Chapter 4 - Introduction to business strategy Flashcards
What is strategy?
Direction and scope of an organisation over long term, achieves advantages for the organisation
What are the considerations of strategy?
- Long term
- Whole organisation
- Resources and external environment
- Stakeholders (internal and external
- How to gain sustainable competitive advantageW
What are the three levels of strategy?
Corporate
Business
Functional (operational)
What is corporate strategy?
Strategies determined at main board level for the business as a whole
e.g. product market decision, method of growth, major investment decisions
What is the business strategy?
Planning, developing and producing
e.g. how to gain a sustainable competitive advantage
What is Functional (operational) strategies?
Strategies for the main functions within each SBU
e.g. operations, finance, HRM and marketing strategies
What is a strategic plan?
Long term goals along with a definition of the strategies and policies which ensure achievement of these goals
What are the four main stages of strategic planning according to Johnson & Scholes) ?
- Analysis - Where are we now?
- Strategic choice - strategic option
- Strategy implementation - Convert into plans / objectives
- Review and control - Monitor targets and budgets
What are the FORMAL stages of strategic planning?
- Internal/external analysis
- Corporate appraisal
- Mission and objectives
- GAP
- Strategic choice
- Strategy implementation
What is external analysis in business strategy?
Factors outside the business which can present opportunities or threats
What factors are involved in the external envrionment?
- Physical - Touch + feel e.g. neighbours tree fell on your shop
- General - covers economical, social, technology and legal influences in the countries the business operates
- Task - Factors relevant to the business e.g. competitors
- Business
What are the two forms of environmental uncertainty?
- Static environments
- Dynamic Environments
What are characteristics of static envrionment
- Static/slow change
- Single product/market
- Simple technology
- Safe envrionmentW
What are the characteristics of dynamic envrionments?
- Dynamic changes
- Diverse product/market
- Difficult environment
- Dangerous to stand still
What are the PESTEL analysis?
- Political
- Economical
- Social and demographic
- Technological
- Ecological environmental
- Legal issues
What are the potential political issues in PESTLE analysis?
- Taxation
- Government spending
- Foreign trade
What are the potential economical issues in PESTLE analysis
- Economic growth
- Exchange/interest rates
- Inflation
What are the social and demographic issues in PESTLE analysis
- Attitudes, tastes and fashions
- Population demographics
- Income distribution
What are the technological issues in PESTLE analysis
- New products
- Improved production methods
- Rate of obsolesce