Assignment:Week 6

1. What is meant by "External" analysis? What is the purpose of "PESTLE analysis" ?

External Analysis means the examination of external factors influencing the organization, i.e. 'Opportunities' and 'threats' which are independent from the organization. Opportunities refers to the positive changes an organization can gain from the environment where as threats refers to the negative factors that can harm the organizations functions.
"PESTLE" analysis is the in depth analysis of  political, economical, social, technical, legal and environmental factors. The study of these micro environmental factors is a must to determine the opportunities and threats for the organization. Through 'PESTLE' analysis the organization can have an idea of its external environment in which it is functioning.


2. Read the article about Big Mart Super Store- What external issues the super markets would have to consider at this time to have competitive advantage over others?

• Political factor

Nepal has been facing political instability over the past decade. Frequent strikes, conflicts have become normal in the country. This has directly hampered the normal function the supermarket. So Big Mart needs to develop some competitive strategies to overcome this problem.

• Economical Factors

Big Mart has many sub branches spread all over the valley but still it has not been able to attract as many customers as its competitors. Thus the supermarket needs to do some research on the customer’s expectation part and try to establish some more branches in suitable locations.

• Social Factors

Big Mart has been providing varieties of products to its customers but still it hasn’t been able to reach its determined sales level. The trend of customers has been changing according to the time. So the supermarket needs to understand the social factors involved with different social group of the customers and develop strategies to satisfy their different needs.

• Technological Factors

Technology has become a vital part in the operation of any business organization. Even though Big Mart has been using modern technology to record its sales and stocks, it still hasn’t been able to flourish properly. For this, Big Mart needs to add services like online shopping and delivery services to increase its customer volume.

• Legal Factors

Big Mart is a legally functioning organization fulfilling its taxes and other duties on time. It follows all the rules and regulations of the country, maintaining its accounts and ledgers as per the rule. But still, the supermarket has been facing the problem of fluctuating prices in its products.

• Environmental Factors

Environmental conservation has become a vital part in the operations of any organization. Big Mart too has been conducting its operations in any eco friendly manner. But still the supermarket needs to conduct more Eco friendly activities to attract more customers.

3. Discuss your presentations for the activity week field work. Have you arranged to meet your group? Have you been to Big Mart before? How are you planning to record your data?

Yes I have already arranged to meet with my group members and I have already been to Big Mart before. I am planning to use PESTLE analysis template to record my data.

References:

My Strategic Plan (2013). External Analysis. Available from (http://mystrategicplan.com/resources/external-analysis/) [accessed in 28-03-2013]

Assignment: Week 5

1.

We are seeking highly motivated and dynamic individuals for the following position: DIRECTOR, STRATEGIC PLANNING Kuala Lumpur Responsibilities: Research, evaluate and recommend all brand planning, strategic planning and analytical activity for all accounts within the Group. Design and institute a strategic planning system at the group level to be composed of corporate and business strategies, long and short term plans, annual budgets and performance follow up mechanisms. Continue to develop and implement standardized strategic planning tools to foster consistency over time and across projects. Conduct a regular investment portfolio analysis with objective to advise management on the mix of investments that will maximize the value for the Company/Group. Directs the preparation and implementation of various monitoring and control methods for reporting on actual performance throughout the year, against approved plans. Analyses and reports on the extent and significance of variations between results and targets. Plans and participates with department head and other senior corporate management in developing long term strategies for the group Develops and review various financial analysis reports or carries out pre-economic and economic feasibility studies. Requirements: Degree in Accounting, Economics, Business or other professional qualifications. Minimum 10 years’ experience in planning, strategic planning and related experience. Strong Marketing background and strong analytical capabilities a must. Interested candidates kindly apply online via Jobstreet. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

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2.

TAYLOR'S EDUCATION GROUP is a top quality private education provider in the region, specializing in education from Early Years to Tertiary Level. The Group recognizes and rewards excellence - to bring out the best in our students, to motivate our employees into exceeding their own expectations, and ultimately to raise the standards of educational excellence in the country. Taylor's Education Group is seeking individuals who are looking for an opportunity to shine. Senior Executive - Strategic Development Selangor - Taylor's Lakeside Campus Responsibilities : This position provides professional and administrative support to the Strategic Development office. The primary objectives of the position are to: Assist the office in strategy formulation, strategic plan execution and communication of strategies to all stakeholders Contribute to the development and implementation of the university’s strategic plan & projects  To monitor and track the university’s progress against its strategic plan and development. Contribute to the analysis and reporting of the performance against the university’s strategic plan Coordinate development of strategic plans and strategies across the Schools and various departments Requirements : Possess a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Diploma in Business Studies/Finance/Management or equivalent At least 4 year(s) of working experience in the related field is required for this position Ability to interact and manage positive relationships with external individuals in universities, customers, colleagues and business contacts in a courteous and professional manner Ability to think critically and strategically  Ability to analyse problems and develop creative solutions Ability to make competent and informed judgments on a range of issues in areas of expertise Ability to work in a fast-paced and challenging environment Ability to deal with a wide spectrum of academic issues with a demonstrated commitment to diversity and innovation Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills Good leadership, planning, organising and coordinating skills Possess a good command of English and Bahasa Malaysia language Willing to travel both outstation and overseas  Possess project management skills Successful candidates can expect an attractive remuneration package (including attractive fringe benefits such as education subsidy, interest-free education loan, discount for children's education) plus a conducive working environment. Interested candidates are invited to send in a detailed resume, contact telephone number, a passport size photo, current and expected salary, names, address, fax and email contacts of at least 3 referees by 26 March 2013 to the email or post to the address below:- The Human Resource Director Human Resource Department Taylor's University Lakeside Campus No. 1 Jalan Taylor’s 47500 Subang Jaya Selangor Darul Ehsan P.O Box 3064 Email:careers.taylorsuni@taylors.edu.my 3. Advertised:26-02-13 | Closing Date:28-03-13 Nordin Technologies Group We are a multi-national manufacturing company that is Malaysian owned. We are primarily a manufacturer that operate in a diverse range of industries and our products are sold to many countries in America, Europe, Asia and Australasia. We utilize a diverse range of technologies, which includes plastic injection moulding, sheet metal fabrication and techinical machinery production. Our products are mainly sold as exports and is considered as one of the best in the world. We are currently undergoing an aggressive growth phase and require an experienced and skillful person to lead the overall operations in Malaysia. Reporting to the Managing Director and the Board of Directors, this person must be able to work autonomously and have a proven successful track record in managing a medium sized manufactuing company in Malaysia. Applicants that have a strong Finance, Accounting and/or Production Management background will be considered favourably. Chief Operation Officer Selangor - Olak Lempit Responsibilities: To be responsible for the resources allocations and strategic planning in line with business goals. Ensure quality control of all company output as pertains to customer acquisition and delivery of services. To promote growth via increase in revenue, reduced costs and improved operational efficieny. Set operational and/or performance goals for each department/company which are aggressive, achievable and tied to long term goals. Establish and monitor performance reporting systems. Monitor department/company performance against performance goals to ensure that progress is being made. Ensure activities comply with organizational requirements for quality. Demonstrate successful execution of business strategies for business unit product and services. Direct short-term and long range planning and budget development to support strategic business goals. To provide corporate, financial and business advice and recommendations with regards to company policies, matters of law and corporate risk and compliance, and to ensure all works and business activities are in compliance to all regulatory requirements. To formulate system, procedures and policies to ensure smooth running of business and operations. To foster good relationship with the principal, working closely with the principal and meeting the business requirements and operational specifications of the principal. Able to work independently and to plan, coordinate, implementation and control of strategic plan approved by Board of Management. Requirements: Candidate must possess at least a Bachelor's Degree, Post Graduate Diploma, Professional Degree, Master's Degree, Business Studies/Administration/Management, Finance/Accountancy/Banking or equivalent. Required language(s): Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese, English At least 15 year(s) of working experience in the related field is required for this position. Applicants must be willing to work in Olak Lempit. Preferably Senior Managers specializing in Manufacturing/Production Operations or equivalent. Full-Time position(s) available. Candidates that feel that they are able to meet the above requirements are encouraged to apply. A suitable remuneration package commensurate to your experience and skills will be offered. Please note that this role is based in an industrial area that is near the KLIA. As such, a suitable travel or motor vehicle allowance may also be offered if required.

References:

[Online] Available at: www.jobstreet.com [Accessed 20th March 14].

Assignment: Week 4

1. Who is a strategist? Describe the main types of jobs that have a strong strategy element.

Business Strategists identify and validate high potential business opportunities for the stakeholders and develop customizes business strategies that are aligned with corporate strategic objectives. These tasks include defination of the scope of businesses, development of differentiated value propositions and core go-to-market strategies as well as preparation of revenue models and financial analyses.

The main type of jobs that have a strong strategy element are 

Chief executive officer

Top management team

Non executive directors

2. Whats the difference between a strategic planner and a strategy consultant?

Strategic planner is the person who plans various strategic frameworks for the growth and development of the organization. Strategic planners need to have good knowledge regarding the organization and its interdepartmental aspects.

Strategy consultant is an external expert hired by the organization to derive solutions to the problems being faced by the organization. These experts are usually hired to formulate new strategic plans and processes.


3. What were your answers to question 1 and 2 on the group exercise this week?
Question 1
a. Business leader:Jeff Bezos 
b. Inventor or scientisr: Albert Einstein 
c. Sport Manager: Arsene Wenger
d. Civil rights campaigner: Anuradha Koirala
e. Musician, Writer, Film maker or Artist: Chetan Bhagat


References :

J. Boone Bartholomees Jr. Theory Of War and Strategy. (Online). Available at <http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB1004.pdf> [Accessed on 19th March 2013]

Assignment: Week 3

1.  Why is strategy making like a science and why is it also like an art or craft?

Strategy making can like science because it comprises of numbers with extensive analysis and are uncontaminated by bias, judgment or opinion. Strategy making also involves application of rational sets of formulas, analytical tools or set of rules. Therefore, strategy making can be much similar to science.

Strategy management can be termed as Art and craft-like because it involves people, conflicts, politics, compromises, external and internal influences, and many more. Strategy making widely depends on creativity, reasoning of people. Strategy making comprises of intended and emergent processes. Thus, strategy making is also like an art or craft.(introduction to management,2013)

2. In your own word and using referenced quotes describe the difference between intended and emergent strategy.

Differences between intended strategy and emergent strategy:

Intended strategy

·         Intended strategy acts on predetermined visions that emphasize intention. Intended strategy marks a concrete attention to detail concerning business operations.

·         Intended strategy attempts to minimize outside influence acting on business operations.

·         Intended strategy follows a formal structure of hierarchy in the organization. The employees are expected to work together to achieve the desired goals.

·         Intended strategy focuses on forecasting the future opportunities and threats for the business.

Emergent strategy

·         Emergent strategy is all about exploring new ways to achieve goals and objectives of the organization. It doesn’t follow specific predetermined procedures, but are implemented according to the circumstances.

·         It follows trial and error method.

·         It has informal or unstructured hierarchy.

·         It is much experimental in nature.

·         It is what strategic thinking is all about.(books.lardbucket,2013)

3. Choose two of the ten schools of strategy thought and describe them in your words.

The Design School

“The design school” has simply two-step approach.

1.       Make a close study of the organization. In this a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) analysis is carried out.

2.       “Establish Fit” between internal (Strength and Weakness) and external (Opportunities and Threats) aspects of the organization.

In short, this school focuses on the organizations strength, weakness, opportunities and threats, and according to it, formulates plans and strategies required to obtain the goals and objectives.

The Positioning School

The positioning school sees strategic management simply as the process of selecting from a highly constrained set of generic strategies and implementations as the following-through of the business logic of that generic strategy. The positioning school revolutionized strategic management by insisting that creativity was not required, actually and it can be viewed as necessarily deductive and deliberate.

(nickpellin,2013)

Would you describe Google’s strategy as more deliberate or more emergent?

I would describe Google’s strategy as more emergent because of the following reasons:

1.       It constantly brings changes on its online websites like YouTube, Google search engine according to the time and demand.

2.       It constantly changes technology according to the technological advancement.

3.       It carries experimental projects.

4.       It conducts more exploring works (self driving cars, renewable power plant projects)

4. What are the advantages of being very “experimental”?

The advantages of being very experimental are as follows:

Unexpected benefit
Product development
More flexibility
May extract solutions to other problems. 

5. What are the disadvantages of being very "experimental" ?

The disadvantages of being very experimental are as follows:

Sometimes experiments lead to nowhere.

May become time consuming.

Can be waste of resources.

(education-portal,2013)

What do you think of their strategy? 

According to me, Google’s strategies are very practical and beneficial. It moves according to time and demand of its consumers and its employees. 

References:

 [Online] Available at:http://www.introduction-to-management.24xls.com/en122 [Accessed on 14th march, 2013]

 [Online] Available at:http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/strategic-management-evaluation-and-execution/s05-02-intended-emergent-and-realized.html
[Accessed on 14th march, 2013]

 [Online] Available at:http://www.nickpelling.com/dissertation/chapter4.pdf[Accessed on 14th march, 2013]

 [Online] Available at:http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/non-experimental-and-experimental-research-differences-advantages-disadvantages.html[Accessed on 14th march, 2013]

Assignment: Week 2

1. In your own words and using referenced quotes describe what "Strategic Management" is?
Strategic management is the process of analyzing, deciding and taking actions by the top level management in order to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage.

Here, from the above definition, we can derive the idea that Strategic Management consists of the following fundamental elements.
The theme is that it consists of three primary processes; i.e. analysis, decision and action. Strategic management is concerned with the analysis of strategic goals(vision, mission, and strategic objectives) along with the organizations internal and external environment. Next,Strategic decisions are to be made by the top level management. It is necessary to formulate strategic decisions by the leaders in order to make choices for the organization. And lastly, actions are to taken in order to complete the analyzing and deciding procedure
According to Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., author of Strategy and Structure (1962), “the determination of the basic long-term goals and objectives of an enterprise, and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources for carrying out these goals” (fba.aiub.edu,2013).

In short, Strategic Management plays the role of specifying the overall organizational mission, vision and objectives, developing plans and policies by the top level management on behalf of the owners.



2.How is business strategy similar to military strategy? How is it different?

Business strategy can be similar to military strategy in a number of ways. They are as follows:

• Both military and business strategy's key aim is to gain "Competitive Advantage"
• Both uses their strengths to exploit competitors weakness.
• Achieving success on both the sides is the result of intense research, planning and hard work, not due to accidental strategy.
• A good leadership is vital for both the cases, in order to succeed. 
• Timing is vital in both the strategies.
• Team approach is always preferred.
• Both the strategy require quick adaptation to change in order to success.

Business strategy can be different to military strategy in the following ways:

• Military strategies are vital for the national security, lives of people where as Business strategies focuses on shareholders value.
• Military strategies focuses on command and control where as Business strategies focuses on self benefit and profit maximization (scribd.com,2013).

3. What do you understand by the terms "strategic analysis", "strategic development" and "strategic implementation"

Strategic Analysis

Strategic analysis is the process of developing strategies for the business by researching the business and the environment in which it operates. it is constantly looking for what is happening around the organization now and in the future.
It is referred as "Strategic" because its a high level, for the longer term and for the whole organization and "Analysis" because it usually about breaking big and complex problems into manageable and simpler solutions (businessdictionary,2013).

Strategic analysis helps the organization through the following ways:

• Anticipate what might happen
• Evaluate how likely it is to happen
• Prepare for it to happen

 In short, strategic analysis helps the organization to lead a more clearer defined goals and objectives with better quality decisions and goals, thus making the organization more secure to the coming future.


Strategic Development

Strategic development also known as Strategic planning is a key fundamental part in creating and smooth operation of a business. Its like a game plan that sets a specific sets of goals and objectives which can be changed and modified according to the shifting market dynamics(fao.org,2013).
There are certain steps for the strategic development which are as follows:

1. Set your long term goals.
2. Conduct a market and competitive analysis.
3. define your company's current market status.
4. Do the "SWAT" analysis.
5. Compare where you are and where you want to be in five year time.
6. Do timely review of your company's progress.
7. Be as much flexible as possible according to the changing market dynamics.

Strategic Implementation

Strategy Implementation is the translation of the chosen strategic planning into organizational actions in order too achieve the predetermined organizational goals and objectives.
the 5 Essential steps to successful strategy implementation are as follows.

the five essential steps for successful strategic implementation are:

1. Align your initiatives
2. Align budgets & performance
3. Structure follows strategy
4. Engaging Staff
5. Monitor and Adapt(bergconsulting,2013).

4. Write about your experience with today's case study. What answers did you give? Was it easy to answer the questions? Did your group agree with each other?

I learned a lot from my today’s case study. This case study speaks about three small growing cities from England namely Peterborough, Milton Keynes and Swindon. Here each of these three cities are doing their best to urbanize as much as possible.

Milton Keynes and Peterborough both ran a national TV advertising campaigns intended to attract families and businesses. Milton Keynes also has plots of land ready to be built on with roads and other infrastructures ready in place. Swindon has organized building sites and brand-new houses. All of these three cities want to build as much houses as possible. This caused the housing and commercial property costs to be much less than nearby cities. Affordable housing helped to retain the workers in these houses.

Even though, these three towns have difficulty in attracting highly skilled manpower. The towns lack decent bars and restaurants and are deserted after the worker’s drive home at six o’ clock. These towns want to build their own universities over the next decade so that it can bring certain changes over time.

References:

 [Online] Available at: http://fba.aiub.edu/pages/files/cs/mgt/MGT110042.pdf [Accessed on 4th march, 2013]

 [Online] Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/27131913/Business-vs-Military-Strategy [Accessed on 4th march, 2013]

 [Online] Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/strategic-analysis.html [Accessed on 4th march, 2013]

 [Online] Available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/w5830e/w5830e0f.htm [Accessed on 4th march, 2013]

 [Online] Available at: http://bergconsulting.com.au/Berg_Consulting_Blog/5-essential-steps-to-successful-strategy-implementation [Accessed on 4th march, 2013]