Strategic Management MBA 401 PDF

Strategic Management MBA 401 Q1. What do you understand by the term Strategic Management? The Concept of Strategy: 1. Strategy. ‘A course of action, including the specification of resources required, to achieve a specific objective.’ CIMA: Management Accounting: Official Terminology, (2005 edition). 2. Strategic plan: ‘A statement of long-term goals along with a definition of the strategies and policies which will ensure achievement of these goals.’ CIMA: Management Accounting: Official Terminology (2005 edition) 3. Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization 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.. 4. “The basic characteristic of the match an organization achieves with its environment is called its strategy.’ 5. ‘Corporate strategy is the pattern of major objectives, purposes and goals and essential policies or plans for achieving those goals, stated in such a way as to define what business the company is in or is to be in and the kind of company it is or is to be.. 6. ‘Corporate strategy is concern with an organization’s basic direction for the future: its purpose, its ambitions, its resources and how it interacts with the world in which it operates. Common themes in strategy: From these different definitions strategy is concerned with: The purpose and long-term direction of the business; The scope of an organization’s activities and actions required to meet its objectives (broad or narrow); Meeting the challenges from the firm’s business external environment, such as competitors and the changing needs of customers; Meeting the challenges from the firm’s business external environment, such as competitors and the changing needs of customers; Using the firm’s internal resources and competencies effectively and building on its strengths to meet environmental challenges; Delivering value to the people who depend on the firm, its stakeholders, such as customers and shareholders, to achieve competitive advantage. Whatever interpretation is put on strategy, the strategic actions of an organization will have widespread and long-term consequences for the position of the organization in the marketplace, its relationship with different stakeholders, and overall performance. Q2. Discuss the various levels of Strategic Management. Levels of strategy: Corporate strategy: The corporate center is at the apex of the organization. It is the head office of the firm and will contain the corporate board. The planning view of strategy assumes that all strategy was formulated at corporate level and then implemented in a ‘top-down’ manner by instructions to the business divisions. During the 1980s, high profile corporate planners like IBM, General Motors and Ford ran into difficulties against newer and smaller ‘upstart’ Corporate center of r Corporate Strategy organization Strategic business unit Business Strategy Strategic Strategic business unit business unit Functional Stragety Financial Marketing Human Internal Lost Strategy strategy resources Audit Strategy Strategy Organization chart showing corporate, strategic business unit & functional strategies. Competitors who seemed to be more flexible and entrepreneurial. One consequence was the devolution of responsibility for competitive strategy to strategic business units (S.B.U.). Corporate strategy today typically restricts itself to determining the overall purpose and scope of the organization. Common issues at this level include: Decisions on acquisitions, mergers and sell-offs or closure of business units; Conduct of relations with key external stakeholders such as investors, the government and regulatory bodies; Decisions to enter new markets or embrace new technologies (sometimes termed diversification strategies); Development of corporate policies on issues such as public image, employment practices or information systems. A Model of the Rational Strategy process: The traditional approach to strategic management is often termed the formal or rational approach, and can described as a series of logical steps including: The determination of an organization’s mission; The setting of goals and objectives; The understanding of the organization’s strategic position; The formulation of specific strategies; The commitment of resources. A continuous analysis of the external environment and the organization’s internal resources is needed in order to plan for the future development and survival of the business. This is often conceived as consisting of four major steps: 1. Analysis 2. Formulation 3. Implementation 4. Monitor, review and evaluation. This process seeks to answer questions concerning where the organization is now, where it should go in the future, and how it should get there. The rational model therefore involves a number of interrelated stages. These are illustrated in Figure below, which shows the various stages which management may take to develop a strategy for their organization. The basic idea from the model is that we start with the existing strategy of the organization and evaluate it using information collected from internal and external analysis. Form this we can determine if the organization should continue with its existing strategy or formulate a new strategy that will enable the organization to compete more effectively. Having made a choice on the strategic direction, the next stage involves implementing the Position audit internal analysis Review & control 1. Mission& 2. Corporate Strategic Strategy Strategy objective appraisal option evaluation & implementation (SWOT) generation choice Environmental analysis external analysis competitor analysis A model of a rational strategy process Strategy and then evaluating performance to determine whether or not goals have been achieved. Each of the different stages in the model above will now be elaborated on, introducing some of the tools and techniques of strategic management. Mission, Objectives and goals: Term & Definition Mission :: The Fundamental objects of entity expressed in general terms (CIMA).Overriding purpose in line with the values and expectations of stakeholders. What business are we in? Vision or strategic intent :: Desired future state: the aspiration of the organization. Goal :: General statement of aim or purpose- may be qualitative in Nature. Objective :: Quantification (if possible) or more precise statement of the Goal. Strategies :: Long-term direction expressed in broad statement about the direction the organization should be taking and the type of actions required to achieve objectives. From the above table we can see that a mission is a broad statement of the purposes of the business. It will be open-ended and reflect the core values of the business. A mission will often define the industry that the firm competes in and make comments about its general way of doing business. British Airways seeks to be ‘the world’s favourite airline; Nokia speaks of ‘connecting people’; DHL ‘delivers your promises’; Roles of mission statements: Mission statements help at four places in the rational model of strategy: 1. Mission & Objectives: The mission sets the long-term framework and trajectory for the business. It is the job of the strategy to progress the firm towards this mission over the coming few years covered by the strategy. 2. Corporate appraisal: Assessing the firm’s opportunities and threats, its strengths and its weakness must be related to its ability to compete in its chosen business domain. Factors are relevant only insofar as they affect its ability to follow its mission. 3. Strategic evaluation: When deciding between alternative strategic options, management can use the mission as a touchstone or benchmark against which to judge their suitability. The crucial question will be, ‘Does the strategy help us along the road to being the kind of business we want to be? 4. Review and control: The key targets of the divisions and functions should be related to the mission, otherwise the mission will not be accomplished. Research conducted among companies by Hooley et al (1992) revealed the following purposes of mission statements: 1. To provide a basis for consistent planning decisions. 2. To assist in translating purposes and direction into objectives suitable for assessment and control. 3. To provide a consistent purpose between different interest groups connected to the organization. 4. To establish organizational goals and ethics. 5. To improve understanding and support from key groups outside the organization. The link between mission, goals and objectives: Whilst the mission is an open-ended statement of the firm’s purposes and strategies, strategic goals and objectives translate the mission into strategic milestones for the business strategy to reach. In other words, the outcomes that the organizations seeks to achieve. A strategic objective will possess four characteristics which set it apart from a mission statement: 1. A precise formulation of the attribute sought; 2. An index or measure for progress towards the attribute; 3. A target to be achieved; 4. A time-frame in which it is to be achieved. Another way of putting this is to say that objectives must be SMART, that is, Specific- unambiguous in what is to be achieved. Measurable- specified as a quantity; Attainable- within reach; Relevant- appropriate to the group or individual to whom it is applied; Time-bound- with a completion date. The goal structure: The goal structure is the hierarchy of objectives in the organization. It can be visualized as the diagram in below. Objectives perform five functions: 1. Planning: Objectives provide the framework for planning. They are the targets which the plan is supposed to reach. 2. Responsibility: Objectives are given to the mangers of divisions, departments and operations. This communicates to them: a) The activities, projects or areas they are responsible for; b) The sorts of output required; c) The level of outputs required. 3. Integration: Objectives are how senior management coordinate the firm. Provided that the objectives handed down are internally consistent, this should ensure goal congruence between managers of the various divisions of the business. 4. Motivation: Management will be motivated to reach their objectives in order to impress their superiors, and perhaps receive bonuses. This means that the objectives set must cover all areas of the mission. For example, if the objectives emphasize purely financial outcomes, then mangers will not pay much heed to issues such as social responsibility or innovation. 5. Evaluation: Senior management control the business by evaluating the performance of the managers responsible for each of its divisions. For example, by setting the manager a target ROI and monitoring it, senior management ensure that the business division makes a suitable return on its assets. You may be familiar with these five functions (often recalled using the acronym PRIME) from your studies in budgetary control. Budget target are a good example of operational level objectives. In this chapter, however, we are working at a higher level by considering the strategic objectives of the firm. Having established where the organization is in terms of its mission, goals and objectives, it must then determine where it wants to go in the future. This will be influenced by the nature of the external environment and the organization’s internal capability. Q3. Explain the techniques to analyze Internal & external environment of an organization. PEST framework: Political: These are political or legal factors affecting the organization, such as legislation or government policy, stability of the government, government attitudes to competition and so on. Economic: These are economic factors such as tax rates, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, consumer disposable income, unemployment levels and so on. Social: These are social, cultural or demographic factors (i.e. population shifts, age profiles etc.) and refers to attitudes, value and beliefs held by people; also changes in lifestyles, education and health and so on. Technological: These are changes in technology that an organization might use and impact on the way work is done, such as new system or manufacturing processes. Some authors have expanded the mnemonic PEST into PESTEL- to include explicit reference to ethical or environmental and legal factors. If you are asked to apply the PEST model to an organization, simply look for things that might affect the organization, and put each of them under the most appropriate heading. A brief explanation as to why you feel each activity creates either an opportunity or threat will suffice. The competitive environment- five forces model: As well as the general environmental factors, part of external analysis also requires an understanding of the competitive environment and what are likely to be the major competitive forces in the future. A well established framework for analyzing and understanding the nature of the competitive environment is Porter’s five forces model. 1. Rivalry among existing firms; 2. Bargaining power of buyers; 3. Bargaining power of suppliers. 4. Threat of new entrants; 5. Threat of substitute products or services. Threat of Entry Bargaining power Rivalry among existing Bargaining power of of suppliers firms buyers Substitute products of services The collective strength of these forces determines the profit potential, defined as long run return on invested capital, of the industry. Some industries have inherently high profits due to the weakness of these forces. Others, where the collective force is strong, will exhibit low returns on investment. The model can be used in several ways. 1. To help management decide whether to enter a particular industry. Presumably, they would only wish to enter the ones where the forces are weak and potential returns high. 2. To influence whether to invest more in an industry. For a firm already in an industry and thinking of expanding capacity, it is important to know whether the investment costs will be recouped. The present strength of the forces will be evident in present profits, so management will wish to forecast how the forces may change through time. Alternatively, they may decide to sell up and leave the industry now if they perceive the forces are strengthening. 3. To identify what competitive strategy is needed. The model provides a way of establishing the factors driving profitability in the industry. These factors affect all the firms in the industry. For an individual firm to improve its profitability above that of its peers, it will need to deal with these forces better than they. If successful, it will enjoy a stronger share price and may survive in the industry longer. Both increase shareholder wealth. Each of the five forces is explained below. Threat of entry Entrance can affect the profitability of the industry in two ways: 1. Through the impact of actual entry. A new entrant will reduce profits in the industry by: (a) Reducing prices either as an entry strategy or as a consequence of increased industry capacity. There is also the danger that a price war may break out as rivals try to recover share or push out the new rival. (b) Increasing costs of participation of incumbents through forcing product quality improvements, greater promotion or enhanced distribution. (c) Reducing economies of scale available to incumbents by forcing them to produce at lower volumes due to loss of market share. 2. By forcing firms to follow pre-emptive strategies to stop them from entering. In view of the above danger, firms may take action to forestall entry of new rivals by: (a) Charging an entry-deterring price which is so low as to make the market unattractive to new, and possible higher cost, rivals. (b) Maintenance of high capital barriers through deliberate investment in product or production technologies or in continuous promotion of research and development. Porter suggests that the strength of the treat of market entry depends on the availability of barriers to entry against the entrant. These are: 1. Economies of scale. Incumbent firms will enjoy lower unit costs due to spreading their fixed costs across a larger output and through the ability to drive better bargains with their suppliers. This gives them the ability to charge prices below the unit costs of new entrants and hence render them unprofitable. 2. Product differentiation. If established firms have strong brands, unique product features or established good relations with customers, it will be hard for an entrant to rival these by a price reduction, and expensive and time consuming to emulate them. 3. Capital requirements. If large financial resources will be needed by a rival to enter, the effect will be to exclude many potential entrants. Porter argues this will be particularly effective if the investment is needed in dedicated capital assets with no alternative use or in promotion. Few would-be entrants will want to take the risk. 4. Switching costs. These are one-off costs for a customer, to switch to the new rival. If they are high enough, they will eliminate any price advantage the new rival may have. Examples include connection charges, termination costs, special service equipment and operator training costs. 5. Access to distribution channels. If the established firms are vertically integrated, this leaves the entrant needing either to bear the costs of setting up its own distribution or depending on its rivals for its sales. Both will reduce potential profits. 6. Cost advantages independent of Scale. These make the established firm to have lower costs. Examples are unique low-cost technologies, cheap resources, or experience effects (a fall in cost gained from having longer experience in the industry, usually influenced by cumulative production volume). 7. Government policy. Some national governments jealously guard their domestic industries by forbidding imports or using legal and bureaucratic techniques to stall import competition. Also, some governments prefer to allow existing firms to grow large to give them the economies of scale that they will need to compete in a global market. Therefore, they try to restrict industry competition. Pressure from substitute products: Substitute products are ones that satisfy the same need despite being technically dissimilar. Examples include aeroplanes and trains, e-mail and postal services, and soft drinks and ice cream. Substitutes affect industry profitability in several ways: 1. They put an upper limit on the prices the industry can charge without experiencing large- scale loss of sales to the substitute. 2. They can force expensive product or service improvements on the industry. 3. Ultimately, they can render the industry technologically obsolete. The power of substitutes depends on: 1. Relative price/Performance: A coach journey is cheaper than a rail journey which is in turn cheaper than a flight. However, coach is slower than a train. The trade-off is far less clear between e-mail and postal services for simple messages, since e-mail is both quicker and cheaper! 2. The extent of switching costs. Bargaining power of buyers: Buyers use their power to trade around the industry participants to gain lower prices and/or improvements to product or service quality. This will impact on profitability. Their power will be greater if: 1. Buyer power is concentrated in a few hands. This denies the industry any alternative markets to sell to if the prices offered by buyers are low. 2. Products are undifferentiated. This enables the buyer to focus on price as the important buying criterion. 3. The buyer earns low profits. In this situation, they will try to extract low prices for their inputs. This effect is enhanced if the industry’s supplies constitute a large proportion of the buyer’s costs. 4. Buyers are aware of alternative producer prices. This enables them to trade around the market. Improvements in information technology have significantly increased this, by enabling a reduction in ‘search costs.’ 5. Low switching costs. In this case, the switching costs might include the need to change the final product specification to accept a different input or the adoption of a new ordering and payments system. Bargaining power of Suppliers: The main power of suppliers is to raise their prices to the industry and hence take over some of its profits for themselves. Power will be increased by: 1. Supply industry dominated by a few firms: Provided that the buying industry does not have similar monopolistic firms, the supplier will be able to raise prices. For example, the ‘Wintel’ domination in personal computers developed because IBM did not insist on exclusive access to Microsoft’s operating systems or Intel’s processors. 2. The suppliers have proprietary product differences. These unique features of images make it impossible for the industry to buy elsewhere. For example, branded food suppliers rely on this to offset the buyer power of the large grocery chains. Rivalry among existing competitors: Some industries feature cut-throat competition, while others are more relaxed. The latter have the higher profitability. Porter suggests that the factors determining competition are: 1. Numerous rivals, such that any individual firm may suddenly reduce price and trigger a price war. If there are fewer firms of similar size, they will tend to, formally or informally, recognize that it is not in their interest to cut prices. 2. Low industry growth rate. Where growth is slow, the participants will be forced to compete against one another to increase their sales volumes. 3. High fixed or storage costs. The former, sometimes called operating gearing, put pressure on firms to increase volumes to take up capacity. Because variable costs are low, this is usually accomplished by cutting prices. This is common in transportation and telecommunications. Similarly, high storage costs are often the cause of a sudden dumping of stocks on to the market. 4. Low differentiation or switching costs mean that price competition will gain customers and so be commonplace. 5. High strategic stakes. This is where a lot depends on being successful in the market. Often this is because the firms are using the market as a springboard into other lines of business. For example, banks may fight for a share of the current (chequing) account or mortgage markets in order to provide a customer base for their insurance and investment products. 6. High exit barriers. These are economic or strategic factors making exit from unprofitable industries expensive. They can include the costs of redundancies and cancelled leases and contracts, the existence of dedicated assets with no other value or the stigma of failure. Internal Analysis: Internal analysis is needed in order to determine the possible future strategic options by appraising the organization’s internal resources and capabilities. This involves the identification of those things which the organization is particularly good at in comparison to its competitors. The analysis will involve undertaking a resource audit to evaluate the resources the organization has available and how it utilizes those resources- for example, financial resources, human skills, physical assets, technologies and so on. It will help the organization to assess its strategic capability. That is the adequacy and suitability of the resources and competences of an organization for it to survive and prosper. Johnson, schools and Whittington (2005) explain that this depends up having: Threshold resources – The resources needed to meet the customers’ minimum requirements and therefore to continue to exist; Threshold competences- The activities and processes needed meet customers’ minimum requirements and therefore continue to exist; Unique resources –The resources that underpin competitive advantage and are difficult for competitors to imitate or obtain; Core competences – are activities that underpin competitive advantage and are difficult for competitors to imitate or obtain. There is often confusion surrounding the terms ‘resources’ and ‘competences’ –essentially resources are what the organization has, whereas competences are the activities and processes through which the organization deploys its resources effectively. This concept will be returned to later in this chapter when examining the resource- based view of strategy. Michael Porter suggested that the internal position of an organization can be analyzed by looking at how the various activities performed by the organization added (or did not add) value, in the view of the customer. Porter proposed a model, the value chain (Figure 1.5), Firm Infrastructure Human Resource Management Technology development Procurement support activities Inbound Operations Outbound Marketing & Service Primary logistics sales logistics activities The value chain. Based on the work of Michael porter For carrying out such an analysis. To be included in the value Chain, an activity has to be performed by the organization better, differently or more cheaply than by its rivals. The value chain of any organization can be divided into primary activities and support activities, each of these activities can be considered as adding value to an organization’s products or services. The primary activities of the value chain are as follows: Inbound logistics. The systems and procedures that the organization uses to get inputs into the organization, for example the inspection and storage of raw materials. Operations. The processes of converting inputs to outputs, for example production processes. Outbound logistics. The systems and procedures that the organization uses to get outputs to the customer, for example storage and distribution of finished goods. Marketing and Sales. Those marketing and sales activities that are aimed at persuading customers to buy, or to buy more, for example TV or point- of –Sale advertising. Service. Those marketing and sales activities that are clearly aimed before or after the point of sale, for example warranty provision, or advice on choosing or using the product. The secondary (or support) activities of the Value Chain are as follows: Procurement. The acquisition of any input or resource, for example buying raw materials of capital equipment. Technology development. The use of advances in technology, for example new IT developments. Human resource Management. The use of the human resources of the organization, for example by providing better training. Firm infrastructure. Those general assets, resources or activities of the organization that are difficult to allocate to one of the other activity headings, for example a reputation for quality, or a charismatic Chief Executive. If you are asked to apply the Value chain to an organization, simply look for things that the organization does well, and put each of them under the most appropriate heading. A brief explanation as to why you feel each activity has strength will suffice. Corporate Appraisal: Having undertaken an analysis of the trends and possible external and internal environmental developments that may be of significance to the organization, the next step is to bring together the outcomes from the analysis. This is often referred to as corporate appraisal or SWOT analysis, standing for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. During this stage, management will assess the ability of the business, following its present strategy, to reach the objectives they have set. They will draw on two sets of information: a) Information on the current performance and resource position of the business. This will have been gathered in a separate internal position audit exercise. b) Information on the present business environment and how this is likely to change over the period of the strategy. This will have been collected by a process of external environmental analysis and competitor analysis. The four categories of SWOT can be explained in more detail as follows: 1. Strengths. These are the particular skills or distinctive competences which the organization processes and which gives it an advantage over the competitors. 2. Weaknesses. These are the things that are going badly (or work badly) in the organization and can hinder the organization in achieving its strategic aims, such as a lack of resources, expertise or skills. 3. Opportunities. These relate to events or changes outside the organization, that is in its external business environment, which are favourable to the organization. The events or changes can be exploited to the advantage of the organization and will therefore provide some strategic focus to the decision-making of the managers within the organization. 4. Threats. Threats relate to events or changes outside the organization in its business environment which are unfavourable and that must be defended against. The organization will need to introduce some strategies to overcome these threats in some way or it may start to lose market share to its competitors. The strengths and weaknesses normally result from the organization’s internal factors, and the opportunities and threats relate to the external environment. So, the strengths and weaknesses come from internal position analysis tools such as the Value Chain, and the opportunities and threats from environment analysis tools such as PEST and the five forces model. Q4. What are the factors that organisations consider while making a choice of strategy? Strategic options and choice (or Plan): Strategic choice is the process of choosing the alternative strategic options generated by the SWOT analysis. Management need to seek to identify and evaluate alternative courses of action to ensure that the business reaches the objectives they have set. This will be largely a creative process of generating alternatives, building on the strengths of the business and allowing it to tackle new products or markets to improve its competitive position. The strategic choice process involves making decisions on: What basis should the organization compete and on what basis can it achieve competitive advantage? What are the alternative directions available and which products/markets should the organization enter or leave? What alternative methods are available to achieve the chosen direction? Achieving competitive Advantage: When developing a corporate strategy, the organization must decide upon which basis it is going to compete in its markets. This involves decisions on whether to compete across the whole market place or only in certain segments this is referred to as competitive scope). A further consideration is the way in which the organization can gain competitive advantage, that is anything that gives on organization an edge over its rivals and which can be sustained over time. To be sustainable, organizations must seek to identify the activities that competitors cannot easily copy and imitate (we will return to this later in this chapter when the resource- based view to strategy is introduced). Organizations must assess why customers chose to use one organization over another. The answer to this question can be broadly categories into two reasons: 1. The price of the product/ service is lower. 2. The product/ service is perceived to provide better ‘added value’. Decisions on the above questions will determine the generic strategy options for achieving competitive advantage- Known as generic because they are widely applicable to firms of all sizes and in all industries. The two types of generic competitive strategies that enable organizations to achieve competitive advantage are referred to as low-cost strategies or differentiation strategies. For example, organizations can compete on price-based strategies serving prices to sensitive segments of the market place or they can choose to purpose a differentiation strategy which seeks to be unique on dimensions valued by buyers, such as product design, branding, product performance and service levels. Strategic Direction The organization also has to decide how it might develop in the future to exploit strengths and opportunities or minimize threats and weaknesses. There are various options that could be followed, including: Market Penetration. This is where the organization seeks to maintain or increase its share of existing markets with existing products. Product development. Strategies are based on launching new products or making product enhancement which are offered to its existing markets. Market development. Strategies are based on finding new markets for existing products. This could involve identifying new markets geographically or new market segments. Diversification. Strategies are based on launching new products into new markets and is the most risky strategic option. Strategic Methods Not only must the organization consider on what basis to compete and the direction of strategic development, it must also decide what methods it could use. The options are:  Internal development. Where the organization uses it own internal resources to pursue its chosen strategy. This may involve the building up a business from scratch.  Take over/acquisitions or mergers. An alternative would be to acquire resources by taking over or margining with another organization, in order to acquire knowledge of a particular product/market area. This might be to obtain a new product range or market presence or as a means of eliminating competition.  Strategic alliances. This route often has the aim of increasing exposure to potential customers or gaining access to technology. There are a variety of arrangements for strategic alliances, some of which are very formalized & some, which are much looser arrangements. The evaluation stage considers each strategic option in detail for its feasibility and fit with the mission and circumstances of the business. By the end of this process, management will have decided on a shortlist of options that will be carried forward to the strategy implementation stage. The various options must be evaluated against each other with respect to their ability to achieve the overall goals. Management will have a number of ideas to improve the competitive position of the business. Strategy implementation The strategy sets the broad direction and methods for the business to reach its objectives. However, none of it will happen without more detailed implementation. The strategy implementation stage involves drawing up the detailed plans, policies and programmes necessary to make the strategy happen. It will also involve obtaining the necessary resources and committing them to the strategy. These are commonly called tactical and operational decisions:  Tactical programmes and decisions are medium-term policies designed to implement some of the key elements of the strategy such as developing new products, recruitment or downsizing of staff or investing in new production capacity. Product appraisal and project management techniques are valuable at this level.  Operational programmes and decisions cover routine day-to-day matters such as meeting particular production, cost and revenue targets. Conventional budgetary control is an important factor in controlling these matters. Q5. How do organisations go for strategic evaluation ? Why strategic control is important? Review and control This is a continuous process of reviewing both the implementation and the overall continuing suitability of the strategy. It will consider two aspects: 1. Does performance of the strategy still put the business on course for reaching its strategic objectives? 2. Are the forecasts of the environment on which the strategy was based still accurate, or have unforeseen threats or opportunities arisen subsequently that might necessitate a reconsideration of the strategy? A formal top-down strategy process GM Director PR SBU SBU SBU Function operation Large organizations will often formalize process of strategy formulation. The following are typical features of the process: 1. A designated team responsible for strategy development: there are several groups of actors in this process: a) A permanent strategic planning unit reporting to top management and consisting of expert staff collecting business intelligence, advising divisions on formulating strategy and monitoring results. b) Groups of managers, often the management teams of the SBUs meeting periodically to monitor the success of the present strategies and to develop new ones. These are sometimes referred to as strategy away days because they often take place away from the office to avoid the interruptions day-to-day functioning. c) Business consultants acting as advisers and facilitators to the process by suggesting models and techniques to assist managers in understanding their business environments and the strategic possibilities open to them. You will be reading about many of these models and technique later. 2. Formal collection of information for strategy purposes. The management team will call upon data from within and outside the firm to understand the challenges they face and the resources at their disposal. This information can include: a) Environmental scanning reports complied by the business intelligence functions within the firm, including such matters as competitor behaviour, market trends and potential changes to laws. b) Specially commissioned reports on particular markets, products or competitors. c) Management accounting information on operating costs and performance, together with financial forecasts. d) Research reports from external consultancies on market opportunities and threats. 3. Collective decision-taking by the senior management team. This involves the senior management team working together to develop and agree business strategies. Techniques such as brainstorming ideas on flip charts and using visual graphical models to summaries complex ideas will assist this process. Also, arriving at a decision will involve considerable conflict as particular managers are reluctant to see their favoured proposal rejected and a different strategy adopted. 4. A process of communicating and implementing the business strategy. This can be accomplished using a combination of the following methods: (a) Writing a formal document summarizing the main elements of the plan. This will be distributed on a confidential basis to other mangers and key investors, and also perhaps to other key stakeholders such as labour representatives, regulatory bodies, major customers and key suppliers. (b) Briefing meetings and presentations to the stakeholders mentioned above. Frequently, reporters from the business press will be invited to ensure that the information reaches a broader public. Naturally, the fine detail will remain confidential. (c) The development of detailed policies, programmes and budgets based on achieving the goals laid out in the business strategy. (d) The development of performance targets for managers and staff. These ensure that everyone plays their part in the strategy (and perhaps receiving financial rewards for doing so). 5. Regular review and control of the strategy. Management will monitor the success of the strategy by receiving regular reports on performance and on environmental changes. Today, the sophisticated competitive strategies of many firms have necessitated the development of more complex performance measurement systems to supplement traditional budgetary control information. These are variously termed enterprise resource management systems and balanced scorecards. There has also been an increased emphasis on competitor and other environmental information to assist managers in steering their businesses. Economic Profit Both sets of strategy writers take an economic view of competitive advantages, seeing it as something enabling the firm to generate a superior return on shareholders’ investment through time. Economic Profit is essentially the excess of the firm’s earnings over the opportunity costs of the capital it employs. In other words, for an economic profit to be recorded, the returns to the shareholder must exceed the rate of return the shareholder could have obtained by investing the same funds in the next best alternative. For example, consider this simple investment situation: Marsh Hall plc has net assets of Rs. 520 lakhs. Its profits last year were Rs. 62. lakhs. Its direct rival Jevons plc has net assets of Rs. 780 lakhs and earnings of Rs. 70.2 lakhs. Advise the investors in Marsh Hall plc and jevons plc on the economic performance of the firms. We need to calculate the economic profit earned by the two firms:  Marsh Hall plc is making a return on net assets of 12% (Rs. 62.4/ Rs. 520).  Jevons plc is making a return on net assets of 9% (Rs. 702/ Rs. 780).  Investors in Marsh Hall plc are therefore enjoying a positive economic profit of Rs. 15.6 lakhs, calculated as (12%- 9%) 520 lakhs. In other words, they are Rs. 15.6 lakhs better off by investing in Marsh Hall plc than if they had invested in the next-best alternative, Jevons plc.  Investors in Jevons plc are suffering a negative economic profit of Rs. 23.4 lakhs (i.e. 3% of Rs. 780 lakhs) because they chose not to invest in Marsh Hall plc. Investors should switch their investments from Jevons plc to Marsh Hall plc to gain a better return. The effect of this would be to reduce the share price of Jevons plc and raise the share price of Marsh Hall plc. The market value of Jevons plc would fall and the market value of Marsh Hall plc will rise. In a simple way this illustrates the link between economic profit and shareholder value. Management Accounting Business Strategy Setting the Goals of the Organization According to the rational model the first stage of strategy formulation is the setting of mission and objectives. Position Review & audit control Mission & Corporate Strategic Strategy Strategy Objectives appraisal option evaluation implementation generation & Choice Environmental analysis The identity of stakeholders Stakeholders are defined by CIMA as ‘Those persons and organizations that have an interest in the strategy of the organization. Stakeholders normally include shareholders, customers, staff and the local community. As such we can consider them to be people and organizations who have a say in:  What you are to do,  What resources you have,  What you should achieve. They are affected by, and feel they have a right to benefit or be pleased by what you do. For a commercial organization they include, amongst others: Internal stakeholders Owners/founders Management Staff Mixed internal and external stakeholders Trade unions Communities where organization is based External Stakeholders Bankers, Other investors Governments & regulatory bodies Q6. Discuss the concept of Critical success factors in strategic management. 1. Defining critical success factors This approach first emerged as an approach for linking information systems strategy to broader commercial goals by first identifying the crucial elements of the firm’s business strategy. More recently it has been appropriated by strategies in general as an alternative to the goal structure approach described above. According to its originators, critical success factors (CSFs) are: ‘the limited number of areas in which results, if they are satisfactory, will enable successful competitive performance’ (Rockart& Hoffman, 1992). More recently Johnson and Scholes (1997) have defined CSFs as:.those components of strategy where the organization must excel to outperform competition. These are underpinned by competences which ensure this success. A critical factor analysis can be used as a basis for preparing resource plans. CIMA defines critical success factors as ‘An element of the organizational activity which is central to its future success. Critical success factors may change over time, and may include items such as product quality, employee attitudes, manufacturing flexibility and brand awareness.’ Competitive Strategy CSF CSF CSF CSF CSF Business processes & activities yielding the CSF KPI KPI KPI KPI KPI Critical Success factors and Key performance indicators The attraction of the approach lies in the fact that it provides a methodology for identifying strategic goals (or CSFs) by basing them on the strengths, or core competences, of the firm. These are implemented through the development of key performance indicators (KPIs) for milestones in the processes delivering the CSFs. 2. Methodology of CSF analysis According to Johnson and Scholes, this is a six-step process. We have illustrated them here using the example of a chain of fashion clothing stores. 1. Identify the critical success factors for the specific strategy. The recommend keeping the list of CSF to six or less. The store chain might decide that these are: o Right store locations; o Good brand image; o Correct and fashionable lines of stock; o Friendly fashionable store atmosphere. 2. Identify the underpinning competences essential to gaining competitive advantage in each of the CSFs. This will involve a thorough investigation of the activities, skills and processes that deliver superior performance of each. Taking just one of the store’s CSFs the issue of correct stock, as an example: ▪ Recruit and retain buyers with acute fashion sense; ▪ Just-in-time purchasing arrangements with clothing manufacturers; ▪ Proprietary designs of fabrics and clothes; ▪ Close monitoring of shop sales by item to detect trends in which items are successful and which are not; ▪ Swift replenishment delivery service to minimize amount of stock in the system. 3. Ensure that the list of competences is sufficient to give competitive advantage. The store needs to consider whether improvement to the systems and processes underlying its CSF will be sufficient to secure its place in the high street or whether more needs to be done. For example, have they considered whether they need to develop a direct ordering facility to raise profile and gain loyalty? 4. Identify performance standards which need to be achieved to outperform rivals. These are sometimes termed key performance indicators and will form the basis of a performance measurement and control system to implement and revive the strategy. KPIs that the clothing store chain might consider to match its key processes (listed above) include:  Staff turnover among buyers and designers;  Lead times on orders from suppliers;  Percentage of successful stock lines designed in-house;  Installation of a real-time store sales information system by the end of the year;  Establishment of 1-day order turnaround for store replenishment. 5. Ensure that competitors will not be able to imitate or better the firm’s performance of each activity, otherwise it will not be the basis of a secure competitive strategy. Our store would compare its competences against Gap, Miss self ridge, Next, River Island, etc. It would need to consider whether its present advantages are sustainable. 6. Monitor competitors and predict the likely impact of their moves in terms of their impact of these CSFs. This process is carried out principally by discussions between management, although there is a clear additional role for the special expertise of the chartered management accountant in mapping the key process, developing KPIs and monitoring them. It is worth remembering that critical success factors are specific to an organization at which you are looking. They should not be confused with the survival factors and success factors which relate to the industry in general. Q7. “Scanning of external environment plays a vitalrole in formulation of a strategy.”, Explain. A model of the organization in its environment The five forces Model (Porter, 1980):  Rivalry among existing firms,  Bargaining power of buyers,  Bargaining power of suppliers,  Threat of new entrants,  Threat of new entrants,  Threat of substitute products or services. Refresh your memory by looking at CIMA: Management Accounting : official Terminology 2005. (b) PEST analysis:  Political/legal influences,  Economic Environment and influences,  Social and demographic pattern and values,  Technological forces. Political/ Legal environment Economic environment Potential entrants Direct competitors Suppliers The firm Distribution Final of inputs Channels consumer Substitute technologies Social environment Technological environment Model of the Business environment Although PEST analysis is the ‘industry standard’ for macro-environmental analysis some writers prefer the greater detail provided by a PESTEL analysis. This separates legal from political and specifies ecological separately, for example. Political:  Taxation policy,  Foreign trade regulations,  Government stability. Economic factors:  Business cycles; GNP trends, interest rates;  Inflation; unemployment disposable income. Socio-cultural factors:  Demographics,  Income distribution,  Lifestyle changes, Attitudes to work and leisure;  Consumerism. Technological factors:  Government spending on research,  New discoveries/development,  Rates of obsolescence. Ecological factors:  Protection laws,  Energy consumption issues,  Waste disposal Legal factors:  Monopolies legislation,  Employment law, product safety, etc. Q8. Explain techniques of scanning of external environment. The SWOT analysis SWOT and a corporate appraisal are the same thing: Corporate appraisal. A critical assessment of the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis) in relation to the internal and environmental factors affecting an entity in order to establish its condition prior to the preparation of the long-term plan. Purpose of a SWOT analysis: 1. Strengths and weaknesses are usually internal and specific to the firm. Strength is something the firm is good at doing or a resource it can call upon to reach its goals. They are sometimes termed distinctive competences. A weakness is generally a resource shortage which renders the firm vulnerable to competitors. 2. Opportunities and threats are generally external to the firm. Opportunities and threats are strategic challenges to the firm. Because these are so often things like competitors, changing technology or imminent economic recession, most managers assume them to be solely external. However some things inside the firm can also be threats or opportunities, for example, unrest among the labour force or the discovery of a new product innovation respectively (although these are often linked to external factors such as better job offers elsewhere or a market need which the innovation can satisfy, for instance). From SWOT to strategy: If the organization’s approach to strategy is to make itself ‘fit’ the environment this might be achieved by: 1. Matching. The firm should build on those strengths that enable it to take advantage of the opportunities in the market place. For example, the local brewer in figure consider:  Marketing its beer as a bottled real ale through supermarkets and independent off licenses;  Converting some of its pubs to restaurants;  Arranging distribution deals with importers of bottled lagers;  Creating children’s ‘fun areas’ in suitable pubs. 2. Converting. This is a more complex process in which management question their interpretation of a factor as a threat or weakness and consider whether it can be reinterpreted or turned to its advantage (sometimes called flip siding the negative). The local brewer decide to:  Emphasize its traditional brewing methods as the reason for its relatively higher costs and prices;  Distribute maps of the city in which most of its pubs were based and introduce a promotion based on having a ‘passport’ stamped by each pub the drinker visited- this emphasized how easy it was to walk to the pubs;  Introduce a ‘designated driver’ scheme where the driver was given free soft drinks and coupons for alcoholic drinks, which could be redeemed at a later date. 3. Remedying. Removing weaknesses that leave the firm exposed to threats or unable to grasp opportunities is a priority for strategic action. The regional brewer in figure decide to:  Set up a franchised brewing arrangement for larger with known brand to reduce its reliance on sales of the major national brands brewed by its rivals;  Rationalize its public houses by introducing a scheme where landlords could buy their pubs from the brewery;  Adopt selective investment in developing restaurant areas inside suitably located pubs;  Institute provision of training to publicans in providing cooked food;  Increase the quality and variety of wins, spirits and mineral waters on sale. The TOWS approach Another approach to generating strategic options from a SWOT analysis was identified by Weihrich (1982). This uses the extended matrix shown in Figure below Method Management insert the elements of SWOT into the outsides of the matrix in the same way as discussed in section Strategic options are identified in the four internal quadrants  SO Strategies- ways in which the business could use its strengths to take advantage of opportunities.  ST strategies- Considering how to use company’s strengths to avoid threats. It can be hoped that rivals with be less able to do this and hence they will suffer deteriorating relative competitive performance.  WO Strategies- Attempting to take advantage of opportunities by addressing weaknesses.  WT strategies – Primarily defensive and seek to minimize weaknesses and avoid threats. Internal Strengths (S) Weaknesses Factors (W) External Factors Opportunities SO Strategies WO Strategies (O) Threats ST strategies WT Strategies (T) TOWS Matrix When should SWOT take place? In the model shown in Figure the SWOT takes place after the setting of mission and objectives and the conduct of the environmental analysis and position audit. Not all strategists are agreed that objectives should be set before the position of the firm is understood. There are arguments for putting SWOT elsewhere in the strategy formulation process. Evaluation of value chain analysis: The impact of value chain analysis on management thinking has been profound and the model continues to be applied more than 15 years after its first formulation. Presumably it has been found useful by many. Principally these uses have been to provide: 1. A way of analyzing the firm in terms of the processes it uses to serve its customer. By looking cross-functionally it can spot places where departmental processes, friction and self-interest reduce the quality of the service to the customer or increase costs. 2. A way to analyse rivals. Recognizing that a rival in your industry (or incumbents of an industry you wish to enter) have a particular value chain ensures that you can take their best ideas but also improve on activities where they are incurring excessive costs. 3. A common set of terminology for management to use in discussing operations. 4. A basis for other management techniques. These are specialist techniques designed to improve the firm’s operations. They include:  Benchmarking;  Business process re-engineering;  Activity-based management;  Information system strategy;  Analysis of transactions costs and outsourcing decisions. These techniques are discussed elsewhere in this text or in other subjects at Strategic Level. 5. A way of identifying ways of generating superior competitive performance. The value chain is Porter’s solution to the task of finding ways to achieve cost leadership or differentiation. Even if management do not want to go to these extremes, the value chain is a useful place to look for ideas on how to reduce costs and/or improve customer satisfaction. We can illustrate this by some examples of how Dell seeks to gain competitive advantages;  Inbound logistics. JIT deliveries by component suppliers, decision not to take delivery of bulky items like monitors and speakers but have them delivered direct to customers via standard courier, provision of sales forecasts to non-JIT suppliers.  Operations. JIT manufacturing process, testing, loading software.  Outbound logistics. Direct delivery by courier to final customer, suppliers of sub- assemblies supply direct to customer.  Marketing and sales.Telesales and website operations, provision of customer advice on specification and price, more up-to-date product specification due to no stocks everything made to order: development of relationship with end-customer.  Service. No specific mention- which is interesting because it is the area in which they are currently heavily criticized.  Procurement. Encouragement of suppliers to site locally in return for guaranteed orders, creation of supplier hubs (i.e. supplier-managed distribution points) near Dell plants, payment for components only on demand, limited supplier base.  Technology development. Development of website and e-service system, investment in developing server technology. 6. A basis for developing performance measures. Earlier we discussed the requirement that key performance indicators (KPIs) should monitor the critical success factors of the business strategy. If management choose to use the value chain to develop this strategy, they will also provide an understanding of the processes that deliver the strategy. It follows that KPIs should be based on the activities in the firm’s value chain. Supply chain management Supply chain management is often explained with reference to Porter’s value chain and value systems. According to a leading authority (Christopher, 1998): “ The supply chain is the network of organizations that are involved, through upstream and downstream linkages, in the different processes and activities that produce value in the form of products and services in the hands of the ultimate consumer. Benchmarking Definition: CIMA defines benchmarking as: “The establishment, through data gathering, of targets and comparators, through whose use relative levels of performance (and particularly areas of underperformance) can be identified. By the adoption of identified best practices it is hoped that performance will improve”. Purposes of benchmarking:  A sales variance may indicate to what extent a fall in revenue is due to a fall in sales volume and how much to a fall in price. It does not indicate why people are less inclined to buy our product or are now only prepared to buy it at a lower price.  variable overhead variance may show us that factory overheads are rising. It does not tell us why we need to hold a greater stock of inventory than before.  An analysis of our sales returns may show that products are being returned more than before. It does not tell us what is wrong with them or why people are buying a competitor’s product. The purpose of benchmarking is to help management understand how well the firm is carrying out its key activities and how its performance compares with competitor and with other organizations who carry out similar operations In its Management Accounting: Four types of benchmarking 1. Internal benchmarking: A method of comparing one operating unit or function with another within the same industry [assume it means ‘firm’ rather than industry]. 2. Functional Benchmarking: Internal functions are compared with those of the best external practitioners of those functions, regardless of the industry they are in. 3. Competitive benchmarking: Information is gathered about direct competitors, through techniques such as reverse engineering [decomposition & analysis of competitors’ products]. 4. Strategic benchmarking: A type of competitive benchmarking aimed at strategic action and organizational change. Stages in setting up a benchmarking programme: 1. Gain senior management commitment to the benchmarking project. To ensure that the programme enjoys the co-operation and commitment of managers it is essential that the senior management publicly and unequivocally endorse the benchmarking programme. Senior managers should be informed of:  The objectives and benefits of benchmarking;  The likely costs of the programme;  The possibility that sensitive data may be revealed to outside organization;  The long-term nature of a benchmarking programme and the likelihood that business improvements will take time to achieve. 2. Decide the process and activities to be benchmarked. To work properly this should commence by identifying the outcomes which drive the profits, sales and costs of the business. Factors which might be considered are:  Activities which generate the greatest costs;  Processes which have been the subject of customer complaints;  Processes essential to delivering the firm’s competitive advantage. Practitioners recommend that benchmarking considers entire processes rather than individual departments. Rank Xerox identified a number of processes which could be measured and improved to ensure that clients enjoyed ‘best in class’ reliability from their machines. One of these was the quality and reliability of the service engineers. 3. Understand the processes and develop appropriate measures. Mapping the processes involves three sorts of activity: (a) Discussion with key stakeholders in the process. Obviously this will include the process managers but also should include the operative staff, customers and suppliers. (b) Observation of the process. The benchmarking team should be prepared to walk through the process, observing and documenting the activities and any problems they see. (c) Experimental approaches involve making adjustments to the process or trying to force it to make mistakes in order to understand how it works better. Rank Xerox discovered that a major source of customer frustration was the length of time that machines were out of action. Discussions with engineers revealed that a major problem was the sheer diversity of machines and parts and the difficulties in getting these parts in good time. In the short term attention was focused on the processes of: o Conducting routine preventative maintenance; o Allocating engineers to breakdown calls; o Inventory management of spare parts; o Delivery of spare parts to engineers on site; o Quality of technical back-up to engineers on site. The actual KPIs used by Rank Xerox remain confidential, but the following might be suggested as helpful: Incidence of call-outs which could have been avoided by better preventative maintenance; Length of time between receipt of service request and arrival of the engineer on site; Length of time taken to fix the machine; Length of time needed for parts to arrive with the engineer; Inventory levels in the service depots (and particularly stock-outs); Number of call-outs delayed due to need for engineer to gain assistance from colleagues. 4. Monitor the process measurement system. The measures will need time to bed down. There are two aspects to this: a) The need for data capture systems to become reliable. For example, for operatives to learn to fill out the forms correctly. b) The need to establish the reliability of the measures themselves. In new control systems it is quite common to find that some key performance indicators do not relate to the strategic outcomes very well. This is usually because management misunderstand the drivers of their business success. Consultants recommend that the system be operated for at least a year before its measures are taken as reliable. As the above Motorola example shows, benchmarking is not limited to numerical performance. Recognition of differences in organizational structures and staffing procedures in often a valuable outcome of the exercise. 5. Choose appropriate organizations to benchmark against. There are four sources of comparative data: a) Internal benchmarking: These are other branches within the same organization. The basis of this approach is to identify which branch conducts each measured activity the best to enable best practice to be identified and transferred to other branches. b) Competitive benchmarking: This involves comparing performance with rival companies. This presents problems with data access and hence is usually carried out through a benchmarking center. This will be a central authority such as an industry association or professional body. It will collect data from each participant, then supply an analysis to each firm showing its relative performance against the ‘best in class’ under each activity as well as its overall relative position in the industry. c) Activity (or process) benchmarking: The firm may share operations in common with noncompetitive external organizations. For example, Rank Xerox in the USA is known to have compared several aspects of its inventory management with Texas instruments because the letter was best in class. d) Generic benchmarking: This is benchmarking against a conceptually similar process. It is unlikely that this will result in comparison of detailed measures but rather the observation of methods and structures. Motor manufacturers are known to have studied the pit-crews of Formula one racing teams to help them reduce the changeover times on their factory production lines. Rank Xerox studied the US mail order house LL Bean to see how they handled bulky items like canoes, in order to improve their own handling of photocopiers. 6. Obtain &analyse data. For example, John Welch, Quality Mangers of Rank Xerox writes: ‘We compared our distribution against 3M in Dusseldorf, Ford in cologne, Sainsbury’s regional depot in Herefordshire, Volvo’s parts distribution warehouse in Gothenburg and IBM’s international warehouse and French warehouse.’ 7. Discuss results with process management and staff: Benchmarking is not supposed to be a process which pinpoints people to blame for poor organizational improvement. Rather it is an opportunity for improvement. For this reason, any instance of below-par performance should trigger detailed consideration of ways forward with this management and staff involved. Factors to watch out for here are: a) Differences in the operating environment. For example, call-out time is bound to be higher in sparsely populated areas due to the need to travel greater distances. b) Differences in factor endowments. Frequently the very high labour productivity of one plant is compared with the poor performance of another without considering that the former has the benefit of much greater mechanization of processes. c) Differences in product or customer mix. Management should have every opportunity to explain possible reasons for deviations in performance. It helps no one to set targets which are intrinsically unattainable. 8. Develop and implement improvement programmes. Benchmarking simply monitors relative process performance. It cannot improve it. Once the management accept that there are serious deficits in certain processes, it must look for ways to improve things. This can include: Benchmarking simply monitors relative process performance. It cannot improve it. Once the management accept that there are serious deficits in certain processes, it must look for ways to improve things. This can include: a) Visiting the best-in-class to see how they do things; b) Work study and process improvement programmes; c) Capital investment in R & D and better production and information processes; d) Product redesign; e) Management and staff training; f) Outsourcing; g) Organizational restructuring Evaluation of benchmarking: The main benefits of benchmarking are: 1. (a) Increased customer satisfaction; (b) Reduced waste and costs of poor quality; (c) Reduced overhead through business simplification; (d) Transmission of best practice between divisions; 2. It can assist in overcoming complacency and drive organizational change. 3. It provides a way to monitor the conduct of competitive strategy. 4. It provides advance warning of deteriorating competitive position. 5. It improves management understanding of the value-adding processes of the business. Gap analysis Definition: A comparison between an entity’s ultimate objective (most commonly expressed in terms of demand, but may be reported in terms of profit, ROCE etc.) and the expected performance of projects both planned and under way. Differences are classified in a way which aids the understanding of performance, and which facilitates improvement. Example of a gap analysis diagram Objective measurement Ultimate objective GAP Future projects Current operations Time Gap analysis Product life cycles: The product life cycle model: We considered the concept of the industry life cycle. The same concept can be used at the level of product offering and even then can be used at a number of levels. For instance, we could consider the product life cycle of the automobile, or the product lifecycle of diesel power cars, or of leaded petrol cars or convertibles. The model presents a generalized account of the stages through which a product passes from its initial launch until its final withdrawal from the market due to obsolescence. The main characteristic of each stage are: 1. Introduction stage. This is a new product and hence will be unfamiliar to the market. The firm will need to invest considerable resources in developing and launching the product (including promotion, stock-building, staff training, etc.) without any guarantees that the product will succeed. Therefore:  Strongly negative cash flows;  High risk due to product novelty;  Single or limited product range to avoid confusing the customer;  Few if any competitors willing to take similar risks;  High need to introduce recognition and trial of the product;  Very high costs per customer. 2. Growth stage. Rapidly increasing sales due to acceptance of the product and a ‘bandwagon effect’ developing as buyers copy one another. The substantial investment needed to keep up with demand depresses cash flows. The most significant feature of Introduction Shakeout Growth Maturity Sales volume Decline Cash flow Time Profit The Product Life cycle This stage is increasing complexity as rivals enter the market and the range of products widens as producers seek to attract customers from each other with novel features:  Negative cash flows;  Reducing risk due to product having achieved acceptance;  Market entry by ‘copycat’ or ‘me-too’ producers;  Growth sustained by attracting additional types of customers, sometimes through reductions in price or product features;  Marketing focus switches to seeking to differentiate the firm’s product and brand in the minds of customers. 3. Shakeout stage. The sales growth rate turns down (i.e. becomes ex-growth) due to the market having become saturated. Initially there will be an imbalance between supply and demand because participants will not have forecast the downturn. This is usually resolved by a wave of product or business failure or amalgamation of businesses through takeover or merger. Briefly:  Overcapacity creates stimulus for pricing-cutting;  Number of producers reduces due to failures or industry concentration;  Peak levels of profitability. 4. Maturity stage. This is where purchases settle down into a pattern of repeat or replacement purchasing. For fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) like canned foods, soft drinks and confectionery these may be habitual purchases. For durables such as televisions, computers, cars and furniture the frequency of repurchase will be influenced by changing technical features, fashions and wearing-out of old product. The main features will be:  Reduction in investment in additional capacity leads to improved current cash flows;  Gradual price decline as firms compete against one another for a larger share of a fixed-size market- during this stage buyer and supplier power (porter) increase because of the larger number of industry members to choose between;  Firms seek to capitalize on product loyalty by launching spin-off products under the same brand name;  Gradual fragmentation of the market as firms seek out buyer groups to monopolies with special value-added features on products (e.g. premium quality foods in addition to regular and budget lines);  Peak profitability and least risk. The later phases of the mature stage are often characterized by a second wave of consolidations as some firms pursue industry rationalization to restore profitability. This has been noticeable in recent years in industries such as oil and banking. 5. Decline stage. The product declines into obsolescence as technically better substitutes replace it. The existence of such substitutes will cause sharp profit reductions among producers of the product. Many firms will have already found alternative industries, while those remaining will be looking for an orderly way to exist the industry:  Falling profitability and marginal cash flows;  Firms seek to leave industry. Using the product life cycle model: The product life cycle can be used in a number of ways: 1. To determine appropriate strategies for the firm. As the discussion above shows, each stage brings with it a number of strategic prescriptions. One great strength of the product life cycle is that it encourages mangers to look beyond present returns when deciding on product investment strategy. 2. To evaluate investment in products. Investment in products should be taken on the basis of the product life cycle gives an indication of whether these revenues may be expected to grow or not and also the likely level of further investment needed. 3. To develop performance measure for the product. Traditional financial control measures are of greatest use in the mature and decline stages where the most appropriate management style is one of critical use of resources and maximization of cash flows. During the introduction and growth stages, the factors which should be controlled are ones related to the product’s market success because these will determine its future financial value. The BCG portfolio Matrix Levels of portfolio analysis: A portfolio means a ‘collection’. In the present context it means a collection of products or businesses. In business, portfolio analysis management seek to visualize their operations as a collection of income-yielding assets. This approach is based on an approach used in financial strategy and is intended to give guidance on where to invest additional funds. 1. A product portfolio. A business unit may provide a range of products to its customers. For example, a life assurance firm may offer a number of products such as pensions, endowments, whole life, critical illness and guaranteed income polices. 2. A business (or corporate) portfolio. This is the businesses as seen from head office. Here the strategic business units (SBUs) are being seen as a collective whole. The growth-Share matrix The most well-known example of product or corporate portfolio analysis is provided by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). There is a definition of the model in CIMA: Management Accounting: official Terminology, 2005. The BCG model requires management to plot the position of their business units (or products) against two axes: The BCG Matrix Market growth rate. This is the annual percentage change in sales volume in the industry as a whole. This allows the business units to be plotted on a two-dimensional space, as shown in above figure. An additional factor is the inclusion of sales turnover in the model. The proportion of total group sales turnover accounted for each division is converted to the radius of a circle, with its center a the coordinates of the division. The importance of relative market share: High relative market share is of central importance as the key to competitive success argues the BCG. This is principally based on its earlier discovery of experience curves. An experience curve is in many ways similar to a learning curve effect: the organization becomes more efficient in producing and marketing a given product as it produces more of it. This leads to the statement that unit cost declines and cumulative volume increases. BCG claim this typically amounts to a 15% fall in unit costs for every doubling of cumulative volume. BCG argue that all firms in the industry face essentially the same experience curve effects. Consequently as the industry progresses the unit costs of each participant will fall. Inevitably this will lead to falling prices. The firm that survives this process will be the firm with the lowest costs which, by extension, will be the one with the highest cumulative volume. The conclusion is that domination of the market is essential for low costs and hence competitive success. Hence high relative market share is sought within the BCG matrix. High relative share therefore brings several benefits:  The enjoyment of lower unit costs and therefore higher current margins than competitors at the same price levels;  The ability to be a price leader- if the firm decides to cut price, others must follow to maintain their sales, but in so doing may find themselves selling at below unit costs;  The dominance of the market means that the product will become the benchmark product- ‘the real thing’ against which others may be seen as pale imitations. Strategies for each quadrant: 1. Question marks (Problem children). These products are in a high growth market which means that it is early in the product life cycle and therefore has the potential to repay present investment over its life cycle. Indeed the high market growth rate means that the firm will already be investing considerable sums in it. The low relative market share, however, means that this business unit is unlikely to survive in the long run because it will have a lower cost competitor. Management must decide between investing considerably more in the product to build its market share or shutting it down now before it absorbs any further investment which it will never repay. Investing to build can include:  Price reductions;  Additional promotion & securing of distribution channels;  Acquisition of rivals;  Product modification. 2. Stars. Very competitively strong due to high relative market share, although their current results will be poor due to the need to invest considerable funds into keeping up with the market growth rate. The strategy here is to hold market share by investing sufficient to match the commitment of rivals and the requirements of the marketplace. 3. Cash cows. These are mature products (low growth rate) which retain a high relative market share. The mature stage means that their prospects are limited to falling prices and volumes. Therefore investment will be kept under strict review and instead the priority is to maximize the value of free cash flows through a policy of harvesting the product. Harvest means to minimize additional investment in the product to maximize the case the division is spinning off. This cash can be used to support the question mark products as well as satisfy demands for dividends and interest. Holding may also be used for early-mature stage products where the market may repay the extra investment. 4. Dogs. Dogs come into being from two directions:  Former cash cows that have lost market share due to management’s refusal to invest in them;  Former question marks which still had a low relative share when the market reached maturity. In either case the BCG recommends divestment of the product or division. This can mean selling it to a rival, or shutting it down to liquidate its assets for investment in more promising business units. In deciding whether or not to divest a dog, the following considerations should be taken into account: (a) Whether the dog still provides a positive contribution or not. (b) What is the opportunity cost of the assets it uses? For example, the contribution from products that could be made using its factory or the interest on the net proceeds from liquidation of the SBU. (c) The impact on the rest of the portfolio that would result from divesting the SBU. Is it essential to attract customers for example? In later versions the BCG introduced the notion of a cash dog to accommodate another strategy of creating a niche position for a dog product based on its nostalgia value (e.g. Mini cars) or because a group of loyalist customers remain who will continue to pay high prices for the product (e.g. hand-made cigars). Evaluation of the BCG matrix: The principal benefits of the BCG matrix are that it: 1. Provides a convenient way for management to visualize a diverse range of businesses or products. 2. Ensures that management perceive of the portfolio of businesses holistically, rather than assessing each unit independently. Specifically management will:  Pay attention to cash-flow balances within the product portfolio;  Recognize the need for question mark and star products to be developed to ultimately replace present cash cows. 3. Can be used to analyse the portfolios of rival firms:  To Identify which products they may decide to devote resources to;  To spot potential areas for attack such as knocking out a crucial cash cow with an identical product. Q9. Differentiate between Strategy Formulation vs Strategy Implementation. Following are the main differences between Strategy Formulation and Strategy Implementation- Strategy Formulation Strategy Implementation Strategy Formulation includes planning and Strategy Implementation involves all those means decision-making involved in developing related to executing the strategic plans. organization’s strategic goals and plans. In short, Strategy Formulation is placing the In short, Strategy Implementation is managing Forces before the action. forces during the action. Strategy Formulation is an Entrepreneurial Strategic Implementation is mainly Activity based on strategic decision-making. an Administrative Task based on strategic and operational decisions. Strategy Formulation emphasizes Strategy Implementation emphasizes on effectiveness. on efficiency. Strategy Formulation is a rational process. Strategy Implementation is basically an operational process. Strategy Formulation requires co-ordination Strategy Implementation requires co-ordination among few individuals. among many individuals. Strategy Formulation requires a great deal Strategy Implementation requires of initiative and logical skills. specific motivational and leadership traits. Strategic Formulation precedes Strategy STrategy Implementation follows Strategy Implementation. Formulation. 10. What is Strategy? Strategy means consciously choosing to be clear about company’s direction in relation to what’s happening in the dynamic environment. With this knowledge, a manager is in a much better position to respond proactively to the changing environment. The fine points of strategy are as follows: Establishes unique value proposition compared to your competitors Executed through operations that provide different and tailored value to customers. Identifies clear tradeoffs and clarifies what not to do. Focuses on activities that fit together and reinforce each other. Drives continual improvement within the organization and moves it toward its vision. 11. What is a Strategic plan? Simply put, a strategic plan is the formalized roadmap that describes how the company executes the chosen strategy. A plan spells out where an organization is going over the next year or more and how it’s going to get there. Typically, the plan is organization-wide or focused on a major function such as a division or a department. A strategic plan is a management tool that serves the purpose of helping an organization do a better job, because a plan focuses the energy, resources, and time of everyone in the organization in the same direction. A strategic plan: Is for established business and business owners who are serious about growth. Helps to build competitive advantage Communicates the strategy to staff. Prioritizes the financial needs. Provides focus and direction to move from plan to action. 12. What is the Strategic planning process? In order to create a strategic plan, strategic planning process is to build first. The planning process typically includes several major activities or steps. People often have different names for these major activities. They may even conduct them in a different order. Strategic planning often includes use of several key terms as well. 13. What are the big planning pitfalls? Strategic planning can yield less than desirable results if it ends up in one of the possible pitfalls. To prevent that from happening, here’s a list of the most common traps to avoid: Relying on bad information or no information: A plan is only as good as the information on which it’s based. Too often, teams rely on untested assumptions or hunches, erecting their plans on an unsteady foundation. Ignoring what your planning process reveals: Planning isn’t magic: The planning process includes research and investigation. The investigation may yield results that tell the managers not to go in a certain direction. Do not ignore that information! Being unrealistic about your ability to plan: Put planning in its place and time. It takes time and effort to plan well. Some companies want the results but are not willing or able to make the investment. Be realistic resources, which include your time, energy, and money.. Planning for planning sake: Planning can become a substitute for action. Do not plan so much that it ignore the execution. Well-laid plans take time to implement. And results take time to yield an outcome. Get your house in order first: Planning can reveal that organization isn’t in order. When an organization pauses to plan, issues that have been derail planning efforts. Make sure that the company is in order and that there are no major conflicts before it embark on strategizing. Do not copy and paste: It is easy to fall into the trap of copying the best practices of a company similar to the organization. Although employing best practices from industry is important, other organizations’ experiences are not relevant to the company. Organizations are unique, complex, and diverse. One need to find ones own path instead of following a cookie-cutter approach. 14. What are the components of a Strategic plan? There are several different frameworks to think about and use while you’re developing a strategic plan. Think of the frameworks as different lenses through which to view the strategic planning process. Never look through two or three lenses at once. Normally use one at a time, Strategy and culture: An organization’s culture is made up of people, processes, experiences, ideas and attitudes. The strategy is where the organization is headed, what path it takes, and how it gets there. One can’t have strategy without culture or vice versa. The culture is like the culture of a house, and if it’s not in order, the best strategy in the world can’t the your company anywhere. Internal and external:Similar to the strategy and culture framework (previous bullet), you have an internal and external framework. The strategy is external. You gather information from your customers, competitors, industry, and environment to identify your opportunities and threats. Through employee surveys, board assessments, and financial

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