Ansoff Product-Market Expansion Grid A useful planning tool in respect of markets and products is the matrix developed by Igor Ansoff, who is regarded by some as the ‘Father of Strategic Management’. Fully titled the Ansoff Product-Market Growth Matrix, the tool was first published in Harvard Business Review, 1957, in Ansoff’s paper Strategies for Diversification. The Ansoff Product-Market Expansion Grid or Ansoff Matrix helps to understand and assess marketing or business development strategy. Any business or part of a business can choose which strategy to employ, or which mix of strategic options to use. This is a fundamentally simple and effective way of looking at strategic development options. Each of these strategic options holds different opportunities and downsides for different organizations, so what is right for one business won’t necessarily be right for another. Think about what option offers the best potential for your own business and market. Think about Continue reading
Strategic Management
Strategic management is the art and science of formulating, implementing and evaluating cross-functional decisions that will enable an organization to achieve its objectives. It involves the systematic identification of specifying the firm’s objectives, nurturing policies and strategies to achieve these objectives, and acquiring and making available these resources to implement the policies and strategies to achieve the firm’s objectives. Strategic management, therefore, integrates the activities of the various functional sectors of a business, such as marketing, sales, production etc. , to achieve organizational goals. It is generally the highest level of managerial activity, usually initiate by the board of directors and executed by the firm’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and executive team.
Defenses Against Takeover Bids – Anti Takeover Strategies
A firm having all or any of the following features may provide a temptation to an acquiring firm to take-over the former: The target firm has under performed other shares and the overall market in terms of return the shareholders in the preceding years. The target firm has been less profitable than other firms, and The promoter/owner group has lower shareholding in the target firm and the public has a higher portion. If an acquiring firm makes an offer for negotiated merger to the management of the target firm, it is up to the latter to accept or not to accept the offer. The target firm may not find the offer to be attractive and hence it may reject the offer. However, the acquiring firm may still persists with the idea either by making a tender offer or attempting a hostile take-over bid. In such a case, it is the Continue reading
Role of Management Accounting Information in Strategy Formulation
Management accounting can be defined as a process of providing appropriate information primarily intended to assist managers in making better decisions. In previous years, management accounting techniques like traditional budgeting, cost-volume-profit analysis, standard costing and variance analysis, were adaptable to the business environment when product varieties were few, competition was low, overhead costs were relatively low, automated processes were minimal and firms were mostly labor intensive. However, many businesses and environments began to evolve as a result of technological changes, globalization and changing customer mix. Authors identified inadequacies in these techniques, when used as tools in planning and control decisions. Awareness amongst companies on the need to achieve excellence in manufacturing/service delivery and use such an achievement as a strategy to compete effectively grew. Companies started linking their strategies with reduction in production and inventory costs, quality improvement and innovation, reduction in lead times and increased flexibility in meeting individual Continue reading
Differences Between Management Control and Operational Control
Meaning of Operational Control Operational control or task control is the process of assuring that specific tasks are carried out effectively and efficiently. The focus of operational control is on individual tasks or operations. For instance, it is concerned with scheduling and controlling individual jobs through a shop rather than with measuring the performance of the shop as a whole. It involves control over individual items for inventory rather than the management of inventor as a whole. Operational control is concerned with activities that can be programmed. For instance, if the demand for an item, the cost of storing it, its production cost and production-time, and the loss involved in not filling an order are known, then the optimum inventory level and the optimum procurement schedule can be prepared. Automated plants, production scheduling, inventory control, order processing, payroll accounting, cheque handling, etc are examples of activities that are susceptible to Continue reading
Competitor Analysis
Analyzing competitors is an integral part of strategic planning. Porter’s book, “Competitive Strategy,” gives various insights in Competitor Analysis. In identifying current and potential competitors, firms must consider several important variables: How do other firms define the scope of their market? How similar are the benefits offered by the products and services to those of other firms? How committed are other firms in the industry? What are the long-term intentions and goals of competitors? The goal of competitor analysis is to be able to predict a competitor’s probable future actions, especially those made in response to the actions of the focal business. Competitor analysis has two primary activities, 1) obtaining information about important competitors, and 2) using that information to predict competitor behavior. A competitor analysis should include the more important existing competitors as well as potential competitors such as those firms that might enter the industry. Two complementary approaches Continue reading
The Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM)
The Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM) identifies a firm’s major competitors and their particular strengths and weaknesses in relation to a sample firm’s strategic position. The Competitive Profile Matrix resembles an External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix with a comparison to other organizations and/or companies. The weights and total weighted scores in both a CPM and EFE have the same meaning. However, the factors in a CPM include both internal and external issues; therefore, the ratings refer to strengths and weaknesses, where 4 = major strength, 3 = minor strength, 2 = minor weakness, and 1 = major weakness. There are some important differences between the EFE and CPM. First of all, the critical success factors in a CPM are broader; they do not include specific or factual data and even may focus on internal issues. The critical success factors in a CPM also are not grouped into opportunities and threats such Continue reading