Business Strategy Discussion Questions

Question 1:

Answer:

The portfolio approach in business is to manage a mix of different products and businesses. The main purpose of this approach is to fit the strengths of a company and exploit attractive opportunities for further expansion.

The companies having multiple businesses in their portfolio use it to accomplish the best possible product mix. They find it useful because it helps them to identify which businesses should have more or a smaller amount of investment. It also helps in developing strategies for growth for new products and deciding on the products that should be divested.

The limitation of this approach is that even when the planning is done carefully, future results can never be guaranteed. If the circumstances are not right and the business environment is not stable, this approach may fail.

Question 2:

Answer:

During the implementation of corporate strategy, the large strategic objective of the company is translated into actions in the complete organization. To do so, the short-term objectives are developed from long-term goals, and then the action plan is made. These short-term goals may differ in their orientation, measurement, timing, and specifications, but they are coordinated and integrated with long-term goals. It shows that the tactics in functional areas play a significant role in strategy implementation. Some of the things that should be done to empower functional or operational personnel include incentives and compensation rewards. They should be rewarded with performance appraisals, bonuses, and appreciation when they take the right steps toward strategic implementation. Other than this, they should be encouraged to self-development. Their roles should be defined clearly, and they should be held accountable for their actions to give a sense of ownership. It is important to support them in their independence and appreciate their positive efforts.

Question 3:

Answer:

Functional tactics are activities that are carried out routinely in different areas of business. Meaningful results are extracted from functional tactics to implement strategic results (Pearce et al., 2000). The key tactics in marketing include the changes in the functional areas of price, place, promotion, and product. The strategies are related to these areas to have better results.

The functional tactics in the area of accounting and finance are related to short-term capital and its values, which contribute to the success of the business. Such as capital allocation, capital acquisition, accounting, working capital, and dividend management are the areas that are related to functional areas of accounting.

Operations and production departments are important in manufacturing companies, and their tactics are significant for functional areas. The main concerns in these areas include sourcing of materials, equipment, facilities, operational control, and planning.

The key concerns related to the functional tactics of the research and development department include research, process, and product development. The posture of R&D is defined in it. The time horizon and organizational fit are also important apprehensions to consider.

In the Human resource department, the functional tactics are recruitment, orientation, and selection. Compensation plans, career development, labor relations, equal opportunities, and control over disciplines also come under this category.

Question 4:

Answer:

The major components of environmental scanning are important to give a response to changes efficiently and effectively. Political factors are the regulatory and legal parameters that are necessary for a firm to function. They include tax policies, political stability, employment laws, tariffs, trade restrictions, etc.

Economic factors include the direction and nature of the economy in which the operations firm takes place. Its examples include the free market, economic growth, interest rates, exchange rate, wage rate, credit facility, and recession.

Social factors are the features in a society that are related to the culture and society of business. Its examples include social institutes, beliefs, values, attitudes, norms, demographics, and social changes.

Technological factors are the advancements taking place in technology and the digital world of business. They comprise a revolution in technology that a company must incorporate to survive in the industry.

Legal factors are the legal environment of business. All the legal aspects in the surroundings, including imports, exports, employment, resources, quotas, and legislation.

The environment and ecological aspects are considered in the ecological factors of PESTEL analysis. It provides access to travel areas, natural calamities, temperature, water sources, contaminations, and ground conditions.

Question 5:

Answer:

Yes, all businesses will encounter a situation where they need to evaluate the global environment soon. The primary reason for believing these facts is that the scope of global management has increased from the perspective of risk-taking (Pearce et al., 2000). The globalization of firms has increased, and the information explosion has resulted in a change in the global environment. Another important reason for the increase in competition in the global environment is that technology has started to improve rapidly, and the planning taking place in strategic management gives rise to the confidence level of managers. All these things give evidence that all businesses will evaluate the global environment of their business.

Question 6:

Answer:

The balanced scorecard approach is helpful in measuring a company’s strategies. It makes evaluations based on four measures: customer perspective, internal business processes perspective, financial perspective, and learning & growth perspective (Hansen & Schaltegger, 2016). Control over operations and strategy is obtained through this approach by following various activities. The strategic objectives are communicated clearly and easily. The strategies are made clear to the employees regarding specific goals, targets, initiatives, and measures. By providing feedback on learning, it provides guidelines for implementing a plan.

Question 7:

Answer:

The approach of continuous improvement, also known as Kaizen, was introduced by the Japanese. This approach is integrated into all the activities of a company, which ultimately leads to innovation. The quality of processes, speed, and cost are continuously changed with the help of innovative processes to satisfy the customers.

Breakthrough innovation is a process in which all the products, technology, and services associated with a company or product are used to leap forward in many ways, such as the use of the same technology in making different products and entering into another industry.

The risks that are associated with innovation include the lack of acceptance by the customer. The R & D department goes through a large amount of jeopardy because it is not known whether the investment is made in the right direction or not.

Many rewards come with innovation, such as enhancement in quality, productivity, rise in competition, and efficiency in processes of development.

Question 8:

Answer:

An entrepreneur is a person starting a new enterprise with a different and innovative market, technology, ideas, and products.

Innovators are people with exceptional skills and talent. However, they do not know how to get success in the market. Promoters are good at making programs and schemes for quick profits, but they cannot get long-term profits like an entrepreneur. Administrators have a high level of managerial abilities, knowledge, and skills. Entrepreneurs are different from all these as they present a combination of all these qualities. They get together the skills of management, marketing, and creativity. They can manage all the processes and elements of resources, opportunities, and entrepreneurial teams.

Intrapreneurship is a concept that incorporates entrepreneurship in a large company. It has a focus on a particular process, service, or product. The ways to enable it in a company include giving the opportunity to innovators. Autonomous decision-making should be encouraged to increase the tolerance level for mistakes and failures. Cross-functional teams can be helpful in enabling these processes in a company.

References

Hansen, E. G., & Schaltegger, S. (2016). The sustainability balanced scorecard: A systematic review of architectures. Journal of Business Ethics, 133(2), 193-221.

Pearce, J. A., Robinson, R. B., & Subramanian, R. (2000). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control. Columbus, OH: Irwin/McGraw-Hill.