Various Concepts of Strategies Management - Cascade Brewery - Case Study Example

Name: Professor: Course: Due Date: Introduction Strategic management is the process of setting long terms to be achieved by an organization. Strategic management is an important element in the success of an organization because it acts as a guide to the operations of the company. Competition in various industries has intensified globally and many organizations are trying to find ways in which they can improve their performance by creating competitive advantage and one of the strategies applied is strategic management (Mintzberg et al 2008). This enables the organization to ensure it has identified possible factors which can affect the operations of the company and set strategies which can manage the effects of the changes in the market environment. Strategic management also enables an organization to focus on the customer demands and manufacture products which can satisfy their needs. A good example of a company which has applied effective strategic management to create a competitive advantage is Cascade brewery which is a company based in Australia and manufactures beer products like Cascade premium lager. The company was established in 1824 and has been among the leading companies in beer manufacture. This report will therefore discuss the various concepts of strategies management has it has been applied by the company. Mission and objectives A mission statement is a short statement which indicates the goals and objectives that should be achieved by an organization (Mintzberg et al 2008). The mission statement of Cascade is to offer quality products to satisfy the needs of the customers. In order to achieve the mission statement of the organization, the following objectives have been set by the organization. i. To increase the market share by 4% between the years of 2010 and 2014 ii. To create the awareness of the products by 60% in the year 2014 iii. To improve customer satisfaction by 10% between the years of 2012 and 2013 iv. To ensure annual market growth rate of 5% starting the year 2010 v. Increase the sales of the company by 7% every financial year. Internal and external audit Auditing is the process of inspecting the resources of the organization whether internal and external. The external audit is done to determine if the financial results reported in the financial year are the actual results in the market (Patron 2008). This is done to determine the actual performance of the company in the market and its perception. From the books of accounts, Cascade brewery has reported the exact figures as they are recorded in the actual market. In addition, the company conducts external audits to ensure that the records of the company are stored effectively according to the accounting standards. This helps the company to ensure that their records are kept up to date for easy auditing. In addition, the company has stable human resource procedures which are used to select the recruit new employees (Patron 2008). These procedures are in accordance with the set standards of managing the employees. SWOT analysis is also used to check on the internal processes of the company. The strengths of the company include stable financial resources, good brand name and large market share. These strengths of the company can be used to create a competitive advantage of the organization (Patron 2008). The weaknesses of the company include ineffective promotional strategies and the lack of effective market segmentation. The company also has some potential to improve on the available opportunities like expanding into new markets and product development. On the other hand, the company has strict laws and regulations which government the behavior of the employees. For instance, there are policies which guide the employees in their dressing code of how they should conduct themselves when at work (Patron 2008). These policies are strictly adhered to hence all employees are responsible for their actions. Organizational audits The company has applied various strategies in its operations which has enabled it create a competitive advantage. In the management, the company has applied functional in the management of the organization. This is the strategy whereby the company has hierarchy in its management and this implies that there effective communication in the organization (Porter 2004). Communication is both upwards and down ward since the employees can provide information to the management and the management can communicate the feedback to the employees. This has created good relationship between the employees and the management. In this regard, I agree with the management strategy as it has been applied by the company. In addition, the company has applied online advertisement to promote its products. The company promotes its products online and the customers can make orders online and the products can be delivered online. This has enabled the company to reach a wider scope of the customers who can access (Porter 2004). The company also promotes its products through corporate social responsibility because the company sponsors various programmes in the society like sponsoring local football teams. This helps to improve the image of the company. Concerning the finance and accounting, the company conducts regular audits to determine how the financial resources are used. This helps to identify where the resources are misused and make various recommendations. In addition, the company raises revenue from the sale of shares which is a cheap method of raising funds for its operations than a bank loan (Porter 2004). Moreover, the company conducts research and development to determine how the products can be developed better. The market research also helps to identify the specific needs of the customers so that effective strategies can be developed to satisfy their needs. However, the company needs to conduct market research to determine the global market where the company can expand its operations to. Finally, management information systems has enabled the company to communicate effectively with the customers and also improving the internal systems to work well. For instance, the company has applied computer aided design which has improved the operations of the company and also effective utilization of resources (Porter 2004). These strategies have enabled the company to increase its competitive advantage in the market. The MIS can be used effectively by training the employees on how they can use the system effectively and this will promote its effectiveness. Strategy formulation Strategy formulation is the process of developing effective goals and objectives which can enable an organization to achieve competitive advantage (Lync 2010). There are a number of tools which can be used to develop an appropriate strategy. These tools include SWOT analysis and BCG matrix. The SWOT analysis is the tool which is used to assess the status of the organization and then come up with what can be improved. It involves assessing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the organization. The strengths of Cascade Brewery include stable brand name and the stable financial resources (Lync 2010). The company has good brand name which helps to attract and retain many customers. This strategy can be applied to implement the strategy of the organization. However, the company has some weaknesses which make it hard for it to exploit the available opportunities in the market. For instance, the company has poor strategies for promoting the products thus it has not fully created awareness of the products to the customers. On the other hand, there are opportunities in the market which the company can exploit. For instance, the company can develop new technology in its products to lower the cost of production and this could lead to competitive advantage of the company (Lync 2010). There are also the opportunities in markets which have not been exploited. The company can take advantage of its financial resources to expand its operations into the new markets. The company also has the opportunity to develop new products and expand the market share. Finally, there are threats which face the company. There are changing regulations by the government and this implies that the company has to change its policies to suit the new policies of the government. There is also high competition in the market and this has lowered the market share of the company the customers are shared (Lync 2010). Another tool which can be used to formulate a strategy is the BCG growth matrix. This is the tool which is used to develop a strategic plan by classifying the market into various units (Lync 2010). Different strategies can be applied in different strategic business units and this therefore helps to apply effective strategy for each strategic business unit. The following are the main strategic units of the business. The first one is the stars business unit. This is the unit with high business unit and high growth rate. This unit requires large financial resources to sustain its faster growth rate (Senge 2006). This market generates large amounts of cash. Many organizations invest in this kind of these markets so that they can generate more revenue for their organizations. There is also the cash flow. This is the market unit with large market share but it is growing slowly. The revenue from this market unit keeps growing and finally generates a lot of cash fro the organization. However, the market grows slowly significantly (Senge 2006). The cash generated is applied to manage the financial demands in this market unit. Question mark is another strategic business unit market. This unit has small market share but it experiences high growth rate. It is called the question because the managers are at dilemma whether to invest in this market or not. The first option is selected by the managers whether to invest in this market or not and the second option is taken for future investments in that market (Senge 2006). Finally, there is the dog market. These are market units which are relatively small and the growth rate is small. This market consumes resources generated from other market units (Senge 2006). The operations in these markets are normally eliminated because they don’t generate any revenue to the organization. These are the most commonly tools which are used to formulate strategic plans. In this regard, the following is the process that is used to formulate a strategic plan. The first step is to identify the area which needs to be strategically planned. The team which is to formulate the strategic plan is then selected. The team should comprise experts who have skills in drafting strategic plans. The next step is to develop the objectives of the strategic plan to be developed (Thomas et al 2004). They will guide the strategic team when formulating the strategic plan. The next step to gain agreement from the stakeholders involved in the formulation and implementation of the strategic plan. The time frame is then attached with which to implement the plan. Finally, the formulated strategy is implemented. Review and monitoring is also done to determine the success of the strategy by making adjustments where there is deviation from the set goals and objectives of the strategic plan. This is the most appropriate strategy for marketing the company’s products. This strategy will help to increase the sales of the company by creating awareness of the products to the customers. Strategic implementation The first process in implementing the formulated strategy is to evaluate the strategic plan. This is the process whereby the management examines the viability of the strategy to be implemented (Thomas et al 2004). It should be reviewed regularly to ensure the elements in the strategy are implemented fully and are practical to be implemented. The next step is to develop a vision for the strategic plan. This can be achieved by drafting various goals and objectives to be achieved (Thompson 2005). The items which need to be completed are noted and put into implementation. All the stakeholders involved in strategy formulation should be consulted and joint agreement is reached so that the strategy will be implemented with less resistance. The third step in implementing the strategic plan is to select a team which should take part in implementing the plan. The team selected should be competent and understand what is to be achieved (Thompson 2005). The team should be optimistic in implementing the strategy and should support the employees perform their tasks better so that they can improve results towards implementing the formulated strategic plan. There should be schedules for conducting meetings to discuss the outcomes of the strategy to be implemented. These meetings help to discuss what has been achieved and make recommendations which could help to improve the implementation of the strategy (Thompson 2005). This will help the strategy implementation team to achieve better results by correcting any deviation from the desired results. The meetings help to monitor the success of the implementation of the strategy. The last step is to ensure that the top management is informed of what is happening in the organization. The executive management should be kept on board so that they will provide any support which is relevant in improving the implementation of the strategic plan (Thompson 2005). They should be a ware of the process of the implementation process so that they can also make some contributions which could provide solutions to deadlocks incase there are any. The top management can be informed by the reports which are prepared about the progress of the strategy which is being implemented. Recommendations In order to improve the performance of Cascade brewery, the management should develop a programme for developing the skills of the employees. This is one way in which the employees can improve their productivity by acquiring better skills (Thompson 2005). The employees will also be motivated when there are programmes which develop their skills hence could offer their best skills to improve their performance. In addition, the management of the company should be able to develop fair policies for promoting the employees. There should be fairness in promoting the employees and this is one way in which the employees can be motivated to work hard so that their efforts can be recognized through promotions and other rewards (Mintzberg et al 2008). Finally, all stakeholders should be consulted when formulating the strategic plan. This will help to ensure that the employees do not resist change instead; they will take part in implementing the strategic plan (Thompson 2005). Stakeholder analysis is therefore important when managing the organization by considering their expectations and this helps to ensure good relationship between the employees and the management. Conclusion Strategic management is an important aspect in the success of any organization. It enables Cascade brewery to have long term competitive advantage. The objectives of Cascade brewery include increasing the market share and also the sales of the company. The strategies which have been applied by the company are effective like the hierarchical organizational structure although the marketing function should adjusted so that it can be effective. The tools which are used to formulate strategic decisions include BCG Growth matrix and SWOT analysis. It is important to include all the stakeholders when formulating a strategic plan so that they will take part in its implementation and this will ensure its success. In this regard therefore, strategic management has been the key competitive advantage for Cascade brewery. Bibliography Cascade Brewery, About us, retrieved on 4th May 2014 from http://cascadebrewingbarrelhouse.com/ 2014. 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