3.9 strategic methods Flashcards
why is growth an important objective for any businesses
business growth can create wealth for the owners
it can also leverage a number of benefits and opportunities for the business that may nor may not be available to smaller organisations
why is organic growth a lower risk option than external; growth
steady and gradual whereas external growth is very sudden and can bring about significant change in an organisation
benefits of external growth
offers the opportunity for fast expansion but with the risk of clashes in the way the two businesses that have been joined together operate
eg of organic growth
market penetration
product development
market development
external methods of growth
mergers
takeovers
joint ventures
benefits of business growth
synergies
the experience curve
economies of scope
economies of scale
synergies
external growth can bring businesses together that complement one anothers strengths eg one business could be extremely innovative whilst another might have the financial power to support investment in r&d
synergies may not occur when there is a clash of cultures
the experience curve
big businesses typically have more experience than smaller businesses
they have made mistakes and have gained knowledge and experience that smaller businesses dont have
however big businesses can sometimes become complacent- happened to m and s in mid 1990s
economies of scope
operating with a wide variety of products in a number of markets creates benefits theorugh reduced costs which are shared across the different product lines and spreading the risk of any one product failing
nevertheless widening a businesss scope may lead to a loss of focus on any particular product or market and potentially poor performance
when do economies of scale occur
when unit costs fall as a business expands- theese are the advantages of business size
benefits a business gains as it grows in size relating to economies of scale
purchasing economies- bulk buying
technological economies-larger businesses can invest in the best technology
financial- larger businesses have more collateral and can raise more capital especially if PLC)
managerial- larger business can employ specialists to manage a particular aspect of the business
the benefits and drawbacks of growth
economies of scale result in unit costs falling as the business grows in size
however at a certain point the business will start to experience diseconomies of scale
here unit costs will start to rise as the business starts to lose some of the efficiencies it gained from growth
for many businesses there is an optimal size where they are able to operate efficiently
furthermore large businesses can lose some of the advantage they had when they were smaller
diseconomies of scale
occur when unit costs rise as a business expands- therse are the disadvantages of sizew
what issues can a business face as it grows
communication problems- becomes harder to communicate a clear message across the organisation
control- inorder to control the organisation layers of management are added
this slows down decision making and quality becomes harder to monitor
flexibility- due to the issues of communication and control the business may be less flexible in its ability to adapt to the changing business enviornment
motivation- workers in large organisations find it difficult to see the impact they have and feel less significant
overtrading
occurs when businesses grow too fast and overstretch their financial resources such as cash
a business may also face logistical problems if it cannot manage operations
overtrading can lead to business failure
retrenchment
there may be times when a business needs to reduce its scale
this may be to counteract the problems of diseconomies of scale or to improve efficiency and reduce costs as demand falls
perhaps as a resukt of a downturn in the economic climate
what may retrenchment involve
redunandcies
closure of branches
discontinuing product lines
pulling out of international markets
delayering
reallocating expansion plans
outsourcing aspects of the business’ss operations
greiners model of growth
considers some of the issues a business might face as it grows in scale
the model can help managers predict and plan for different issues as the business grows
how many phases are in greiners model
6
what are the 6 phases of greiners model
phase 1- growth through creativity
phase2- growth through direction
phase 3- growth through delegation
phase 4- growth through coordination
phase 5-growth through collaboration
phase 6- growth through alliances
growth through creativity phase 1
informal business practices
business driven by creativity and all employees understand the impac they have on the business
rules are not clear
growth thriugh direction phase 2
leadership crisis
as the business grows some tasks may get missed or jobs will be duplicated
at some point clear direction is needed along with leadership
growth through delegation phase 3
autonomy crisis
as the business hrows there is a need for more delegation as managers desire autonomy to make their own decisions and respons to localised issues
growth through coordination phase 4
crisis of control
as the business continues to groq directors may feel they are losing control of some aspects of the business and they worry about strategic direction
growth through collaboration phase 5
red tape crisis
as the leaders put in place systems and mechanisms of control, bureaucracy leads to inefficiencies and a distraction from the core business activities
growth through alliances phase 6
growth crisis
as the business reaches its potnential for internal growth it may look for growth through external collaboration
this brings with it a new set of dilemmas
what does the greiner model demonstrate
the conflicting forces managers will face as a business grows
mainly ther are fluctuations between controlling the business and providing autonomy to maximise employee potential and adapt to specific needs
impact of managing growth/greiner model on business functions
marketing
finance
operations
human resources
how does managing growth and the greiner model impact on marketing
as businesses grow they will launch new products and move into new markets
marketing must ensure that the business understands the needs of its new customers and effectively promotes new ventures
how does managing growth/greiner model impact on finance
as businesses grow cash flow is essential
furthermore finance should identify the capital investment required to finance growth and find suitable sources of financing
how does managing growth/greiner model impact on operations
operations will look to maximise capacity and put in place sustems to manage increased production and sales
operations may also need to find additional capacitu to cope with expansion
how does managing growth/greiner model impact on human resources
as businesses grow so will the workforce
human resources will recruit and train the new employees
methods of external growth
takeover
joint venture
merger
franchise
takeover
also known as acquisition which may be hostile or voluntary
one business will acquire another along with it assets
if hostile the takeover is riskier for the acquiring busines
joint venture
two businesses come together to work on a particular project such as a product launch
information and expertise will be shared but the business will remain seperate, removinf the problems of integrating two businesses
merger
two businesses come together for mutual benefit
this may be to share strengths or with the purpose of business survivial
the business will seek synergies through the merger
franchise
growth through selling the rights of the business (name, product, assets) to a third party (franchisee) who will run the business independantly following the business model
the franchisee will pay a % of revenue
requires little effort or investment but requires close monitoring
disadvantages of takeovers/aquisitions
more likely to be resistance from employees, customers and shareholders if they believe their own interests may be damaged- loss of jobs
levels of control with methods of growth
high control/influence
takeover
franchise
merger
joint venture
low control/influence
options available to a businesss looking to externally grow through a takeover, merger or joint venture
backwards vertical
conglomerate
forwards vertical
horizontal
backwards vertical
taking over a supplier
conglomerate
taking over an unused business in a different market
forwards vertical
taking over a customer
horizontal
merging with a business at the same level of the supply chain
innovation
involves a business developing new products and processes to create products or distribute them to customers
innovation through product development creates benefits for customers
process innovation can help a business become more efficient
both types of innovation increase competitiveness and this is why many businesses have to continually innovate
political change as a pressure of innovation
may alter regulations around products which open up new opportunities or force businesses to amend current products to meet the new requirements
economic change as a pressure of innovation
in an economic downturn there is pressure for businesses to improve efficiency and lower costs
social change as a pressure of innovation
trends and tastes are continually developing, meaning businesses have to keep up with consumer expectations
technological change as a pressure of innovation
as new technologies are developed businesses face the challenge of keeping up to date in order to compete
competitive change as a pressure of innovation
as competitors innovate businesses must be able to match this innovation if they are going to maintain market share
how does leadership support innovation
acceptance of failure
innovation is rewarded
sharing is commonplace
listening to all shareholders
culture
how does culture encourage innovative practices
a business may have a culture of innovation
these issues must be accepted and encouraged within the company
how does leaderhsip support innovation
the leadership within a business must set innovation as a priority, lin innovation to the corporate objectives and make resources availabe to support it
what techniques might a business adopt to encourage innovative practices
kaizen
intrapreneurship
benchmarking
research and development
how can kaizen be used to encourage innovative practices
continuous improvement
kaizen groups meet regularly to discuss and develop incramental improvements that can be applied across theorganisation
kaizen brings together workers from across the organisation to work together on improvement
how does intrapreneurship encourage innovation
individuals are given time within their working week to develop their own ideas and work on innovative projects
intrapreneurs are then given support and authoritu to implement their ideas
this encourages the development of intellectaul property
how does benchmarking encourage innovative practices
managers may set a target based on best practice or shining example for a similar business
this is then set as the standard that the business must aim to achieve
benchmarking works well where there is collaberation between businesses r within an industry
how does research and development encourage innovative practices
in innovative organisations a considerable amount of money will be invested in research and development
research and development may be built into an employees working week
the value of innovation
a business may improve competitiveness through better wuality, faster delivery, lower costs or improved service
innovation can directly influence each of these
furthermore without innovation a business will lose ground on its competitors leading to a loss of market share and possible failure
innovation may provide a business with a competitive advantage but may also be a threshold requirement for it simply to maintain its place
issues with innovation
innovation iss constant change-sometimes a business might need to get good at what it does instead of going through a constant cycle of change
innovation is no gaurantee a success- time and resources can be wasted if innovation is not successful
firest mover advantage- innovation can be expensive and other businesses can sometimes copy and reap similar benefits
how can a business protect its innovations such as designs, inventions, intellectual property and creative content
patent
copyright
trademark
design rights
patent
protects inventions and products if registeration is successful
copyright
literary work and creative content- no need for registration
trademark
product name, logo and jingles- registration required
design rights
on styles, shapes and objects- no ned for registration