Due to increased competition and accelerated product development cycles, innovation and the management of technology is becoming crucial to corporate success. The importance of technology and innovation must be emphasized by people at the very top and reinforced by people throughout the corporation. Management has an obligation to not only encourage new product development, but also to develop a system to ensure that technology is being used most effectively with the consumer in mind. External Scanning: Corporations need to continually scan their external societal and task environments for new developments in technology that may have some application to their current or potential products, Stakeholders, especially customers, can be important participant in the new product development process. Technological Developments: Focusing one’s scanning efforts too closely on one’s own industry is dangerous. Most new developments that threaten existing business practices and technologies do not come from existing competitors or even from Continue reading
Strategic Management Concepts
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
Exploring the Concept of Sustainable Strategic Fit
Sustainable strategic fit is a concept that refers to the alignment between a company’s business strategy and its sustainable practices. In today’s business landscape, sustainability is increasingly becoming a critical factor for companies to remain competitive and relevant in the long-term. Sustainable strategic fit helps companies achieve their sustainability goals while also driving business value. To understand sustainable strategic fit, it is important to first define what is meant by sustainability in business. Sustainability refers to the ability of a company to operate in a way that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This includes environmental, social, and economic considerations. Businesses can achieve sustainability through various practices, such as reducing waste and emissions, sourcing materials sustainably, supporting local communities, and promoting diversity and inclusion. However, achieving sustainability is not enough on its own. Companies must also ensure that 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
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