Strategic Management Essays (Examples)

Strategic Management

A mission statement is a brief statement of maybe a few lines that encompasses every facet of your business. The mission statement, when effective, will outline what the company sees as its business, and its reason for being. A mission statement will "clarify what business you are in, your goals and your objectives" (Entrepreneur, 2003). A mission statement, however, should not restate the obvious as there is insight nor benefit to this. For example, a fast food chain would not benefit from a mission statement of "We sell hamburgers and want to earn a profit." An effective mission statement reflects a mission -- something not yet accomplished, but that lies at the heart of what you do and who you are.

Swales and ogers (1995) note that a mission statement sets the tone for the corporate culture, and therefore should reflect that corporate culture. The mission statement is…

Management Principles

Management and organisational structure are two key elements to the success of any corporation. The organisational structure defines how management will govern the company, by defining the chains of communication and formal authority that managers will use to define tasks and allocate resources. The first step in understanding this process is to get a basic sense of what management is, and what managers do. Then, studies of Virgin and Starbucks will illustrate some of the concepts at work in the study of management.

An organisation is defined as "an organized body of people and resources with a particular purpose" (Merriam-Webster, 2014). This usually means a business, and reflects not only the people within the business but the entire set of resources associated with that business, so all of the tangible and intangible assets are part of the organisation.

Management is the act of managing the different resources within…

Strategic Management

The concept of strategic management is one that is highly important to organizations around the world (David, 2009). It involves taking a look at the top management of a company and the resources that management team is using on behalf of the company's owners and in order to show a specific level of performance. The mission, vision, and objectives of the organization must be examined, and it is necessary for them to come into play when attempting to understand the issue (Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, & Lampel, 1998). Plans and policies also have to be developed, and programs and projects must be created to meet the objectives that have been set by the company. When resources are allocated in order to ensure that these objectives can be met, strategic management helps to set out the right resources in the right amounts and at the right time so that the company…

Strategic Management Plan Anheuser-Busch Inbev

Strategic Management Plan for Anheuser-Busch Inbev Division

For North America

Faced with increasing price competition on their mid- and low-end brands globally combined with consolidation occurring at a quickening pace across the larger brands and breweries, the Anheuser-Busch Inbev Division needs to move quickly to stabilize its market position. Doing nothing will lead to the company falling quickly behind smaller, more agile competitors who have unique supply chains and production processes that are delivering high-quality premium and craft beers. These smaller brewers with their focus on quality and highly differentiated beers and flavors, along with wide-scale efficiency gains in larger competitors, is squeezing the gross margins and profitability of Anheuser-Busch Inbev Division. As the analysis in this report indicates, the higher the per capita income of a given household, the more beer is purchased. The higher the income the higher the expectation of quality and…

Alen Badal (2005) then promotes the belief that it is imperative for the success of a modern day manager that he be able to understand and implement interdisciplinary thinking in order to enhance the quality of an organizational strategy, and as such the success rates of the entire organization. These three studies, alongside with several others, will constitute the literary background, as well as the starting point and the ability of identifying more constructive research interrogations.

The third source of retrieving information will be constituted by the very organizational context. In this order of ideas, the researcher of the study will engage in open communications with organizational leaders and will strive to find answers to questions referring to the ability of modern day managers to identify and respond to the emergent challenges in nowadays' business community, as well as their own understanding and implementation of the concepts and principles of…

This is having a significant effect also on strategic planning as it forces organizations to respect, plan for and create value in their products and services that respect these cultural values.

Question 2: Compare and contrast the two models, strategic mgmt model, and the strategic decision making process, and reconcile the strategic decision making process with the strategic mgmt model. Do the two models complement each other or do they clash?

Comparing the strategic management model and the strategic decision making process show many similarities, with the greatest being the front-end process of scanning the external environment for risks and opportunities. There are also process workflows that specifically focus on how to react to risks, opportunities, interpret internal audit results (as is the case with the strategic management model for example) and also generate a select set of strategies based on this feedback. How the two models vary however is…

In other words, he must come up with a way to collect the tax, as through affixed transit tax. Since he has already come up with the idea for a fixed tax, he must now take steps to implement it successfully. One method of achieving this is first to gain the following of his Merrymen in acceptance of the tax. They must be able to demonstrate to the farmers, townspeople and even the barons why a fixed transit tax is necessary to their ultimate goal of freeing King Richard. He must be able to demonstrate how and why the positive factors of the tax outweigh the negative ones, and show a direct relationship between the tax and the freedom of the King.

New Vision for Robin Hood and the Merrymen

Therefore, Robin Hood and the Merrymen need a new strategy, as defined above, to accomplish their mission. Their mission is…

In conclusion, these two books and their related concepts show how critical it is for a strategist to consider both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of a business model. There must be a balance of the tasks and vision ownership to the overall measured results of strategies as well. Both books together forma strong foundation for long-term planning that takes into account the need for change management at the executive level as well.

eferences

Abernathy, W. (1997). Balanced scorecards make teamwork a reality. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 20(5), 58-59.

Agostino, D., & Arnaboldi, M. (2012). Design issues in balanced scorecards: The "what" and "how" of control. European Management Journal, 30(4), 327.

Craig, J., & Moores, K. (2005). Balanced scorecards to drive the strategic planning of family firms. Family Business eview, 18(2), 105-122.

Gratton, Lynda (2007). Hot Spots: Why Some Teams, Workplaces, and Organizations Buzz with Energy and Others…

Strategic Management Case Analysis

The business environment brings a number of challenges and issues for organizations. In order to operate profitably and competitively in the presence of uncertainties and threats in the external environment, business organizations have to formulate effective corporate, business, and international level strategies for the short run and the long run (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2007). The case discussed in this research paper highlights the major strategic issues which Nestle faces in international markets. This Nestle case study has been extracted from Hanson, Hitt, Ireland & Hoskinsson (2011: 564-577) as a real life strategic management case for business management students.

The paper starts with a brief introduction to the case study; that is, what are the major issues which Nestle has been facing in the given situation and what strategies its Board of Director has formulated to encounter these issues in the most effective manner. The paper…

Strategic Management

The importance strategic management organization operating a competitive environment. A case a small business building material business.

The importance of strategic management for small organizations

Strategic management is an integral part of every organization. At its core, strategic management entails utilizing the resources of the firm in a goal-directed manner. Strategizing means the firm has a clear sense of its values and mission and how to achieve goals over the long-term, through short- and long-term planning. The process is as follows: to "set a goal which matches the duly considered expectations of the stakeholders; work out a feasible strategy to achieve that goal; put in place an organisation which can carry out the strategy and attain the goal; [and] set up a control and reporting function to permit management to drive the organisation effectively and make necessary adjustments to the strategy or even the goal" (The importance of…

There are many other support departments that exist in the nursing home and maintain its functionality, and that are part of the overall system. Laundry, outdoor activities, housekeeping needs, and dietary departments are all separately organized within the overall structure of the organization, with distinct expectations, roles, and procedures defined for each department. The coordination of the timing of the various operations these departments perform is coordinated by the operations management office, which is directly responsive to the business office. It is in this way that the authoritarian structure of the organization is preserved (Huber 2006).

Upper management in the organization consists solely of the officers in the business office as well as the board of directors of the company itself. All on-site managers and leaders would have to be considered middle management due to the level of decision-making they are actually empowered with (Huber 2006). Again, the limitations on…

Strategic Management Health Care

First student: The text notes that there are several elements to action plans. First, the management needs to set objectives for action plans, the resources required to make the plans work, a plan for measuring results, what actions are going to be taken (Swayne, Duncan and Ginter, 2008).

ight now, Steve Morgan needs to set some objectives. That is the most important thing. He has an idea about some of the problems that his organization faces but at this point the critical factor is going to be to determine what needs to be done to solve the many problems that the company faces, to find a way to prioritize everything. So setting the objectives is probably the most important right now. Objectives are the starting point, and everything flows from there. Morgan therefore needs to diagnose what is wrong, and then operationalize that as part of…

3) Firms who work together to achieve a shared objective are using a cooperative strategy [of one sort or another]. Discuss the key reasons that some firms choose to use a cooperative strategy. Are these reasons of equal validity or legitimacy? And, given that not all cooperative endeavors achieve success, what are a few of the reasons why this might be so?

There are several reasons that a firm would chose to use a cooperative strategy. Cooperative strategies help create value for the customer along with putting the company in a good position in regards to their competition. Both of these reasons are of equal validity and legitimacy, since they allow a company to leverage their resources for the overall good of the company. Not all cooperative endeavors achieve success in the end even though they start out with good intentions. Every cooperative endeavor is taken on with a certain…

Lululemon Athletica Inc. is a premium designer and retailer of athletic apparel that has remained profitable over the years. The firm’s profitability and success is attributable to various factors, particularly its fashionable products. Lululemon stores have more visitors on a daily basis because of these products, knowledgeable store personnel, and store ambience (Gamble, Peteraf & Thompson, 2019). This paper discusses strategic management for Lululemon Athletica Inc in relation to its business strategy and practices.
Competitive Forces Confronting Lululemon
Even though Lululemon has remained profitable over the years, the company is faced by various competitive forces in the market for performance-based yoga and fitness apparel. Given the attractiveness of this market to entrepreneurs and start-ups, the threat of new entrants in Lululemon’s market is high. The firm also faces a high threat of substitutes from established brands like Nike, Adidas and Reebok. However, the bargaining power of buyers in the market…

Social entrepreneurship is a relatively new term that refers to the application of sound business practices and effective strategic management to bring about “potentially transformative societal change,” (Osberg & Martin, 2015, p. 1). One of the ways social enterprises differ from standard nonprofits is that they tend to focus on niche issues, capitalize on the use of crowdfunding and social media, and “address problems that are too narrow in scope to spark legislative activism or to attract private capital,” (Osberg & Martin, 2015, p. 1). However, social enterprises also differ from traditional nonprofits in their strategic management principles: they not only have a social mission guiding their business and investment strategy but also aim to remain financially viable (Stevens, Moray & Brunel, 2014). Obviously, though, social entrepreneurship differs strikingly from typical strategic management because of the overarching importance of the social mission itself.
Social entrepreneurship shares some features in common…

Introduction
The American soft drink market has been gradually shrinking over the last two decades due to health concerns. Many health experts are warning against sugary and carbonated drinks, so the sales have naturally reduced. And several reports are showing that those who are no longer taking sugary and carbonated drinks are turning to alternative drinks such as teas, natural juices, water, and so on. This has resulted in the steady growth of healthier non-carbonated drinks (Al-Shaar et al., 2017). Among the many alternative drinks recording, steady growth in energy drinks.
The energy drink market has seen steady growth since its launch in the United States in the year 1997. According to Kunst (2019), since energy drinks were launched in the United States in 1997, the market or segment has grown steadily at an annual rate of about 20 percent every year. The market is now valued at over 53…

Management, Strategic Management Theories and the Linkage with Organizational Competitive Advantage from the esource-Based View

Accurate comprehension of the article = blue

Critical analysis of the strengths and weakness of the ideas, concepts or theories = yellow

* Provision of specific comments in the form of criticism, disagreement, synthesis, paradox, curiosity or genuine confusion= green

Management, Strategic Management Theories and the Linkage with Organizational Competitive Advantage from the esource-Based View

Using a thorough analysis of management theories and approaches to illustrate how the esource-Based View (BV) of management can deliver greater competitive advantage and more optimized use of internal resources, the authors seek to support this assertion with a comprehensive literature review. The synthesis of the Classical Approach, Human esource Approach, Quantitative Approach, Systems Perspective, Contingency Approach and Information Technology Approach is used as the foundation for showing how the BV approach to management can deliver exceptional results (aduan, Jegak,…

Strategic Management and Michael Porter

Over the last several decades, there have been a number of business strategies introduced. These are designed to help firms become more competitive and increase their profit margins. One of the more prominent thinkers is Michael Porter. However, some individual believe that his ideas and reputation are unfounded. This is because his philosophies are generally not used by a host of business professors. To fully understand what is taking place requires examining the article titled Strategic Management and Michael Porter. This will be accomplished by focusing on: key ideas from the article, analyzing its strengths / weaknesses and commenting about these areas. Once this happens, is when Michael Porter's contribution to the field of business management will be evident.

The Key Ideas

In the article Harfield (2003) believes that Michael Porter is receiving more credit than he actually provides to modern business philosophy. This was…

My skills must be in line not just with my current position, but with the position in which I hope to find myself next. I will also seek opportunities to learn from experts within my own company. The second component is that I wish to develop a strong competency in technology. The role of information technology in modern management continues to increase and I will seek to develop a competitive advantage through continuous improvement of my technological skills. I will implement this part of the strategy my taking coursework and engaging in extensive study of the industry on my own time.

The second key strategy will be that I will build strong communication skills. Strong leadership is one of the most important traits in management today. It is therefore imperative that I build a competitive advantage in terms of my leadership and communication skills. I will implement this strategy by…

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 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 flat structure is also valued greatly by working in teams.

The SHM is supported by flexible work, structure and people and is integrated into the larger participative change business strategy.

2. The report above described the evolution of the business strategy for Macquarie Bank. By emphasizing the continuous adaptation to the environment and adjusting the internal structure to meet expected outcomes, the Bank adopts a prospective business strategy. According to Miles and Snow's model (1984) (cited in Ahmed, Ullah & Uddin, 2006), who investigated the competitive strategies of several hundred companies in widely different industries, three basic strategies exist termed as the Defender, Prospector, and Analyzer. The Defender is also called 'Type a', characterized by such product-market strategies: limited, stable product line; predictable market; growth through market penetration; and emphasis: 'deep'. The Prospector also known as 'Type B', is defined by product-market strategies that are broad, changing product line;…

cipd.co.uk/subjects/corpstrtgy/general/strathrm.htm?IsSrchRes=1).

Secondly, when designing the reward strategy, the HR manager must pay high attention to the stages earlier described for the HRM strategy. This will give him a clue about the 'light at the end of the tunnel', that is the main goal that the organization strives to achieve. According to such findings, he will establish the behaviors he wants to encourage and the types of rewards that are needed for stimulating the respective conducts.

One of the most recommended and in fashion approaches is the total reward strategy. Unlike earlier times which used to lay exclusive stress on pecuniary advantages, contemporary specialists have found that employees are motivated by both financial rewards encompassing base pay, variable pay, share ownership, benefits, and non-financial rewards, comprising recognition, quality of working life, career opportunities and opportunity to develop skills.

According to Thompson, some of the most important features that such strategy boasts…

Each employee takes responsibility for his or her continuous improvement in terms of the skill set, behavior and contributions needed for optimal work performance.

Expectations are shared in a clear and concise manner, rather than being obscured in business language that does little more than inflate the ego of the manager. In this way, managers and individuals enter into a sharing relationship rather than a strictly autocratic employee/employer relationship. In addition to managers who clarify their expectations to individuals and teams, the latter also clarify to managers how they expect to be managed and helped towards optimal performance so that collective company goals can be reached.

The focus of strategic human resource management is therefore the complexity of interrelationships between management and employees in order to optimize performance. These interrelationships refer not only to the one between management and employees, but also between members of groups and teams, as well…

In the context of many organizations their cultures act as the central reference point for everything from how meetings are held to how people are spoken to, and certainly influence the level of innovation achieved (Markides, 2004). Cultures then can be either constraints or catalysts of growth for any company. It is in how they are defined that makes the difference. For any strategy to be effective however it must be in alignment with the cultural norms, values and expectations. For a strategy to be effectively executed it must focus on how to create significant value and change that everyone involved can accept. To do this, a strategy must align to a culture's given norms, values and expectations. Even when strategy changes culture, it must begin in the context of a cultural fit to be seen with credibility and trust.

eferences

Constantinos Markides. (2004). ethinking innovation. Leader to Leader, 2004(34),…

(J & J. Official ebsite, 2005) This is a wise description in that, rather than specializing in one arena of health care, Johnson and Johnson's diversity of products and character buffets it against some of the specific regulatory turmoil that has affected largely pharmaceutically-based health care companies, such as Pfizer and Merck. The stress on local managerial control also allows the company's diversity to be regionally specific and focused, tailored to the needs of its environment. Its lack of directive control is a calculated strategic decision of control that allows regional branches of J&J both to take advantage of J&J's diversity as a company and to tailor the company's resources to the region commercially.

orks Cited

Strategic Control." (2004) Johnson & Johnson Official Investor ebsite. Retrieved 1 Jan 2005 at http://www.investor.jnj.com/strategic.cfm

ii. Operational Objectives:

The second key objective of the company encompasses its aim to become operationally stronger and unbeatable in the long run. McDonald's is currently the market leader in the global fast food industry due to various competitive advantages and core competencies: including extensive &D, quality management, efficient manufacturing capabilities, strong supply chain and distribution network, excellent customer services, etc. All these competitive advantages and strengths are focused on achieving its operational objectives (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2011). By achieving these objectives, McDonald's aims to prove itself as the most competitive fast food brand which is always the first choice of customers.

iii. Human esource Objectives:

McDonald's has employed around 1.7 million employees in its production plants, regional offices, restaurants, and the Headquarters (McDonald's, 2013). It considers these employees as the most valuable resource for its business. Therefore, its five key objectives also constitute the human resource aspects of…

In order to achieve the economies of scale, the company has vast network of sales and distribution along with acquisitions and mergers to support increased production of which Cadbury is a recent example. The company also tries to sustain and enhance its brand image by virtue of comprehensive branding strategy. Vertical and horizontal expansion of companies' product range is also indicative of Kraft's sustained strategic expansion. ecently the company split into Mondel-z International, Inc. And Kraft Foods Group, North America.

The potential discrepancies in the strategic and business level strategies of the company are based in the functional capacity of the firm. There have been issues related to internal control of the company being not stringent enough to ensure integrity of financial reporting and for this purpose; the company also adopted an audit committee charter. Aim was to improve the functional management in relation to finance and operations.

3) How…

Strategic Management: Management, Organizational Structure, And Corporate Strategies

Manager, management, and organization

The significance of managers .

Size and strategy of a company

Mission, vision, and corporate strategy

Organizational culture.

In an organizational setting, strategy has always been more of a high stakes game where the management team identifies the company's mission and makes important decisions that focus all the company's capital, resources, and energy towards its attainment. With the dynamic nature of the current business environment, managers need to constantly analyze their internal and external environments to avoid losing their customers to the competition and losing grip of their market share. This text evaluates the importance of managers to an organization, the importance of organizational structure and culture, and the formulation of corporate strategies.

Manager, management, and an organization

To understand the operations in any business environment, it is important define a manager, management, and an organization. An organization…

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

Company Overview

Me Gusta Marketing is a boutique advertising agency that specializes in social media promotions. The company was founded in late 2010 and currently has three employees. The firm is in the advertising industry, and competes with a niche strategy. The firm specializes in social media promotions, an area where many traditional advertising agencies are relatively weak. The company was founded after its principle started an online promotions campaign for a friend's DJ night at a local pub. The response was far better than expected, so the principle decided to professionalize the service and seek new customers. From there, two other friends were hired into the firm and a number of clients have been signed up thus far. The business is in the process of becoming organized and needs to determine what the business will look like going forward now that the venture looks as though it…

Strategic Management: Internal Analysis and SWOT

Brief Introduction of McDonald Company

McDonalds is a foodservice retailer giant across the world with more than 33,000 locations and serving almost 68 million people every day. It's a global company but with a local presence in 119 countries operated by the local people. (McDonalds, 2012)

Main strengths of the McDonald

Customer elations: McDonalds have mastered the art of deepening their connection with all classes of customers by providing a great service and experience. This connection with the customers has continued to improve and grow positively. McDonalds places customer experience in all they do. They recognized the fact that customers are the reason for their existence.

Hygienic Food Processing Methods: Customers who attend McDonalds for a meal are allowing them to check the standards of the food they eat by inspecting the places where the food is being prepared from. This gives them confidence…

Strategic Management

Lincoln Electric Expansion to India

The purpose of this assignment is to evaluate whether Lincoln Electric should expand its operations to India or not. In this assignment, firstly the facts are presented. Secondly, an analysis is presented about the Lincoln Electric's business strategies and its suitability to operate in India. Lastly, some recommendations are given which can help Lincoln Electric to expand in India successfully.

Facts

Lincoln Electric (LE) is a U.S.-based company headquartered in Cleveland. LE is a manufacturing concern generally deals in consumables and equipment related to arc welding. Lincoln Electric is a large set-up having 39 plants world-wide.

Due to fast-paced growth of India, Lincoln Electric is considering to expand its operations to India. This is a proposal and LE has to evaluate it considering the business opportunities in India. It is a fact that India provides foreign businesses to reduce their costs by offering…

Strategic Management

Porter's Five Forces Model and Strategic Management

as Applied to Bowne & Company

Porter's Five Forces Model and Strategic Management

as Applied to Bowne & Company

Bowne & Co., Inc. is a financial services company which has been in business for 235 years. During this time the company has grown to become the world financial services leader in communication services, investor/shareholder relations and communications, and capital markets communication guidance. The communications side of financial services is Bowne's specialty, as they provide "regulatory and compliance documents; personalized financial statements; enrollment kits; and sales and marketing collateral" (Bowne, 2009). The company has expanded its operations in recent years due to the wish to be involved in all aspects of their customer's financial transactions. In February of 2010, Bowne merged its services with those of .. Donnelley & Sons in an all cash deal. Bowne will remain completely autonomous except in…

Strategic Management in Business Development

The term "strategic planning" is generally used in the narrow sense, namely the application of management tools to address areas such as, profitability, efficiency, growth and competitive advantage. Ultimately, to address concerns of stakeholders for increase shareholder value and long-term competitiveness.

Business development is at the heart of strategic thinking and needs imagination and innovation. It should be proactive and anticipatory. It involves the creation of a unique configuration of the company's key features, which will match the challenges of its environment and provides strategic advantage. There are two distinct phases:

The option generation phase, where creativity must be allowed to flourish and diverse ideas emerge.

The option selection phase, where the options are narrowed down through a systematic filtering process.

The process is often iterative with multiple cycles occurring through the two phases.

In the first phase the strategic management team works with the…

Indeed, if we consider a hotel, for example, in an internal analysis, the financial analysis will evaluate the financial health of the hotel, keeping in mind some of the industry's characteristics (such as seasonality) and the fact that the hotel's revenues may somewhat depend on the period it operates in. However, similar to other industries, financial ratios will be calculated based on the basic statements. An internal diagnosis of functional areas will take into account the specificity of the hospitality industry. In this sense, marketing and promotion probably plays an important role, as does public relations, in ensuring that the customers are satisfied with the services provided and that they will be using the same facility in the future as well.

The external environment analysis will take into consideration some of the factors that affect the hospitality industry. These may be, for example, legal factors (laws that may affect the…

Strategic Management at McDonald's

McDonald's Strategic Management

Strategic Management at McDonald's

Strategic Management at McDonald's

McDonald's: Introduction

Organizational Structure and Corporate Governance

Industry Sector Analysis

Michael Porter's Five Forces Model

Key conditions in the External Operating Environment of McDonald's and its Industry

The Value Proposition on McDonald's Products

Financial Performance

SWOT Analysis for McDonald's

TOWS Matrix for Alternative Strategies

BCG Growth Share Matrix for McDonald's

Marketing, Financial, and esearch & Development Strategies

McDonald's Leadership

Joint Ventures, Strategic Alliances, and Partnerships

Performance Measurement Methods and Benchmarks

ecommendations

eferences

Table of Contents

Sr. No.

Particulars

Page No.

Figure 1: Organizational Structure of McDonald's

Table 1: TWOS Matrix

Figure 2: BCG Growth Share Matrix

Table 2: Gantt chart for Strategy implementation

List of Figures and Tables

Executive Summary

This report presents a complete analysis of strategic management practices at the world's largest fast food restaurant chain, McDonald's. The report starts by introducing and…

Strategic management is increasingly important in the public sector. Public sector organizations are incorporating strategic management principles in an effort to enhance organizational effectiveness and efficiency. In any organization, “strategic management is the center of all managerial activities” (Doss, Guo & Lee, 2012, p. 33). This underscores the importance of effective strategic management. Strategic management is particularly important within the context of law enforcement. Law enforcement organizations must have a specified vision and mission as well as goals and objectives. For a police department, the goals and objectives must be informed by both internal and external factors, such as available financial resources and personnel, crime rates, and socio-cultural setup. During strategic planning, the department must, for example, consider whether it has the resources and personnel needed to respond to crime, prevent crime, and to enhance public safety.

An important aspect of strategic management relates to stakeholder involvement. As an organization,…

However the lack of stability in these partnerships is a major weakness for the company today. In 2008, Apple released the following graphic illustrating just how pervasive they believed video-based devices would be, which clearly makes the value of digital content providers critical to their future business model.

Market Assessment of Video-Capable iPods

source: (Apple Investor Relations, 2008).

Implementation: Apple will need to work closely with their research and development team to see what Apple is bringing to the table. Despite the success of the iPod and the iPhone, Apple should continue making products that are familiar to the customer but more user friendly. By doing so Apple can offer their customers products at a lower cost. In addition, Apple can also cut costs by using outsourced research and development teams.

Implementing a competitively featured product relevant to Apple then needs to take into account a business model that reflects…

Strategic Management

The Case for Diversification

Deltacom/Earthlink is facing a challenging operating environment. As a regional player in an intensely-competitive market, we face an uncertain future. We acquired Deltacom in order to facilitate future growth, but a quick look at our financials indicates that our growth has flatlined and our profits declined to almost nothing last year (MSN Moneycentral, 2013). One of the issues is that there was considerable overlap between Earthlink and Deltacom, and we felt that this would provide us with synergies, in reality it simply made us bigger without enhancing our operations or reducing our risk. At this point, we probably need a new strategic direction in order to ensure our future survival. Diversification is one of the best strategies to achieve this.

In portfolio management, diversification is a strategy where a number of different types of investments are created in a single portfolio (Investopedia, 2013). The…

Strategic Management of Amazon and Yahoo.com

The recent advancements in technology, computing, and Internet technologies have seen a rapid rise in the number of online businesses. Cases in point are the Amazon.com and Yahoo.com that took the globe by storm at the end of the 20th the century. Broadly speaking, e-commerce has become one of the most lucrative platforms to conduct businesses (Nabi, & Luthria, 2002). In this paper, two relating Amazon and Yahoo are reviewed. First, I seek to find out the source of Amazons success as a leading online retailer in 2011. The study will also establish whether Yahoo's business model functionally geared for success during the same year. In addition, the distinct business strategies of each of these entities and the way the strategies resulted in comparative advantages are also analyzed.

Amazon.com, the world's largest online retailer, is an American company that was established in 1995 by…

Strategic Management: JP Kenny London

JP Kenny London was established in 1978 as the original office of the now JP Kenny group, the London office has amassed over 30 years of experience in executing pipeline and subsea projects for clients around the world (J P. Kenny Ltd. 2011). Its meager beginnings in 19th century roots in the fishing industry have spawned into a multi-billion dollar organization, providing major energy resources.

This report examines the current strategic position of JP Kenny and the strategic options for the future of JP Kenny. By using the (PESTLE) Political, Economic, Social, Technology, and Environmental factors affecting JP Kenny, an assessment of opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses may be ascertained. Hence, such findings demonstrate the direct influence on JP Kenney's sustainability.

JP Kenny experiences a shortage of qualified engineers within the United Kingdom. To overcome this JP Kenny source engineering staff from around the world.…

Management and Leadership

Strategic Management and Leadership

Strategic management and leadership theories supporting organizational direction

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This document focuses on the leadership theories based on transformational and contingency approaches as well as the management theories based on supporting the accomplishment of organizational objectives. It attempts to review the different approaches and deliver a subjective leadership style that will guide the organization to achieving its goals.

Application of leadership and management theories to support organizational direction

Organizations exist to make profit. That is the sole purpose of corporation and combined companies. Effective organizations are those that are able to adapt to ever changing forces in the general and task environment. Therefore strategic management plays a vital role in helping organizations achieve the means necessary to gain profits and build customer loyalty.

Strategic management is the set of decisions and succeeding actions taken by management that will provide a competitively superior fit…

Strategic Management

I definitely have the personality, skills and goals to be an entrepreneur. The entrepreneur requires both functional and managerial skills. Since the entrepreneur is responsible for all aspects of the operations, he/she must have a strong working knowledge of each different business function. In addition, the entrepreneur must have a distinctive competency in the business venture that is being launched.

The personality of an entrepreneur emphasizes hard work and determination. Entrepreneurs must be prepared to forgo sleep and comfort while they build their business. In many cases, owners are unable to withdraw money from their company for the first year or two. There are going to be numerous roadblocks as well, from government regulation to competitor response. I have the perseverance of an entrepreneur and the drive to push through the difficulties, the roadblocks and the naysayers.

B. The business idea I have selected is a third wave…

Their biggest barrier to success dealt with the encroachment of e-commerce and companies who were competing in our market without having brick and mortar expenses; American taxes and employee issues; and American taxation and regulatory issues. Management decided that competition was not dead, and it was up to the company to change and adapt as opposed to ensuring the clients did so.

Traditionally, competition is based on price, offers, and markets -- product or service A versus B. For more sales, more customers. The new market template though, is part of a fluid cooperative environment -- for instance, a great restaurant in a neighborhood that is failing will likely go under. So, the coevolution of companies that take into context environmental issues as part of their ecosystem (supplies, producers, competitors, stakeholders); form a different type of competitive nature. Porter notes that "Substitutes limit the potential returns of an industry by…

Each will be tied to different tactical objectives and timeframes. The effectiveness of the process will be measured in terms of adherence to time frames, cost and key market variables such as penetration and market share. Each variable should be quantitative to facilitate ease of measurement and evaluation.

A wide variety of legal issues will need to be considered. Doing business is foreign countries creates significant exposure to risk, in that the foreign legal environment can be substantially different from the domestic one. The nature and intensity of these differences will be considered. Also, it will be considered if there are any legal or ethical considerations domestically as a result of overseas expansion. To use an extreme example, setting up a factory in Cuba would create a host of legal and ethical concerns that would need to be accounted for in the option evaluation process. It will be critical to…

[...] transaction customers, which represent 30% of U.S. sales, are small and medium size enterprises (about 20%) and home office customers and consumers" (Kraemer, Dedrick and Yamashiro, 2000)

Built-to-Order Production

The built-to-order production strategy was implemented to the great success of Dell Computer Corporation as it aided it differentiate itself from competing PC manufacturers. It ensured customers of the highest levels of interest in satisfying their needs and it as such gained their trust. But is also has some limitations in the meaning that it requires more time, implies more costs and forces the organization to "have available specific components as they are needed to fill an incoming order" (Kraemer, Dedrick and Yamashiro, 2000). Then, as it implies a high level of customization, it prevents the company from producing large masses of similar products, which could reduce costs and offer Dell a comparative advantage - process otherwise know as economies…

In this sense, one could consider launching several new brands, specifically adapted to the South African market, created especially for it.

Second of all, in the markets where SA is a challenger, the main strategic objective is the increase of the company's market share. The current activity in this sense, with the acquisition of several important brands, seems to have delivered the expected results. As a pointer, it is advisable that the capacities in Central and South Eastern Europe be efficiently used, as these can provide significant scale economies for the company, given the lower overall production costs available in the countries. SA has already purchased local brands in Romania, Poland, Hungary or the Czech Republic, but, considering the particular efficiency of each of these local brands, the operating capacities can also be used to produce original SA brands (although in this case, one needs to consider the European market's…

This then allows equal weight to be pulled in various decisions. Finally, utilizing executive compensation as a method for proper governance which is many times set by a board of trustees or directors also proves beneficial in some circumstances. This allows top executives to be compensated for their influence within organizational decision making. These last two prove to be weaker than bearing weight on the stock holders, for they only allow a few voices to be heard.

3) Briefly describe how the external corporate governance mechanism "the market for corporate control" acts as a restraint on top-level managers' strategic decisions. Also, while corporate governance should foster ethical strategic decisions, what are at least two crucial factors that can negate this?

As much as organizations would like to control every situation in the business environment, this has never been the case. In terms of external market factors, managers and executives are…

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness in Coca Cola Company

Assess how globalization and technology changes have affected the Coca Cola Company

Technology and globalization are part of the mechanistic avenues that have played a critical role in the growth and development of Coca Cola Company. Technology is a lucrative avenue of the entity that has contributed to changes in the global business and organizational performance. In most institutions and places of work, technological applications have upraised the general procedures and execution duties that are found within the available measures of performance. In order to have a genuine and a competitive scale in the market, Coca Cola Company has embraced advancement in technological production. Through technology, the company has managed to increase its trading avenues in the market.

For instance, the company has involved numerous technological approaches in marketing its products and services in the market. In order to have an…

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…

These environmental factors of patients' rights with regard to reporting their medical histories, allowing them to review them, and also ensuring they are archived to HIPAA standards are all risks for the clinic as well (Huang, Liu, 2011).

The governmental factors that pose the most risk to the clinic are the regulations on how quality management programs are put into place and reported over time (Edmund, 2010) and the requirement of ensuring consistency of reimbursement processes of payments from government agencies (Navarro-Espigares, Torres, 2011). These two factors are going to create higher levels of risk for the clinic from a government compliance standpoint, in addition to future services planning one. All future services of the clinic will need to be consistent with the approaches as defined by the current and future healthcare legislation being enacted by Congress as of March 2011. These laws and the future oens being enacted will…

3) Whether or not I would encourage an entrepreneurial mindset would depend on the type of business I had. Many firms require constant innovation to excel, others do not. Internal innovation can drive business forward, but this does not need to come from the entire company. If the business is one that is well established the preference may be for incremental innovation, in which case the entire firm need not be engaged. However, if the firm requires radical innovation in order to flourish then in that case I would encourage an entrepreneurial mindset in order to engage the entire workforce in this vital activity.

4) The three versions of M-form structure are the cooperative form, the competitive form and the strategic business unit (SBU) form. In the cooperative form the divisions are integrated and work with one another; in the competitive form they can be in competition with one another…

The main advantage is that the stories are well documented and written in an objective manner.

008, GSK Outlines Plans to Become More 'Biotech-like', Fierce Biotech, http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/gsk-outlines-plans-become-more-biotech/008-06-10 last accessed on June 3, 009

009, GlaxoSmithKline Plc., Hoovers, last accessed on June 3, 009 -- Hoovers is a centralized database that reveals information on multiple organizations. The benefit is that the data offered is extensive and comprises features such as industry forecasts, competition nature and organizational financial highlight, alongside with description of the respective company. The downside of the source is however given by the reduced amount of free information and for more extensive data, the user has to create a paid account.

009, The Industry Handbook -- Biotechnology, Investopedia, http://www.investopedia.com/features/industryhandbook/biotech.asp last accessed on June 3, 009 -- Investopedia.com has been developed as an initiative of the highly popular and leading business publication Forbes. It can be useful for novice as…

Beyond that, there is little evidence of clusterization either domestically or in the global market

The sugar industry is in decline. However, there remain a few opportunities. The first major opportunity is the growth in China. One of the true growth markets in the sugar world, China is increasing in affluence and increasing its consumption of sugar-laden estern foods. The Chinese market increased by two-thirds in just six years, from 2000 to 2006, and still lags estern sugar consumption levels. Another opportunity, albeit farther out in terms of time frame, is the U.S. market. To enter this market will involve the Australian government breaking down the trade barriers that U.S. sugar producers have erected. There are more threats. The first major threat is the growth of India and other producers. India is poised to become the world's largest sugar producer, and will have a significant impact on prices worldwide. Another…

In this sense, large companies operating in different sectors would fit this description. An example in this sense would be Vivendi, the French company who went from being a simple water company to having businesses in cinema and movies, the music sector, etc.

4. Michael Milken was an ambitious financial tycoon who was CEO at one of the best investment banks on Wall Street, Drexler. His ambition drove him into deals with junk bonds and inside trading affairs, which led to a $200 million fine and 22 months in jail due to fraud on 1989.

Jake Welch, CEO at General Electrics, revolutionized management by introducing a series of innovatory ideas at his company. Among them, the best known is the Six Sigma methodology, which was subsequently successfully implemented by Motorola as well.

ill Gates was indeed a man with vision, having the chance to foresee the success that the information…

(South African Breweries p l c)

Strategy to be followed

Parts of the possible strategy have been discussed earlier and let us seek justification for the strategies that have been talked about. It is clear that SAB has good operating practices and sales as that has enabled to go beyond its original base through acquisition of breweries in Eastern Europe, Asia and Central America during the last few years and operate them well. egarding the increased sales in foreign countries, now the company also has Miller Genuine Draft produced by Miller and Pilsner Urquell. Both these brands are now in the Miller distribution system and this is expected to improve sales in United States. Earlier Miller had been loosing market share in United States but now the leadership has been transferred to a large, growing beer company which is ready to compete. All the deals that the company has completed…