IIBM INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

IIBM TOWER, 1 BERIPURA, NEAR ERA MALL, DELHI ROAD, MEERUT 02 (NCR)

Tel:- 0121-4054591/92/93/94,
4054591/92/93/94, Fax: - 0121-4006123

EVALUATION FORM
(To be attached with each Answer Sheet)

Full Name of Candidate: PRASHANT KUMAR MISHRA

Registration Number P 2 1 0 4 D L 1 7 4 0 8

Course - Master Program in Business Administration - 2 Years

Semester II

Subject Name Strategic Management(Subject Code

Code-B108)

Section Attempted A B C D

(Please tick all the sections you have responded)

Declaration Form Attached Yes No

Date of Submission of Answer Sheet 17th March, 2022

Signature of the Candidate

Important:
1. Please ensure that your Correct Registration number is mentioned on the Answer Sheets.
2. It is Mandatory to send dully filled Declaration form along with the Answer Sheets.
3. This sheet is MANDATORY to be attached with Each Subject Answer sheet. (Please make
photocopies of this form & attach with each answer sheet)

IIBM Institute off Business Management

To,
IIBM Institute of Business Management,
IIBM Tower, 1 Beripura, Near Era Mall,
Delhi Road, Meerut.

Declaration Form

To Whom So Ever It May Concern

Name of the Candidate : PRASHANT KUMAR MISHRA

(Write in block letters)
Registration Number : P21/04/DL17408
Course Name : Master Program in Business Administration
Course Access Duration : 2 Year
Mode : Online Education
Type : Certificate Course
Certified By : IIBM Institute of Business Management

Semester : II
Specialization : (i) Finance Management
(ii) Human Resource Management

Declaration:
I hereby declare that I have gone through the complete examination paper and
solved all the question paper by myself only. I had not taken any external support
for answering the same.

Date : 17th March, 2022

Place : HOWRAH
Signature:
 Strategic Management
Subject Code-B108

Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions

Part one:
Multiple choice:

I. Production.
II. Systems.
III. Top Management
IV. Co-ordination
V. Core competence
VI. Superior
VII. All of the above
VIII. Strategy
IX. Internal
X. All of the above

Section A
Part Two

1. Differences between Strategy and Tactics:-

Strategy Tactics
Strategy defines a person’s long-term goals and the steps needed to Tactics are much more solid and are often
be taken to achieve them oriented towards smaller procedures with a
short time window

Strategists are Individuals who are in charge of resources in the Tacticians are specialists in their respective
organization. Strategists have a thorough knowledge of how a set of domains that employ resources into processes
tactics work together in order to achieve pre-determined targets. that will achieve a specified number of goals.

A Strategy is responsible for the overall health of the organization Tactics are responsible for the resources
allocated

Duration of a strategy is long term and is inflexible in change. The duration of tactics is short term and
changes according to specific conditions
 The ultimate outcome of a strategy is that it produces clear The successful outcome of a tactic is clear
organizational goals, plans and key performance measurements. outputs using, people, tools and time

2. Your customer decides your strategy — whether it be growth, marketing, content, channel presence, etc.

Pricing - You will decide your pricing strategy based on how much your customer can afford to pay happily. Chik
shampoo changed the market landscape when they started selling 1 rs sachet in class C and D shops.
Marketing — Chanel will never advertise on Tv but will arrange personal viewing experience for you because
their clientele will never pay for anything being advertised to millions. They are the “select few" and expect to be
treated accordingly.

In brief, the purpose of a business strategy is to meet the needs of its customers as effectively as possible. The
“outline” of that strategy should be unique and specifically designed for its customers. Start with what the
customers wants and figure out how to get it to them. Beyond that, my answer will not be brief.

3. Strategic thinking focuses on finding and developing unique opportunities to create value by enabling a
provocative and creative dialogue among people who can affect an organization’s direction, i.e. the board and
management. It is the input to strategic planning. Good strategic thinking uncovers potential opportunities for
creating value and challenges assumptions about an organization’s value proposition, so that when the strategic
plan is created, it targets these opportunities. Strategic thinking is a way of understanding the fundamental
drivers of a business and challenging conventional thinking about them, in discussion with others. Finally,
strategic thinking is having an awareness of what has not yet taken shape, having foresight. Therefore, boards
should encourage forward thinking.

The three primary components of strategic thinking:

i.) Planning: - The planning stage is one of the key elements of strategic thinking because it provides time to set
goals and consider how to reach them.

ii.) Problem-solving: - Problem solving is another important element of strategic thinking, as it can occur at any
stage in the process. In terms of strategic thinking, problem-solving typically involves responding to challenges
that arise while carrying out the actions you outline during the planning stage.

iii.) Adjusting actions: - The last main component of strategic thinking is the process of adjusting your actions as
you continue to work on the plans you create. Because much of strategic thinking requires analyzing your
strategy and the actions you take to ensure you remain on track to reach your goals, knowing how to adjust what
steps you take can help you to succeed by giving you the flexibility to devote time to the tasks might be most
effective.
4. The basic elements of planning are as follows: -

i.) Aim: Any organization should have definite aim. The aim should be clearly defined so that it can guide and
direct the activities of the enterprise. The main aim of a cooperative organization is to do service and to improve
the economic conditions of members. Calvert’s definition of cooperation clearly exhibits this aim.

ii.) Objectives: objectives or goals may be described as the ends towards which the group activities are aimed.
People say “Effective management is management by objectives”. A cooperative organization can have sub-
objectives for each department or sections and they can be united to have board based objective.

iii.) Procedures: Procedures spell out the actions to be taken out in practice to achieve the organizations
objectives as stated in the policies. Procedures may be static or changed often. Organizations have set
procedures for procuring raw materials, recruitment of personnel etc.

iv.) Methods: Methods are work plans, since they provide the manner and order, keeping the objectives, time
and facilities available. Methods involve only one department and one person. They contribute to the efficiency
in working and help work planning and control. Methods are used in manufacturing, marketing and office work.

v.) Rules: Rules are different from procedures and policies. A rule requires a specific and definite action be taken or
not taken with respect to a situation. Rules do not allow any discretion in their application. Also they do not allow
any leniency to come in the way of their application.

END OF SECTION A
 Section B: Caselets
Caselet 1

1.) Apple strengths: Strong brand name, market leader in music delivery, user-friendly products, design skills,
quality, exclusive contracts, profitable, strong vision

Apple weaknesses: Higher price, limited distribution, small share of large phone market, features can be
replicated over time.

Nokia strengths: Brand name, dominant position in mobile phone market, good products, profitable, strong
processes to delivery new strategies

Nokia weaknesses: Mature phone market, little involvement in music market to the present, its new music
service has no clear sustainable advantage.

Given Apple’s previous profit record, there is no doubt that it has benefited significantly from its move into
recorded music and the iPod. However, the extension into Apple mobile telephones remains to be proven at the
time of writing. It suddenly faces some very large companies – like Nokia - with both the resources and the desire
to take advantage of the market opportunities.

Is Apple stronger than Nokia? In the short term, arguably the answer is that they both have their strengths.
However, Nokia is just moving into the recorded music market and it has already produced its own version of the
touch phone with clear advantages over the Iphone according to independent magazine review. Thus it is worth
clarifying the question of ‘who is stronger’ with respect to the time frame.

In the long run, it may be that Nokia will emerge stronger. At the time of writing, Apple’s strategy of premium
pricing for its phone service has had to be revised downwards – it simply was not hitting its sales targets. In
addition, Apple managed to upset some loyal customers by introducing a new version of its phone that had more
features and was also lower-priced. Apple does not look like accompany that is strong in the mobile phone
market.

Importantly with regard to assessing who is stronger, it is essential to identify the uncertainties in the market
place – new technologies, responses of consumer electronics companies, etc. These should add up to major
doubts as to how the market will develop. This then raises the question of what strategy to adopt – an emergent
strategy is essential.
2. ) The main problems relate to the uncertainties of new technology and the difficulty in predicting how these
will be exploited. An additional problem is the degree of economic uncertainty that may impact on customer
ability to buy phones. The implications for strategy development relate to the difficulty in using prescriptive
processes in this strategic context.

The strategic implications are the major consequences arising from not understanding and tackling the
multitudinous impact of forces and dynamics of change that can often impact a business from various angles:

 political, regulatory and legal

 economic and monetary
 social-cultural
 technological
 ecological and environmental

Strategic planning impacts the management's performance because it directly influences the ability of the
resulting strategic plan in getting the commitment and support of the human resources of the organization in
order to maximize the output or consequences of implementation of the plan.

The strategic plan is important in the development of any business organization. The strategic plan provides basis
for the activities in the business, thereby significantly impacting the performance of these activities and the
performance of the entire organization. Some of the most important aspects of strategic planning include the
vision, mission, values and the strategy used in the organization of interest. In addition, other factors in the
strategic planning activity of the organization include the timeliness of the strategies, as well as variables like the
business situation, the available courses of action, and the desired outcomes. The aim is to develop a strategic
plan that suits the business condition based on an accurate evaluation of the internal factors and external factors
influencing the operations of the organization. The situation of the business organization is also a major factor in
the development of business strategic plans. In this regard, strategic planning significantly relates to a variety of
activities throughout the business organization.

The significant connections between strategic planning and practically every component of the business
organization emphasize the significance of strategic planning in enforcing the overall growth and progress of the
organization of interest. The following analysis of the significance of strategic planning in a business organization
considers the overall context of strategic planning in order to establish the connection between strategic
planning and the development of the organization, the impacts of strategic planning and management
performance, the impacts of strategic planning on organizational performance, the efforts of strategic planning
and organizational viability and attractiveness to employees and investors, and the overall ability of the
organization to ensure sustainable and viable operations in the long-term. It is argued that strategic planning
serves as a major foundation on which an organization builds its growth and expansion, such that strategic
planning is a critical success factor in the development of organizations.
 Caselet 2
1.) Decision making techniques fall into three major categories: random; intuition based; or analytical. Some
techniques combine intuitive and analytical elements to take advantage of our cognitive capabilities, even
though we may not have a complete understanding of how our minds work.

Following elements can be derived from the above mentioned definitions:

I. Decision–making is a selection process and is concerned with selecting the best type of alternative.

II. The decision taken is aimed at achieving the organizational goals.

III. It is concerned with the detailed study of the available alternatives for finding the best possible alternative.

IV. Decision making is a mental process. It is the outline of constant thoughtful consideration.

V. It leads to commitment. The commitment depends upon the nature of the decision whether short term or
long term.

Features or Characteristics of Decision-Making:

From definitions and elements we can draw the following important features of managerial decisions:

I. Rational Thinking: It is invariably based on rational thinking. Since the human brain with its ability to learn,
remember and relate many complex factors, makes the rationality possible.

II. Process: It is the process followed by deliberations and reasoning.

III. Selective: It is selective, i.e. it is the choice of the best course among alternatives. In other words, decision
involves selection of the best course from among the available alternative courses that are identified by the
decision-maker.

IV. Purposive: It is usually purposive i.e. it relates to the end. The solution to a problem provides an effective
means to the desired goal or end.

V. Positive: Although every decision is usually positive sometimes certain decisions may be negative and may just
be a decision not to decide. For instance, the manufacturers of VOX Wagan car once decided not to change the
model (body style) and size of the car although the other rival enterprise (i.e. the Ford Corporation) was planning
to introduce a new model every year, in the USA.
 Section C: Applied Theory
1.) Strategic decisions are the decisions that are concerned with whole environment in which the firm operates,
the entire resources and the people who form the company and the interface between the two.

The characteristics of strategic management decisions vary with the level of strategic activity considered.
Corporate level decisions are often characterized by greater risk, cost, and profit potential, greater need for
flexibility and longer time horizons. Such decisions include the choice of the business, dividend policies, sources
of long-term financing and priorities for growth.

Whereas, Functional level decisions implement the overall strategy formulated at the corporate and business
levels. They involve action –oriented operational issues and are relatively short range and low risk. Functional
level decisions incur only modest costs, because they depend on available resources. They usually are adaptable
to ongoing activities and therefore can be implemented with minimal cooperation.
Characteristics of Strategic Decisions are as follows

 Strategic decisions have major resource propositions for an organization. These decisions may be
concerned with possessing new resources, organizing others or reallocating others.

 Strategic decisions deal with harmonizing organizational resource capabilities with the threats and
opportunities.

 Strategic decisions deal with the range of organizational activities. It is all about what they want
the organization to be like and to be about.

 Strategic decisions involve a change of major kind since an organization operates in ever-changing
environment.

 Strategic decisions are complex in nature.

 Strategic decisions are at the top most level, are uncertain as they deal with the future, and
involve a loof risk.

 Strategic decisions are different from administrative and operational decisions. Administrative
decisions are routine decisions which help or rather facilitate strategic decisions or operational
decisions. Operational decisions are technical decisions which help execution of strategic
decisions. To reduce cost is a strategic decision which is achieved through operational decision of
reducing the number of employees and how we carry out these reductions will be administrative
decision.
2.) Strategy formulation is the process of offering proper direction to a firm. It seeks to set the long-term goals
that help a firm exploit its strengths fully and encase the opportunities that are present in the environment.
There is a conscious and deliberate attempt to focus attention on what the firm can do better than its rivals. To
achieve this, a firm seeks to find out what it can do best. Once the strengths are known, opportunities to be
exploited are identified; a long-term plan is chalked out for concentrating resources and effort.

Since strategies consume time, energy and resources, they must be formulated carefully. Strategies, once
formulated, must ensure a best fit between goals, resources and effort put in by people. The ultimate goal of
every strategy that is being formulated should be to deliver outstanding value to customers at all times.

Performance results are generally periodic measurements of developments that occur during a given time period
like return on investment, profits after taxes, earnings per share and market share. Current performance results
are compared with the current objectives and with that of the previous year’s performance results. If the results
are equal to or greater than the current objectives and past year’s results, the company will mostly continue with
the current strategy otherwise, the strategy formulation process begins in earnest.

The strategic managers must evaluate the mission, objectives and policies. In fact, the strategic managers are
evaluated in terms of management style, values and skills by the top management. Henry Mintzberg has pointed
out that a corporation’s objectives and strategies are strongly affected by top management’s view of the world.
This view determines the mode to be used in strategy formulation.

These Modes include:

1. Entrepreneurial Mode: Strategy is formulated by one powerful individual. The focus is on opportunities rather
than on problems. Strategy is guided by the founder’s own visions of direction.

2. Adaptive Mode: This strategy formulation mode is characterized by reactive solutions to existing problems
rather than a proactive search for new opportunities.

3. Planning Mode: Analysts assume main responsibility for strategy formulation. Strategic planning includes both
the proactive search for new opportunities and the reactive solution of existing problems.

END OF SECTION - C