Mastering Strategic Management - Thesis Proposal Example

Strategic Management Contents Chapter 3 Chapter-2 5 Chapter-3 8 Chapter-4 14 Chapter -5 15 Chapter 7 17 Chapter-8 18 Chapter-10 19 Syllabus 20 Chapter-1 Section 1 3. What business that you visit regularly seems to have the most successful business model? What makes the business model work? For discussing this question firstly we need to know about business model. A business model is a strategic plan of the firm that designs the ways for the firm’s functioning and helps the firm to achieve its profit-making objectives. These objectives can be achieved either by making the goods available to the customers at a price which is more than the cost of production of the firm or by making the goods available at a price lower than the cost it would require for the customers to prepare the products themselves. In this regard I would like to talk about the business model of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is a large departmental store which sells almost everything and I visit it often. Its business model is entirely based on its mission statement which says, “Saving people money so they can have a better life”. Wal-Mart constantly focuses on its value proposition that is based on Everyday Low Price (EDLP) offering. This is the key feature of Wal-Mart’s business model and the other elements of the model are there to support this feature. The main focus is on lowering the price of the products and it is done through bulk purchase from trusted suppliers, promoting themselves through cheaper media like internet and opting for expansion to benefit from the economies of scale. Section 2 3. Would you describe your career strategy in college to be more deliberate or emergent? Why? Deliberate strategy is the part of an intended plan which is pursued over time, while emergent strategy is the unplanned strategy that is devised to handle the unexpected opportunities or challenges. While talking about my career strategy in college I would like to mention that being admitted in college was much of an emergent strategy rather than the deliberate strategy. After completion of my schooling I and a few of my friends had the plans to go for an adventure trip. For this purpose it was necessary to gather money and thus I intended doing some job. However after a few months I started getting bored with my job and two of my friends had already joined some college for further studies. So I left my job and had got nothing to do except pursuing higher studies. It was never an element of my deliberate strategy and the decision was taken under some changed and unexpected circumstances, therefore it can be said that it was an emergent strategy to get admitted in the college. Section 3 3. Do you think executives are more ethical today as a result of scandals in the early 2000s? Why or Why not? The scandals of 2000 had an alarming effect on the employees of that era and they started getting alerted while forming strategies and during every function of the organization. However, the recent trend shows that there has been a substantial rise in the percentage of the unethical practices with the organizations of the US. The unethical practices also include violation of code of conduct within their organizations. Of late it was noted that the percentage of misconduct among the employees is showing a historic fall while retaliation against the whistleblowers started to rise sharply. Also the number of companies with poor ethical culture also started becoming prominent in recent times (Ethics Resource Center). Section 5 1. Think about the best and worst companies you know. What is extraordinary (or extraordinarily bad) about these firms? Are their strategies clear and focused or difficult to define? Electronic Arts is the worst company as per my knowledge and Wal-Mart is the best one. EA doesn’t provide online updates about games which is really bad for its reputation. Wal-Mart has got a wide range of products for everyone and at lower prices. The strategies of Wal-Mart are clear enough but EA doesn’t present clear and focused strategies. Chapter-2 Section 1 1. Take a look at the website of your college or university. What is the organization’s vision and mission? Were they easy or hard to find? The mission statement of The Centre for Instruction, Research and Technology, under the Indiana State University presents that it dedicatedly contributes toward the success of students by providing professional growth opportunities to the faculties and by the innovation of upgraded technology. Moreover the centre emphasizes on experimental learning and community meetings. The vision statement is based on the mission and thus ensures quality services to the Indiana University in comparison to its competitor institutes. The vision and mission was difficult to find on the website and had to take the help of the search box where I typed mission and vision statement and then I was able to access the statements of a research institute within the University. 2. As a member of the student body, do you find the vision and mission of your college or university to be motivating and inspirational? Why or why not? No, I did not find the mission and vision of the actual university at the first instance and whatever I found was just a part of the university website. Therefore it was not at all inspirational. 3. What is an important goal that you have established for your career? Could this goal be improved by applying the SMART goal concept? For my career I have established a unique goal which would require huge money. I have plans for starting my own business and for that I will pursue higher education. Then I will go for a job and continue with it for some years. This will be my platform to make my dream business of creating gaming consoles, come true. I will gather some money and lots of experience and then I will apply those in my own business. A SMART goal concept is referred to a certain set of criteria which makes a goal perfect. According to this a goal must be specific, measurable, aggressive, realistic and time-bound. My career objective is more or less specific and realistic. However it needs to be more measurable, aggressive and time-bound as right now I have no idea about the time it would take but I can surely measure whether my goals can be quantified or not. Also I have to be aggressive in my studies as it is the stepping stone for getting a job and then launching my own business. Section 2 1. Identify a mission statement from an organization that emphasizes each of the elements of the triple bottom line. The firm named M.H. Al-Muftah Est. is driven by the mission of customer satisfaction. The aim of the company is to expand its range of offering through the innovative usage of technology, skills, knowledge, team work and efficient communication. M.H. Al-Muftah Est. is the manufacturer of electrical goods and is based in Qatar. Its customer base includes the firms from construction, infrastructure and public utilities, and oil and gas industries. It is regarded as one of the leading manufacturers of Qatar and many well known people has always been its loyal base of customers. Section 4 1. Can you name three firms that have suffered because of lack of an entrepreneurial orientation? Electronic Arts Bank of America Southwest Airlines 2. Identify examples of each dimension of entrepreneurial orientation other than the examples offered in this section. These firms lack proper planning, efficient customer service and the ability to foresee the future. 3. How does developing an entrepreneurial orientation have implications for your future career choices? The ability to take risk Taking initiative Ability to foresee the future These are the basic implications which I will need for my future career choice. Chapter-3 Section 2 1. What does each letter of PESTEL mean? For analyzing the impact of various elements present in the environment on the functioning of an organization, we can take the help of PESTEL framework. According to this framework, it’s important for a business to keep in mind the political, environmental, social, technological, economic and legal factors while forming a business plan. 2. Using a recent news article, identify a trend that has a positive and negative implication for a particular industry. Today the consumers prefer the phones which are multi-featured. These phones comes with inbuilt camera, mp3 player, internet options, file transfer software, maps, photo editing options and thousands of such facilities which previously used to be available with computers and digital cameras (Wintour). Thus, this trend has obviously proved to be positive for the smart phone manufacturing brands while the makers of digital cameras, laptops and computers are simply facing the negative impact of this rising trend. 3. Can you identify a general environment trend that has positive implications for nursing homes but negative implications for diaper makers? Recently the general environmental trend shows that people are getting more and more concerned about preserving their environment and for this purpose, they have started to eliminate the usage of polythene from their day to day lives. Polythene is a type of chemical which is commonly used in the making of plastic bags, containers, toys etc. The major problem of Polythene is that it is non-biodegradable and hence creates a lot of environmental pollution. For nursing homes, the elimination of this chemical would definitely prove to be boon as it will help to keep the environment clean and germ-free. However for diaper makers, elimination of plastics from the environment would prove to be a major cause of concern as it is the primary component used by them for making diapers. 4. Are all six elements of PESTEL important to every organization? Why or why not? All the factors of PESTEL framework are important for every organization as these elements form the foundation of an organization. Even before the actual office of the organization is constructed it needs to talk to the lawyer for getting permission for building office in a particular area. The legal policies of a country are generally prepared by its ruling political group. It should also be kept in mind that the plot should not be nearer to any volcano, dense forest or flowing water which might cause the firm to suffer from natural disaster. Also the law would only allow the construction if they find that no one would be harmed with such construction for example the office should not manufacture goods or services which are illegal or which creates environmental pollution. The firm then needs to consider its budget and then appoint an engineer. For appointing the engineer it firstly needs to locate the most efficient engineers in the town which can be done through the usage of internet. Thus it can be said that when an organization decides to commence its business it needs to apply and maintain each and every element of PESTEL throughout the lifetime of the business. 5. What is a key trend for each letter of PESTEL and one industry or firm that would be affected by that trend? POLITICAL- immigration is a recent trend of this generation. People migrate from one country to another for studies or job. Most of the business would prosper with the increasing number of immigrants. One of them is the transport industry. ECONOMIC- a recent economic trend shows people are more and more getting dependent on plastic money which would help the growth of the banking industry. SOCIAL- the society is going through a phase where live-ins, divorce, gay marriage etc. Have become very much acceptable and therefore this trend would help the consultancy firms to get more and more complicated relationship cases. TECHNOLOGY- the recent technological trend states that people are getting more and more tech savvy and most of the office works are dependent on technology. Therefore this trend will support the growth of software manufacturers and computer manufacturers. ENVIRONMENT- people are getting more and more concerned about the global warming issues and therefore it will affect the log industry adversely as cutting trees have been restricted in many countries. LEGAL- the firms are getting more and more involved in performing their Corporate Social Responsibility. This will help the law firms to gain more customers. Section 5 1. Use Porter’s five forces analysis to analyze an industry in which you might like to work in the future. Discuss the implications your results may have on the salary potential of jobs in that industry and how that could impact your career plans. Michael Porter’s five forces provides a model to explore the environment in which a company or product operates to generate competitive advantage. The analysis of Porter’s five forces focuses at five key areas which are threat of new entry, power of supplier, power of buyer, threat of substitutes and competitive rivalry. Here we are discussing about the automobile industry across the globe. The analysis is shown in the given table- Forces Factors that will affect the forces Threat of new entry (very weak) Large amount of capital is required High chances of retaliation from existing companies, if the new entrant comes with innovative products An automobile firm has to produce at least 5 million cars to be cost competitive, thus it makes the achievement of the economies of scale very hard for a new entrant Governments often try to protect their domestic market by implementing high import taxes Supplier Power (weak) There are large number of suppliers throughout the industry Companies can opt for another type of material but only to some extent Materials are widely available Buyer Power (strong) There are ample car buyers throughout the industry the majority of the buyers are individuals who buy one car, but professionals or governments generally purchase large fleets and therefore can negotiate for lower prices It doesn’t cost the buyers much to switch from one brand to another. Threat of Substitutes (weak) The alternatives like bicycles, motorcycles, trains, buses or planes can hardly ever offer the same convenience as is offered by a personally owned car Threat of Competitive Rivalry (very strong) There are large number of competitors present in the car market Though the automobile industry is very large but it is already matured Size of the rival firms differ as they usually target for varying consumer segments Customers in this industry proves to be very loyal to the brands and would suggest others(consumers) to prefer the particular brand if they themselves get satisfying service from the firm Therefore in future whenever I will join the automobile sector, I would possibly start with a mid-level firm where I can expect a medium salary as the market is already matured and as a fresher I will not get appointed in the leading firms who offer high salaries. The firm will constantly expect new strategies and innovative tactics from me to gain the maximum market share and therefore it will be necessary for me to enhance my knowledge and skills for better growth opportunities. Then gradually with greater knowledge and some years of experience I can move on to the highest paying car companies. Chapter-4 Section 1 1. Does your favorite restaurant have the four qualities of resources that lead to success as articulated by resource-based theory? Resource-based theory is the main perspective to forecast performance in the strategic management domain. It includes four qualities which says the resource should be valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and non-substitutable. My favorite restaurant is Subway. I can find that the ingredients they use in their foods are full of health and very much hygienic. This shows their valuable side. The stuffing they use like olive, jalapeno and mozzarella cheese are quite rare and can be found in particular countries of the world. There customer service staffs are very friendly and the place offers a great ambience which is really hard to imitate. Also the products they offer at such reasonable price can be sourced from some specific suppliers which are non- substitutable. 2. If you were hired by your college or university to market your athletic department, what element of the marketing mix would you focus on first and why? First of all I would go for the promotional part of the marketing mix. This would include advertising, public relations, sales promotion and other functions which will be required to make the people aware about our existence. These tools will be effective in getting public attention and therefore our task of convincing the customers would become easier. Section 3 1. What local business in your town could be improved most dramatically by applying the value chain? Would improvements of primary or support activities help to improve this firm most? Could knowledge of strategic supply chain management add further value to this firm? The fast food stalls in my town can be improved with the application of value-chain. The primary activities like service, operations and marketing should be improved in order to make the firms prosper. As these stalls are run mostly by people who are not much educated therefore strategic supply chain management would do no good to them. They should focus on their operation time and the service delivery which are mostly valued by the customers. Chapter -5 Section 1 1. What are examples of each generic business-level strategy in the apparel industry? cost leadership- American Eagle Outfitters differentiation- Hamilton Shirts focused cost leadership- Wal-Mart focused differentiation- Anthropologie ( Ketchen and Short) Section 2 1. What are three industries in which a cost leadership strategy would be difficult to implement? Software industry Car manufacturing industry Gold and other precious metals industry Section 3 1. Name three ways businesses that provide entertainment that might better differentiate their services. How might they do this? 20th century Fox- they can differentiate their services as film studio only keeping no connection with TV programs. Cartoon Network Studios- they can differentiate their studio by producing services for kids only. DreamWorks animation- they can differentiate on the basis of animation movies. Section 5 1. What is an example of an industry that you think a best-cost strategy could be successful? A best cost strategy could be successful in case of mobiles and tablets. 2. How would you differentiate a company to achieve success in this industry? More and more features and apps along with lots of inbuilt games can make the mobile industry successful. 3. What is an example of a firm following a best-cost strategy near your college or university? The stall that sells sandwich and burgers outside my college is an ideal example of best-cost strategy. Section 6 1. What is an example of a firm that you would consider to be “stuck in the middle”? What would your advice be to the executives in charge of this firm? One such firm is Apple which is suffering a downturn recently as people have started opting for other smart phones which are lower in price. In this scenario apple can diversify and start exploring the idea of manufacturing something new like a wearable gadget or it can simply start lowering the cost of I phones. Chapter 7 Section 1 1. Do you expect re-shoring to become more popular in the years ahead? Why or why not? Re-shoring is not a good idea as it would require huge cost and time for the operations to settle back in the home country. Also the firms would be facing a total set of new customers and again these firms will have to start their operations from the preliminary stage. Therefore it is not considered as an effective move and it will lose popularity in the coming years. Section 2 1. Automakers in China and India have yet to compete on the world stage. Based on the diamond model, would these firms be likely to succeed or fail within the global auto industry? As these countries have lots of human resource available therefore strategy, structure and rivalry and the factor condition issues will be solved efficiently here. However demand and related support firms are not available in huge numbers and therefore the auto industries in these countries mostly import the parts from the outer countries and export their end-products. Section 3 1. Which of the three international strategies is Kia using? Is this the best strategy for Kia to be using? Expansion Diversification Off shoring Yes these strategies are very useful for Kia. Section 4 1. Do you believe that KFC would have been so successful in China today if executives had tried to make their first store a wholly owned subsidiary? Why or why not? Yes, because a wholly owned subsidiary would offer the KFC standard infrastructure, service and ambience to the customers which some other franchisee can’t offer. Chapter-8 Section 2 1. Identify a well-known company that does not use backward or forward vertical integration. Why do you believe that the firm’s executives have avoided these strategies? Toyota is such a company that doesn’t go for backward or forward integration as it could make the operations simply costly and complicated. Section 6 1. This chapter discussed Disney. Imagine that you were hired as a consultant by General Electric (GE), a firm that competes with Disney in the movie, television, and theme park industries. What actions would you recommend that GE take in these three industries to gain advantages over Disney? Movie- The shooting locations should be based at cheaper places. Television- Exploring the business world and news channel would be a good idea. Theme Park- Applying unique themes like desert or rain forest. Chapter-10 Section 2 1. How would your college or university fare if rated on the dimensions used by KLD? Pre-conventional- pre-conventional to some extent. Conventional- Moderate. Post-conventional- Highly post conventional. 2. Do you believe that executives will become more ethical based on legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley? Yes such legal reforms would make the employees more ethical. Syllabus Chapter 1 Incorporate concepts learned in the study of the key functional areas of business to analyze the organization as a whole. Identify and understand a firm’s stakeholder claims and the impact of these claims on a firm’s decision making. Use appropriate models to analyze a business and its strategic choices at the corporate, business and functional levels and make recommendations on how the business can improve its competitive position. Chapter 2 Analyze the global external environment and be able to explain its impact on the firm’s strategies. Chapter 3 Analyze the macro environment in terms of political, economic, social, technological and cultural forces in order to understand how these forces impact the firm and its industry.Identify and understand industry trends and competitive positions that affect a firm’s ability to gain and sustain competitive advantage. Learn to use Porter’s five forces model to examine the industry environment. Chapter 4 Analyze the internal environment of the firm and be able to identify internal systems, resources and capabilities that add value to the business. Discuss the key determinants of a firm’s competitive advantage and strategies for building sustainable competitive advantage. Describe the role of innovation, technology and entrepreneurship in attaining. Chapter 5 Discuss the key determinants of a firm’s competitive advantage and strategies for building sustainable competitive advantage. Define corporate strategy and discuss its importance to a diversified firm Chapter 7 Describe the role of innovation, technology and entrepreneurship in attaining and sustaining competitive advantage in a dynamic market. Define corporate strategy and discuss its importance to a diversified firm. Analyze diversification and globalization strategies. Chapter 8 Compare/contrast the ethical implications of a firm’s strategic choices and the impact of these choices on various stakeholder groups. Discuss current trends that affect a firms ability to gain and sustain competitive advantage. Differentiate successful strategies from unsuccessful ones. Chapter 10 Compare/contrast the ethical implications of a firm’s strategic choices and the impact of these choices on various stakeholder groups. Reference Ethics Resource Center. National Surveys. 16th July 2013. < http://www.ethics.org> Wintour, Jo. Growing Trends of Mobile Phone Industry. 16th July 2013 Ketchen Dave and Jeremy Short. Mastering Strategic Management. Online. Read More