Business Strategy Flashcards
What are Mintzbergs 5 types of strategy
Intended: result of a deliberate process
Deliberate: intended plans put into action
Unrealised: not all planned strategies are implemented
Emergent: strategies created by unforeseen circumstances
Realised: result from a balance of the other types of strategy
What should objectives be
Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-bound
What are the three broad types of stakeholder
Internal: sources of HR
Connected: sources of finance
External: all other interested parties
Give Mendelow’s relationship between power and interest for stakeholers
Power/Interest L/L - minimal effort L/H - keep informed H/L - keep satisfied H/H - key players
What model should be used for understanding the external environment
PESTEL
political, economic, social, technological, environmental, legal
Where is scenario planning useful
long term view of strategy needed
firm operates in a turbulent environment
several factors influence the success of a strategy
What is porters competitive advantage of nations model
Factor conditions
Firm strategy
Demand conditions - how firms perceive, interpret and respond to buyer needs
Related and supporting industries eg. proximity of suppliers
What are basic factors for the competitive advantage of nations model
Natural resources, climate, unskilled labour. Anything inherited, or whose creation requires little investment
What are some measures used to discourage international trade [3]
Tariffs or customs duties
Embargoes
Subsidiaries for domestic producers
What is Porters five forces model
Used to analyse the state of competition in an industry
- suppliers
- customers
- substitute
- potential entrants
- competition between existing firms
Give some limitations of the five-forces model [3]
- ignores role of the state
- not helpful for not-for-profits
- assumes management only seeks to maximise shareholder wealth
What are the main stages of the industry life cycle
Introduction, Growth, Shakeout, Maturity, Decline
What are the 9M’s
Summarises the resources and sources of competences Men and woman Money Machines Marketing Materials Management Methods Management information systems Make up
What is the value chain
The sequence of business activities by which value is added to the products or services produced by an entity
What are the primary activities of the value chain
Inbound logistics Outbound logistics Operations Marketing and sales Service
What are the considerations when thinking about outsourcing [5]
- can the firm do it them self
- can risk be managed better by outsourcing
- can the activity be controlled by a contract
- track record of the company looking to outsource to
- quality/cost of relationship
What is harmon’s process-strategy matrix
Strategic importance vs process complexity L/L: automate/outsource L/H: outsource H/L: automate H/H: improve
What is the BCG matrix
%rate of market growth / relative market share H/H: star H/L: Question mark L/H: cash cow L/L: Dog
Limitations of the BCG matrix [3]
- other factors affect cash flow
- doesn’t consider risk
- difficulties in forecasting growth
What are the three tests for ethics
Transparency, Effect, Fairness
What is SWOT analysis
A method of corporate appraisal
Internal to the company; strengths / weaknesses
External to the company: opportunities / threats
What are the three competitive strategies Porter argues are necessary
- Cost leader; high profit, low costs
- Stuck in the middle: low profit, high costs
- Differentiator: high profit, high costs
What is Porter’s generic strategies matrix
Competitive scope vs competitive basis Broad/low cost: Cost leadership Narrow/low cost: Cost focus Broad/differentiation: Differentiation Narrow/differentiation: Differentiation focus
The focus ones are on a specific niche area that they concentrate on
What is Ansoff’s product matrix
Based on product vs market Current/Current: market penetration Current/New: market development New/current: product development New/New: diversification
