Strategic Analysis Essays (Examples)

Strategic Analysis of Virgin Australia Airlines:

Following its merger with Pacific Blue, Virgin Australia that was previously known as V Australia rebranded to Virgin Australia Airlines. In addition to being the newest international airline owned by ichard Branson, Virgin Australia is headquartered in Sydney Airport. The airline company has developed an airline experience that is based on a simple idea in which flying is considered to something great. Virgin Australia Airline has brought back style into travel through its attentive in-flight service, unique mood lighting, gourmet meals, top class in-flight entertainment, boutique bars, and generous legroom ("Virgin Australia Flights," n.d.). The merger with other airlines firms has enabled Virgin Australia to fly into several regions like Australia, the Pacific Islands, Thailand, New Zealand, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.

Internal Analysis of the Firm:

Virgin Australia Airlines holds a strong market position in the region's airline industry because of its internal…

Strategic Analysis of Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola

This report provides information for Coca-Cola's Board of Directors and CEO on how well the company's mission, vision and value statements are communicated in two vehicles, the Company website and 2010 annual report. This report analyzes key components of the Company's strategic planning using management concepts identified by Michael Porter. Between the website and annual report, the Company's vision, values and goals are effectively articulated, while the mission statement needs improvement. This report recommends a better defined mission statement on the Company's webpage.

This report evaluates the Coca-Cola Company's published mission, vision, values and goals for the purpose of identifying areas for improvement. This analysis reviews the company's website and annual report for information on its mission and vision statements, as well as values and goals. The report also uses strategies developed by Michael Porter to gauge the effectiveness of Coca-Cola's mission, vision, values and…

Strategic Analysis -- Fire & Emergency Services in Collinsville Township

Strategic Analysis -- Fire Department

The department conducted a study on the current and forecast performance of the fire and emergency services community response and coverage. The response and coverage data indicates that the some recalibration of the provision of service is needed. In addition, the data strongly indicate the need for a substation in the new development are just outside Collinsville. Three strategic goals were identified:

Build a new fire and emergency services substation on the donated parcel.

Apply for grant funding to fill the staffing and equipment gaps until alternate funding is obtained.

Establish a program of total quality improvement in the operations of the fire and emergency services departments.

The effectiveness of these strategic changes to the provision of fire and emergency services in and around the township of Collinsville will be evaluated on a defined schedule.…

Instead he had run into a trap, and had faced a triple defeat -- in Kharkov, in the Crimea, and in Leningrad -- that allowed the Germans to attack again, this time across the great plains of southern Russia" (115).

Following the defeat of the Germans at the hands of the Russians, though, the Soviet army planned its counterattack but the same enormous land mass that adversely affected Hitler's ability to successfully prosecute a long war against Soviet Russia also affected the Russians' efforts to invade Germany because of the enormous land mass involved in the process. As Beevor emphasizes, "Even as the German army was clearly on the run, the Soviets feared it. German soldiers remained formidable to the end, and as the Ardennes offensive had shown, they were quite capable of pulling surprises" (114).

Indeed, there was legitimate cause for concern on the part of the Russians because…

Strategic Analysis of Southwest Airlines

The mission, vision, values, and goals of Southwest Airlines, as provided on the company's Website and in its Annual eport, are analyzed in this paper with regard to inclusion of stakeholder interests and goodness of fit to classic management strategies. In particular, the paper makes this assessment against the background of Michael Porter's comments in an interview for Fast Company, in which his comments hint preference for an approach not unlike Blue Ocean Strategy. The book, Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant, was not published until four years after this interview. As usual, Porter was ahead of this times..

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the mission, values, and goals of Southwest Airlines. The analysis includes identifying which values and goals pertain particularly to certain stakeholder groups, and to make recommendations about any improvements…

Strategic Analysis of Dell

Strategic management is a combination of continual dynamic processes. These include: strategic alternatives and recommended strategies, the implementation of strategies, and continuous ongoing evaluation and control. Each phase must include: environmental analysis, implementing an organizational course of action, creating organizational strategies, applying those strategies, and evaluating and modifying them as needed. The construction of a strategic analysis includes factors which are internal and external to the company, are weighted and scored. Strategic management is a critical tool to insure the organization's continued existence. (Wheelen & Hunger, 2007) This is a strategic analysis of Dell

Strategic Analysis of Dell

Dell Company History:

Michael Dell founded the company in Austin, Texas in 1984 with an innovative sales plan. Dell implemented direct sales to customers, taking orders and delivering custom computing solutions to individuals and companies with no brick and mortar stores. 5.4 million customers interact with Dell daily…

Strategic Case Study

Woolworths Supermarkets

Strategic analysis

External analysis

Turbulence model

Porters' five forces

6O/Ts evident

Competitive strengths

Competitive position in the market

Weakness evident

Mission statement

Vision

Strategic objectives

Ethics matrix

Stakeholder theory analysis

Key broad business-level and international strategies

Strategic implementation: General perspective

Key strategic implementation issues

Strategic evaluation

Current and future prospects and recommendations

Woolworths Supermarkets

Woolworths Supermarkets is one of the largest supermarkets in Australia. The Woolworths Supermarkets has been in service for the last decade and has done a lot of production and growth in the country. Woolworths Supermarkets is concerned with manufacture and trading of supermarket and grocery products throughout the country and within the nearby countries. The Woolworths Supermarkets has benefited from the advanced need and demand from clients who are mostly of the Australian origin. The social structures and functionalities of the supermarket are found within the notion of benefiting the society…

Strategic Analysis

The situation facing Matt is one that often faces entrepreneurs as they contemplate new ventures. It seems as if Matt has decided that creating a regional (and then national) running magazine is a good idea, and now he has to sell his wife on the concept.

The concept is a simple one; provide a relatively inexpensive alternative marketing plan to race event promotors. The magazine's customers are the event promotors, as well as race sponsors and suppliers. The magazine's market are runners interested in running races; initially in specific regions and later across the country.

The company's core competency is that it is filling a need that is currently unfilled. The drawback is that the need can also be filled quite easily by other firms; but it can only be effectively filled by only one company. This competency gives the company a leg up in the first market,…

Strategic Analysis

Introduction to Company ('ug Extinguishers')

Vision

Guiding Principles, Values, and Ethics

Competitive Advantage

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Individual Strategic Plan

Legal and Regulatory

Global

Economic

Technological

Innovation

Social

Environmental

Leadership

Resources

Structure

Culture

alanced scorecard

Shareholder value perspective

Customer value perspective

Learning and growth perspective

Communication Plan

Objectives/Targets

Control Measures

Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory issues with reference to corporate leadership

Introduction to Company ('ug Extinguishers')

'ug Extinguishers' is an international extermination company that produces an array of products that cater to killing pests, bugs and all kinds of insects The company has its headquarters in USA and its multi-story stores cum service centers all over the country as well as in Eastern Europe and some parts of Asia. The company has a market share of about 9% in this category and its revenues have been continually rising since its launch in 2009. In only a period of less…

This is not to say that collusion is taking place in this process, of course, but it is to say that it is much easier for companies such as Network Design with substantive bidding experience and the credentials to match to secure government contracts than it is for an up-and-comer with little or no relevant experience in either area. The use of the Capability Maturity Model is clearly congruent with federal government policies for software development and design, a point that has not been lost on the corporate leaders at Network Design.

Potential misalignments. Unexpected innovations have been known to introduce misalignments between existing business practices and processes, with typewriters, adding machines and buggy whips representing just some of the fading remnants of the past. It is possible that the company's concentration of keeping their resources and expertise so finely tuned to the federal government's existing needs that they may…

Strategic Analysis: The Coca-Cola Company

This paper examines the Coca Cola Company, and whether its mission, vision, and values statements reflect the company's actual approach to business. While the paper concludes that, taken individually, the mission, vision, and values statements are insufficient to apprise stakeholders of Coca Cola's future goals; taken together they form a strong picture of where Coca Cola is and where it wants to be in the future. Moreover, Coca Cola's overall strategy, that of sustainable, long-term growth, can be seen in its mission, vision, and values statements.

Coca Cola is a huge international business, which sells soft drinks and other products in countries around the world. However, as large as Coca Cola is, it has made its reputation not simply because of its namesake soft drink, but also because the company has managed to capture a feeling. Drinking a coke is not simply an act of…

This shift in organizational structure also required the entire corporation to shift from centralized to decentralized decision making. The approaches GE took to ensure the shift in structure and decision making would work included putting output and behavioral controls into place for each business unit. The output and behavioral controls were specifically designed to ensure each independently operating business unit shared accountability for corporate results yet also had the accountability to define their own unique business plans and strategies. In using output controls and behavioral controls, GE was able to successfully transition to a decentralized organizational structure.

Often when organizations choose to deploy a decentralized structure, there is an uneven, politically unbalanced and highly competitive approach each business unit takes to getting resources. It is assured that there is never a perfect, utilitarian-based approach to the distribution of resources throughout any decentralized organization. Even GE with its excellent management and…

BEST BUY CO. INC. STATEGIC ANALYSIS

Strategic Analysis of Best Buy

Current situation

A- Current performance

B- Strategic posture

Corporate Governance

A- Board of directors

B- Top management

External Environment: Opportunities and threats

A- Natural physical environment

B- Societal Environment

C- Task Environment

D- Summary of external environment

Internal Environment: Strengths and Weakness

A- Corporate Structure

B- Corporate Culture

C- Corporate resources

D- Summary of internal environment

Analysis of Strategic Factors (SWOT)

A- Situational Analysis

Strategic Alternatives and ecommended Strategy

A- Strategic Alternatives

ecommended Strategy

Implementation

Evaluations and control

Part II

Functional and Business strategies of Best Buy

Operations and Logistics

Operations

Current operational objectives, strategies and objectives

Consistency in corporation's mission, objectives, strategies, and policies 13

Operational capabilities 14

Transportation 15

Services and Subcontracting Manufacturer 15

Logistics and shipment operations 15

Types of shipments and integration of customers and shipments

isks 16

Machines and Human Mix 16

Cost Leadership…

Brief History and Background
Sam Walton founded Wal-Mart and quickly grew the company by offering goods at the lowest prices. The stores were originally smaller than the stores of today, and focused in rural areas of the South that were otherwise underserved by retail stores. The current Wal-Mart model emerged by the 1980s as a large format store selling a wide range of consumer goods. The company would later extend its product lines with groceries, pharmaceuticals and online retailing. Wal-Mart has also successfully expanded internationally, into Mexico, China, Canada and other large markets around the world. Today, Wal-Mart is the world’s largest retailer, and one of the world’s largest companies. Its fiscal year revenues for 2016 were $485.9 billion, with operating cash flows of $31.5 billion, and 2.3 million employees (Wal-Mart 2016 Annual Report).
Ethics System
Wal-Mart’s ethics system revolves around its core competencies, which lie in the area of…

strategic analysis of the Southwest Airlines. By examining the SWOT analysis of the Southwest Airline it is concluded that the best strategy for the company is the low cost leadership strategy because the competitive advantage that Southwest Airlines enjoys is its low operating cost. The company has to plan its future tactics keeping in mind the cost-cutting phenomenon; this will help the company to sustain its position. The recommendation for the company is to continue the provision of service at low price and improve employee management relationship for a better and coordinated implementation of the strategies.

Southwest Airlines is the largest airline company with the lowest cost present in the United States. It was established in 1967 and since then it has continued its strategy of cost minimizing efficiently. In this paper, the focus is on the specific strategy of the Southwest Airlines. From the Porter generic strategies, Southwest Airlines…

strategic analysis presents a case for the implementation of a job rotation program within XYZ Incorporated. Three alternatives to the job rotation program are presented and then analysed. Finally, specific details of the implementation of the job rotation program are discussed.

ecent concerns have been voiced, regarding the lack of staff dedication, by management at XYZ Incorporated. Specifically, there has been a high rate of turnover, high absenteeism, and consistent reports of low employee morale and job satisfaction. The specific merits of a job rotation program to increase staff dedication have been discussed elsewhere. Here, I will present three alternatives to the job rotation program, and outline the disadvantages of each alternative.

Alternatives to the job rotation system

Firstly, a job-sharing program could be implemented instead of a job rotation program. Specifically, in a job-sharing program, an employee would simultaneously take on the duties of two or more jobs. In…

Strategic Analysis of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Division

This study provides the strategic analysis of Johnson & Johnson's pharmaceutical division to assist the company developing an effective strategy to achieve the competitive market advantages. The paper uses the SWOT analysis, PEST analysis and Porter's five forces for the strategic analysis. The outcomes of the analysis reveal that Johnson & Johnson is one of the top players in the pharmaceutical industry making the company enjoying superior market advantages in the United States and outside the United States. However, the company is still facing stiff competitions with other key players in the industry. Moreover, the company has not been able to reduce its cost of operations. The study recommends that Johnson & Johnson should launch its products in China to enjoy huge Chinese markets. Moreover, the company should take advantage of Chinese low stringent laws and regulations to produce drugs for Indian…

Strategic Analysis of Qantas Group

Qantas Group Overview

Key Problems and Strategic Issues

Diagnosis: Analysis and Evaluation

Porter 5 Analysis

Power of Suppliers: Low-to-Medium

Industry ivalry: High

Power of Buyer: Medium

Barrier of Entry: High

Availability of Substitutes: Low

The study carries out the strategic analysis of Qantas Group to identify the problems that the company is facing in the contemporary business environments and provide the recommendations that will assist Qantas overcoming its problems and record high profitability. The Porter 5 analysis reveals Qantas is facing the intense competitions at domestic and international routes leading to a decline in the profit margins. Moreover, Qantas has not been able to overcome the problems associated with the high costs of operations from the constant increase in the fuel costs. The paper suggests that Qantas should consider both vertical and horizontal mergers to enjoy economies of scales, which will assist in enjoying a…

Strategic Analysis of Comcast / Comcast Corporation's Strategy

Key Strategies Implemented by Comcast

Viewpoint on Strategic Direction of Comcast

CS of Comcast

ecommendations for Future

As one of the country's biggest internet, video and telephone service providers, Comcast provides its services both to business and individual customers, one of its brands, Xfinity. It has four areas of diversification in terms of business, two being the top ones and these are the NBC Universal and the Comcast Cable. Through its NBC Universal arm, it serves a wide variety of groups, such as television audiences through its NBC and Telemundo networks; movie makers through television production; movie goers through Universal Pictures; and those looking for recreation and relaxation through its Universal Parks and esorts. It has also ventured into the area of sports management through its Comcast-Spectator. The venture firm, Comcast Ventures, looks for innovative businesses in which to invest by coming…

Strategic Analysis

The 501st Combat Support Wing

The 501st Combat Support Wing is a U.S. Air Force unit based in AF Alcon Bury in England (501stCSW, n.d). The organization has its headquarters at the 3rd Air Force, amstein Germany. It served a community of more than 14,000 people. As a wing, it was able to provide combat support to facilitate communication, intelligent as well as global strike operations. The wing can trace its history to the World War II bombardment group, which operated and served the Pacific and was mostly used to bomb Japan's mainland. Between 1944- 1945, the tactical missile unit that carried the 501st served in Europe during the cold war. The combats objective was to ensure that the Norway and the UK based airbases were resourced, trained, and equipped. It was also supposed to ensure that it is sustained, and served well so that they could easily…

Strategic and Financial Analysis of Office Depot

Company Overview

Office Depot Strategic Analysis

Porter 5 Analysis

Office Depot Strategies

Office Depot Profitability

Annotated Bibliography

In a contemporary business environment, a strategic planning is one of the effective tools that an organization employs to achieve competitive market advantages. This paper carries out a strategic analysis of Office Depot, and identifies Office Depot as one of the Fortune 500. While Office Depot has recorded a consistent increase in total revenues, however, the company has recorded a net income loss in the last three years. The findings of the SWOT analysis and Porter 5 analysis reveal that Office Depot lacks distinct competencies to differentiate itself in the market. Typically, product differentiation, cost leaderships, and resources capabilities are the effective tools to achieve strategic market advantages. Although, Office Depot has resources, however, the company lacks effective strategic planning to achieve competitive market advantages. The…

Strategic and Financial Analysis: Case of Apple

Apple Inc. is a U.S. multinational company specializing in designing and selling different types of electronic products that include computer software, personal computers, and range of hand-held electronic gadgets. Over the years, Apple has grown to be an iconic designer of consumer electronic products. Established by Steve Jobs in 1976, however, Apple's business nearly collapsed in1980s because of the stiff competitions from other companies. In 1990s, Apple was forced to design an innovative personal computer and entered the fragmented DM (digital music) industry using a diverse set of a distribution channel. (Apple, 2014).

In the last decades, Apple has recorded an unparallel success in digital music players, and iTunes software. Apple uses a sophisticated distribution strategy to achieve competitive market advantages in the electronic industry. resently, Apple sells its products globally through the retail stores, and online stores, which assist the company to…

This is evident in reports such as the one by othman (2009), indicating that airlines were struggling in the economic downturn. A handful of exceptions to the struggle were mentioned, of which easyJet was one.

Pricing Strategy

EasyJet's low prices are its most powerful weapon (Stirmedia, 2005). Its market position is therefore significantly strong because of this. The company's focus on efficiency in terms of strategy, pricing and routes have made it one of the leaders in its market. Indeed, the growth of the airline has shown that the main consideration for customers in choosing airlines is price rather than the type of additional services they receive on board.

Political, Economic, Social and Technological Factors

Political factors that could affect easyJet's operations include employment laws. The company is paying its employers less than the market average for traditional airlines (Karivate, 2004). A risk could be created should government regulations change…

Case Synopsis

Al Sadeem Garden Landscape is a company that provides landscaping, gardening and maintenance services to a variety of clients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This case study provides a strategic analysis of the company, with specific attention to the operational history of the company, its internal and external environments, as well as successful strategies. The case study also identifies the challenges facing the company and provides recommendations for overcoming the challenges. The case study was compiled based on secondary data.

2. Introduction

Al Sadeem was established in 2014 with the aim of providing landscaping, gardening and maintenance services to small, medium-sized and large organizations in the UAE. Though the company has experienced fairly impressive growth in the two years it has been in existence, it faces significant challenges relating to marketing and financing. Based on a careful analysis of the company's internal and external environments, this case…

As they are showing the total impact that the activities of business operations are having on its profitability.

When you look at the two different forms of analysis side by side, it is clear that they are playing an interconnected role. Where, business analysis and planning will tell you the various external challenges facing an organization. While financial analysis and planning, will tell you the effect of these issues are having on the balance sheet. This helps Hyrbitech to understand the overall scope of the problems they are facing and how they could adapt to them. As a result, the combination of the two different forms of analysis would identify specific factors that are facing the business and how it is impacting their overall bottom line. This would help Hybritech to seek out alliances and partnerships that could improve collaboration, as well as provide the company with the additional funding…

Business -- Apple Computers Strategic Analysis 2005

Strengths and Opportunities

In 2005, Apple Computers experienced significant sales increases attributable to the earlier rollout of the iPod (obbins & Judge, 2009). The positive publicity and brand perception associated with that project also spilled over to its entire line of Macintosh computers, further bolstering sales revenue and corporate profits that year. The sales volume of virtually all Apple products increased after the introduction of the iPod, hitting $320 million in June of 2005 (obbins & Judge, 2009). In general, every successful Apple product has benefited brand recognition and perception and invigorated the sales of other product lines, even those not directly related to it. By the end of 2005, Apple had sold approximately 22 million iPod units and more than half a billion individual song downloads through its music store, iTunes (George & Jones, 2008).

Weaknesses

Generally, there is also a potential…

Barnes and Noble Strategic Analysis

In evaluating a business strategic positioning, the research approach relates towards Barnes & Nobles' seven main areas of focus relating towards the company's annual report, investor relations summary notices, and corporate governance. By reviewing a variety of available public company's governance, proper research can start to measure strategic approaches effectively. In doing so, the organizational vision, mission, and value statements are from the Barnes & Noble Governance initiative that influences all other strategies, either internally or in the external environment.

The intention behind every organization is to have a successful manifestation of plans and objectives that will elicit equitable control methods and strategies in the company. Barnes & Noble is a multifaceted company that incorporate a number of strategies and planned options to carry out its business entities in the global market. Marketing options involved are rudimentary to the tastes and preferences of the social…

Lululemon Five I's Strategic Analysis

Issue Identification

Several stakeholders include employees and consumers have accused Lululemon of causing damage sales because the company does not know the strategy to handle the public relations. The situation further affected the company sales because of the recent public statement of Chip Wilson who went on Bloomberg TV blaming the "women bodies" for a decline in sales. (Bhasin, 2013 p 1). Undoubtedly, Wilson went to the TV to offer the best explanation that causes a down in the sales, however, his explanation spark a wave of outrage making him resign his position in December. This issue directly affects the customers because they are affected by the company negative public relations. (CBS, 2013).

Lululemon is company that makes technical athletic cloth for working, yoga, and workout. However, the company has recorded a decline in sales in the last years, and of the major factors affect…

arity: Health Care EIT is one of many luxury and acute care investment properties on the market.

Imatability: Given the lack of available credit for starting new property ventures and construction, the company's current facilities do give it an advantage. Financial barriers to industry entry are higher than they were in the past. This can act as a barrier to 'imatiblity' of its business model.

Organization: Health Care EIT has a fairly concentrated organizational structure. While this can be an advantage in terms of assuring consistency of service, it can also result in narrowness of vision, such as (perhaps) a tendency to focus too much on high-end offerings, when seniors may have less financial leverage than in the past.

Sources, rarity, and imatability of cost advantages

Economies of scale may be possible, given the size of Healthcare EIT. Unlike some of its competitors, the company was an early, first mover…

For any strategic planning activity to be effective there must be the ability to quickly define process-level changes to increase competitive advantage. Mintzberg's critique of the strategic planning process is illustrated in the shortcomings of the Ashoff Matrix in this regard.

Lack of strategic prioritization of projects within the context of the Ansoff Matrix - the Ansoff Matrix does not provide for strategic criteria to be applied to specific projects. The portfolio management approach to strategic planning specifically has been developed to respond to the shortcomings of the Ansoff Matrix and other analytical constructs like it. Portfolio management is in fact the basis for Boston Consulting Groups' Growth/Share Matrix, or as it is commonly referred to, the BCG Matrix.

Lack of quantification of cash generation and modeling of future financial performance - the shortcomings of the Ansoff Matrix as a strategic tool relative to the needs of strategists, specifically at…

Sony

Problem Identification

Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer and producer of game, electronics and entertainment products. For several decades, the company has dominated the market of the electronic sector. However, in the last few years, Sony has recorded a net loss for four consecutive years. In 2010, the company recorded a net loss of 40.8 billion Japanese Yen equivalent of U.S.$347 Million. In 2011, the company also recorded a net loss of 259.5 billion Japanese Yen, which equivalent to $2.2 Billion. In 2012, the company recorded $3.8 billion net loss. In 2014, Sony secures a net loss of equivalent of $1.1 billion. (Sony Corporation, 2014). Sony has been facing both internal and external challenges. Typically, the company has faced a stiff competition from other online game companies. Moreover, the appreciation of Japanese Yen over other major currencies adversely affects the ability of consumer to purchase Sony product from outside…

Strategic Plan, Part II, SWOT Analysis

The research will provide an insight about the internal and external environment of the business. The major elements of external business environment including the political, economic, social, technological, environmental are addressed below. The internal environment of an organization is also relevant and requires consideration. Therefore strategy, resources, organizational structure, organizational culture, leadership, and processes of internal environment are also discussed. The SWOT analysis along with its advantages and disadvantages are also a part of the study.

Internal and external environmental analysis for your proposed business:

Legal and regulatory:

The legal and regulatory issues associated with the external environment of the business effect a business to the core of its existence. The development in certain laws and regulations effecting the company operations are considered relevant and to some extant beyond the control and influence of the organization (Trkman, 2010).

Global:

The globalization has caused various…

"Our growth strategy is to increase the number of customers benefiting from repeatable supply chain solutions, particularly in the healthcare, high tech and retail sectors, and to increase the amount of small package transportation from these customers. We intend to leverage our small package and freight customers through cross-selling the full complement of UPS services" (UPS 2008 Annual eport).

Focus on environmentally friendly operations -- UPS has already declared a supporter of environmentally friendly operations and in order to prove this standpoint they have already purchased 200 hybrid electric and 300 compressed natural gas vehicles. The move not only increased their fleet to the largest private fleet in the industry, but also made a strong statement. UPS has also invested in the purchase of hydraulic hybrid automobiles, a new technology that promises to reduce emissions and fuel consumption (UPS 2008 Annual eport).

3.2. Available Strategic Courses of Action

Given the…

Strategic eview

Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis formed Skype in 2003. The two produced VoIP software based on P2P architecture that revolutionized the field of communication. The software provided its users with high quality and free voice calls, as firewalls did not affect this software. The company rapidly grew due to the free quality voice calls reaching its critical user mass in a short time. The company later started premium Skype products to corporate users, which increased the revenue generated. VoIP technology used by Skype means that the company relies on the internet or IP-based networks to transmit the signal. The information transferred through the software requires protection from hackers and for privacy thus encrypted.

Microsoft acquired the company in 2011 for a record 8.5 billion U.S. dollars. This is considers one of Microsoft's most expensive acquisitions as the company grows to become the number one software company in the…

Strategic Impact on Globalization

Globalization is a process that brought in changes in all walks of human existence the world over. The liberalization has created a global community and brought in the IT revolution and new forms of services like outsourcing. The changes in the world outlook and technology changes have changed the way business and international trade is done and has thus revolutionized the strategies and corporate behavior. It has ushered in new laws and environment concerns. The global community now is a different being and individual countries have now merged -- for example the European Union and many countries have now been fragmented -- as the former USS. These have had a lot of impact in the process of globalization and some international events have been the results of globalization. Has any strategy impacted globalization? And what strategies have come to be created after the globalization and how…

argaining power of suppliers

Price of aviation fuels is directly related to the cost of oil.

Regional airports have little bargaining power as they are heavily dependent on one airline.

4. argaining power of customers

Customer are price sensitive and switching to another airline is relatively simple

5. Threat of substitutes

a. UK -- none

b. Europe

c. Driving holidays

d. High- speed trains

e. No loyalty of customers (Ryanair, 2009)

. Ryanair - Value chain analysis

Cost-containment is the focus of the low cost airline and includes the following:

Cost containment realized through spending as little money possible for advertising with all marketing identified as 'in-house' marketing to customers to increase turnover;

Cost containment realized through turning the costs of food and drinks on a flight into a revenue stream through making drinks and a selection of food available at a reasonable price;

Cost containment realized through creating additional…

Strategic Management

3900 Words on Strategic Management

Why are you taking this course?

I am undertaking this course in strategic management because not only is it a field that I am greatly interested in, but it is also largely for the reason that strategic management is a course that is important and applicable in different fields and aspects. To begin with, strategic management is greatly applicable to globalization which can be deemed to be imperative for the existence of business. Any global aspect has an influence practically on all strategic decisions that are made. In the present day society, the borders of nations do not have any restrictions to the ingenuities that we have and organizations can only continue to exist and flourish if they used the different perspectives of the world. Through the knowledge and understanding of strategic management, managers are able to have clear apprehension of markets, prices,…

Strategic ecommendations

Started in 1973 as an addition, General Electric Capital (hereinafter alternatively "GE Capital" or "the company") is currently one of the largest divisions of General Electric. The company competes in the commercial lending and leasing sector, and provides a wide range of financial services for healthcare, media, communications, entertainment, consumers, real estate, and aviation. The company has more than 50,000 employees working in 55 countries. Following the Great ecession of 2008, the company revised its primary strategy of vertical expansion through a series of fairly unrelated major acquisitions to an approach that focuses on forging strategic partnerships and joint ventures to achieve its dual corporate goals of diversification and expansion as described further below, followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

eview and Analysis

Evaluation of strategy recommendations and business case for implementing recommendations

Given the company's current diversification into disparate components,…

Here we can clearly see a shift in the company's philosophy of just offering lower quality products for a significant lower price. The company is trying to develop into new markets and to succeed. There have been some set-backs of course, such as the failure in Germany, and yet the company is persistent and keeps growing into new markets. al-mart is seeking to increase the market share for present products or services in present markets through greater marketing efforts (props, 2006). The company culture is also well suited for this type of strategy. The management of al-Mart has ingrained in the employee's the core values needed to excel at increasing their market penetration. Again, their Price Rollback campaigns can readily be diffused into markets where they do not have as much of a market share as they want (props, 2006). In regards to product development, al-mart is slowly changing from…

Dillard's, Inc.

Founded in 1938, Dillard's became a publicly traded company in May 1969 when it first offered its Class Common A stock to the public (Investor FAQs, 2016). Today, Dillard's, Inc. is one of the country's leading fashion retailers with 21, 600 employees, annual sales exceeding $6.6 billion generated by 274 retail outlets and 23 clearance centers nationwide as well as a corporate Web site (Investor overview, 2016). In addition, Dillard's owns and operates CDI, a general contractor, which performs the construction and remodeling work for company retail stores (Dillard's profile, 2016). This level of success is all the more remarkable given that this company was started by William Dillard using an $8,000 loan from his father with one modest retail facility in Nashville, Arkansas (History of Dillard's, 2016). Despite its successful operations to date, though, Dillard's is faced with increasing competition as well as changing consumer preferences. To…

Dell, an American multinational computer technology company, was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell. Established on a build-to-order and direct sales business model, the company rapidly established its position in the rigorously competitive global computer technology industry to become the largest personal computer (PC) and server vendor by 2003. In addition to PCs and servers, the company is involved in the development and retailing of computer-related products such as network switches, software, data storage devices, computer peripherals, as well as consumer electronics; all in which it commands a substantial share of the global market. Despite its robust position in the industry, the company has over the years faced significant competitive pressure, with the future presenting even more aggressive rivalry. This case study provides a strategic analysis of the company. First, a SWOT analysis of the company is provided. Second, attention is paid to the organization's corporate-level and business-level strategies. Third,…

furnishes a literature review of five strategic management viewpoints, that include Porter's (1980) Generic Strategies, Porter's (1980) Five Forces, Porter's (1985) Value Chain Analysis and Bowman and Faulkner's (1997) Bowman's Strategy Clock. This paper has made use of UK's Tesco supermarket retailer for case study. The analysis of Tesco using Porter's Generic strategies revealed that Tesco's generic strategy needs to be cost leadership given that they can successfully differentiate their clothing line to be able to charge a premium. Apropos globalization, Porter extends the generic strategy construct to international situation. However, Tesco cannot be bracketed as belonging to one particular category. Porter's Five forces revealed that in spite of cost leadership strategy the company has managed to create a very high value when compared to that of its key competitors. Tesco's advantage has been its range of stores, which are within reachable distance from most of residential localities across UK.…

Based on internal and external assessment, this paper provides strategic recommendations for Spirit Airlines, Inc. Flying to more than 50 destinations in the Americas and with more than 100 aircrafts in its fleet, Spirit Airlines is one of the largest ultra-low cost airlines in the U.S. The paper is organized as follows. First, the two major issues or challenges facing the company are identified. Next, strategic options for addressing the issues are considered, clearly highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each option. Based on the evaluation, recommendations for the two most viable options are presented. Finally, a brief plan for implementing the recommended options is provided.

Major Issues and Challenges

 

Customer Satisfaction

 

Though Spirit Airlines enjoys a significant cost advantage, it grapples with poor customer satisfaction. Indeed, the airline has been ranked as the worst airline in the U.S. in terms of pleasing customers. Customer complaints against the…

1. Introduction

Whole Food Market Inc. (WFM) is one of America’s largest food products supermarket chain. The company refers to itself as “America’s healthiest grocery store” and submits that its food products are “the finest natural and organic foods available” (WFM, 2017). The foods the company stocks are largely devoid of hydrogenated fats, artificial preservatives, sweeteners, and flavors.

2. Current Strategic Position

2.1 Mission, Vision, and Values

The company’s culture is founded on eight core values. These include:
a. Sale of high quality natural and organic products
b. Satisfaction, delightment, and nourishment of customers
c. Support for team member excellence and happiness
d. Creation of wealth through profits and growth
e. Service and support for the local and global communities
f. Practice and advancement of environmental stewardship
g. Creation of ongoing win-win partnerships with suppliers
h. Promotion of the health of stakeholders through healthy eating education

2.2 Performance

Over the…

Managerial Economics

The company that I am going to write about is Apple, Inc., which designs and markets personal electronics devices, software and accessories. Apple is known for its strategic control systems, both in terms of behavior control and information control. Chapter 9 notes that there are two different approaches to informational control, the traditional approach and the contemporary approach. The traditional approach compares performance against standards while the contemporary approach requires continuous monitoring of the internal and external environments and then adjustments to strategy where needed (Chapter 9). Chenhall (2003) notes that firms often weigh the environment, the industry, the technology and the size and structure of the firm when considering which strategic control systems they want to implement. In the case of Apple, these factors have led it to an informational control system that can reasonably be classified as contemporary. The company's industry is characterized by short product…

environmental analysis helps any organization to recognize factors that impact its performance. The factors impacting an organization's performance may be internal to the organization and they can also be external. Environmental analysis is therefore critical to an overall strategic plan. Several methods of performing environmental analysis can help organizations like the Carolina Health Care System, including the PESTLE and SWOT analyses ("What is Environmental Analysis?" n.d.). These types of analyses help to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT), as well as political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental (PESTLE) factors impacting the organization. Without performing systematic environmental analyses, business and public sector administrators would be working blindly and likely lead their organizations to fail in key preventable ways. On the other hand, a skillful and deft environmental analysis helps managers to develop strategic plans for the future, buffer against possible challenges, mitigate crises, and ensure long-term success.

The Carolinas…

Strategic Management

Mission and Vision

Brocade Communications systems "provides innovative network solutions that helps the world's leading organizations transition smoothly to a virtualized world where applications and information can reside anywhere" (Brocade.com, 2013). The company notes that "these solution deliver the unique capabilities for a more flexible IT infrastructure with unmatched simplicity, non-stop networking, application optimization, and investment protection" (Ibid).

This is the company's description of its business, and is not specifically billed as a mission or vision statement, this is precisely what it is. The company is stating what it does, what its vision of its market is, and how it seeks to deliver value to its customers. There are all good elements of a mission statement, so in that sense this description of the business can be evaluated as a business statement. The company's focuses on data centers, Ethernet, storage and converged network solutions. The company competes with…

Strategic Management Process/Vision, Goals, Objectives

This document examines the mission, vision, values, and goals of Kraft Foods Group. It does so primarily to denote the fact that these components are indicators of this company's strategy. The document also aligns these components with the interest of stakeholders.

It is exceedingly important for organizations within today's climate of rapid-fire technology and constantly changing marketplaces to adhere to strategy. Due to the celeritous pace of both of these factors, there has been a tendency of many competitive organizations to assume that they can only remain competitive by refining operations processes, which involves cutting costs and increasing time to market of its products (Hammond, 2001). Nonetheless, an evaluation of one of the most successful enterprises within the food and beverage industry, Kraft Foods Group, reveals that an adherence to strategic positioning is a critical prerequisite for not only short-term success, but that which continues…

Strategic Management Case

Over the last 20 years, the Balance Scorecard has been used as an approach by corporations to improve their competitiveness and ability to adapt to changes inside the industry. This is based on several fundamental principles to include: financial, the internal business process, learning / growth and the customer. Financial is when the firm is looking at tactics that will measure the monetary impact of the strategy on the organization. The basic idea is to be able to understand shareholders views of management and the company. The internal business process is when executives are examining various strategies inside the firm that will help them to become better in delivering products to customers and achieving the goals of shareholders. Learning & growth is when there is a focus on improving and creating value for different stakeholders. The customer is when management is concentrating on consumer perceptions and how…

Strategic Management Action: Strategic Position, Choices, And Strategy Implementation

Strategic management is stated to be the "process by which an organization formulates its objectives and manages to achieve them. Strategy is the means to achieve the organizational ends." (Thomas, nd) Managers are required to have a strategic vision in order to become strategic managers and implement strategic management initiatives. The strategic vision of the manager is inclusive of the following elements:

(1) The ability to solve complex and more complex problems;

(2) The knowledge to be more anticipatory in perspective and approach, and (3) The willingness to develop options for the future. (Thomas, nd)

The work of Peter Drucker states that the primary task of strategic management is the focus on the business overall mission and states:

"…that is, of asking the question What is our usiness? This leads to the setting of objectives, the development of strategies, and the…

Strategic Development

Supporting Strategic Development

One of the biggest development issues any company ahs is if they are at a stage where growth into new markets is possible. At some point the market place is going to get so crowded that a company has to decide whether it is going to try and survive in the present market or forge into new ones. Or, the company can simply create a new market through a niche product. Whatever the solution, the company first has to tak a close look at itself to determine if it is a good idea for them or not. The process by which companies do this is by determining a strategic plan whereby it is possible. To implement this strategic plan a company will have use different approaches that take into account how the company is doing at all levels of the process. Considering that a certain…

Strategic planning is a systemic and elaborate plan of action expressing the future move or plans a company plans to take. It is a long-term plan that a company puts down in an attempt to shape or build the future. It gives an organization the direction and a goal. This plan can be laid down to cover the near future, but it can run longer depending on the organization's plans. For most organizations, the strategic plan usually focuses on the entire organization. However, a strategic plan can focus on a department or on one product only. This is referred to as a business plan. Strategic planning involves different models, perspectives and approaches, and this depends on the organization leadership, its culture, the planners and also its size, Boyd & euning-Elliott, 1998()

The Sweet Peas Catering services company has the objective of not only delivering their products to the customers but…

Strategic Management Process

Strategic management entails the steps taken and combination of managerial decisions which sums up the future performance of a particular company. It entails the four pillars of management. The strategic plans give a framework for the entire company to not only use but also apply. The strategic management consists of steps that shape up the implementation, strategic planning as well as evaluation (Wheelen and Hunger, 2004).

First step: The initial step is to decide the mission of the company and its aims and objectives. Each company requires a mission. When the aims and objectives of an organization are crystal clear, then the managers can work with identifying the viability of its services and products. The managers also need to recognize the goals put in effect at present and strategies being worked upon. The aims and objectives of a company can decide the criteria for performance that employees…

Strategic Management Facebook

Strategic Management

Mission and Vision Statement against Organizational Performance

Evaluation of Strategic Goals

Financial Performance of the Organization

Competitive and Market Analysis

Corporate Strategy to Maximize eturn to Shareholders

Mergers or Acquisitions as a Viable Strategy

Employee Motivational Techniques

Organizational Existing Strategies' Support to Business Ethics

The world of commerce in the twenty fist century has changed, indeed revolutionized in terms of doing business and making money. The technological innovations and advancement has left an indelible imprint on the ways of operating business functions. Strategic management, in this regard, is one of the approaches that are put into effect by the organizations top management in order to analyze their vital initiatives and performance in the external environment (Thompson, Cram101 Textbook eviews, Strickland & Gamble, 2006).

Strategic management is an enduring phenomenon that serves as a roadmap to the organization, where it usually evaluates and controls the overall…

Therefore, they use strict evaluation criteria to make choice among different alternatives. Keeping in view the strength of customers' bargaining power, Toyota and other automakers are expending huge amounts on advertisements and promotional campaigns to create awareness about their brands and convince these customers to prefer them over all other brands (Jenny & Scammon, 2010).

5. Internal Environmental Analysis for Toyota Motor Corporation

5.1. The esources Types:

Like other types of business corporations, Toyota also relies on four different organizational resources. These are: financial resources, human resources, informational resources, and physical resources. Financial resources are the money invested by the company's shareholders and the profits left after paying off liabilities. These resources enable the company to run its day-to-day operations, run marketing campaigns, and make strategic investments to keep it innovative and competitive in all aspects. Secondly, the human resources are the intellectual capital that plays a major role in…

The Porter Five Forces Model has also shown these strengths and their ability to provide the company with resilience in the face of significant competitive threats. Weaknesses include too much fo a dependence on the iPhone and iPad products, a lack of products at the low-end of the market, and a lack of control of the gray market in China for their products (Apple Investor elations, 2012). The opportunities for Apple are very significant and include selling more iPads and comparable products into the enterprise, greater market penetration into emerging markets including Brazil, ussia and China, in addition to the advances being made with Apple TV. Threats include extreme price competition at the low-end of the market; lack fo control in gray markets over their products, and their high dependence on key suppliers for advanced components for their future products (Apple Investor elations, 2012).

ecommendations for Future Strategies and Conclusion…

Strategic National isk Assessment

Compare and contrast the deductions about the national-level threats and hazards as listed by the DHS in the SNA against the findings you made in Week 5's analysis of the WTAs. As always, assume what is listed first is the greatest risk [also called "most dangerous"] and probability [also called "most likely"] and the last is least

The Strategic National isk Assessment (SNA) is designed to provide the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with the tools it needs to effectively deal with various challenges. The threats and hazards are illustrating the overall scope of the problems and the probability that they will occur at some point in the future. They are classified into different categories called most dangerous and likely.

The most dangerous threats are areas where there is an immediate risk to the U.S. homeland and different national interests. A few of the most notable…

Strategic Plan

Since 1941, Stryker has been at the forefront for delivering medical equipment to numerous healthcare organizations and individuals. Some of the different products they market include: surgical navigation / communication, trauma implants and endoscopic systems. They sell them directly to cliental and through third party providers (such as: dealerships) in 100 countries around the globe. (Standard & Poor's, 2013)

However, the industry is continuing to evolve and it is shifting its practices. To fully understand what is occurring, requires creating a research proposal that will focus on the strategic plan for the firm. This will be accomplished by looking at the vision / mission / strategies / values and conducting an internal / external environmental analysis. Together, these elements will illustrate how the company can adapt and evolve with the challenges it is facing inside the marketplace. (Standard & Poor's, 2013)

How you intend to ensure the organization's…

It offered a value proposition to consumers who cut back on high-end coffee purchases at the likes of Starbucks in favor of cheaper coffee at home. Consumers of Folgers benefited from the strength and increased visibility afforded the brand by Smuckers.

Employees have not necessarily benefited from the company's mission and objectives in recent years. Smuckers is the process of restructuring Folgers. This benefits workers in New Orleans, where a $70 million expansion is underway and it Orrville (Plain Dealer, 2010). However, workers in four other plants are losing their jobs in the restructuring (Associated Press, 2010). The strategy therefore benefits some of these stakeholders but only at the expense of others as the company is forced to rationalize some plants in order to contain costs and maintain its price competitiveness.

The company can improve its mission by lending it clarity. The company's strategy may be relatively clear, but it…

Strategic Alignment

In the last several years, the Strategic Alignment Maturity model is focusing on understanding how an organization can evolve with the different challenges they are facing. This is achieved by carefully examining the business and IT configuration of the firm. To fully understand how this works requires comparing the model with an actual health care organization (i.e. Kaiser Permanente). These insights will illustrate its effectiveness and how it helps companies to adapt. ("About Us," 2013) (Wheatley, 2013) (Chandler, 2003)

I.1 Business Strategy 2

Kaiser Permanente is a managed care provider. They are focused on primarily delivering affordable low cost solutions to patients. This is accomplished by controlling expenses and investing in areas that will address their continuing needs. To achieve the objectives the firm operates three divisions to include: the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Permanente Medical Groups. The different kinds of products / services…