STRATEGIC POSITION

Question 1

What is Strategy

Answer 1

“The direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations” JSW

Longterm direction
Scope of organisation
Achieving advantage 
Deal with external changes
Exploiting resource and competencies
Understanding stakeholders and delivering results

Question 2

Levels of Strategy

Answer 2

Corporate Strategy - overall purpose and scope

Business Level Strategy - how to compete in particular markets

Operational Strategies - how parts (IT support, Marketing, Finance etc) suppose overall strategy

Question 3

Strategy Lenses

Answer 3

The Lens of Design
The Lens of Experience
The Lens of Ideas

Question 4

Organisation in its Environment

Answer 4

Elements:

Macro Environment
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Industry or sector
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Competitors and markets
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ORGANISATION. |
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Basis of Analysis

Question 5

PESTEL

Answer 5

POLITICAL and LEGAL

• Government policy (fiscal and monetary policy) regulation, (supervisory bodies) EU
• Political change and risk affects planning activities of many businesses
• Legal framework: Contracts, Health and Safety, Employment, Tax

ECONOMIC

• Inflation, employment, exchange and interest rates, tax and saving levels, business cycle, growth/fall gdp, international trade, capital markets
• Operate on a national and international context

SOCIAL

• Demographic changes and its impact on patterns of demand and availability of labour
• Culture

TECHNOLOGICAL

• Exploiting or defending against tech change (emphasise service quality)
• NEW products and services, methods of production, ways of selling (ecommerce), handling of sales and finance info, org structure, media for communication.

ENVIRONMENTAL

• Pressure from different quarters
• Consumer demand, regulation, external charges, scarcity of resources, sustainability in operations, opportunities for new environmental friendly products

Question 6

Key drivers of economic change

Answer 6

JSandW identified key drivers of change in Macro environment

MARKET GLOBALISATION

COST GLOBALISATION

GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY A POLICY

GLOBAL COMPETITION

*note: factors are not static

Question 7

4 Aspects of Globalisation

Answer 7

MARKET GLOBALISATION
- Converging tastes

COST GLOBALISATION

• Economies of scale
• Search globally for lowest cost suppliers

GOVERNMENT POLICY
- Increasingly sympathetic to free trade

GLOBAL COMPETITION
- Encourages expansion to compete more effectively

Question 8

Porters Diamond - Determinants of National Competitive Advantage

Answer 8

FIRM STRATEGY, STRUCTURE and RIVALRY

FACTOR CONDITIONS
DEMAND CONDITIONS

RELATED and SUPPORTING INDUSTRIES