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What is the primary responsibility of top executives in achieving unity of strategies?
Which of the following is NOT a key characteristic of functional-area strategies?
What is the primary role of the business head in relation to lower-level strategies?
Which of the following is NOT a key responsibility of top executives in executing the company's strategy?
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What is the most demanding and time-consuming part of the strategy management process?
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Which of the following is a key characteristic of operating strategies?
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Why is it important for a company to have a unified collection of strategies?
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What is the primary purpose of functional-area strategies?
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What is the primary difference between functional-area strategies and operating strategies?
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A company must develop valuable expertise and competitive capabilities that rivals cannot readily ______, match, or beat over the long-term.
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Management must ensure that gaining sustainable competitive advantage is at center stage when crafting their company ______.
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Developing a strategy is a work in progress, not a one-time ______.
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Managers must be willing and ready to modify the strategy in response to changing circumstances and ongoing efforts to improve the ______.
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A company’s strategy typically evolves over time, emerging from a blend of: (1) proactive strategy elements – planned actions by managers to improve the company’s financial performance and secure a competitive edge (2) reactive strategy elements – developed in response to unanticipated developments and fresh market ______.
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DELIBERATE STRATEGY consists of proactive strategy elements that are ______.
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A competitive advantage means meeting customers' needs and wants more ______
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A competitive advantage means meeting customers' needs and wants more ______
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Starbucks has gained a competitive advantage over its rivals in the coffee shop industry through its efforts to create an upscale experience for coffee drinkers by catering to individualized tastes, enhancing the atmosphere and comfort of the shops, and delivering a premium product produced under environmentally sound fair trade ______
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SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE is when a company’s competitive advantage persists despite the best efforts of competitors to match or surpass this ______
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STRATEGIES TO GAIN A SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE 1.LOW-COST achieving a cost-based advantage over ______ in the clothing industry.
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Mr Price, Jet or Ackerman’s have earned strong market positions because of the low-cost advantages over their rivals in the ______ industry.
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STAGE 1: DEVELOPING A STRATEGIC VISION, MISSION STATEMENT, AND SET OF CORE VALUES STRATEGIC VISION describes management’s aspirations for the company’s future and the course and direction charted to achieve them. “where we are going?” e.g. Nike’s strategic vision: Nike fosters a culture of __________. We create products, services, and experiences for today’s athlete, while solving problems for the next generation. If you have a body, you are an athlete.
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WORDING A VISION STATEMENT THE DOS ►be graphic ►be forward-looking and directional ►keep it focused ►be sure the journey is feasible ►have some wiggle room ►indicate why the directional path makes good business sense ►make it __________.
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THE DON’TS ►don’t be vague or incomplete ►don’t dwell on the present ►don’t use overly broad language ►don’t state the vision in bland or uninspiring terms ►don’t be __________.
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Why does a sound, well-communicated strategic vision __________?
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Nike fosters a culture of __________. We create products, services, and experiences for today’s athlete, while solving problems for the next generation.
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If you have a body, you are an __________.
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A mission statement: (1) identifies the company’s products/ and or services (2) specifies the buyer needs that the company seeks to satisfy (3) identifies the consumer groups or markets that it serves (4) gives the company its own identity (5) specifies its approach to pleasing customers (6) sets the firm apart from its rivals (7) clarifies the firm’s business to stakeholders DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A STRATEGIC VISION AND A MISSION STATEMENT A strategic vision portrays a firm’s aspirations for its future, while a firm’s mission statement describes the scope and purpose of its present business.CORE VALUES are the beliefs, traits, and behavioural norms that company personnel are expected to display in conducting the company’s business and pursuing its strategic vision and mission.e.g.Patagonia’s core values: quality, integrity, environmentalism, and not bound by convention.Values relate to such things as fair treatment, honour and integrity, ethical behaviour, innovativeness, teamwork, quality or superior customer service, social responsibility, and community citizenship.LO 8 THE IMPORTANCE OF SETTING BOTH STRATEGIC AND FINANCIAL OBJECTIVES.STAGE 2: SETTING OBJECTIVES OBJECTIVES are an organisation’s performance targets – the specific results management wants to achieve.
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CORE VALUES are the beliefs, traits, and behavioural norms that company personnel are expected to display in conducting the company’s business and pursuing its strategic vision and mission.e.g.Patagonia’s core values: quality, integrity, environmentalism, and not bound by convention.______ relate to such things as fair treatment, honour and integrity, ethical behaviour, innovativeness, teamwork, quality or superior customer service, social responsibility, and community citizenship.LO 8 THE IMPORTANCE OF SETTING BOTH STRATEGIC AND FINANCIAL OBJECTIVES.STAGE 2: SETTING OBJECTIVES OBJECTIVES are an organisation’s performance targets – the specific results management wants to achieve.
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STAGE 2: SETTING OBJECTIVES OBJECTIVES are an organisation’s performance targets – the specific results management wants to achieve.
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An organisation’s performance targets – the specific ______ management wants to achieve.
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CORE VALUES are the beliefs, traits, and ______ norms that company personnel are expected to display in conducting the company’s business and pursuing its strategic vision and mission.
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CORE VALUES are the beliefs, traits, and behavioural norms that company personnel are expected to display in ______ the company’s business and pursuing its strategic vision and mission.
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It is the responsibility of top executives to achieve unity by clearly communicating the company’s vision, objectives, and major strategy components to members at the top of the organisation and then proceed downward from corporate level to business level and then from the business level to the associated functional and operating levels. This helps in ___________ the strategy proficiently.
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The business head has at least two other strategy-related roles: (1) seeing that lower-level strategies are well conceived, consistent, and adequately matched to the overall business strategy (2) keeping corporate-level officers informed of emerging strategic issues FUNCTIONAL-AREA STRATEGIES are developed by the heads of the respective functions and are approaches used to manage particular functions within a business, like research and development, production, procurement, sales and marketing, customer service, distribution, and finance. OPERATING STRATEGIES are developed by frontline managers and are relatively narrow approaches for managing key operating units and specific operating activities with strategic significance. Anything less than a unified collection of strategies weakens the overall strategy and is likely to impair company performance. What the business head does is important to the company's strategy ________.
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STAGE 4: Managing the implementation of a strategy is the most demanding and __________ part of the strategy management process.
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Functional-area strategies are developed by the heads of the respective functions and are approaches used to manage particular functions within a business, like research and development, production, procurement, sales and marketing, customer service, distribution, and finance. Operating strategies are developed by frontline managers and are relatively narrow approaches for managing key operating units and specific operating activities with strategic __________.
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A unified collection of strategies is important for a company as anything less weakens the overall strategy and is likely to impair company __________.
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Top executives must clearly communicate the company’s vision, objectives, and major strategy components to members at the top of the organisation and then proceed downward from corporate level to business level and then from the business level to the associated functional and operating levels to achieve operating __________ and to execute its strategy proficiently.
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Study Notes
Broad Differentiation Strategy
- Apple has differentiated itself with innovative products.
Focused Strategies
- Focused Low-Cost Strategy: concentrating on a narrow buyer segment or market niche and outcompeting rivals by having lower costs (e.g. Pick’n Pay offers lower prices with their own-branded products).
- Focused Differentiation Strategy: concentrating on a narrow buyer segment or market niche and outcompeting rivals by offering customised attributes that meet their specialised needs and tastes better than rivals’ products (e.g. Construction companies of high-end homes).
Best-Cost Provider Strategy
- Giving customers more value for money by satisfying their expectations on key quality features, performance, and/or service attributes while beating their price expectations (e.g. Target is known for its hip product design and appealing shopping ambience for discount store shoppers).
Creating a Sustainable Competitive Advantage
- Developing valuable expertise and competitive capabilities that rivals cannot readily copy, match, or beat over the long-term.
Evolving Strategies
- A company’s strategy tends to evolve because of changing circumstances and ongoing efforts by management to improve the strategy.
- Factors that cause a firm’s strategy to evolve over time: changing market conditions, advancing technology, unexpected moves by competitors, shifting buyer needs, emerging market opportunities, and new ideas for improving the strategy.
Strategic Intent
- Indicates the firm’s intent to making significant gains in competing against key rivals and to establishing itself as a winner in the marketplace.
- Involves establishing a performance target and devoting the firm’s full resources and energies to achieving the target over time.
Objectives
- Financial objectives: relate to the financial performance targets management has established for the organisation to achieve.
- Strategic objectives: relate to target outcomes that indicate a company is strengthening its market standing, competitive position, and future business prospects.
Balanced Scorecard
- A method for combining the use of both strategic and financial objectives, tracking their achievement, and giving management a more complete and balanced view of how well an organisation is performing.
Functional-Area Strategies and Operating Strategies
- Functional-Area Strategies: developed by the heads of the respective functions and are approaches used to manage particular functions within a business.
- Operating Strategies: developed by frontline managers and are relatively narrow approaches for managing key operating units and specific operating activities with strategic significance.
Achieving Operating Excellence and Executing the Strategy
- Managing the implementation of a strategy is the most demanding and time-consuming part of the strategy management process.
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Description
Test your knowledge on differentiating a company's product or service from its competitors in a way that appeals to a wide range of buyers. Explore concepts such as broad differentiation strategy, focused low-cost strategy, and focused differentiation strategy.
