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Module 1 of Strategic Management

This document discusses the importance of strategy for companies. It defines strategy as a company's action plan for growing its business, attracting customers, competing successfully, and achieving performance goals. A good strategy answers three key questions: where the company is now, where it needs to go, and how it will get there. Choosing the right "hows" of strategy based on learning and analysis is important. Developing a distinctive strategy that creates competitive advantages over rivals through appealing to buyers or building capabilities is important for achieving above-average profitability. Strategies must also be linked to a viable business model and ethics to ensure they can deliver good financial results and meet stakeholder responsibilities. Regular evaluation of strategies is also needed to ensure they

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dil0424
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
192 views

Module 1 of Strategic Management

This document discusses the importance of strategy for companies. It defines strategy as a company's action plan for growing its business, attracting customers, competing successfully, and achieving performance goals. A good strategy answers three key questions: where the company is now, where it needs to go, and how it will get there. Choosing the right "hows" of strategy based on learning and analysis is important. Developing a distinctive strategy that creates competitive advantages over rivals through appealing to buyers or building capabilities is important for achieving above-average profitability. Strategies must also be linked to a viable business model and ethics to ensure they can deliver good financial results and meet stakeholder responsibilities. Regular evaluation of strategies is also needed to ensure they

Uploaded by

dil0424
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 19

Thinking Strategically: The Three Big Strategic Questions

1. Whats the companys present situation? 2. Where does the company need to go from here?
 Business(es) to be in and market positions to stake out  Buyer needs and groups to serve  Direction to head

3. How should it get there?


 A companys answer to how will we get there? is its strategy
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What Do We Mean By Strategy?


 Consists of competitive moves and

business approaches used by managers to run the company


 Managements action plan to
 Grow the business  Attract and please customers  Compete successfully  Conduct operations  Achieve the targeted levels of organizational performance
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The Hows That Define a Firm's Strategy


 How to grow the business  How to satisfy customers  How to outcompete rivals  How to manage each functional
Strategy is HOW to . . .

part of the business (R&D, production, marketing, HR, finance, and so on)
 How to respond to changing market

conditions
 How to achieve targeted levels of

performance
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Choosing the Hows of Strategy


 Strategic choices about how are based on
 Trial-and-error organizational learning about what has worked and what has not worked  Managements appetite for taking risks  Managerial analysis and strategic thinking about how best to proceed, given market conditions and a companys circumstances

 In choosing a strategy, management is in effect

saying,
Among all the many different ways of competing we could have chosen, we have decided to employ this combination of competitive and operating approaches to move the company in the intended direction, strengthen its market position and competitiveness, and boost performance.
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Key Elements of a Successful Strategy


 Developing a successful strategy turning

point on making competitive moves aimed at


 Appealing to buyers in ways to set the company apart from rivals and
 Carving out its own market position

 Involves developing a distinctive aha

element to
 Attract customers and  Produce a competitive edge

Copying competitive moves of other successful companies rarely works!


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Strategy and the Quest for Competitive Advantage


 The heart and soul of any strategy are actions a

company makes to
 Improve its financial performance,  Strengthen its competitive position, and  Gain a competitive advantage over rivals

 A creative, distinctive strategy that sets a

company apart from rivals and yields a competitive advantage is a companys most reliable ticket to above average profitability
 Operating with a competitive advantage is more profitable than operating without one  Operating with a competitive disadvantage nearly always results in below-average profitability
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A Powerful Strategy Leads to Sustainable Competitive Advantage


 A company achieves sustainable competitive

advantage when
 An attractive number of buyers prefer its products/services over those of rivals and  The basis for this preference is durable

 Its nice when a strategy produces  A temporary competitive edge but  A sustainable edge over rivals greatly enhances a
companys prospects for above-average profitability
What separates a powerful strategy from an ordinary strategy is managements ability to forge a series of moves, both in the marketplace and internally, that produces sustainable competitive advantage!
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Strategic Approaches to Building Sustainable Competitive Advantage


 Be the industrys low-cost provider

 Achieve a cost-based competitive advantage


 Incorporate differentiating features

 Superior product/service keyed to higher quality, better performance, wider selection, value-added services, or some other attribute
 Focus on a narrow market niche

 Win a competitive edge by doing a better job than rivals of serving the needs and preferences of buyers in the niche
 Develop expertise and resource strengths

not easily imitated or matched by rivals  Achieve a capabilities-based competitive advantage


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Figure 1.1: Identifying a Companys Strategy

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Why Do Strategies Evolve?


 A companys strategy is a work in progress  Changes may be necessary to react to  Financial crisis  Fresh moves of competitors  Evolving customer preferences  Technological breakthroughs  Emerging market opportunities  Changing political or economic climate  New ideas to improve strategy
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Figure 1.2: A Companys Strategy Is a Blend of Proactive Initiatives and Reactive Adjustments

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Linking Strategy With Ethics


 Ethical and moral standards go beyond  Prohibitions of law and language of thou shalt not

to issues of
 Duty and right vs. wrong  Ethical and moral standards address

What is the right thing to do?  Two criteria of an ethical strategy


 Does not entail actions and behaviors that cross the line from should do to should not do (because such actions are unsavory, shady, unconscionable, injurious to others, or harmful to the environment)  Allows management to fulfill its ethical duties to all stakeholders
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A Firms Ethical Responsibilities to Its Stakeholders


Owners/shareholders Rightfully expect some form of return on their investment Employees Rightfully expect to be treated with dignity and respect for devoting their energies to the enterprise Customers Rightfully expect a seller to provide them with a reliable, safe product or service Suppliers Rightfully expect to have an equitable relationship with firms they supply and be treated fairly Community Rightfully expect businesses to be good citizens in their community
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Role of Senior Executives: Linking Strategy with Ethics


 Forbid search of ethically questionable business   

opportunities Insist all aspects of company strategy reflect high ethical standards Make it clear that all employees are expected to act with integrity Install organizational checks and balances to  Monitor behavior  Enforce ethical codes of conduct  Provide guidance to employees in gray areas Display genuine commitment to conduct business activities ethically
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What Is a Business Model?


 A business model addresses How do we

make money in this business?


 Is the companys strategy capable of delivering good bottom-line results?

 Do the revenue-cost-profit economics

of the strategy make good business sense?


 Look at revenue streams the strategy is expected to produce  Look at associated cost structure and potential profit margins  Do resulting earnings streams and ROI indicate the strategy has good potential to deliver acceptable profitability?
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Relationship Between Strategy and Business Model


Strategy . . .
Deals with a companys competitive initiatives and business approaches

Business Model . . .
Concerns whether revenues and costs flowing from the strategy demonstrate a business can be profitable and viable

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Tests of a Winning Strategy


 GOODNESS OF FIT TEST  How well does the strategy fit the companys external and internal situation?  COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE TEST  Is the strategy helping the company achieve a sustainable competitive advantage?  PERFORMANCE TEST  Is the strategy resulting in better company performance?
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Why Should Crafting and Executing Strategy Be Top-Priority Management Tasks?


 A compelling need exists for

managers to proactively shape how a firms business will be conducted


 A strategy-focused firm is

more likely to be a strong bottom-line performer than one that views strategy as secondary
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Good Strategy + Good Strategy Execution = Good Management


 Crafting and executing strategy are core

management functions  Among all things managers do, nothing affects a companys ultimate success or failure more fundamentally than how well its management team
 Charts a companys direction,  Develops competitively effective strategic moves and business approaches, and  Pursues what needs to be done internally to produce good day-in/day-out strategy execution
Excellent execution of an excellent strategy is the best test of managerial excellence and the most reliable recipe for winning in the marketplace!
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