Strategic Management for DL Limited - Case Study Example

Strategic Management Business Plan for DL Limited Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Strategic Management Business Plan for DL Limited Ways in which strategic decisions are made Strategic decisions are essential in the organization because they help in the running and operations of the organization. Strategic management deals with emergent and intended initiatives taken by the top management in the organization (Hussey, 1998, p. 542). It involves the utilization of resources that will enhance performance of the organization especially in the external environment. Strategic decisions will be made by the top management in consultation with other stakeholders. This is by specifying the organization’s objectives, goals, mission, and vision. The strategic decisions are made developing policies, procedures, and plans in terms of projects and programs (Bradley, 1995, p. 542). Plans are put in place so that these goals are achieved within the stipulated time. Strategic decisions are made by the top management by providing direction on what is needed to be done in the organization (Migliore, 1995, p. 43). Strategic decisions are linked with set goals and objectives in what is known as strategic alignment. The board of directors and other stakeholders is consulted before the decision is made. This will depend on the organizational structure and culture (Lymbersky, 2008, p. 333). Decisions are made depending on the magnitude. This is because strategic decisions are bigger in nature; hence, affecting the entire organization. Strategic decisions are made based on the magnitude and what customers, competitors, and suppliers want. In addition, they are made based on the time scale. Strategic decisions set the way forward for the organization over short, medium, and long term. This will depend on the organization and the industry in which it engages or operates (Bradley, 1995, p. 544). Commitment and dedication is one way in which strategies are made. This involves making choices and committing resources in a manner that will ensure they are used for the right purpose. Financial decisions are part of the strategic decisions in the organization that needs total commitment from the top managers. This is how strategic decisions are made by building up a high profile and challenging environment. Therefore, decision made take different angles depending on what need to be handled in the organization at a particular time. Analytical strategy is one of the ways of making the decision in the organization. This is driven by the formal panning and structure systems of the organizations. This means that decisions are made by following the set steps and procedures that are stipulated in the organization (Hussey, 1998, p. 545). Imperial strategy is used by leaders or those who have powers and authority to make decisions in the organization. For DL Limited to succeed in decision-making, leaders must remain focus in decision-making. They should make decisions that benefit the organization if they want to realize success. The top managers should maintain their vision and mission in decision making because lack of commitment from them will lead to poor implementation. Cultural strategy in decision-making is essential in the organization. This is driven by what the organization want to be in future (Lymbersky, 2008, p. 335). In making strategic decisions in the organization, there are various ways or steps followed. There are a systematic approach and steps followed by the top managers who make decisions in the organization. There are logical and systematic steps in decision-making. This is an organized approached used in organizations to make sound decisions that will lead to the prosperity of the organization. Decisions should be made in a better way by those who have powers in the organization. There are six main steps used in making effective strategic decisions in the organizations (Bradley, 1995, p. 547). These are creating a constructive environment, generating good alternatives, exploring the generated alternatives, choosing the best alternative, checking the decision, and finally communicating the decision and taking the necessary action (Bostrom, et al. 2008, p. 273). Creating a constructive environment This involves establishing objectives, goals, agreeing on the process, allowing opinions to be heard, and involving the right people. In addition, the decision makers should use creative tools from the beginning of the process. This is important because having a comprehensive and detailed start, it will allow the decision makers to be wise and make decisions that affect the organization positively. This is a critical step because the decision makers will have to define what they want to achieve at any given time. The second step is to generate good alternatives. This is one of the critical ways in making the decision to the organization (Blythe & Bennett, 2002, p. 81). The decision makers will force themselves deeper by looking at the problem from a broader perspective. This will help in getting the solution exceptionally fast because the course has been known. Ideas will be brainstormed then ask yourself how to achieve them (Migliore, 1995, p. 45). Step 3 is to explore the available alternatives. This when the decision makers are satisfied with the selection they have made, which should be realistic evaluate the risks, and feasibility of each alternative. Furthermore, the implication of each choice is discussed because risks could be more than benefits; hence, the one with more benefits is chosen. In addition, it should meet all the requirements especially the risk assessment because uncertainty in decision-making is worse than not making any decision. The alternative should assess the risks objectively using a structured approach (Bostrom, et al. 2008, p. 275). The next step is choosing the best alternative after assessing all the available options. Strategic decisions are not easy to make but with decision makers who know what they want they can always choose the best. Using various tools such as grid analysis, decision tree, and paired comparison are crucial because it will ensure the best alternative is chosen. Checking the decision chosen is the fifth strep in decision-making. This is a critical way of making a decision because it will ensure all errors have been eliminated. The catastrophic consequences can be avoided because this is a step that is crucial and in depth. The final step in decision-making is communicating the decision and taking the appropriate action. This is the final step of implementation (Bradley, 1995, p. 548). What board of DL Limited should consider (marketing entry strategies and key decisions) The board of DL Limited should consider expanding its operations to the United States. This is because in the US, there is high demand of education due to increasing population. Most people all over the world go to the United States of America to get education (Klug, 2006, p. 161). Even though others do not travel to US for education, they still do it back in their countries in all the continents. This has been possible because of distance learning brought about by the advanced technology. The DL Limited distance learning programmes are offered in the field of business, Information Technology, and Engineering. These are the most marketable programmes in the US (Blythe & Bennett, 2002, p. 85). The market is viable and readily available; hence, the board at the DL Limited should consider investing in US. The board should liaise with the ministry of education in the US so that they can be registered and earn maximum returns (Bostrom, et al. 2008, p. 276). The expansion strategy of the DL Limited should be to improve the quality of education in the US and other regions of the world. The curriculum of the DL Limited should be presented to the ministry of education in the US so that it can be approved and allowed to set and administer exams to the4 students who are interested with this distance learning programs they have introduced (Lymbersky, 2008, p. 336). Distance learning programmes are picking up remarkably fast in the US. This is because most people cannot get time to attend part time and full-time classes due to lack of time. Most people in US prefer distance-learning courses offered in a few universities and institutions of higher education (Hussey, 1998, p. 546). DL Limited will get many students both for undergraduate and post graduate. This is because most of these are the people working and do not have time to attend full-time classes. This means they can read at their own convenient times due to the availability of the internet and the laptops that are portable; hence, can read in their own houses when they are working (Migliore, 1995, p. 46). The largest student’s population in the US prefers distance learning than any other form of learning such as full time and part time. This is more convenient and reliable due to improved technology that makes students conduct a comprehensive in his or her fields of study (Morgan, et al. 2010, p. 203). There are more than 300000 students both in undergraduate and post graduate who have enrolled in the distance learning form of education. In addition, the market in the US for education is lucrative because there are established institutions and recognized curriculum globally. The DL Limited should invest in the system because there are a few universities in the US offering the same mode of study (Klug, 2006, p. 165). Pricing strategy should be competitive based on the quality of education. The board should harmonize the prices or cost of offering distance learning; so that it does not charge a lot or lesser than what is offered in the US. Pricing is sensitive; hence, most students want to pay what they are assured of getting quality education and knowledge at the end of the course. The board should analyze what is offered in the US higher institutions of learning. The cost of acquiring the DL limited education on distance learning should be based on the quality of their curriculum (Blythe & Bennett, 2002, p. 86). For them to penetrate into the market very fast, they can use penetration and premium pricing. These pricing strategies are crucial because it will attract many students; hence, the institution can get higher returns within the shortest time. Premium pricing is where the services or the products of the company are charged or offered at a high price (Klug, 2006, p. 166). DL Limited distance learning programmes are unique because it based on what is needed in the market. This means that they can use premium pricing to understand the services of high quality that are practical in nature. The distance learning programmes of the company is competitive in the market, not only in Turkey but also in other parts of the world (Blythe & Bennett, 2002, p. 87). The graduate students are trained and are monitored closely by their tutors online to check on their progress. The higher prices charged will attract many people because they believe that, cheap is expensive. Therefore, they can trust the education system offered by DL Limited. This strategy is used to target the rich people in the US and other European nations (Morgan, et al. 2010, p. 206). These people can afford because they are wealthy or rich. Most of them have been looking for such opportunities to gain knowledge from such institutions such as DL Limited. The DL limited can take advantage of the opportunity available in the US by offering high quality and respectable curriculum acceptable and reputable globally (Bostrom, et al. 2008, p. 277). In addition, penetration pricing can be used for the services are offered at a low price so that it can attract many students. This is the best pricing strategy that will help DL Limited gain entry into the market. Once it has gain the expected market share, the cost or prices are increased. These are marketing strategies used to enter the market remarkably easily. These pricing strategies have been used by many institutions in the world and have gained competitive advantage (Klug, 2006, p. 168). The other market entry strategies include joint ventures, ownership, and licensing. DL limited can partner with other institutions of higher learning in the US so that its programmes can be accepted remarkably easily (Tielmann, 2010, p. 21). It will be easy for DL Limited to partner with one of the famous or recognized universities in the US as it gets to be known in the country (Wernick, 2007, p. 92). Joint ventures have been proven to help other firms to gain entrance and reorganization in other countries especially in the US. In addition, the joint venture will help DL Limited to meet the financial obligations (Hussey, 1998, p. 547). It is costly to introduce new services especially curriculum. It will involve legal costs and other related costs of registering the programmes. This may be the only acceptable mode of entry into the market in the US (Migliore, 1995, p. 48). Furthermore, licensing can be used by DL Limited as an entry strategy into the US market. The US can grant DL Limited a license so that it can operate in the country (Nutt, & Wilson, 2009, p. 432). The licensor can accept the DL Limited programmes by allowing it to operate and offer its education programmes to the US students and other willing students from all over the world. This is the most beneficial method entry method to the new market. This entry strategy involves little expenses or costs (Bostrom, et al. 2008, p. 278). The only costs that are involved are those used in signing the policies, agreement, programme, and implementation of their programmes (Lymbersky, 2008, p. 338). Licensing is the best option for DL Limited to enter into the US market because it is the simplest method to offer its services in the foreign country (Ulrich, & Eppinger, 2004, p. 62). This is the low risk entry strategy because what is required is compliance with the rules and regulations governing the business operations. In addition, the capital is not tied up with the foreign operations and can get marketing support from the federal government (Blythe & Bennett, 2002, p. 88). The board should consider utilizing the social network services such as the worldwide web to advertise and promote their courses offered through distance learning (Wernick, 2007, p. 93). Most people can access the website because they have the internet connections and technological devices (Morgan, et al. 2010, p. 209). The board should consider researching on all the legal requirements and the costs associated with all the education ministry officials, rules, and regulations (Hussey, 1998, p. 549). The top management of the DL Limited should find out whether there are many students who would prefer the Turkish curriculum and programme of education on various fields such as business, information technology, and engineering. This is important because, it will be appropriate for the DL Limited to confirm it before spending lot money in the programme that will not be accepted (Bradley, 1995, p. 549). Potential product development and the ways in which they could have an advantage over competitors The products can be improved by conducting market research and analysis to find out what the students want. This is important because the target customers should be allowed to give their own views and opinions on what they want (Rasche, 2007, p. 123). The programme should be flexible and reliable compared to those offered by the competitors. This will help the DL Limited programmes gain competitive advantage and out perform its competitors. The cost of offering the courses or programmes should be affordable to many in order to attract many customers (students). Cost or pricing the products is acutely sensitive to many customers (Tielmann, 2010, p. 22). In addition, they should improve the quality of the services offered in order to retain and attract more customers (Schorsch, 2009, p. 82). The students should be guided properly on what they are supposed to do rather than leaving them to work on their own. Guiding them as expected will help improve the image and reputation of the institution and programmes being offered (Nutt, & Wilson, 2009, p. 433). Resources required implementing their strategy, and the potential pitfalls that the company might face The resources required to implement the strategy is quite substantial. The financial resource required is the determining factor. Setting up a functioning web to serve the students interested in the distance learning is costly (Tielmann, 2010, p. 24). The estimated costs to ensure all information can reach the students in that target market is more than $ 100000 million per annum. The internet connection should be reliable because distance learning relies on technology and the firm should invest a lot in modern technology that will support the programme (Wernick, 2007, p. 94). The staff or the personnel required may not be adequate to implement the strategy. The firm might face shortage of skilled and knowledgeable personnel (Ulrich, & Eppinger, 2004, p. 65). The cost of implementing the strategy is quite costly; hence, a real threat to the firm that want to launch and expand its programmes in the US. In addition, the legal factors and differences can be costly to the DL Limited trying to launch its operations and services in the US (Rasche, 2007, p. 125). Harmonizing the curriculum will be time consuming and costly because it will require employment of legal experts and other staffs to harmonize the programmes. This critical and if the differences on the mode of offering the programme is wide, the DL Limited can miss that opportunity of reaching U.S. students that are a potential market (Nutt, & Wilson, 2009, p. 434). Furthermore, the US government can decide to restrict the course the firm should offer and the number of students per enrollment. This will be a enormous challenge to DL Limited because restrictions means reduced returns; hence, can cannot compete favorably in the market offering the same distance learning programme (Schorsch, 2009, p. 85). This is crucial because it may lead to losses because restricting student’s enrollment will be favoring other institutions offering the same programmes (Tielmann, 2010, p. 25). United States citizens believe their institutions can only offer the best distance learning programmes; hence, students may not enroll for the DL Limited programmes. This will be a loss to the company; because it will have spent a lot of financial and personnel resources developing and advertising the programmes (Ulrich, & Eppinger, 2004, p. 68). Other relevant issues that the Board should consider The other relevant issues that the board should consider are whether the distant learning programmes are acceptable in the US or not. This is crucial because it can be planning to expand its distant learning programmes yet they are not acceptable in the States. They should find out whether both curriculums are compatible or not (Tielmann, 2010, p. 26). The topics being taught in the US are different from those offered by the Turkish and UK DL Limited. In addition, they should consider finding out whether they can harmonize both programmes from both countries so that it does not create a significant difference (Wernick, 2007, p. 95). This is important because, the programmes of DL Limited are not recognized in the US. In addition, some students may not be interested in pursuing such foreign programmes. The grading system is important too because different countries have different grading system. This may be considered so that both countries can harmonize their grading to enhance consistency (Nutt, & Wilson, 2009, p. 435). Furthermore, the board should find out whether other foreign students in US are allowed to register for the programmes or not. This is essential to DL Limited because it will help in planning to expand their operations and services in the future to other countries in the world. Rules and regulations are necessary for DL Limited (Schorsch, 2009, p. 89). Therefore, the firm should under all laws governing distant learning in the country. This is essential because it will help the company avoid legal hurdles and court cases in case the laws differs from those in UK and Turkey (Tielmann, 2010, p. 28). Partnership and licensing is an issue that the board should inquire in detail so that it can choose the best option that is less costly and reliable (Rasche, 2007, p. 128). However, the DL Limited board should not only seek the education ministry opinion only but find more from the students and what the employers expect from the programmes offered by the firm (Wernick, 2007, p. 97). Cost or pricing is critical because it will determine whether the firm will get profits or not. The firm should find out the charges of the local universities so that it can decide to venture into that market or not. This is critical in any venture because the driving force of any business is to make profits; hence, should inquire about it first (Nutt, & Wilson, 2009, p. 438). References: Blythe, J. & Bennett, R. 2002. International marketing: strategy planning, market entry & implementation. New York: Kogan Page Publishers. Pp. 81-88. Bostrom, A; Gottlieb, S. J. & French, S. P. 2008. Risk assessment, modeling, and decision support: strategic decisions. New York: Springer. Pp. 273-278. Bradley, F. 1995. International marketing strategy. New York: Prentice Hall. Pp. 353-359. Hussey, D. E. 1998. Strategic management: from theory to implementation. New York: Butterworth-Heinemann. Pp. 542-549. Klug, M. 2006. Market Entry Strategies in Eastern Europe in the Context of the European Union: An Empirical Research into German Firms Entering the Polish Market. Camino Sun: DUV. Pp. 161-168. Lymbersky, C. 2008. Market Entry Strategies: Text, Cases, and Readings in Market Entry Management. Dublin: Christoph Lymbersky. Pp. 333-338. Migliore, R. H. 1995. Strategic planning for not-for-profit organizations. New York: Routledge. Pp. 43-48. Morgan, M; Cole, A; Johnson, R. & Dave, J. 2010. Executing Your Business Transformation: How to Engage Sweeping Change Without Killing Yourself Or Your Business. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Pp. 203-209. Nutt, P. C. & Wilson, D. C. 2009. Handbook of Decision Making. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Pp. 432-438. Rasche, A. 2007. The Paradoxical Foundation of Strategic Management. New York: Springer. Pp. 123-128. Ryan, B. 1995. Strategic Accounting for Management. New York: Cengage Learning EMEA. Pp. 312-317. Schorsch, M. 2009. Market Entry Strategies for Russia: A Comprehensive Survey Based on Expert Interviews. London: Diplomica Verlag. Pp. 82-89. Tielmann, V. 2010. Market Entry Strategies: International Marketing Management. New York: GRIN Verlag. Pp. 21-28. Ulrich, D; Karl, T. & Eppinger, S. D. 2004. Product Design and Development. New York: McGraw-Hill, New York. Pp. 62-68. Wernick, C. 2007. Strategic Investment Decisions in Regulated Markets. Camino Sun: DUV. Pp. 92-97. Read More