Q.1. WHAT IS STRATEGY?

Strategy is one

It is for top level

It is for the organization as a whole

Plans are many but strategy is one

It as to be achievable/ practical

each individual department will work towards the organizational strategy

It is based on core strengths of org because we will be compared with our competitors

Once strategy is decided, plan can come

strategy comes first

It has to be long term

It cannot/ should not change

strategy should be more specific

It cannot/should not be for a particular function or department

It will come first and all other things will follow for the accomplishment of strategy

More clearer a strategy, more better it is

DEFINITION OF CORPORATE STRATEGY

Strategy is the framework which guides those choices that determines the nature and direction of the organization.

Framework

The boundary in which we conduct activities which we want to conduct.

Strategy tells us what direction your organization will take

Why Is Corporate Strategy Important?Companies that devote time and resources exclusively on day-to-day operations can suffer over the long term by not working toward strategies that will drive new products, accelerate sales, increase market share and ultimately add to revenues and profits. Far from a theoretical exercise, effective corporate strategy represents a necessary step in any company's growth and is the product of careful planning by the board of directors, CEO and senior managers.

1.Changing Conditions

The marketplace can change as often and subtly as the direction of a breeze. Companies with well-defined strategies can more readily adjust to competition and economic forces, together with a focus on new products and services that will serve expanding markets and customer preferences. Depending on the specific industry, company executives must also remain aware of changing laws and regulations that can directly impact the bottom line.

2.Execution

Without a clear corporate strategy, implementation and execution become far more difficult. Putting a strategic plan into action involves addressing client needs, production schedules, human-resource issues, market penetration and efficient allocation of resources. Successful strategies also align everyone within the corporation, from the board of directors to the mail-room clerk, to its vision and goals and how they can work together to make all components come together.

3.Efficiency

Inefficiencies can crop up at all levels within a corporation, and a strategic plan helps to identify and define these weaknesses so they can be quickly addressed. If different salespeople are going after the same clients, if four offices can accomplish the same results as five, if travel expenses are redundant, together with a range of other "ifs" with clear financial impact, both bank accounts and shareholders suffer.

4.Leadership

Company leaders who look to other employees to provide overall strategic direction are looking straight into a vacuum. Effective leaders must take responsibility for all details and ensure that they are carried out. Certain plans and strategies may not work when put into practice, so pliant leadership responsive to market and competitive pressures will have measurable impact on both the work environment and profits.

Q.2. TWO SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS, ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF TWO?

A) THE PLANNING SCHOOL (ANSOFF, 1965)

The ‘planning’ school has its theoretical roots in system theory and cybernetics.

The central actor of planning is the planner of the company such as top management.

Formulating, programming and budgeting are main steps of planning school.

The steps are done in controlled and stable environment. For strategy made explicit plan to implement those steps.

The Planning School. This school sees strategy formation as a formal process.

Approach: A rigorous set of steps are taken, from the analysis of the situation to the execution of the strategy.

Basis: Urban planning, system theory, cybernetics. In short: Formalize! "Strategy should be like a machine."

Contributions: Gives clear direction. Enables firm resource allocation. Analysts can pre-screen the facts and they can judge the crafted strategies. Control.

Limitations: Strategy can become too static. The risk exists of Groupthink. Predicting is difficult. Top managers must create the strategy from an ivory tower. Strategy is partly an art.

Typical / compare: Theory of Mechanistic and Organic Systems | Parenting Styles | Levers of Control | Scenario Planning

B) Mintzberg school of thought

http://opentuition.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/group-documents/23/1271485643-MINTZBERGTENSCHOOLOFTHOUGHTFORSTRATEGYFORMATION.pdf

Advantages of Clear Strategy:-

1. Broad ImprovementStrategy forces you to take a broader view of both your own operations and the external environment in which you work. As a result of this you are forced to critically examine your capabilities across a broad spectrum. In turn this wider view of your operations leads to the development of strategies to improve all areas of your business. This serves to ensure that you are not focusing on the wrong things to move your business forward.

2. Change ReadyNobody can consistently identify things that are going to force changes in your business. If we accept that then the next best thing is to be aware of some of the possible change drivers within your company and in the external environment. Developing a strategy forces you to look at and examine where change may come from. You may not be perfect in your predictions for impending changes, but you will be better prepared to deal with change when it does arrive – and it will.

3. Conflict ReductionOne of the main drivers of conflict is misunderstanding. Strategy serves to reduce conflict by providing a clear direction for the company. With a clear direction in place ongoing decisions may be measured against the strategy to determine if they support it or not. Having such an acid test in place for new ideas helps to manage potential conflict that may otherwise develop based upon different views as to the future direction of the company. Everyone knows the game plan.

4. ConsistencyStrategy sets direction and ensures consistency in terms of the actions undertaken to follow the strategic direction. Without strategy there is no roadmap and everyone dances to their own tune. With a strategy in place actions are coordinated in pursuit of the strategic direction.

5. Customer FocusA personal mantra of mine is that “all good marketing starts with the customer.” Strategy also forces the company to strive for a better understanding of the customer. Any strategic endeavor should include an in-depth customer analysis. If you are focused on the customers’ needs and values then you are focused on the right things.

6. Efficient Resource AllocationIf you do not know what is important then how do you know where to allocate your resources? The creation of strategy will highlight for you what is truly important for you to achieve your goals. By doing this the development of your strategy also ensures that you are allocating your resources on what matters.

7. Identification of Competitive AdvantageKnowing and understanding your customer is crucial. Knowing and understanding your competition is almost as important. Strategy creation involves an unbiased appraisal of your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses. When this knowledge is combined with your understand as to what is important for your customers then you have the basis for identifying what your competitive advantage is.

8. Identification of Opportunities and ThreatsOne of the main reasons that companies fail is that they never saw the emerging threat in their marketplace. The reason that they never saw this death blow coming is that they were not looking for it. A strategic assessment of your environment includes an analysis of potential threats to your company. The reason we no longer have many buggy whip manufacturers around is that they never saw Henry Ford and the automobile coming.

9. Improved CommunicationsStrategy improves communications by identifying:

• What is important to communicate• Who to communicate it toWithout this knowledge there is a pretty good chance that you are wasting your communications efforts.10. Strategic Planning Forces You to ThinkI will finish with a generic benefit of strategy development that is so obvious that it may be overlooked. At the end of the day it is not so much what you have developed in terms of your strategic direction that is important, as it is the fact that strategic planning has forced you to think about a number of things, including:

• Your customer• Your competition• Your own strengths and weaknesses• Changes in your marketsThere is a tendency when things are going well to assume they always will and to simply keep doing what has made you successful. Continuing on is easy, thinking is tough, but taking the time to think is an imperative for survival.

Disadvantages of Clear Strategy:-

Advantages of Unclear Strategy:-

Disadvantages of Unclear Strategy:-

Q.3. STRATEGY OPERATIONS MATRIX? EXPLAIN EACH QUADRANT WITH AN EXAMPLE

The Strategy/Operations Relationship - Be a Strategic Thinker

The relationship between strategy and operations can be illustrated in the following way:

Clear Strategy Unclear Strategy

EffectiveOperations

I.Strategic Thinker

Clear strategy and effective operations have equalled success in the past and will in the future.

II.Operational Thinker

Unclear strategy but effective operations have equalled success in the past, but success is doubtful in the future.

IneffectiveOperations

III.Day Dreamer

Clear strategy but ineffective operations have sometimes worked in the past in the short run, but increasing competition makes success doubtful in the future.

IV.Crisis Thinker

Unclear strategy and ineffective operations have equalled failure in the past and will in the future.

Source: - http://hainescentre.com/systems-thinking/strategic-vs-tactical.html

Q.5 Shareholders v/s Stakeholders (Not complete answer)

ShareholdersTo raise capital from the market, companies float their shares through share market and it can be purchased by common people. These people are shareholders or stockholders and are actually own a part of the company. These are the people who have actually given money to the company either for day to day operations or to start a new venture. As such, they can be said to be the biggest stakeholders as they are directly affected by the performance of the company. If the company makes profit they get bonus and dividends, but if the company goes into a loss, the value of shares of the company goes down reducing the stake of shareholders in the company.

StakeholdersA stakeholder is anyone who has direct or indirect interest in the company. If a person is affected by the performance of a company, he is a stakeholder. For a company, stakeholders could be employees, their families, suppliers of raw materials, buyers of finished products, end customers, and by large entire community. There are examples of organizations where there are no shareholders but only stakeholders such as a University. In a University, there are no shares and hence no shareholders but there is a long list of stakeholders including professors, students, students’ families, tax payers and the society in its entirety.

Difference between Shareholders and StakeholdersAll shareholders in a company are stakeholders but all stakeholders are certainly not shareholders. Those having financial interest in the company are shareholders or stockholders as they are directly affected by good or poor performance of the company. Employees of any company would be without jobs if there was no company, and hence they are stakeholders but they do not have any shares and hence are not shareholders.Corporate social responsibility (CSR) dictates that any company should base his decisions taking the interest of all stake holders in mind rather than concentrating just upon its shareholders. Today, general public is also considered to be stakeholders in companies and this is why if any action of the company creates pollution or reduces greenery, it is stopped in its tracks by courts or the administration. Thus we see that though for financial considerations, shareholders are a group that decides the financial policies of any company, but ultimately all companies are answerable to their stakeholders even more than their shareholders.

(Not sure as sir has thought us shareholder n stakeholder school of management thought)

Q.6.WHAT IS THE STRATEGY OF WALMART, EXPLAIN THE SUCCESS STORY?

The Business strategies Wal-Mart uses and how they differentiate their services/products

There are 3 generic business strategies and they consist of the Focus strategy, the Differentiation strategy, and Overall Cost leadership. The Focus strategy is usually defined as focusing on offering products and services to a particular market segment or buyer group, within a segment of a product line, and/ or to a specific geographic market. The Differentiation strategy is defined as offering a product or service that is perceived as unique in the marketplace. Wal-Mart‘s business strategy is Overall Cost Leadership, offering their customers great quality service and products at a lower price than their competition. Overall Cost Leadership is defined as offering the same or better quality product or service at a price that is less than what any of the competition is able to do. In achieving this goal it relies on a Supply Chain Management, that ensures products are available to the customers when they it. The items offered are broken down into products and services, products would be privately labelled brands such as, “George, Metro 7, Mainstays and other licensed brands from Disney and Mary-Kate and Ashley”. Services would be that they offer home goods, beauty supplies and seasonal items.

The estimated power each of the 5 forces has (suppliers include their employees and suppliers of technology).

Buyer Power is affected by how big your customers are and how much revenue they constitute as well as other things. For instance Wal-Mart has a lot of power with suppliers because it buys so much of their inventory and is thus a large percent of those companies revenues. It is no surprise then that these companies have lived and died with Wal-Mart's orders and would do anything to protect their business with them. Buyer power has about 55% of the five forces model that Wal-Mart uses, since the Company’s sole purpose is to ensure that its customers are, “Saving Money, Living Better”. Buyer power would also include their employees, in treating them with the respect, giving them

support and having an open door policy, you create happy employees which transfers to happy customers. 

Supplier power as there is a high amount of choices to be taken in and they do bring in a lot supplies. As for a threat of a substitute product, it is high because there are alternative products for sale that can replace another item. As for a threat of a new entrant, Wal-Mart seems to be the Leader in low cost sales so it will not be easy for a new business to come in and challenge Wal-Mart’s' ways. Supplier Power estimated percentage would be about 35, while, this percentage appears to be low, in the grand scheme of things is allows Wal-Mart to ensure that their suppliers come from a diverse group that achieves and maintains their high standards of delivering great quality services and products. 

Threats of Substitute products and threats of new entrants average around 3%, simply because with Wal-Mart focusing on ensuring that their customers are happy and that their suppliers are delivering quality products at a low cost, they would ensure that they remain ahead of their competitors and in doing so, it would make it difficult for new entrants and the competition to match their prices.In order to reduce buyer and supplier power, they would have to put a greater emphasis on the threat of substitute products. They would have to look at what are the better and cheaper alternatives on the market and tap into that resource.

Threats of new entry To create entry barriers, they would have to increase market research on what customers are actually purchasing and ensure that they are able to deliver, and become the only person offering that product at a price the customers and afford. Switching costs are easy, once customers realize they are no longer getting value for their money, they would go seek products elsewhere.

Rivalry is how competitive an industry is. For instance, if there are lots of companies selling essentially the same products there will always end up being a price war which will severely hurt the company' profits. Wal-mart has such low prices which have created a problem for years and fierce competition has made it tough for competitors to make a profit.

SUCCESS STORY

Starting the business

By putting in many hours at the store and implementing a pricing strategy far below what his competitors were charging, Walton's new business took off. By 1950 he had the top performing Ben Franklin store in the area. Walton's landlord, seeing his success, decided that he wanted Walton to sell the store to his son. When Walton refused, the landlord decided not to renew Walton's lease and he was forced to shut down.

Walton's 10 commandments for business success were:

1) Commit to your business.

2) Share your profits with your associates and treat them like your partners.

3) Energize your colleagues.

4) Communicate everything you possibly can to your partners.

5) Appreciate everything your associates do for the business.

6) Celebrate your success.

7) Listen to everyone in your company.

8) Exceed your customers' expectations.

9) Control your expenses better than your competition.

10) Blaze your own path.

Q.8. Brainstorming – Meaning, Advantages, How can it be implemented?

Brainstorming is a group or individual creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its member(s).

Process for generating creative ideas and solutions through intensive and freewheeling group discussion. Every participant is encouraged to think aloud and suggest as many ideas as possible, no matter seemingly how outlandish or bizarre. Analysis, discussion, or criticism of the aired ideas is allowed only when the brainstorming session is over and evaluation session begins.

Advantages:-

The brainstorming creativity method:

1. Generates a lot of ideas in a short time

2. Is easy to learn and teach

3. Is easy to prepare

4. Is easy to moderate

5. Does not need a lot of materials (just paper and coloured pens)

6. Exploits reciprocative (mutual) stimulation of ideas - group

dynamics

7. Poses no author rights problem since ideas are formed

collectively and not individually.

8. Saves time

Disadvantages:-

Some disadvantages that appear in Brainstorming sessions are the following:

1. In a group participants have to listen to others and may spend time

repeating their ideas until they get sufficient attention.

2. Going through the protocol, processing and ordering the ideas can

become a complex procedure. This also depends on the number and

order of the generated ideas.

3. Advising participants to let others speak without making them feel

offended or intimidated can be difficult.

4. Participants with the ability to express their ideas faster and more

effective gain the general attention of the group. Some form of

leadership can be formed in this way within the group, which might

make participants feel intimidated.

5. On the one hand, people are not very skilled at controlling their non-

verbal reactions and might influence the creativity of others with

their posture, gestures or facial expressions. On the other hand,

attempting to control their non-verbal behaviour might inhibit their

own creativity.

6. More discrete or introvert participants might find it difficult to

express their crazy or unorthodox ideas.

Brainstorming Process (Implementation)

1. Define and agree the objective.

2. Brainstorm ideas and suggestions having agreed a time limit.

3. Categorise/condense/combine/refine.

4. Assess/analyse effects or results.

5. Prioritise options/rank list as appropriate.

6. Agree action and timescale.

7. Control and monitor follow-up.

Q. 9 Rules and Policy

Q.10 Moment of truth