Jobs to step away from the company. This raised serious questions. Would Jobs have to step away again? If so, how might Apple maintain its excellent performance without its leader? Meanwhile, the iPad2 faced daunting competition. Samsung...
Words: 9273 - Pages: 38
...When a firm creates, formulates, and implements a strategy that adds value and competitive advantage that is a strategic business plan. A strategic business plan is the layout or outline that specifies how a firm is going to reach their plans or goals over a certain period of time. The plan can be very specific or very broad. It can focus on one part of the business, as well as a whole focusing on all functions within a company. This plan is important to an organization’s long-term success because it gives the company a direction or purpose in which to set goals and carry them out. A strategic business plan assists a company in providing products and services in a more efficient and effective manner. Without a strategic business plan a firm will have a difficult time maximizing the potential of its resources. New opportunities and key resources for growth or improvement will be limited or perhaps even missed. A strategic plan is important to both small and large businesses. I believe that for any company, no matter the size, it is equally important to have a strategic business plan in place. This will assist in understanding customer needs and be able to adapt to constant changes and new trends taking place within the company. With a successful strategic plan, a company has a great opportunity for becoming very successful. Innovation plays a key role in developing a company that has potential for growth and success. Innovation provides the company with ways to maintain a competitive...
Words: 277 - Pages: 2
...OUTLINE a. Module learning outcomes b. Themes and topics c. Learning supports 3. MODULE DELIVERY SCHEDULE a. Session arrangements b. Student engagement c. Office hours arrangements 4. ASSESSMENT DETAILS a. Assignments b. Module assessment components i. Pre module assignment ii. Group project iii. Examination 5. GRADING a. University grading policy b. Grade descriptors for assessment components 6. CONCLUDING COMMENTS APPENDICES 5 6 10 12 16 19 21 3 Welcome message Welcome to this unit on Business Policy. Dr Yousef Eiadat will be joining me in teaching this course. In this unit we aim to build skills in Strategic planning – the analysis behind strategic decisions, the crafting of strategies and the implementation of them to ensure organisational success. Strategy involves managing the interface between an organization and its external environment. To this end, the first three topics develop skills in strategic analysis, leading to consideration of the positioning of an organisation in its strategic environment. These cover internal and external analysis, and the options in setting strategic...
Words: 4379 - Pages: 18
...TYPES OF MARKETING STRATEGIES MARKET LEADER STRATEGIES 1. Expand total market 2. Defend market share 3. Expand market share MARKET CHALLENGER STRATEGIES 1. Define strategic objective and opponents 2. Choosing an attack strategy MARKET FOLLOWER STRATEGIES MARKET NICHE STRATEGIES ================ A. 1. MARKET LEADER STRATEGIES EXPAND TOTAL MARKET • New Users E.g.: perfume:--> non-users (mkt-penetration strat) --> men (new market strat) --> other countries (geo-expan strat) E.g.: J&J Baby shampoo: birthrate declining --> ads target adults --> leading brand • New uses Cereals: as snacks --> increase frequency of use OJ: “not for breakfast anymore” Du Pont nylon: parachute-->pantyhose-->blouses & shirts --> auto tires -->seat belts --> carpeting Arm & Hammer: baking--> fridge deodorant --> quell kitchen grease --> carpet/pet deodorant --> bath tub relaxant --> toothpaste --> ???? • More usage: Michelin: want French to drive more --> rate restaurants (best in south --Provence & Riviera) --> publish guidebooks with maps and sights along the way 2. DEFEND MARKET SHARE • decide where to defend • continuous innovation along Mktg Mix Position defense: - purely defensive not enough --> must take offensive counter-measure Eg: Coke --> multi segments of cola mkt --> enter wine market --> acquire fruit drink companies --> desalination equipment --> plastics Flanking defense: - guarding territory not enough - create outposts/flanks: --> protect weak front --> invasion base for counter-attack...
Words: 1301 - Pages: 6
...clients. For many firms, the “80/20 rule” applies where the largest concentration (80%) of your revenue is being derived by a relatively small subset (20%) of your customers. These clients, due to the leveraged impact they have on your bottom-line and infrastructure costs, need to be carefully managed and made a key focus of your business strategy. This is equally true for a huge multi-million dollar conglomerate or a relatively small professional practice. While a continuing focus on new business acquisition is of paramount importance – “Grow or Die” – the strategy decision of how you marshal your limited resources of time, money and effort is a crucial one. Deciding to manage your top clients as “strategic accounts”, and investing your resources to build your relationships with them, provides a multiplier effect of benefits. To name a few: lowers acquisition costs for new business, engenders a higher level of customer loyalty, creates revenue stability and profitability enhancement, inspires ongoing future business, and develops a strong referral generator and free PR. Small businesses and professional practices can learn and incorporate strategies and practices from the larger, established strategic account departments of larger firms. Strategic account management is a mindset and a methodology, a series of carefully thought out decisions and processes that enforce and ensure that you truly place your top clients at the core of your business. This discipline needs to be internalized...
Words: 961 - Pages: 4
...Strategic Plan Strategic planning is an important tool for any organization. By having the right strategic plan, a company could reach their goal as well as meet their customers’ demands. A strategic planning helps a company develop basic goals which company will try to reach in certain a time period. In the strategic planning, company will usually consider the mission statement, vision, and values of company. Through this paper, an individual will gain information how US Airways business, product the airline provide, and services US airways. The reader will also gain information about how US airways work on developing right mission statement. The reader will also gain information how important mission, vision, and values to US airways in direction of their strategic plan. Mission Statement The mission statement is short and memorable, like a catch phase. The purpose of a mission statement is to endorse the meaning of the company and associate with company business. The company main customer’s bases are individual who like to fly. The mission statement of US airways is “Fly with US”. It is very obvious that the company is an airline operator, providing travels all around the world for its valued customers. The mission state or the slogan “Fly with US” could vary with different meanings for individuals. The individual could perceive this statement in many different ways. An individual could look at US as top airline for United State . This could also mean by flying...
Words: 1312 - Pages: 6
...sure you have a strategy? Donald C. Hambrick and James W, Fredrickson Executive Overview After more than 30 years of hard thinking about strategy, consultants and scholars have provided an abundance of /rameworks for analyzing strategic situations. Missing, however, has been any guidance as to v^hat the product of these tools should be—or virhat actually constitutes a strategy. Strategy has become a catchall term used to mean whatever one wants it to mean. Executives now talk about their "service strategy," their "branding strategy," their "acquisition strategy," or whatever kind of strategy that is on their mind at a particular moment. But strategists—whether they are CEOs of established firms, division presidents, or entrepreneurs—must have a strategy, an integrated, overarching concept of how the business will achieve its objectives. If a business must have a single, unified strategy, then it must necessarily have parts. What are those parts? We present a framework for strategy design, arguing that a strategy has five elements, providing answers to five questions—arenas: where will we be active? vehicles: how will we get there? differentiators: how will we win in the marketplace? staging: what will be our speed and sequence of moves? economic logic: how will we obtain our returns? Our article develops and illustrates these domains of choice, particularly emphasizing how essential it is that they form a unified whole. Consider these statements of strategy drawn from actual...
Words: 7729 - Pages: 31
...Inbox My Profile What's New Help Logout Welcome Kimberly Raetano (IRN:9038043721) Home Classroom Library Program Account PhoenixConnect MMPBL/590 Materials Discussion Assignments Grades MMPBL/590 STRATEGIES FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Start Date: 01/17/2012 Print COURSE DESCRIPTION This course focuses on creating the value proposition as a driver of sustainable competitive advantage. Topics include translating key emerging trends into business opportunities; strategic challenges of global expansion; opportunities and constraints posed by regulatory change; competitor intelligence; scenario planning/planning for multiple futures; maximizing core business value; differentiating the value proposition; distribution channel development and integration; tailoring the value chain; building successful strategic alliances; and off-shoring models and approaches. Week 1 - Topic 1: Mission, Vision, and Values Objectives Distinguish between strategy and tactics. Explain the essential components of the strategic management process. Analyze the relationship among leadership, culture, stakeholder interests, and strategic outcomes. Create vision, mission, and values statements. Materials MIND MAP Mind Map Concept Outline EBOOK EBOOK COLLECTION: Chapter 1 - Pearce & Robinson. (2005). Strategic management (9th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. EBOOK COLLECTION:...
Words: 1984 - Pages: 8
...Workshop 4 Problems Kevin Rock MBA 465 Strategic Management BSA 555 November 1, 2011 David R. Gray, Ph.D 1. Why are acquisition strategies popular in many firms competing in the global economy? Because of globalization; deregulation of multiple industries in many different economies and favorable legislation; the number and size of domestic and cross-border acquisitions continues to increase; especially from emerging economies 2. What reasons account for firms’ decisions to use acquisition strategies as a means to achieving strategic competitiveness? To increase market power; overcome entry barriers to new markets or regions; avoid costs of developing new products and increase the speed of new market entries; reduce the risk of entering a new business; become more diversified; reshape their competitive scope with different portfolio of businesses; and enhance their learning. 3. What are the seven primary problems that affect a firm’s efforts to successfully use an acquisition strategy? Difficulty of effectively integrating the firms involved; incorrectly evaluating the target firm’s value; creating debt loads that preclude adequate long-term investment; overestimating the potential for synergy; creating a firm that is too diversified; creating an internal environment in which managers devote increasing amounts of their time and energy to analyzing and completing the acquisition; developing a combined firm that is too large (thereby necessitating extensive...
Words: 449 - Pages: 2
...Strategic Management Process Paper Vivian Shellmire MGT 498 March 21, 2011 Eligah King Strategic Management Process Paper The global marketplace has ushered in an emergent Era of corporate citizenship. Merging corporations often create an environment within a company where different structures coexist side-by-side. The reality, parties in collaboration tend to promote cultural capital. In fact, human nature is a factoring barrier making it a difficult challenge to retain highly esteemed talent and maintain production efficiency. Corporate responsibility obligates an organization to design a plan, a strategic process that fosters open-mindedness, confidence, passion, and optimism. A strategy plan incorporating mutual company goals, a philosophical mission statement, and an expected code of conduct can ensure consistency. A responsive way to alleviate conflict among parties would be to include a framework articulating clear concise policies, procedures, and implementation which emphasize corporate values and standards. General Motors Company for example, after acquiring partnership with Opel International encountered structural challenges. Opel’s (2011) promotion states, “We are inspired by the freshness and potential of unique talents. They excite our admiration and energize our emotion that is why we team up with new and established performers and support them, in their personal endeavors and the causes they believe in.” Ironically...
Words: 549 - Pages: 3
...THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY ACCOUNTING TEAM Summary: Sarah (the name given by us) has been working in McKay, Sanderson, and Smith Associates a mid-sized accounting team located in Boston that is specialized in commercial accounting and audits for past five years. Her specialty is accounting practices for shipping companies, ranging from small to certain big fleets along east coast. About two months ago her company merged with another two other accounting firms which has offices in Miami, Seattle, Baton Rouge, and Los Angeles. They avoided centralizing their business around one office in Los Angeles. Instead they formed a new firm called Goldberg, Choo, and McKay Associates in order to leverage the synergies of their collective knowledge. This merges affected Sarah when she was told that she would be working with the other three members from the other two firms to become the firm’s new shipping industry accounting team, by her boss. The other members were Elias in Miami, Susan in Seattle, Brad in Los Angeles. She had earlier met Elias at a meeting in New York but not the other two. This shipping team activity involved e-mailing each other about new contracts and prospective clients. They were asked to submit the joint monthly statement reports and issues. Sarah submitted her own monthly reports which summarized the activities of her own clients. This coordination of monthly reports took much more time since different accounting documentation procedures across the three firms were...
Words: 1693 - Pages: 7
... These short and long term goals are what drive your business. From a planning standpoint, you must also develop short and long term strategies to reach these goals. Short term strategies revolve around cause and effect actions. You will institute an action and then measure the result. For example, if you run an ad in the paper, or send out a direct mail coupon, you can easily track your response rate. Depending on the amount of new business you generate, you can assess the effectiveness of the campaign. Most of the time, these strategies involve costly advertising, so you must be sure you are reaching your target market, as well as prompting a "call to action" from potential customers. Other examples of short term strategies are Internet websites, informational brochures, press releases, trade shows, and product samplings. All these can be used to create a cause and effect reaction from consumers. These are crucial in launching a new business as well as growing an existing one. As long as your are reaching your target market, these activities will provide an immediate return on investment. If they don't, then your overall advertising message needs to reevaluated. Long term strategies are much more subliminal in nature. They encompass all the activities that reach people in a subtle way. Networking is probably the best long term strategy you can engage in. Many people have misconceptions about networking. It is not about going to events to drum up customers. Rather it is...
Words: 471 - Pages: 2
...Diversity Awareness Group Assignment Adversity existed among various cultures at the Cirque du Soleil. A major factor contributing to adversity was communication that included language barriers and acculturation. Language barriers arose due to the mixture of people from thirty different countries. This increased the potential for working, training, and interacting with individuals where English was not the first language. As a result, this caused misinterpretation, frustration, and confusion. Another reason adversity existed at Cirque du Soleil was difficulty with acculturation. This can cause stress by the “process of cultural and psychological change that results following meeting between cultures” (Wikipedia 1). Acculturation can cause people to feel misunderstood and alienated from decisions in the workplace. When language barriers and acculturation are not addressed in any work environment it will eventually lead to an overall breakdown of communication and create animosity among employees. The issues that led to adversity at Cirque du Soleil affected the bottom line. Net loss was caused by a high turnover rate, too many projects at one time, dealing with internal issues, and a lack of a strategic plan. Firstly, the high turnover rate could have let to more time spent on hiring and interviewing. Adversity in a work setting could also be where more people of minorities leave their employment. Secondly, the developmental ideas were an excellent way to improve...
Words: 892 - Pages: 4
...• What are examples of regulatory issues that affect the controlling aspect of a strategic plan? What are examples of organizations that have failed to comply with regulatory requirements in controlling their strategic plans? What were some repercussions that these organizations have faced? What are examples of regulatory issues that affect the controlling aspect of a strategic plan? Control should follow the strategy of the organization and for the development of the organization. Examples of regulatory issues that affect the controlling aspect of a strategic plan are: • Control should be lower because high degree of control can create confusion. • Only meaningful activities and results should be monitored in control process and some quality and quantity measurement should be developed to monitor the cooperation. • Control should be timely, so that corrective action can be taken. Action should be taken only for activities outside the tolerance range. • Some standards should be set for the performance level and reward should be given to those employees, who have achieved the desired performance (Wheelen & Hunger, 2004). What are examples of organizations that have failed to comply with regulatory requirements in controlling their strategic plans? There are many organizations which have failed to follow the regulatory requirements in controlling their strategic plans. One of the failure companies...
Words: 292 - Pages: 2
...understanding made eBay to use the strategies it had used in the US to enter the Japanese and the American markets. At the initial launch in Japan eBay set out to use collectibles this strategy was successful in the US market. This seemed to have failed as the Japanese user seemed to have preferred new products. The second mistake was eBay strategy to charge commission on each transaction as it did in the US. The Japanese market did not favor this as they were not used to pay commission or monthly charges. The second factor that made eBay to struggle in the Asian markets is its strategy of attempting to dominate the market by crashing all competition including the local. This proved to be a wrong kind of strategy as local competitors had a competitive edge over eBay. This was demonstrated by eBay earlier battle with Alibaba for the control of the Chinese market which eBay ended up losing badly to the local players. Due to the differences in market and business environments in Asia local companies that are used to these environments usually find an edge over foreign entrants and strategies such as that used by eBay have high probabilities of failures. Foreign players also end up incurring a lot of cost and therefore lose their competitiveness. Since eBay management team did not understand the local market they spend a lot of money doing the wrong things leaving their competitors to claim the market at a lesser cost (Wang, 2010).These mistakes by eBay in its strategy to enter the Asian markets...
Words: 905 - Pages: 4
