Business Strategy and Strategic Planning - Assignment Example

Business Strategy Name: Course: Tutor: Institution: Date: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 1.0 Introduction 3 2.0 Task 1: Strategic Planning 3 3.0 Task 2: Strategy Formulation 5 4.0 Task 3: Strategy Evaluation and Selection 7 5.0 Task 4: Strategy Implementation 8 6.0 Conclusion 10 References 11 1.0 Introduction The global market is growing increasingly competitive. As such, in a bid to retain market competitiveness and increased profitability margins, global organizations have resulted to the application of strategic management principles in their operations. Strategic management is a new organizational management practice that incorporates the concepts of rational decision making as well as the application of continuous improvement process in developing and sustaining sustainable strategic competitive edge (Jackson, Hitt and Denisi, 2003, p.23). This report offers a review of strategic management process for ZUMA Company in developing new marketing plan for the introduction of a new fitness tool in the UK market. As such, the report evaluates the strategic management process from planning to implementation of the proposed strategy. 2.0 Task 1: Strategic Planning Strategic planning is the first step in the strategic management process in the market. As such, organizations, engage in this process to determine their future development plan. Strategic planning incorporates the development of a strategic future operations plan for respective organizations. The developed plans determine the organizational expansion and growth trends in the market. In developing an organizational strategic plan, the respective vision, mission and core values play a significant role. Mohammad and Karami (2009, p.557) argued that on one hand, organizational mission statement determines the operational activities in the industry. Moreover, organizational vision serves as a roadmap for the organizational development into the future. As such, strategic planning relies on these two basic issues to formulate an appropriate approach. In this regard, the process relies on the organizational vision to determine the objectives as well as the mission to determine the operational activities. Additionally, organizational core values that dictate on the ethics and moral operations of respective organizations inform on the overall strategic planning operational activities and approaches selection. An analysis of the ZUMA Company establishes that the organization has a mission of providing appropriate fitness products and services in the UK market. Further, the organization vision of a healthy and productive society is based on its core values on ethical and societal focused practices. Thus, in developing a strategic plan, the above internal factors play a significant role. Besides the internal factors in organizations, strategic planning process is implicated by a range of external factors both in the organizational industry as well as in the global market. Among the factors in the industry influencing the overall strategic planning process include market competition levels as well as the technology levels in the market. On one hand, market competition plays a significant role in influencing strategic planning in the market. In this regard, the market faces an increased need to benchmark operations and strategies in the market. In addition, the level of technology in the industry determines the overall planning process based on the adopted activities. These factors are evidently present and influence the ZUMA Company in the UK fitness industry. In developing appropriate business plans under strategic planning organizations have a range of factors in the market. In this case, the organizations base their selection on the relevant approaches and techniques that fit in and match with the organizational mission and vision. Among the strategic planning tools used include organizational SWOT analysis as well as the vision and mission statements analysis. The evaluation of these tools allows the respective strategic planners develop appropriate strategies that match the organizational needs. Therefore, the tools serve as ideal avenues through which the organizational management develops appropriate development and expansion strategies. Therefore, the report will base its marketing strategy analysis on the discussed tools. 3.0 Task 2: Strategy Formulation In order to develop an appropriate organizational strategy, as established above, it is imperative to conduct an organizational positioning analysis through a respective organizational Audit. This is conducted through the evaluation of an organization's internal analysis as well as through comparison with market and industry competitors. As such, this report evaluates the ZUMA Company internal analysis in the market through strength, weakness, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis. A strength analysis on the organization reveals that the company has increased consumer base. Due to its large market influence, the organization enjoys economies of scale that would subsequently allow for an ease market penetration and marketing of the proposed fitness product. This offers the organization against competitors in the market. However, a large consumer base and its international status expose the organization to the strategic weakness of lack of targeting in its market focus. As such, the organization reduces is market unique and customized products approach, a strategy adopted by competitors in the UK market. Further, the analysis reveals that the organization faces an increased market success with the growing fitness knowledge and sensitivity in the market, resulting to an enlarged consumer base. However, increased market regulations in the industry pose the threat of increased market operational costs in the UK fitness industry. An environmental analysis on the UK market is conducted based on the political, economic, social and technological (PEST) analysis. The development of these operations in the market increases the organizational overall relevance and market fit in the global industry environment. On one hand, Glaister, Dincer, Tatoglu and Demirbag (2009, p.364) stated that a political analysis on the UK political environment establishes that the government has created an increased free market scenario. In this regard, the UK government allows interplay between the force of demand and supply in the market. Moreover, an economic analysis established that the UK post global financial crisis period has registered reduced inflation rates as well as stabilizing and increasing incomes. As such, the industry faces an increased consumer base potential. Consequently, the organization has increased market success rate potential for its proposed product. In addition, the UK market socio-cultural aspects are changing. In this regard, the society has registered increased lifestyle diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Consequently, the society has resulted to increased lifestyle change facilitating increased fitness products and services consumption. Therefore, this lifestyle change increases the organizational product market performance success. Finally, technological analysis on the UK fitness industry reveals that the market is increasingly adopting modern technology devices as fitness equipments. Therefore, the organizational fitness product has a market penetration potential in the market. In developing the ZUMA Company marketing strategy, it is imperative to involve the organizational stakeholder including the employees, management, shareholders, as well as the industry partners. Inclusion of such stakeholders increases the strategy support rates facilitating its eventual success. Based on the above analysis, this report recommends that the organization should adopt a low cost pricing entry strategy for the proposed fitness product launch in the UK market. 4.0 Task 3: Strategy Evaluation and Selection Strategic evaluation serves as an imperative tool and aspect in strategic management analysis. In this regard, a strategic evaluation approach is based on factors such as performance evaluation as well as alignment with organizational needs. The major rationale for strategic evaluation is the development of an avenue for an organization to evaluate developed strategies against the organizational needs. McGuinness and Morgan, R.E. 2005, p.307) argued that although a strategy would be economically viable, it might be incompatible with an organizations needs. Therefore, a strategy evaluation process ensures the eventual alignment of strategies with their respective goals, missions, visions and objectives. Such an alignment plays a significant role in facilitating eventual organizational market success through strategy and organizational objective success. Therefore, aligning the organizational needs with its strategies serves as an imperative marketing success tool in the industry. Barnes, 2001, p.1077) conducted a study evaluating the role of strategy evaluation. In its analysis, the study established that a strategy evaluation increases an organizational strategy performance and success rates respectively. In this regard, the study argued that organizations with sufficient and appropriate strategy evaluation tools registered an increased synergy and the eventual strategy implementation resistance. The proposed low cost pricing approach strategy is a viable strategy for ZUMA Company introduction of its new fitness product in the UK market. In this regard, the strategy seeks to utilize the established organizational strength on economies o scale. As established, the organization enjoys a wide consumer base, offering it economies of scale advantage. As such, the organization has the potential of lowering its production costs below its competitor’s ability. Therefore, through adopting this strategy, ZUMA Company will gain increased market competitiveness over competitors through its strength exploitation. In addition, the UK fitness industry is highly competitive. As such, the market registers an increased number of fitness products suppliers. Thus, the consumers shifting costs are relatively low with the increased threat of substitutes. Based on this analysis, it is apparent that the market fitness industry demand is elastic with slight price changes resulting to an enormous quantity demanded changes. Therefore, through a slight low pricing approach, the organization is likely to increase it demand quantity is allowing for the eventual quantity based profitability levels. On the other hand, the adoption of this strategy facilitates the achievement of the organizational vision statement. As established earlier on, the organization has a vision of attaining a healthy UK society. Therefore, through the adoption of the low pricing approach, the organization will make the product affordable to the population. As such, the organization will eventually achieve its strategic objective in the industry. Therefore, based on this analysis, the report establishes that the proposed strategy is a viable organizational new product marketing alternative. 5.0 Task 4: Strategy Implementation In the execution of organizational strategy, it is imperative for the involved organizations to develop appropriate, relevant resources needed in the execution. Strategies implementation relies on both the capital and human resources in an organization. On one hand, the capital organizational requirements in the market include the capital requirements such as financial needs required to finance the strategy operations. On the other hand, organizational strategies require the commitment of the internal stakeholders such as the management and employees to facilitate their execution. Therefore, the eventual aligning of these factors with the overall organizational needs increases the products overall industry performances. In the implementation of the proposed low cost pricing marketing approach for the ZUMA Company fitness product, the strategy implementation requires the contributions of both capital and human resource factors. On one hand, the capital requirements for the strategy implementation include marketing and promotional expenses. The organization should fund the product launch campaign in order to increase its overall market penetration success. In addition, the organization will incur human resource costs in the industry. In the implementation of the low cost approach in the market, the organization will be faced with the need to recruit and train a sales workforce to market and sell the organizational fitness product in the market. The proposed strategy success can only be achieved if the organization has an appropriate organizational sales framework. Therefore, this report concludes that the organizational proposed low cost strategy relies on the existence of a sufficient sales budget as well as a trained sales force. As Gerson (2006, p.20) argued, the organizational marketing strategy is based on the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely) objectives allows for performance management and evaluation. The presence of these issues allows for efficient implementation as well as evaluation strategy. Based on these principles, the proposed ZUMA Company strategy will be measured using the sales revenues obtained within a period of one year based on the specific product projected sales against the achieved sale levels. Thus allows for a timely experimentation and evaluation of the proposed strategy. 6.0 Conclusion In summary, this report reviews the concept of new product marketing strategies. In this regard, the report evaluates the case of ZUMA Company proposed launch of a fitness product in the UK market. As such, the report establishes that despite an internal analysis external environmental factors play a significant role in determining the appropriate marketing strategy. Thus, the report reviews on the organization's SWOT analysis as well as an environmental audit based on PEST analysis. An overview of the SWOT analysis establishes that the organizational has its major strength and opportunity based on the wide consumer base and the changing societal lifestyles’ in the UK market respectively. As such, based on the above discussed elements, the report concludes that the organization has the financial and human resource potential to implement a low cost pricing approach. Consequently, the report recommends the implementation of this strategy as well as other operational support strategies such as increased promotional activities funding as well as increased human resource training. References Barnes, D. 2001, "Research methods for the empirical investigation of the process of formation of operations strategy", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 21, no. 8, pp. 1076-1095. Gerson, R. F. 2006, Achieving high performance: A research-based practical approach. HRD Press Amherst, Mass. Glaister, K.W., Dincer, O., Tatoglu, E. & Demirbag, M. 2009, "A comparison of strategic planning practices in companies from the UK and Turkey", The Journal of Management Development, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 361-379. Jackson, S. E., Hitt, M. A., & DeNisi, A. S. 2003, Managing Knowledge for Sustained Competitive Advantage: Designing Strategies for Effective Human Resource Management, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA. McGuinness, T. & Morgan, R.E. 2005, "The effect of market and learning orientation on strategy dynamics: The contributing effect of organisational change capability", European Journal of Marketing, vol. 39, no. 11, pp. 1306-1326,1391-1392. Mohammad, T.A. & Karami, A. 2009, "Managers of small and medium enterprises: mission statement and enhanced organisational performance", The Journal of Management Development, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 555-562. Read More