Unit 12 Strategy

Strategy

The strategic process has traditionally been focused in three key areas: developing key strengths or capabilities which allow an organization to perform activities that are different from those of its rivals (either by performing different activities or by performing activities differently), identifying unmet customer needs in the marketplace that the organization can fulfill. This requires the organization to position itself in the marketplace by developing a unique selling proposition (USP), sometimes known as a differentiated customer proposition (DCP).Developing tactical responses to the moves of competitors in the marketplace (often known as competitive strategy).

Strategy has always been concerned with how to do things. Conventionally, strategy is taken to mean the blueprint, game-plan or road map of organizational change. Since strategy has its origins in military usage, we tend to think of it in terms of plans of attack or defense, competitive battlefields, winners and losers. Moreover, strategy is not simply about competing for a bigger share of a finite market; it is about creating new markets to meet human needs in new and exciting ways. It is about creating the future. Accordingly strategy is concerned with developing and understanding the present situation (Where are we now?), the desired future position (Where do we want to be?) and the path to take the organization from its present position into the future (How do we get there?).

As business and the world economy become increasingly competitive, more and more companies have to strengthen their operations to remain profitable. Companies can go about this in a number of ways, including such strategies as merger and takeover. Merger takes place when two companies, often in the same industry, come together to form one company. Companies merge for many reasons, for example, to increase market share and cut costs in certain areas, such as research and development. Acquisition or takeover appears when one company accumulates enough of another company shares to take over control and ownership.

Strategies that have ultimately proved successful often appeared contradictory or even absurd at first sight. Think of Honda's entry into the US auto market, the desire of British Airways to become the "world's favorite airline" or the vision ofBritish Steel to become the first internationally-based steel company, ahead of its Japanese, Korean and US rivals. Moreover, "good" strategies often challenge preconceived ideas of theworld, or what we

consider reasonable or possible. Thus strategy becomes as much a state of mind as a set of tools and techniques.

The basic ingredient of a good strategy - insight into how to create value - rarely emerges from the planning process. Instead, it originates from many varied and hard-to-control ways, some of which are more about implementation than strategic development. Strategy is deeply rooted in organizational purpose (what an organization exists to do), which requires a process of introspection not common in planning processes.

Organizations are strongly advised to decentralize, empower, direct, dream, be flexible and adaptive, lead the industry, re-invent themselves, absorb best practice, delight the customer, become quality oriented, remain lean and mean, and meet the expectations of the stock market or identify unmet customer needs. This requires the organization to position itself in the marketplace by developing a unique selling proposition (USP), sometimes known as a differentiated customer proposition (DCP).

We know that strategy provides a means by which organizations and individuals can examine their internal and external worlds. The single most important reason for the failure of strategy is not inadequate analytics rigor in decision-making, failure to understand markets, competitors or products, or even lack of executive insight into fundamental changes in the industry or environment. It is the fact that the vast majority of employees see absolutely no relationship between the strategy of their organizations and what is fundamentally important to them as human beings.

1.Find English equivalents for the words below:

Предвзятый/ заново себя открыть / неподвижность/ истоки/ обоснованный/ предсказывать/ уполномочивать/ поглощать/ доставлять удовольствие/ осуществлять/

2.Answer the following questions:

What origins does the term “strategy” have?

What is traditional understanding of strategic process?

What are the key points in developing successful strategy?

What is competitive strategy?

Why should personnel understand the importance of strategic process?

Can you name the activities companies usually implement to stay competitive?

Up to you…

You work for a postage service company. Your regional business is rather profitable but you wish to expand. Develop a strategy to do so. What is your real goal? What resources are you going to need? Who is going to be involved? What are possible ways to expand nationwide?

Links

Ethical issues of takeovers are discussed at:

www.georgetown.edu/conters/woodstock/business_ethica/ecct.htm

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14