Strategic Management: Notes, Questions

Strategic Management / business strategy related models and theories, cases studies, assignment questions.

There are several strategic management tools and techniques that can be used to evaluate the current strategy of an organisation, based on their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

In order to understand how the strategy is working, one may take a look at some ‘performance’ data such as trends in sales, profits, market share etc. One can also take a look at how the organisation is trying to compete (it could be through differentiation/ cost/ focus). One can evaluate how the strategic direction of the organisation (Ansoff Matrix) relates to factors such as the company’s growth, innovation, or international expansion.

Looking at the key trend data on how the organisation has been performing can be a good starting point to evaluate the strategy. The existing strategy can be re-evaluated by understanding how the organisation is trying to compete and gain its competitive advantage.

Based on the SWOT of the company, one can evaluate if the existing strategy is suitable, acceptable, and feasible (SAF), and how the strategy could be developed or augmented/

While evaluating the strategy, one must take into account factors such as recent changes to government policies and its likely to impact on their strategy. How will Covid-19, slow economy and events such as Brexit will impact the organisation.

Academic Questions on Strategic Management

Management / academic questions, assignment questions, projects, and case studies on Strategic Management/business strategy.

Question: Prepare a Strategic growth plan report for an existing small/ medium sized business.

Select a suitable small or medium sized business (not a LARGE COMPANY). Ideally the company should be independently owned and employing between 10 to 50 people (250 is the maximum within the definition of an SME) & seeking to grow. This can be a company that you have some contact with or knowledge of; alternatively, you can select an existing organisation that you are able to gather secondary data on to complete the growth plan.

Report Structure

The strategic growth plan report is divided into four sections:

Section 1 of the report requires you to produce a summary of the strategic position of the organisation:

Which market or sector is the business located in? What changes are happening in the sector and how is or might the company position itself to take advantage of these changes? Is the business growing? Highlight the most important strengths/ weaknesses of the company. What significant challenges is the company facing now and in the foreseeable future. You will need to carry out research on your chosen SME – Not simply basing this on their website.

Section 2 of the report requires you to complete a critical analysis of the industry or sector/ market & competitors.

You should refer to industry data & market reports – It is important to demonstrate a proper understanding of the sector/ industry that the organisation is located within. What is the size, value and growth of the industry? What are the emerging trends? Technologies and innovations? Emerging markets? Environmental or legal changes? Undertake an analysis of the organisations three key competitors (in table form). From all this analysis identify and discuss the main opportunities and threats facing the organisation? For this section use PESTLE, Five Force and SWOT analysis frameworks. The tables or diagrams for these can be shown in your appendices. The analysis/ discussion of these analytical frameworks should be in the main body of the report.

Section 3 of the report requires you to make strategic recommendations for the future growth of the business. At the start of this section briefly state the generic basis the organisation is currently competing on eg: focused differentiation. This section Must be divided into three stages:

Stage one: Your strategic recommendations based on the Ansoff growth matrix for the organisation over the next 12-month period. You should provide a strategic rationale for your recommendations based on your analysis in sections 1 & 2 of the report. For example, the initial 12-month period may involve Market Penetration strategies (where the business focuses on selling existing products into existing markets) This is usually achieved through a combination of different marketing activities e.g. developing social media strategies, introducing loyalty schemes, developing competitive pricing strategies to increase usage. Engaging in marketing/ promotional campaigns or putting more resources into personal selling.

Stage two: Your strategic recommendations based on the Ansoff growth matrix for the 2-3-year period e.g. Market development and or innovation/ product development strategies.

Stage three: Your strategic recommendations based on the Ansoff growth matrix for the 3-5-year period e.g. Market development/ product development/ diversification strategies.

The growth strategies for each stage should examine and discuss the detail of each stage – what will it involve? You should provide a justification for your recommendations given. You should also demonstrate clear connections from one stage to the next – this should make strategic sense considering the analysis given in the previous sections of your report (Sections 1&2). Capitalising on what the organisation is good at, responding to market changes, looking to take advantage of new opportunities, overcoming looming threats and developing new innovative services or products.

Section 4 of the report should detail the different issues that will be involved in managing the growth, eg: The types of sources of funds that will be used to finance the growth. What structural changes need to happen eg: new overseas offices? / new product or service development? New staff/ skills, systems, technology to enable innovation?

Write the report based on the assumption that the organisation is actively seeking substantial growth over the next 1-5-year period. This may or may not be a realistic aspiration of the actual owner(s)/ managers of the organisation, but you are to assume that the long-term goal is to achieve high levels of growth.

Question: Taking the role of a business consultant for a company of your choice that originates from a developing market (list of markets supplied), conduct a strategic analysis and produce a 3000-word report for the company’s executive board, covering:
– An assessment of the major external factors affecting the company in its home country and their impact on its strategic decision-making, utilising macro and micro-environmental analytical tools.
– An evaluation of the organisation’s threshold and distinctive resources by utilizing the VIRO analytical tool.
– Recommendations regarding appropriate considerations for international expansion by merger/acquisition, focusing on the specific synergies and advantages that might be targeted by such a strategy. Your recommendations should be linked to the preceding analysis of external factors and internal resources.
1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the global environmental influences on the operation of internationalising enterprises.
2. Explain the frameworks and models used in international strategy analysis.
3. Systematically analyse strategic issues in a specific context.
4. Synthesise complex inputs, using them to apply strategic models and theories to case study situations.
Demonstrate criticality by selectively discussing macro & micro factors of critical importance to strategic thinking and identifying them as opportunities or threats.

Question: Apply models, theories and concepts to assist with the understanding and interpretation strategic directions available to an organization.
Apply appropriate concepts, models, theories like Bowman’s strategic clock, Porter’s generic strategy, Hybrid strategy, horizontal/vertical integration which will help an selected organization to understand and interpret strategic direction available to them.
Create a Business Plan for the selected organization. Create new vision and mission statement for the selected organization. Create a strategic Direction. New strategy to be implemented by selected organization. Create a strategic plan. Implementation of plan
Monitor and evaluate the strategic plan

Q. Assessment Objectives
1. Research and analyse the organisational environment factors to assist in diagnosing complex organisational issues and formulate evidence-based
recommendations.
2. Utilise analysis and decision-making tools of strategic management to support the activities of strategy evaluation, formulation, and implementation
in a variety of organisational contexts

You are assuming the role of a newly appointed CEO for the company’s operations in India.
The board understand this is your first CEO position and have placed you on probation for the first eight weeks of your appointment. In that time, they want you to demonstrate your skills in the area of evidence-based analysis and insight.
They have called you to a meeting on your first day and are assigning you a task. If you meet the task set, they will convert your appointment from probationary to permanent.

The task
They have asked you to undertake a thorough and extensive market analysis of the industry and sector the organisation currently operate within. As
a result of the investigation and analysis, the executive board want a report on the organisation’s opportunities and threats over the next 3 – 5 years.
During the meeting, the executive board has shared with you their intent to pursue aggressive non-acquisitional growth in the coming years, with the aspirations to become the leading player for the industry, not just the sector

They accept that to achieve the organisation’s growth aspirations, the organisation will need to enter new and progressive sectors. As part of your
analysis, the executive board wants you to evaluate the industry’s various sectors and select one sector currently experiencing (or predicted to
experience) exponential growth. They want this sector included in your analysis and report.
The executive board has provided you with a tight deadline for this work volume – only a few weeks.

Question. Assess the strategic choices and actions taken by an organisation using various strategic models and processes to determine where your organisation wants to be and how it will get there. You will be evaluating the viability, applicability and appropriateness of your organisations chosen strategy by assessing how well the strategy achieves the organisations objectives. Recommendations should be made throughout then summarised at the end!

Strategic options: Development and evaluation of strategic options, appropriateness and use of relevant strategic theory and models, tools & techniques to achieve this.

Strategy recommendation: Consistency with strategic analysis (assignment 1) and strategic options developed. Clear rationale of strategic choices and recommendations.

You must include a thorough analysis, discussion and application of the following models. Ensure that you briefly introduce the model itself, you should also acknowledge any problems the model may have.

You must incorporate evidence within the below models (Porter’s generic strategies, Bowman’s strategic clock, Ansoff matrix , VRIN/VRIO analysis, Porter’s five forces, Porter’s value chain) to support your analysis and evaluation of your chosen organisations current strategic approach. Provide a detailed evaluation on how your organisations current strategy is working. The purpose of this analysis is to decide whether your company is using the most appropriate strategy. Be critical, perhaps suggest an alternative approach!

You may wish to assess your organisations strategy in terms of: any future plans that they have which can include Brexit plans/impact, impact of Covid-19, Potential global recession, changes in consumer behaviour and any other relevant potential environmental factors that may impact your chosen organisation. the impact on its survival, maintaining supply chain, growth, innovation, internationalisation, expansion i.e. mergers, strategic alliances, acquisitions, take-overs, related and unrelated diversification. The models will be used to support your arguments when assessing the organisations current strategy.

Choose ONE strategy that your organisation could implement/or is considering implementing – using the SAF criteria (Suitability, Acceptability, Feasibility) justify this ONE strategy in terms of its appropriateness and ability to achieve the organisations objectives. Apply every element of the SAF criteria to ONE chosen strategy for your organisation (Choose one strategy for your organisation, it must be supported by relevant market research and consistent with your strategic models analysis).

Recommendations: What your chosen organisation needs to do based on the research that you have done on your organisation – Are they using the most appropriate strategy? If not then what would you recommend? You need to support your recommendation using the information and research carried out during the module delivery.

Q. Godrej & Boyce has announced plans to set up a “Smart Factory” at Khalapur, a small town surrounded by villages at Raigad district about 60 kms from Mumbai? Perform a Stakeholder analysis comprising of 3 steps & outline all the processes that you shall follow as a consultant to Godrej to satisfy the needs of all stakeholders.

Q. Pertamina is an Indonesian Oil & Gas corporation that wishes to enter India & is competing against Reliance Industries Limited.

a. As a consultant you are required to recommend whether backward integration or forward integration is a superior strategy to compete against RIL in India? Which one of the alternatives would you choose to your client & why? Justify with reasons.

b. In your opinion, in case Petramina wishes to diversify into unrelated diversification, which sector in India would you consider as attractive for the company to diversify? Choose only 1 sector. Specify statistics such as Growth potential of that sector, advantages of doing business in that sector, etc.

Case: M/s Swadeshi is planning to start up a new business for Indian traditional clothes. The product will be sold online and there will be few retail outlets in major metro cities. The founder Mr. Ashish is of the opinion to do a detail and through market scanning before entering into the market.

Mr. Ashish appoints you as a consultant for M/s Swadeshi that deals in manufacturing and selling clothes online and offline stores. The company plans to give competition to brands like Manyavar and Mohey. The company plans to
provide quality product at lower price. The company plans to save lot of cost because of online selling. The website URL is www.swadeshi.com. The Company differentiates itself by selling only Indian Traditional clothes for all age groups.

Q. As a consultant you have been asked to prepare a STEEP analysis report and present the findings to the top management.

Q. Analyze the business www.swadeshi.com from Porter’s approach to industry analysis perspective.

Q. Answer the below questions:
a. Prepare a SWOT Analysis for www.swadeshi.com.
b. Explain any two types of forecasting techniques that company should use for
analyzing future demand. Explain the same with reason.

Requirements: Strategy and Sustainability in the Global Economy

Taking the role of a business consultant for a company of your choice that originates from a developing market (list of markets supplied), conduct a strategic analysis and produce a 3000-word report for the company’s executive board, covering: – An assessment of the major external factors affecting the company in its home country and their impact on its strategic decision-making, utilising macro-and micro-environmental analytical tools.

An evaluation of the organisation’s threshold and distinctive resources by utilizing the VIRO analytical tool. – Recommendations regarding appropriate considerations for international expansion by merger/acquisition, focusing on the specific synergies and advantages that might be targeted by such a strategy. Your recommendations should be linked to the preceding analysis of external factors and internal resources.

1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the global environmental influences on the operation of internationalizing enterprises.
2. Explain the frameworks and models used in international strategy analysis.
3. Systematically analyse strategic issues in a specific context.
4. Synthesize complex inputs, using them to apply strategic models and theories to case study situations.

Systematic, critical and well informed by a suitable use of the VRIO tool & evidence on the organisation and its competitors to justify the identification of threshold and distinctive resources.

Question:
a) Explain, through appropriate illustrations, the following terms used in business policy: i) Mission ii) Purpose iii) Objectives iv) Goals

b)Explain , through illustrations , the following types of planning systems in the context of business policy: i) Operational ii) MBO iii) Project iv) Contingency v) Short range vi) Long range vii) corporate ix) Strategic

Question 2
a) Consider an organisation of your choice . Attempt to define its business along the dimensions of customer groups, customer functions, and alternative technologies. What insights does such a definition offer to you for strategic management of your chosen organization?
b) A business man wonders how something repugnant as politics and power games could be used to implement strategies . How will you convince him that this is possible

Question 3
a) Critically comment on the use of corporate portfolio analysis for examining the objective factors involved in exercising a strategic choice.
b) How is top down approach different from bottom up approach for resource allocation?
c) What are major concerns of project feasibility report?

Question 4
a) How can strategists undertake :
i) definition of corporate culture
ii) assessment of the impact of culture on corporate life ? and
iii) creation of a strategy supportive culture
b) How can a strategic behaviour be termed as ‘ad-hoc’?
c) Differentiate between
i) mission and purpose
ii) objectives , goals and targets
iii) strategy, policy and tactics