Section C Strategy Flashcards
What is a business strategy?
A plan which is developed and implemented by the management of a company to achieve their strategic goals/objectives.
International marketing/globalisation vs strategy developments
Markets are dynamic and change all the time, even more on the international level.
So the strategies need to recognize and adapt to changes
note the authors - Hamel &Prahalad
Changes in strategies vs globalization vs culture?
Globalisation means more stakeholders involved with differing cultures. Agreement on decisions about strategy changes becomes therefore harder.
Is the type of organisation relevant?
Yes, it should be considered what strategies will the company follow and find the most appropriate type and structure of organisation, considering all pros and cons, such as:
Flat vs tall
Sole trader vs company
atc.
3 types of objectives
Strategic (medium to long-term)
Tactical (medium to short-term)
Operational (day-to-day)
SMART objective to which a good strategy should lead?
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-specific
4 Stages of strategy development
- Assessment of where the business is
- Development of a plan (the strategy itself) where the business wants to arrive.
- Consideration of implementation of planned steps and their viability
- Periodic evaluation
Growth strategy based on SWOT
Combining strengths with opportunities - most positive short-term strategy, if there are no other big issues
Defensive strategy based on SWOT
When weaknesses and threats relate, quick defensive action needed to survive. The most negative short-term strategy
Re-orientation strategy based on SWOT
Long-term strategy, which aims to address weaknesses (implement changes) to benefit from existing/foreseeable opportunities
Defusing strategy based on SWOT
Neutral, medium, short term strategy, not meeting opportunities but minimizing existing/foreseeable threats is viewed as a most beneficial step.
What are the 4 growth strategies according to Ansoff?
- Market penetration
- Product development
- Market development
- Diversification
What are the limitations of Diversification strategy?
All related to product or market development strategies:
1. Low quality research
2. Low quality of R&D system
3. Loosing first mover advantage to competitors due to prolonged R&D time,
4. Loosing first mover advantage to competitors, because not patented (kept as a company secret) items/processes become common knowledge or known to the competitor
5. Lack of understanding local specifics of new markets
6. Lack of effective distribution channel
What are the 4 strategies to manage stakeholders under stakeholder mapping tool?
- Minimal effort (towards stakeholders with low interest and low power)
- Keep informed (the cheapest way to satisfy stakeholders with high interest but low power)
- Keep satisfied (stakeholders with power but no interest, so that they don’t become interested to participate in your decision making)
- Key Players
What are the limitation of stakeholder analysis/mapping?
- The analysis and prioritization may be very subjective, depending on the ethics of the decision maker
- Members of particular group may have shifted to more powerful group unnoticed (e.g. a pressure group like environmentalists became better present in the local government gaining more power) or neglected shareholder bought larger share.