Strategic Thinking Essays (Examples)

Strategic Thinking and Implementation
The Company and the Change

The Change

The Change Models

Lewin's Change management Model

McKinsey 7-S Model

The Change Models for Toyota

Barriers to Change & Methods to Overcome Them

esistance to Change

Managing Change

The Company and the Change

For this question we choose Toyota Motor Corporation as an example where there has been a major change in the company. The change occurred when the company changed its production process to remain competitive in the market and to gain competitive advantage at a time when the competitors from Germany and America were gaining in the Japan car market as well as in the market in the rest of the globe (Toyota-global.com, 2015).

Since being established in 1937, Toyota Motor Company has been one of the most popular brands in the car industry. Based in Japan, the Company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda with the sole aim of manufacturing automobiles (www.toyota.co.jp, 2015). The company has even been number…

Strategic thinking is an elaborate process that involves the inclusion of several aspects within an organization in order to realize the intended long-term plan. It incorporates the inputs of different individuals within the different units within an organization so as to fully integrate the process and generate more ideas to execute the laid plans. The perception that the accountants and financial managers are 'mere bean counters' and cannot contribute to strategic thinking and that they don't posses tools to do so is misguided. The term "bean counter" is a common word which is used to negatively refer to the accountants and other individuals such as the financial managers whose job descriptions are viewed as that of counting every detail and tracing wastage in every aspect of the organization's expenditure compared to that of the kitchen inventory keepers who keep every record and would want to count all the beans in…

Globally, communication technology has made it possible for businesses to expand much faster and more easily than was the case before. Cultural research is much easier by means of the Internet and electronic communication. Expansion and research into market requirements are similarly facilitated and much cheaper than the case was before. These are but a few of the ways in which the world has become a "flatter" place for both American and global businesses.
The same phenomenon can be seen worldwide: foreign and domestic businesses abound equally within the same country. The most significant elements that Friedman uses in his book to explicate his "flat world" theory include the processes that flatten the world, and the elements of convergence.

According to the author, there are ten "flatteners." These ten events, discoveries, or elements have contributed to globalization in that they allowed both industrial and emerging markets to participate in current economy,…

As one of the largest of the country's non-profit hospital systems, Banner has more than 36,000 employees and twenty-three facilities (Banner, 2012). These facilities comprise acute-care hospitals and various facilities for health care. esearch done at Banner has been recognized internationally, and the company offers physician care, hospice, hospital, and home care. Seven states are serviced by Banner: California, Arizona, Wyoming, Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, and Nebraska (Banner, 2012). The company is based out of Phoenix, Arizona and provides high levels of benefits to the communities it serves. That is why Banner is a success when other systems sometimes fail. Charity care done by Banner each year exceeds $110 million, while indigent care (Medicaid and other public programs) exceeds $176 million (Banner, 2012). When one adds in the unpaid costs that come with Medicare, the total community benefit of Banner is $381 million per year (Banner, 2012).
Naturally, that level of…

strategy came up in my mind: What is strategy? Why is strategy important for an organization? I strongly agree with ich Horwath in his article "The Strategic Thinking Manifesto" that strategy is all about creating a competitive advantage in the marketplace (Horwath, 2012). It entails knowing what to do in order to be a winner in a stiffly competitive business environment. Strategy can in fact be likened to a sailing race in an athletic competition. Winning the race is dependent on knowing not only the direction of the wind, but also your competitor's moves. It is also influenced by the degree to which members of your team are committed to make the boat remains ahead of the rest. Are they consolidating their efforts to win the race, or are they competing with one another? In essence, strategy is about creating a roadmap to reach a certain desired end, clearly…

strategy that Johnson lays out for Heinz revolves around the four strategic imperatives that he has mentioned: driving profitable growth, removing the clutter, squeezing out costs and measuring and recognizing performance.
These four strategic imperatives had already been defined two years previously and Johnson uses the 2004 Fiscal Report in order to evaluate and present the actual situation to the shareholders. Additionally, Johnson finds the means to develop and present the tactical means by which these strategic imperatives can be reached. For example, one of the tactical components of the profitable growth is innovation: Heinze believes that new products and a constant improvement and enrichment of its portfolio of products will eventually bring about a profitable and sustainable growth.

Removing the clutter implies significant financial moves, specifically, for example, improvements in working capital. Additionally, the company has decided to control its costs so as to bring maximum profitability.

However, one of the…

Organizational Mandates

Organizational mandates refer to the authoritative basis for a company's actions. Companies today are all subject to certain laws, regulations, articles of incorporation, and so on. These mandates concern a wide variety of company operations, including the assurance of fair competition and financial honesty.

There are both formal and informal mandates. The formal mandates have been mentioned above, and concern formal rules and requirements by authorities. Informal mandates, in turn, are concerned with the norms and expectations of key stakeholders such as elected officials. There could be certain specific rules and regulations required or expected by these authorities, which a company must comply with.

Customers can also dictate mandates, such as that a product must be of a certain quality if a certain price is expected for it, and so on. Good customer service is an example of this, where company employees are expected to liaise with customers in a friendly…

Walmart essentially has a foul image to most consumers, and that thus creates a negative stigma regarding working there.
ecommended Corporate Strategy

Based on all the intelligence gathered on Walmart the most vital corporate strategy it needs to engage in would be one which works hard to change its image. As already established, Walmart is essentially neck and neck with its major competitors on a price-based aspect; one could argue that the element which really deters people from shopping there is knowing that it doesn't treat its employees well. Many people view Walmart as a cold, unfeeling corporation that would rather line the pockets of its executives than give the people who do the really back-breaking work, a livable wage. In this era of the Internet, when information is readily at people's fingertips, and more and more shoppers are becoming educated, Walmart cannot afford to engage in such unpalatable business practices.…

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 the matter of a very…

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 globalization…

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 company's management team, engaging in 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 Jeff Bezos.…

Strategic Advantage
Goold and Campbell's comprehensive study sheds a new light on the ways a company uses to improve its financial results, whether from a quantitative point-of-view (i.e. through acquisitions) or a qualitative one (i.e. through the improvement of ratios) It would seem, according to the two researchers, that multi-business company management proves to be a difficult problem, considering that, according to their study, most "parent" companies tend to destroy value rather than add value to the businesses it parents.

The two authors conduct a short analysis of the previous strategies used by multi-business corporations, and find that the growth / share matrix, which was implemented on a large scale in the United States in the 70's and 80's lead to disillusionment, as the performance of companies was quite poor. In regard to the core-competence concept, although its appeal is quite powerful, it failed to provide practical guidelines for its application, so…

Strategic Marketing
In answering the question of what role marketing plays in the overall strategic planning process, the foundational elements of what lead to enterprise formation, systemic and highly integrated people, process and systems need to be taken into account. The coordinated and tightly synchronized aspects of people, processes and systems need to be governed by a vision and objective if any enterprise is going to stay unified in the pursuit of its goals (Anderson, 1982). This orientation of coordinated activity across all series of resources, processes and both automated and manual systems requires that the compelling vision of an enterprise have a customer-centric purpose (Payne, Frow, 2005). As the purpose of an enterprise stays centered on the customer, all ancillary and related systems will also reflect the prioritization on the delivery of value first above any other. At its most fundamental level, marketing plays the crucial role of galvanizing all…

administered, strategic planning can help guide organizations of all sizes and types even during periods of challenging operations. Strategic planning can also help organizations reduce their unplanned turnover, an outcome that is especially important for nurse managers who are already faced with a widespread nursing shortage of epidemic proportions. The purpose of this study was to provide a review of the relevant literature to develop background information concerning strategic planning, the nurse manager's role in strategic planning, the significant problems and issues involved in strategic planning, and a discussion concerning these issues based on an appreciative inquiry conceptual framework. Based on the findings that emerged from this study, a series of recommendations are presented in the conclusion.
Nursing Leadership ole in Strategic Planning

Introduction

Today, nursing leadership involves a broad range of activities that require nurse managers to remain flexible and vigilant in order to be responsive to the dynamic environment in…

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 company is…

Strategic Planning
The business that I want to start is a small barbeque and soul food restaurant. This business will have one location to begin with. The business will be defined by the quality of the food and the fun, comfortable atmosphere of the restaurant. This paper will first explain the benefits of strategic planning, and then outline some of the strategic plan for my new restaurant.

Strategic planning is "an organizational management activity that is used to set priorities, focus energy and resources, strengthen operations, ensure that employees and other stakeholders are working towards common goals and ensure that the organization is setting its direction in relation to the external environment (BSI, 2013). Thus, strategic planning begins with a mission and vision for the company and what it wants to accomplish. These things underpin the actions and directions that the company wants to take.

There are several different elements of the strategic…

Strategic Perspectives Sberbank
Over the last several years, the banking industry in Russia underwent a major transformation. As the traditional institutions of the past, have been evolving into global financial centers. This is because they are reaching out to new demographics of customers, in an effort to participate in the rapid growth that is taking place throughout the former Soviet Union. In the case of Sberbank, they have been taking their traditional banking functions and augmenting them with international financing opportunities. A good example of this can be seen by looking no further than, Sberbank playing a major role in helping to revitalize the Russian bond market. Where, 2010 has seen the largest number of offerings ever for Russian companies and the Russian government. (Matermevonsky 2010) This is important, because it shows how Sberbank has evolved from a traditional bank in 1841, to becoming one of the largest employers in Russia.…

This is challenging, as it will require Whole Foods to continue to adapt in order to make themselves stand out. Prices can have a negative impact on the firm's bottom line results. This is occurring through increasing costs on the wholesale level and tremendous amounts of discounting. Over the course of time, these factors can hurt the company's earnings and ability to maintain their competitive position. ("Global Food etailing Industry," 2013) (Burch, 2007) ("Annual Stakeholders eports," 2012)
ecommendation

Clearly, ABC should integrate with Whole Foods. This will allow the company to maintain its market share and augment the products they are selling into the firm's strategy. At the same time, the management team could help Whole Foods to more effectively address the challenges they are facing from: increased competition and pricing. This will enable both firms to take advantage of each other's cost structure and create a unique atmosphere which is…

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 Juniper Networks and…

In other words, the higher the price, the higher the status they confer.
The active products are developed for customers interested in the products' medical properties.

In conclusion, L'Oreal's target customers are sophisticated, educated, beauty oriented people, with medium to high incomes, that appreciate the company's products' quality.

egarding the company's earnings, 54.8% of the cosmetics sales come from consumer products, 25.1% come from luxury products, 13.9% come from professional products, and 5.5% come from active products. More than half of the company's sales incomes, 52.7% come from Western Europe, 27.6% come from North America, and 19.7% come from the rest of the world.

Even if L'Oreal is the worldwide leader in the cosmetics industry, competition is very harsh in this line of business. L'Oreal's most important competitors are Procter & Gamble's Max Factor International, Clinique, Estee Lauder, but also "niche players such as Los Angeles-based cosmetics maker Stila."

All of these competitors are…

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 that their health is not…

nother challenge to Verve's business is that they have supply contracts with Synergy, the electricity retailer in Western ustralia. These contracts drive much of the revenue for Verve, but lock in electricity rates. The lack of change in revenues from 2008 to 2009 illustrates this, and the increasing costs illustrate the challenge of operating without the ability to increase rates to match input costs.

further challenge is in the steady deregulation of the Western ustralian electricity markets. With this deregulation, Verve's contracts with Synergy will be smaller going forward as the latter picks up supply from new entrants. This leaves Verve with a decreasing revenue stream but plants that they must continue to maintain. t some point, they may be able to decrease capacity to meet lower demand, or Verve will need to find new markets. The closest markets are other ustralian states, but the long distance of transmission will…

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 different facilities including cheap labor.…

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 the needs of…

At Google, areas of interest include their intensive sustainability commitment to promote eco-friendly buildings and energy efficiency, the company's approach to managing the Chinese government relationship and messaging, and the torrent of new applications they produce. In conclusion, the organizations I'd seek out to work for after graduation would have brands that were global and could use my skill set of globally-based coordination and intercultural collaboration while also being highly creative with a pace that made programs challenging yet attainable.
Upload a 300-500-word persuasive essay that describes what you understand to be the fundamental role of public relations in society. Illustrate your commentary by citing a recent example (good or bad) of strategic public relations at work from an area of the field that is of particular interest to you.

At its most strategic, public relations seeks to unify the messaging and communications across a company while ensuring accuracy, authenticity and…

This company's reach extends across the vast properties of the two companies from which it originated. America Online brought its flagship online service, Netscape, and several interactive services to the merger. The threat of new competitors can be applied to the telecommunications industry in that new competitors will always emerge, as more companies are sure to be formed. The threat of substitutes can be applied to the medium of the Internet, because the cost of switching Internet providers and Internet service in general is very cheap. The presence of this type of substitute products can lower industry attractiveness and profitability because it can limit price levels. The bargaining power of buyers is greater in the telecommunications industry when there are few dominant buyers and products are standardized. Finally, the intensity of rivalry between competitors in the telecommunications industry is at an all-time high. This is a result of the…

Then they can transfer them to all the business units and follow through. A best practice of an organization provides it with unique and distinctive competence and cost/benefit impact. Therefore the transfer and sharing of the best practice organization wide becomes necessary for attaining a competitive edge.
enchmarking attempts to improve business processes by analyzing the top-notch approaches of others and adapting it to one's own organization to achieve a competitive lead. est practices and benchmarking can give an organization strategic, operational, and financial advantage. ench marking is an attempt by an organization to look for continuous improvement. Japanese concept of "Kaizen" or continuous improvement also considers benchmarking an important part of its philosophy. enchmarking can also require management to think out of the box. For example, if someone wants to see the standards for team management in the steel industry they might look for the best practice in the…

Strategic Linkages
The modern day working environment is the result of decades of evolution. The labor force initially set its basis in the Industrial Revolution, when the people moved from villages to towns and cities in order to become factory workers and pursue better lives. What they found was nevertheless different from a better life, as they were exploited, overworked, underpaid and forced to live and function in unsafe and unsanitary conditions.

Since those times however, the labor force has gained more and more rights, which are enforced through legislations. The modern day employees then are the most valuable asset within the company, as they support the company in attaining its objectives. In such a setting, the role of the Human Resource Department in the organizational setting has become more complex, to be assessed as part of an integrated and multifaceted strategic setting. At this level, it is important to assess three…

Strategic Linkage
Strategic management

Why do you think it is important for H to be a strategic partner to the business?

In the new, knowledge-based economy, the human resources department of the firm is increasingly important to leverage as a strategic advantage. This can be seen in the actions of corporations such as Google, which offer extensive perks and benefits to employees, after a long vetting process (Benefits, 2012, Google). The philosophy of such organizations is that the companies that can attract the best people can translate this into financial gain. Companies like Apple generate ideas just as much as they generate products, and without knowing how to recruit and above all retain top talent, a company will be left behind.

etention requires competitive and often unique perks and bonuses, spanning from workout facilities to healthcare benefits and beyond. It also requires a fair system of promotions and pay. There is a need to…

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 underlying logic is…

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 as…

Again, in an ever-changing environment only through flexibility can an organizational strategy hope to be effective in providing competitive advantage.
Applying this knowledge to the analysis of the statement, 'A strategic architecture, and therefore a strategic plan, cannot be a detailed plan' results in several realizations. First, that strategic architecture goes beyond concerning itself with external factors, but also focuses on internal factors as well. These factors are continuously changing, and therefore an organization's strategic architecture must be able to respond to these changes. Being able to be proactive when certain opportunities and threats present themselves is what sets certain organizations apart from their competitors.

This, as the statement notes, translates to strategic planning. An organization's strategic plan must be flexible enough to quickly adapt to a shifting external and internal environment. And, for this reason, an overly detailed plan becomes more ineffective. An overly detailed strategic plan cannot take into…

In short, it might be difficult for a small firm to incorporate all of this various evidence from such a large, industry-wide perspective, and to take into consideration the various global implications of even a niche market upon the firm's future strategies. Sometimes, focusing on small improvements might be the more feasible strategy in the short run.
PIMS strengths and weakness is its far-reaching, ambitious, and all encompassing perspective. However, even as more and more firms jockey for position in a market of increased global competitiveness, PIMS continues to be used to evaluate current businesses' market positions because it offers some aid in providing the ability to predict the future when confronted with a seemingly dizzying array of possible strategies, grounded in data analysis from like companies within a similar industry. Also, although the applicability of the strategy may vary somewhat from industry to industry, all from various consumer, industrial…

2011). Following the guidelines and supporting research provided in this article can help large enterprises avoid such pitfalls (Newman et al. 2011).
An article that recently appeared in the Sloan Management Review examines the internal rather than the external risks of an organization. This article divides these internal risks into three categories: risks created by the unwanted/unauthorized actions of employees, risks of not achieving strategic objectives that are inherent to any "interesting strategy," and risks caused by completely uncontrollable external events (Mangelsdorf 2011). It is only by understanding how each of these risks might affect the organization and by working to achieve a minimization of exposure to each type of risk -- often through the creation of contingency plans -- that organizational success can be assured (Mangelsdorf 2011).

In another article appearing in the summer issue of the Sloan Management Review, the ever-important issue of information is addressed. Information is key…

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 technology would…

Strategic and Entrepreneurial Thinking
If your company's product is personal computers: do you think it would make better strategic sense to employ a multi-country strategy or a global strategy? Why?

It would make more strategic sense to employ global strategy. In the case of personal computers, consistency is key to marketing a product and its derivative systems. People want to make sure they have the same reliability in their personal computing when they go from country to country in their business travels as they do at home. Greater standardization in computing makes it easier for countries and multinational business offices to connect with one another. Business and individual persons in the global marketplace and world are seeking to branch out, and a multi-country marketing strategy supports this. The more standardized the computing system can remain over the course of technical alterations the more likely a global company will 'keep' with the product,…

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, the…

If the question is left unaddressed, this would result in increasing dissatisfaction among customers and staff, and a possible loss of library patrons.

Another strategic issues is the shift to the central purchasing of books. This policy entailed the decision to move the book buying capability to the Service Center in order to implement the goal of a more in-depth and sophisticated level of collections. This was implemented without consulting with the branch managers, who were directly affected by the decision. From the viewpoint of patrons, this new policy would indeed create a better selection of materials to better serve their needs by means of greater diversity and avoiding duplication. However, this created a large amount of resentment among librarians, who regarded this duty as one of their favorite responsibilities that directly utilized their skills as librarians.

If left unaddressed, this issue could severely impact the job satisfaction of librarians, which could…

In comparing the two lists and seeing what they have in common and how they differ, it is clear that both share the need to enable and foster greater levels of transformational leadership in an enterprise if it is going to succeed over the long-term. Second, both share the common attributes of being focused on a strong vision of what the company can become, being careful to provide assurances to everyone that they have a role to play in the business being successful. Both also share a competitive orientation where each seeks to motivate employees to attain their highest performance possible so both they and the company can attain their full potential. Where they differ is in the specificity of goals and objectives with the mission statement being much more granular on accomplishments and steps to attain goals. Measurable, attainable, relevant goals that require exceptional effort need to be the…

(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 makes…

Strategic Planning
Achieving a strategic vision in an era of globalization and increasing competitiveness from rapidly emerging economies is complex and multidimensional in scope. The notion of including an ethical component may appear to be a luxury that some companies cannot afford, yet it is something expected by more and more stakeholders, as well as the general public. Achieving and sustaining a competitive advantage in an increasingly globalized marketplace demands that companies of all sizes and types take advantage of every opportunity to reduce costs and add value. For example, Sussan (2006) emphasizes that companies of all sizes and types require effective leadership in order to formulate a corporate vision and make informed day-to-day decisions. The need for leaders to integrate values and ethics in their decision making has been fueled, in part, by three global trends:

Successful leaders in all types of organization understand that ethics and values are paramount to…

Strategic Planning consists of fitting the organization's objectives and resources to the available market opportunities. The purpose of strategic planning is long-term profitability and growth.
Strategic Business Units are independent of one another and maintain distinct missions and specific markets. They have control over their resources and their strategies are unique to their competitive environment.

Strategic Alternatives are different conceptual approaches toward strategic planning. Examples include: Ansoff's Opportunity Matrix, the Boston Consulting Group Portfolio Matrix, and the General Electric Model.

The Marketing Plan Process allows the organization to anticipate future events and design a plan for achieving the organization's objectives by adapting strategies for the marketing environment.

Business Mission Statements provide direction for the organization by defining its business and business objectives.

Situation Analysis is a process that allows the organization to identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Environmental scanning identifies opportunities and risks based on the six major environmental forces: social, demographic,…

Strategic Management
Characterize GM's commitment to the environment.

From a historical perspective, GM's commitment to the environment seems highly pragmatic in nature. Before it was 'bailed out' by the federal government, GM had a reputation for being the least environmentally-conscious of all of the major automobile companies. Today, GM promotes the fact that its U.S. sales of vehicles that get over 30 mpg are booming. This is part of GM's new image for the 21st century, in contrast to its emphasis on SUVs and large trucks in the previous decade, when it was lurching towards bankruptcy and plagued by labor issues.

GM is in pursuit of a zero-landfill goal and makes use of solar power at its facilities. As well as good P, its new initiative could produce cost savings for the company in the future. An emphasis on fuel-efficient vehicles is salutary for GM because the price of gas is always unstable,…

At all entity levels, the company might have to downsize part of its staff members as a cost cutting strategy.
But the problems generated by the complete satisfaction of the customers' needs and wants are not limited to the organization alone. At the level of commodities for instance, using fewer resources negatively impacts the organizational purveyors, reducing as such their business operations and financial stability. At the community level, two relevant consequences emerge from, first, the financial inability of the organization to support the development of the community through sponsorships, and secondly, the firing of employees, which would eventually deepen the socio-economic problem of unemployment. Consequently then, not all the things which help the customer help the organization, and furthermore, not all the things that help the individual help the community.

But since customer satisfaction remains the constant of organizational success, Cochran argues on the necessity to promote marketing strategies which…

Corporate-level strategy centers its focus on determining a company's core business amid the existence of other businesses. This core business ultimately determines the company's corporate image, influencing its marketing and advertising plans and programs. An example of a company that adopts the corporate-level strategy is PepsiCo, which is primarily known as a beverage business company for its product Pepsi Cola, its core business despite the existence of its other businesses in the food and beverage industry, known also to manufacture products from brands such as Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Tropicana, and Quaker Foods.

Steven Reinemund, CEO of PepsiCo, Nobuyuki Idei, CEO of Sony Corporation, and Leonard Riggio, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Barnes & Noble, Inc. are three business leaders who are able to maintain their firm/company's leadership in the beverage, electronics, and trade books business, respectively. Their ability to identify the needs of their customers and determining their target market…

Strategic Initiative
Altria's commitment to the environment appears very weak. It pledges full and complete compliance will all applicable environmental laws and regulations, something it has to do anyway unless it wants to face the consequences (Altria, environment and agriculture). Kraft says it is developing a systematic approach to move beyond compliance and to understand issues along its supply and demand chains, but this effort began in 2000 and five years later it's still formulating plans rather than reporting results. Further, its own Environmental Performance Indicators (EPIs) show only moderate improvement from 2001 to 2003. It's interesting to note that 2004 EPIs are missing. Philip Morris International reports monitoring efforts, but offers no concrete results. Of all the environmental issues related to cigarettes, all Philip Morris USA can talk about is cigarette litter. And, even on this issue, the company makes it clear that it does not endorse any changes to…

Strategic Management and Auditing of a McDonald's Restaurant
Operations/Production Audit:

Are employees adhering as closely as possible to the operational protocol put in place by McDonald's management?

Which shifts (breakfast, lunch or dinner) are performing at, or above, optimal levels of efficiency, and to what factors can this success be attributed?

Which shifts (breakfast, lunch or dinner) are performing below optimal efficiency, and to what factors can this failure be attributed?

What is the average duration of stay for customers using the drive-thru line, and does this timeframe adhere to managerial dictates?

Can any of the in-kitchen machinery and devices (ovens, fryers, beverage dispensers, etc.) be enhanced to improve efficiency, and if so, how can these improvements be implemented?

Are staffing levels during the midnight-to-morning shift commensurate with the amount of customers typically served during these hours?

Which new products take the longest time to prepare and assemble, and do the profit margins derived from these menu items…

Strategic Marketing Plan
The name of the company is "oaring Petfood." Our logo is simple, "We are here for you to meet your pet needs." With the motto, the company believes that the pet should come first, so that he or she can live a long life (Blue Seal, 2011).

This report consists of what one needs to do in order to run "oaring Petfood." esearch has shown that with the right amount of food and nutrition a cat, dog, bird and so forth can live a prosperous life with the help of their owner (ompala, 2011). One discusses a marketing plan and all the different aspects of what it takes to get others to buy the food needed to take care of his or her pet. This requires much research and for an individual to understand what ways in which to do so effectively. Trends are discussed as well as ways…

Strategic Dissection of COMOPTEVFO
This text concerns itself with the various strategies employed by COMOPTEVFO in the execution of its mandate. The strategies highlighted in this case will not only be identified but also discussed at the various levels of strategy formulation and implementation. These levels comprise of the corporate, business, and functional levels.

COMOPTEVFO: An Overview

Before discussing the various levels of strategy COMOPTEVFO makes use of, it would be prudent to first highlight its key operations and dealings. In basic terms, COMOPTEVFO is involved in the provision of "an independent and objective evaluation of the operational effectiveness and suitability of naval aviation, surface, subsurface, expeditionary, C4I, cryptologic, and space systems in support of Department of Defense and Navy acquisition and fleet introduction decisions" (United States Navy, 2013). In addition to providing procedural and technical guidance with regard to the objective as well as independent testing of tactics and systems, COMOPTEVFO also…

The differentiated strategy was the means by which FedEx launched its business. At the time, there was no overnight courier business. The speed and efficiency of FedEx's service offering was entirely differentiated for the first decade or so of the company's life. Intelligentsia Coffee from Chicago is an example of a focused differentiated firm. They have a niche in the ultra high-end coffee market. Intelligentsia produces, for example, single-estate coffees that appeal to customers who find Starbucks too mainstream for their tastes.
4) the four criteria of sustainable competitive advantage are that the advantage is valuable, that it is rare, that it is costly to imitate, and that it is non-substitutable. For example, at Southwest Airlines they have a culture from which they derive value, it unusual for the industry, is hard to imitate and which cannot be easily substituted for with other typical industry activities. While no advantage is…

he short-term financial implications for Beth Israel are initially, of course, that more patients will have Medicare coverage for the use stenting during carotid-cleaning surgery. here are other positive implications, too for the hospital over the long-term. In terms of staffing, as skill is less of a premium in stenting than previously thought, more physicians, and younger, training physicians can perform the procedure. his will free up the schedules of more skilled surgeons for other, more technically demanding operations. he procedure will also be able to be performed more frequently, as more physicians can accomplish it, thus enabling Beth Israel to expand the use of the surgery. As it is safer and less invasive, the surgery long run it may require less insurance for the hospital. One day, perhaps residents can perform this procedure, as well as the most skilled physicians, and the use of stenting during carotid-cleaning surgery could…

Since the generation with the highest birth-rate is reaching the retirement age, they are prone to travel more and lead to an increase demand for hotel rooms. (15%) j. Fast food outlets in emerging markets
The fast food industry is expected to register an increase during the following years, especially within emerging markets. Here are some factors that would generate the increase in demand for fast food products:

Increased interest from foreign investors which enter the emerging markets and strongly promote the products (45%)

Growing economies and wages, implying an increased focus on jobs, in the detriment of home cooking (35%)

Changing consumers needs (20%) k. Credit cards issued by financial institutions

Credit cards encompass products offered by banks or other financial institutions which allow their clients to use the bank's money and then pay them back at a previously specified interest rate. Credit cards have always had great success among clients and even…

S. corporation; say for instance that a Jiffy Lube subsidy in France is involved in a scandal; however the managements are different, the scandal will reflect upon the entire corporation, and consequently the American facility
Multi-Country Approach

The advantages and disadvantages of a multi-country approach are rather similar to those of a global approach, with the particularity of reduced numbers of participants. Aside from the already mentioned features, the advantages and disadvantages of a multi-country approach can be summarized as follows:

Advantages of a multi-country approach increased possibility to only select those countries which fit a certain set of demands, such as reduced number of population living below the poverty line, increasing automobile sales or increased standards of living the limited number of partner-countries, carefully selected, can easily consolidate their position and enforce the capabilities of Jiffy Lube

Disadvantages of a multi-country approach reduced diversification and the possibility that most of the partner-countries fail…

(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

Strategic Management
It is very important that the factor of 'change' figures within an organization prominently. Different people utilize different approaches to implement these changes, and most often, it is that particular method that suits the organization the best that is used. Among some of the tried and tested methods of implementing change within an organization is the 'Delta Technique', which is one of the more popular and extremely successful methods used by the management. 'Delta' in fact means 'a small change' in Greek, and this is in essence what it represents. This technique has its base on the theory of Lewin, 1952, and it revolves around the three stages of change, like for example, when a piece of ice changes its shape, and it goes through unfreezing, changing, and refreezing. (Strategies for implementing change: an experiential approach)

Lewin has stated that it is very important to devote both time and energy…

When information and intelligence about competitors is gathered, there are numerous advantages. The first one is that it is possible to emphasize on your own strengths only if you know the strength of your competitor. For example, when there is a presentation in the firm and the client is aware of the fact that this firm has had a lot of experience doing presentations of this sort. (What you need to know about your Competitors)
This, however, does not make a tremendous difference to the client; what if the firm's rival had more experience, then the focus on experience would perhaps make the first firm look a lot less experienced than it is. The second advantage is that everyone needs a point of comparison to compare notes with, and unless this aspect is benchmarked in the field with actual data and proof, how else would one be able to prove…

Strategic Planning Management Health Systems
Two financial metrics that can be used to understand an organization's financial capabilities for strategic initiatives are the OI metrics and OA? The OI metrics address two measures which are resource investments and financial returns (Bloom, 2010). OI metrics contribute innovation management financial discipline and aid in protect and recognizing the worth of strategic initiatives, programs and the whole investment in modernization. Companies with extremely effective and well-organized marketing show much better levels of measurement aptitudes, with approximately half to three-quarters offering positive scores on their capabilities -- which is normally two to three times the levels described from the complete base of marketers (Cave, 2007). The capability to measure marketing performance and enhance the distribution of their marketing budget obviously allows these companies to accomplish and deliver more operational and well-organized marketing. There is a strong correlation among marketing efficiency and competence and the utilization…

Strategic Plan for General Motors Upper Mid Sedan Vehicle Segment
Mission Statement

To maintain and consolidate the status of the company as the number one auto manufacturer in the U.S. y employing the core values of continuous improvement, innovation and integrity and teamwork. To foster consumer enthusiasm and also enhance the team by giving them individual respect and responsibility.

External Environment

Remote Environment

Economic: Currently the U.S. economy is experiencing a slowdown. The buying power of the American consumers is shrinking and that is causing the sellers of goods to suffer. The automotive industry, being seller of high priced and high involvement product, is suffering as a result of this slowdown. The consumers are spending less and less on upgrading their cars or buying second hand cars. This will cause the sales of light vehicles in 2002 to go down from the 17 million units' barrier that has been achieved for the past three years…

In this order of ideas, both private and public companies desire to possess and use the latest technologies on the market as to increase the performances of their operations. Take for instance the case of a new and better accounting software. This will not only be sold to private companies, but also to the entities in the public sector. As such, the strategic approach of the technologies used by the two types of companies is also similar, with the specification that private companies are sometimes better financially equipped to make the desired purchases.
In terms of financial strategies, both organizations wish to attract various investors to fund their operations. Whereas the private companies issue stocks, bonds or engage in other types of financial operations to retrieve funds from interested investors, the public companies often find it more difficult to attract the needed funds. Take for instance the case of a…