Analysis of Stakeholders Importance, Resources, and Capabilities - Essay Example

?Exam Reviewer 4 January A. Mission, vision and stakeholders Mission and Vision Better Place’s mission is lessening and removing the vehicle market segment’s oil dependence and create viable value chain linkages. The customer-friendly value chain includes the battery suppliers, electric vehicle utilities, current and future customers, and car manufacturing entities. The mission and vision is important to the stakeholders, especially customers and suppliers (Etzon & Struben, 2011). Analysis of stakeholders’ Importance Government. The Israeli government’s importance includes creating laws ensuring a level electric car selling field. The laws include environmental laws and labor laws within the production and sale of electric cars. Without government intervention, chaos arises to unfavorably affecting the free market. The Israeli government implements ISO standards. Investors. The investors’ importance is placing funds into Better Place’s coffers. The funds are used to hire employees, buy production and sales equipments, and pay other operating expenses (selling and marketing expenses). The funds fill the needs of the current and future global electric car customers. Further, the investments will include setting up battery charging stations in strategic locations. The locations include malls, sidewalks, train stations and offices. Customers. The importance of the current and future customers of Better Place is purchasing the Better Place electric car products. The initial 20,000 Israeli customer’s payments are used to compensate for the marketing, production, and administration expenses of Better Place. The electric car users may purchase a home charging equipment for less than $301(Etzon & Struben, 2011). Suppliers. The electric car suppliers’ importance is to ensure the Better Place’s electric cars continue running. By supplying quality batteries and raw materials, the company’s electric cars move longer distance for every fully charged electric battery. The electric utility company’s importance is ensuring the electric batteries have electric power. Specifically, Israel’s corporate customers, car producers, venture capital entities, and national electric utility agreed to ensure the success of Better Place’s electric car strategic business plans (Etzon & Struben, 2011). Further, the above stakeholders’ will judge Better Place’s performance. The performance includes the timely delivery of quality electric car products, accessories and services. The customers will discouragingly complain for lackluster performing electric car products. The lack of electric car battery charging stations will discourage Better Place customers. The stakeholders may be hindrances to Better Place’s performance. The Israeli government may institute laws that hinder Better Place’s attaining higher revenue targets. Specifically, governments instrumentally required manufacturers to reduce hydrocarbons, nitrogen and carbon monoxide exhausts. These exhausts contributed to air pollution. Some electric utilities use fossil fuel to generate the electric car batteries’ electricity charges. Line of business. The firm, Better Place, is established to fill the electric car and other related needs of the current and future customers. The related needs include adequate electricity supply (Etzon & Struben, 2011). Adequate supply entails abundance of electric car battery supplies. Adequate supply includes the current and future customers’ easily access to the company’s electric car models. Further, the firm exists to generate profits (Soosay et al., 2012). Specifically, Better Place offers several electric car plans. The customers purchase Electric Recharge Grid Operators (ERGOs). The car drivers buy the batteries from the battery suppliers. Better Place sets up electric car battery charging stations. The drivers pay for the required vehicle repairs and maintenance expenses, specifically the electric car’s power train maintenance expenses. Lastly, Better Place helps its customers avail of tailored electric car insurances. The car plans include the all you can drive plans, the lower pay as you go electric car plan, and the fixed monthly fee plan (Etzon & Struben, 2011). Furthermore, the firm can make a difference in the chosen market segment. By offering better quality products, the company helps improve the current and future customers’ life. One such better quality product is the use of pollution-free electric vehicles. The electric batteries do not generate the environmentally harmful fossil fuel monoxide gasses. With less pollution, the car drivers and pedestrians inhale healthier traffic environment air (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990). B. Industry analysis and scenarios The current automobile industry (Better Place case exhibit 1) shows that less than 151 out of 1,000 Israeli residents own cars. Since Better Place is still in the planning stage, we cannot compare the company’s actual Better Place electric car unit sales per 1,000 Israeli residents. Porter’s 5 forces (Porter, 2008). Porter’s competitive rivalry aspect shows that he following factors influence Better Place’s competitive rivalry picture. One factor may exert the highest pressure on the competitive rivalry scene than the other three factors: Supplier power. The suppliers help Better Place achieve its goals, objectives, and other benchmarks. Specifically, Dor Alon will supply the battery switching locations for Better Place’s battery charging needs. The electric utility companies supply the electricity needed to run the electric car batteries of the Better Place’s electric cars. The suppliers influence the delivery of the firm’s products and services. Likewise, the ERGO stations recharge the Better Place’s electric batteries at strategically located stations. The robotic arms also change the depleted Better Place car batteries with fully charged batteries. The electric cars of Better Place pass through a conveyor belt type recharging station (Etzon & Struben, 2011). Potential entrants’ threats. According to Porter, new competitors may forcibly enter the Better Place’s electric car market segment (Porter. The company must offer better quality electric car units and related services to retain its current and future customers. The competitors include new electric car manufacturers. The new competitors may offer better car models. The new competitors may sell lower priced alternative electric cars (Etzon & Struben, 2011). Substitutes. Substitutes will be detrimental to Better Place. The current and future customers may shift from buying the company’s electric car products and services to the threatening substitutes. The substitutes include riding the bus. Another substitute is riding a bike to a nearby destination. A third substitute is walking short distances. Buyers. The company must increase buyers’ demand for Better Place’s electric cars. The car buyers influence the fulfilling of the firm’s goals, objectives, and other benchmarks. Within an additional $200,000 investment, Better Place’s Israeli electric car startup marketing campaign garnered 20,000 committed local customers. Buyers are expected to patronize the company’s 100,000 charge spots as well as 100 battery switching locations. Major fleet buyers include FedEx, Microsoft, IBM, and Orange (Etzon & Struben, 2011). Market Size. The firm may be in currently in one of the five growth stages in its business cycle life. Currently, Better Place falls under the development or startup stage. By focusing on the establishment of more car selling branches and electric car battery charging stations, Better Place is expected to reach the second stage. The second stage is characterized as generating a higher net revenue and net profit picture. It is expected that Better Place will reach the 3rd stage. The third stage of Better Place is the shakeout stage, characterized as Better Place’s economies of scale stage. Fourth, the Better Place maturity stage occurs when its electric car sales remains fixed. Last, the decline stage occurs when the demand for the Better Place’s electric products and services significantly drop. Profitability. The main aim of firms is to generate profits. By creating the demand for its products and services, Better Place’s revenues are increased. Revenues are reduced by business operating costs and expenses. Uncertainties. Uncertainties occur in the Israeli electric car market. The process strategy allows each Better Place department the corresponding flexibilities to comply with established goals. The flexibilities reduce both production and marketing time. Process strategy lets Better Place maximizing its scarce resources to favorably resolve each uncertainty with less time usage (Mintzberg & Waters, 1985). Research helps find ways to resolve uncertainties. Partnerships will improve the firms’ surviving each uncertain business condition. Hiring experts will ensure stopping customer demand uncertainties. Change pace. Better Place must keep in step with change. By focusing on new market, blue oceans. Venturing into new markets will augment the current red market scenes (Kim & Mauborgne, 2004). By developing innovative products and services, the firm can easily keep abreast or even stay ahead of its competitors in the same market segment. The feasibility studies will pinpoint the current and future customers’ current and future demands and preferences. The feasibility studies will serve as a guide for the research and development of customer-based innovative goods and services. Changes that may affect the firm. Changes will surely affect Better Place’s revenues. The feasibility studies will ensure the Better Place is kept abreast of the current and future changes. The changes include the customer’s demand for a different product model or service. The changes may include the customers’ demand for more environment friendly products and services. The changes may include new government policies that may affect the sales of the firm’s current products and services. C. Resources and capabilities Key sources and capabilities. Better Place must importantly maximize its key sources to enhance its customer-based capabilities (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990). Key sources include the suppliers of electricity, electric batteries, car raw materials and employees. Qualified personnel, internal strength, are capably produce smoothly functioning electric cars. Better Place prioritizes suppliers of include green electricity sources, eliminating internal weaknesses to capably sell quality electric car units. Green sources include hydro, thermal, wind, and sun electricity sources. By purchasing high quality raw materials, Better Place car products capably comply with established quality production standards (Barney, 1991). A survey showing 57 % of the Israeli survey respondents preferred electric cars prods Better Place Company to focus its key sources and to capably meet the high projected demand (Etzon & Struben, 2011). With the entry of Chinese car makers like Dongfeng Motors in the global market Segment, Better Place must focus on the environmental advantages to create demand for Better Place’s electric cars (Freyssenet, 2009). Developing Strategies. Better Place develops customer-based strategies. Applying Porter’s value chain, the company introduces new technologies, including environmentally friend electric cars, to keep abreast of the competition. The new electric car and battery charging station innovations persuade prospective customers to buy the Better Place Company products (Harrigan & Porter, 2001). The strategies include expert production employees using quality equipments to convert top quality raw materials into high quality electric cars (Johnson, Whittinghton & Scholes, 2008). D: Business and corporation strategies Technology Creation and diffusion. Better Place’s technology creation and diffusion has significant effects on the electric car market. The company’s electricity technology is profitable. The company will not be able to regain the investments allocated to the obsolete products (Harrigan & Porter, 2001). As first mover, being the first to sell electric cars in Israel, will generate bigger revenues. With initially no competitors, Better Place gets the entire Israel electric market segment’s revenues. Value Chain Analysis Cost Advantages. Better Place must maximize its value chain factors to increase its revenues (Soosayetal, 2012). The value chain includes buying high quality electric car raw materials from suppliers. The value chain includes hiring expert electric car production and marketing employees. The value chain includes finding current and future electric car customers, including the confirmed 20,000 Israeli subscribers, IBM, FedEx and Microsoft (Etzion & Struben, 2011). Further, Better Place’s strategy includes producing environmentally friendly products. The electric cars do not produce polluting carbon monoxide. The production plants must put in place high smoke stacks to prevent the community from inhaling the factories’ toxic exhaust fumes. The company must implement all labor and other related laws, in terms of line and staff employment. To hire and retain expert electric car production and marketing employees, Better Place must offer high salaries and other fringe benefits to the deserving employees, increasing customer demand (Soosay et al., 2012). Better Place’s implements a viable marketing strategy, including selling quality products, marketing work is easier. Customers prefer quality products over lackluster ones. Better Place’s partnership with the Israel government helps generate high customer demand (Soosay et al., 2012). Strategic marketing strategy includes using mobile phones to deliver timely products and services (Schoemaker & Day, 2009). Better Place should likewise venture into conglomerate diversification tapping new markets (Johnson, Whittinghton &Scholes, 2008). References: Barney, J., 1991. Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management , 17 (1), 99-121. Soosay et al., 2012. Dimensions of Sustainabe Value Chains: Implications for Value Chain Analysis. 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