Strategic Management in Global Context Assignment Sample

Introduction Of Strategic Management in Global Context Assignment

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Strategic management means managing the resources of an organization for the achievement of objectives and goals (White, 2017). Strategic management includes objectives setting, competitive environment analysis, evaluating the internal as well as the external factors that affect the organization, making a decision regarding the strategies, and also making sure that management effectively rolls out the strategies all across the organization (Wheelenet. al. 2017). Every company, university, and organization use strategic management to meet their desired goals and objectives. It is alienated into two approaches, a prescriptive approach which summaries how strategies needs to be advanced and another is a descriptive approach which emphases on how strategies should be converted in practice in the organization.

The report is made for strategic management which is possible through the internal and external factors analyses of the company. The internal factor which influences the strategic planning of the company includes forces, events, and conditions of the present market. The external analyses include the factors which cannot be controlled by the company such as political, legal, economical, social, and technical factors. For evaluating the environment of the company the report is considering the SWOT analysis which assist to identify with the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the company’s business with context to the target country the UK. The report focuses on the various modes of entry in a foreign market that the company can choose. Porter’s generic competitive strategy is a framework that is very important for planning the strategies regarding the direction of business which further assists in gaining marketplace against its competitors. At last, the strategic management plan is made for the effective and efficient use of organizational resources... According to the study, the company can alter, update, and revise its strategies at the time of entering the UK market.

Internal and external analysis

The environment in the business operates is known as the business environment, it comprises all the elements which includes decision-making, moves, and functions of the business (Prajogo, 2016). Before entering any new business environment, it is very necessary to look after all the internal as well as the external factors that have an impact on the business progress

The internal environment is the portion of the company environment that is concerned with the diverse factors which are current within the company. The internal factors comprise members, forces, conditions, and events which all have the capabilities to influence the decisions and strategic planning of the company. on the other hand, the external environment comprises all the factors which are uncontrollable by the company like political, legal, economical, social, and technical factors (Dibrellet. al. 2015) These factors have a huge impact on the company's decision-making process.

(Source: Dan Shewan, 2022)

The case company ABS limited is considering expanding its consultancy services to the UK, which is a developed country. This company is trying to enter a global market which includes lots of challenges and opportunities that the company needs to face. The most important is that the company workforce is ready for facing all the challenges and collecting all the global opportunities that the UK will provide (Lasserre, 2017). Before looking for expansion company need to look into the internal environment and external environment. For evaluating the environment of the company the report is considering the SWOT analysis which helps to understand the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the company's business with context to the target country of the UK.

SWOT analysis

• Strength–identify the strength of the company the step in the SWOT analysis is analyzing the strength of the company as well as the country in which the company is looking forward to expanding (GURL, 2017). The UK has a strong place in the global market which reinforced mainly following aspects:
  • Advantageous trading position: the UK has a very good position in the global market as the country has very relations with its importer as well as exporters. So for a company like Armani Business Solutions (ABS) which already operating in a country like US and Canada but as of now, the company is looking forward to expanding itself in a new locality of the UK market which already has a good image in the global market, so the company gets the strength of trading position.
  • UK offers plenty of FDI: the country has a good image in the global market which benefits the country in plenty of FDI as compared to other countries. This is also good for ABS ltd as the company will be able to attract investors for funding.
  • Political stability: alike most economically developed countries, the UK has achieved national stability, which is strength for Armani business solutions ltd as the political environment is an external factor that is uncontrollable and also affects the company. Political stability provides the company with the strength to manage external factors.
• Weakness –Every country has some weaknesses or drawbacks, in the UK following are the weakness.
  • Significant internal wealth disparity: The UK has increased inequality in the prosperity of its poor and more wealthy individuals. There is a huge gap in wealth distribution which refers to the people do not have equal sources of income to spend on their lives. This wealth gap causes various kinds of problems like crime, injustices, etc. This also affects the company as the company has to plan differently for both income groups’ people, which double the working of the management team of the company.
  • Suboptimal solutions: It is very well known that the UK has a very poor level of innovation and also trails other countries in production and creation. For companies that are always looking out for innovation UK is not the right place. For a company like Armani business solutions ltd, innovation and expansion are the basic steps to growth and development, so this is a huge drawback for the company by investing in the UK market.
• Opportunity - it is the most significant factor before entering in global market, analysing the opportunity helps in deciding and selecting a suitable country and business (Teoli et. al. 2019). For the case company the selected country provides various opportunities which are as follows:
  • New trade partners: A company trading in the UK have a great opportunity to connect with various other countries as the UK has a very good image in the global market. It is a great opportunity for Armani business solutions to diver their services in various countries and makes plenty of international partners.
  • Tech culture: The UK is focusing on connecting with the US and adopting its tech culture which is beneficial for ABS as it is mentioned above ABS already has its branches in the US which will help the company to use the same tech culture in the UK as its use in the US branch.
• Threats – threats are opposites of opportunity; these are the negative forces that create a huge impact on the company.
  • Competition: there are various countries, especially in European nations which are working hard to reach the level of development and wealth that the UK has and also to attract outsider companies like ABS to operate in European countries. And also, for ABS, the UK is a very huge country and has many other competitors company in the consultancy market for sustaining in the market the company needs to offer some special facilities.
  • Financial crisis: just like other countries the UK also faces threats of financial crisis which is triggered by events all across the world, which are uncontrollable. For a company, these are the external factors that affect the investors of the company.

Modes of Market Entry

An organization has several different modes of entry for internationalizing its operations. The report focuses on the various modes of entry in a foreign market that the company can choose.

Exporting

Exporting is a globally selling of produced goods to another country. There are usually three types of exporting, indirect exporting, cooperative exporting, and direct exporting.

• Indirect exporting is the mode of entry that has very low risk as in this there is not one effective exposure to the international market and risks linked with it. The company is only selling the product to a mediator who deals in the global market, and then the agent sells the product to an intermediary (Gillespie and Swan, 2021). Exporting is a commonly used practice that is used by companies when they first take entry into a new market. Organizations select this because of its low-risk quality and help the brand exposure to the new market. indirect exporting is becoming more predominant across the world due to the exclusion of trade barriers, cheaper transportation, and more efficient
• Direct exporting is similar to indirect exporting except it does not have any role agent who further retails goods to the intermediates. Direct exporting is quite common among all the other entry modes preferred by organizations that are looking forward to exploring the global market but also want to limit the risks attached to other entry modes.
• Cooperative exporting is option of exporting that organizations could use as an option to enter foreign markets. Organizations practice this entry mode by agreeing with other foreign organizations to work with their circulation network. This mode permits the organizations to explore the foreign market without any kind of risk associate which is attached with other entry modes of exporting. Cooperative exporting is generally beneficial as it provides that goods being exported do not delay the sale of other products.

Licensing

Licensing is a global agreement which permits organizations in their targeted country the right to practice the property of the Licensor. The possessions used are intangible and also includes patents, trademarks, and various production methods. The licensee needs to pay a certain fee in return for the rights mentioned in the agreement or contract between both organizations. Licensing is a very commonly selected option for entry mode as it has low risk associated, has very low experience with political and economic conditions, it also has high ROI, and is usually opted for by local governments (Madsenand Servais, 2017). Licensing has been successful and the right choice for foreign market entry, the best part is that it does not have any limitations. Licensing could decrease the possible profit of absolute ownership, it also impacts the brand image because of the lack of control on the licensee and it also encourages competitors.

Franchising

Franchising a global market mode of entry in which a semi-independent business known as the franchisee pays fees or royalty to the franchiser or the actual owner of the company to usage the company's name and trademark to retail its products or services in the global market. It is practiced as a mainly successful option for international market entry. Organizations opting for this method are required to reflect both the positive as well as negative features of franchising.

The advantages of franchising is that it make the most of successful strategy, the franchisee usually has knowledge of local, so it is not as much of risky in comparison to equity-based international entry modes, and the franchisor is not that open to risk associated with the global market factors. The company like Subway, Pizza Hut, and Mcdonald's are great examples of organizations that are successfully using their entry mode as franchising.

Joint Venture

An organization might opt for joint venture for international market entry for various reasons, like distributing the risk with parties or influencing other parties’ strengths. A joint venture requires two or more than two organizations which jointly forms the venture and it is necessary to have a mutual objective in context to the target market, suitable levels of risk, technology distribution, and mutual product enhancement. Joint ventures frequently succeed if the respected circumstances are present among the companies which are convergence goals, and are interested in learning from otherswithout even compromising competitive advantage.

Recommendation

For the case company Armani business solution ltd which is a consultancy company looking forward to expanding its business in the locality of the UK the method of entry will be a joint venture and licensing. Because these two entry methods are best for a service-based company and the case company provides consultancy services.

• Licensing – for the case the company is UK market that is new and company is not willing to take high risks and for the company can opt for licensing, it has very low risk associated, has very low experience with political and economic conditions, it also has high ROI and is usually opted by local governments, which beneficial for the company.
• Joint venture – for ABS ltd joint venture is also a good option as a company can make a local company partner and enjoy the benefits because the local company is already familiar with the market situation of the UK (Benischke et. al. 2015). Joint venture offers several benefits like as distributing the risk with other parties or influencing each other's strengths.

Standardization

Expanding business in the international market and effectively marketing products and services helps in attracting a variety of tests. Numerous multinational companies make errors when they are trying to sell in the global market. These mistakes are mainly described by an absence of awareness of the part of adaptation and standardization. The case company before entering into the international market needs to analyze standardization and adaptation.

• The company needs to make available similar quality services in the UK office as it is offering in US and Canada.
• Standardization facilitates a positive perception of consumers towards the service and product which the company offers them (Mandler al. 2021).
• As it is very well known that the company have a durable reputation and brand identity in US and Canadian market, a standardized approach will help to gain success
• Another benefit of standardization is cost reduction which offers economies of scale.
• Standardization is a rational strategy by which barriers to trade are reduced. By accepting a standardized approach company can direct its importance to a uniform marketing mix particularly focusing on one of its products and service.

Applying Porter’s generic strategy

(Source: Tim Friesner, 2015)

Porter’s generic strategy involves various approaches to the business which are different in focus (Islamiet. al. 2020) competitive strategy is a outline that is very important for preparation of strategies regarding the direction of business which further assist in attaining marketplace against its competitors. For the case company, Armani Business Solutions ltd is very important to analyze its competitive advantages before entering into the UK market.

Cost leadership

An organization that needs to attain the advantage of a market can choose cost leadership in which the company is required to develop knowledge and advancement on lowering costs with preserving prices in the market (Hales and Mclarney, 2017) The main aim is to sustain the similar prices as rivalry company or maybe reducing prices with decreasing operational costs of the company. For example, if a company looks for a path to upsurge its effectiveness by increasing outcome. The company's maintain is to scale up profits by producing less costly goods in comparison to its competitors.

Differentiation

Using the differentiation strategy for analyzing the competitive advantage means that the case company focuses on finding some unique factors about an organization or its consultancy services, or something that separates its products from the competitor organization’s products. The company could do this by creating new specialized products or re-branding to be offered to its target clienteles under the current branding and marketing strategy of the company. By being responsive and attentive towards the needs and wants of the customer, the company can encourage customers to pay premium prices which might be higher than competitor companies.

Focus

Focus strategy offers to use differentiation and cost leadership in a niche market. Companies practice this approach to create value of product and establish specific customer base. Developing a client base which remains trust worthy to a company and brand heads to recurring purchases by those kinds of customers (Omsaet. al. 2017). If a company selects this strategy, it can also consider focusing on multiple products and services distribution.

Porter's generic model offers various benefits in identifying the competitive advantage for the company. The helpfulness of competitive strategies usually depends on the situation and also on the company. By using porter’s generic model company can gain the following benefits

• Increase productivity: Using competitive strategies company focuses on improving efficiency by signifying goals and by identifying sector where the company can further rationalize competences to lower costs.
• Competitive advantage: attaining a competitive advantage is a prime aim of strategies. By attaining competitive advantage, the case company can demand more from its main market and upsurge its profitability.
• Improve market share: The market share of a company refers to market share a company occupies in the targeted country. By expanding in the UK company can focus on gaining a larger market share. By owning a large market share it will be very easy to modify prices and also to regulate the procedure of generating profit.

Strategic management plan

Strategic management planning is a procedure in which the head of an organization defines its visualization for the opportunity and also identifies and evaluates the goals and objectives of the organization (Henry, 2021). This management planning process establishes the order in which aims are to be comprehended so the business can attain its desired vision. Strategic planning shows mid to long-term goal which further have a life cycle of up to three to five years. It creates a plan, which is reflected in the document. There are various approaches to strategic management planning which the company can use for preparing a strategic plan which are as follows:

Strategic Management Approach

• Competitive Advantage – the company attain a product differentiation or low cost of production as advantage in contradiction of its competitors (Prahalad and Doz, 2017). A company needs to analyses the market placement and also focus on the competitive advantages which the company has over its competitors.
• Corporate Strategy and Portfolio Theory - The theory offer an outline for distributing assets by which level of risk can be managed to attain maximum return. The theory allow the company to achieve a cost-benefit scrutiny on the enhancement of resources and also individual resource allotment to the company.
• Core Competence – company needs to develop expertise in areas of related superiority and reduce the remains of their activities. Able to do that, the company can offers a exclusive product and service to the international market.
• Experience Curve - The curve shows the intention that the production is doubled, the value added to the costs is reduced by a reliable proportion (Küng, 2016).

Before expanding into the international market the company needs to conduct strategic management planning may be periodically to study the impact of progressing industry, legal and regulatory framework of the UK. According to the study, the company can alter, update, and revise its strategies at the time of entering the UK market. in strategic management planning company's main focus is to be on

• The mission – which offers a company a sense of objectives and direction. The mission of the company further describes the who, what, and where of the company. Missions are typically broad but actionable.
• The goals - selecting goals is the most important task, in this case, the main goal of the business is to expand in the UK marketplace. The company can consider using SMART goals.
• Evaluation and revision - Strategic planning helps the company with periodical evaluation progress contrary to the plan and also helps in making changes and alterations in response to changing conditions of the UK market.

Conclusion

The report concluded the importance of strategic management for a company which is looking forward to expand its business in foreign market. The highlight of this report is the role of strategic management in a global context as the report talks about internal and external environment analysis by considering the threats and opportunities the case company faces in the UK market. The report also discusses the important factors that the case company Armani Business solutions Ltd faces while entering into the UK market and the report recommends various approaches and strategic management methods and theories to the company for the achievement of its goals.

Reference

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INTERANAL

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