Strategic Implementation and Alignment - Essay Example

Strategic Implementation and Alignment Introduction Facing the various issues and challenges of a certain business entity calls for the formulationand implementation of strategies. It is asserted by Thomson and Strickland (2003) that these two areas in the in strategic management are the most essential in ensuring the health of a business organization. This paper will look at the case of Harrison-Keyes, a global publisher of print products. Harrison-Keyes will be implementing a strategy of diversifying into e-book publishing apart from its physical operation. However, ten problem areas are identified and should be addressed in order to efficiently attain the company's goals. This paper will tackle these constraints and provide recommendations for them. Current Scenario Harrison-Keyes is currently facing numerous problems in its internal operations and from its various stakeholders. One of the most pressing concerns is the dual publication as a part of its strategy of diversifying into e-publishing. As opposed to its traditional operations, Harrison-Keyes will not only undertake publications of books but is going to enter the rapidly expanding e-publishing segment. This requires publishing an e-book in three months amidst the company's growing concern on the underperformance of Asia Digital Publishing, the service provider outsourced to format the e-books to be published. The company is also worried in the promotion and sales of their new products. Even though e-publishing is the current trend in the industry and the industry experts have expressed with optimism the forecasted growth in the sector, Harrison-Keyes' board are still filled with skepticism and are cautious of publishing books in digital media. Harrison-Keyes is also concerned about the problems of security and infrastructure as a result of venturing into e-commerce. Another problem is the unpleasant response that the company is getting from its writers especially Will X. Harper. Amidst from this, Harrison-Keyes have yet to improve its image as they are bombarded with appalling publicities which cannot only damage their reputation but can significantly contribute to the crash of their stock price. Other issues are the company's control over production. On Production This section will address the company's problems such as the dual publishing issue, producing an e-book in three months time, marketing the company's products, and control over production. Harrison-Keyes should pursue its e-publishing strategy in order to take advantage of the emerging industry trend in the shortest possible time. It is very essential that Harrison-Keyes conquer the e-publishing segment at the shortest possible time in order to reap the first-mover advantage (First Mover Advantage, 2001). The production of traditional products won't be a problem as it is already the primary operation of Harrison-Keyes. The publication of the e-book will be the main concern as there are problems with the service providers from India. The e-book should be published in three months time and that leaves the company a very short period for the book processes. Outsourcing is a good way to cut cost. However, the choice of producers has been a mistake. Harrison-Keyes should give a moratorium on its dealings with Asia Digital Publishing. They should find another service provider which can provide them with the book design and formatting at the least possible cost. The Philippines will be a good source of businesses involved with the same operation as Asia Digital Publishing. As opposed to Indians, the Philippines have a more flexible workforce, efficient, and a stronger work ethics than their Indian counterparts (Moss, 2003). This will ensure that the book gets published within the allotted time span. Measures in controlling the quality of production should also be undertaken by Harrison-Keyes. The company can outsource other business processes like book design, copyediting, typesetting, and proofreading. Yet, the final proofreading should be undertaken by an in-house pool of editors to check the content of the e-book. The quality control will not only check the spellings and grammatical errors but will also assess the appropriateness of the formatting. This will ensure that the e-books published are at the best quality and will be conveniently accessed by the readers. The problem of Mack Evans in the technical side of publishing should be resolved immediately in order to enable the company to sell e-books in their websites. Looking at Evans' credentials, one can clearly get the picture that he is not equipped with the right knowledge which the company requires in digital publishing. The company should give Evans a job that will suit his capability and hire someone who is more capable of handling the technical aspects of the company. Since e-publishing requires modifying the system of the company by allowing customers to directly purchase from the company's website, a more technologically adept workforce should be needed. The company can also outsource some of this workload to other service providers to cut on cost and time. Marketing Concerns The company is also faced with obvious marketing concerns like the improvement of its image to the public and selling the e-book. However, looking at the situation more closely we can see that marketing concerns don't just end on these. As e-publishing is just a new segment in the publishing industry, the company should be aware that the segment will not cater to the whole reading public but will only focus on a niche which are enthusiastic in reading materials from a computer. In line with this, the company should conduct an in-depth study on the preferences and style of the segment it will cater to. Market research will aid the company in devising an efficient marketing strategy which will address the issue of selling the e-books. This will also aid the company in making decisions on how to promote, where to sell, and how to price books in digital formats. In deciding on how to sell the e-book, the company should also look at their competitors and their strategies in order to devise strategic plans to battle head on with other players involved in the segment. Improvement of the company's image is also an utmost concern of Harrison-Keyes since this is closely tied with the valuation of the company's stocks. Harrison-Keyes should not deny the fact that the company is experiencing some problems in its operations. They should somehow acknowledge to the public that every company experiences such disruptions and that the whole situation is under control. It should use this bad publicity to promote their upcoming products and their entry to the e-publishing world. Harrison-Keyes should strengthen its image by letting the public know the measures that they are undertaking to solve the company's problems. External Factors Aside from its internal constraints, the company also faces problems on its various stakeholders like its writers, board of directors, and stockholders. Established writers, like Will Harper have been significant in the profitability of the publisher like Harrison-Keyes. In turn, publishers are also the lifeblood of writers as they serve as channels for their various works. Harrison-Keyes, as stated in the previous section should acknowledge that e-books won't be used to cater to the needs of the reading public but they would only be used to serve customers who are willing to read books from a computer. E-publishing therefore, can only appeal to a segment and should be used to target only a small market niche (Allen, 2002). It is also possible that those who like the company's traditional products are different as those who will patronize e-books. Thus, e-books' market can be a totally different niche which has different needs. This also encompasses the possibility that Will Harper's works won't be sold when published using digital media. The company is then advised to conduct a thorough market research to verify the possibilities. Whatever the outcome of this research, Will should be given utmost consideration as a writer. The company should set a formal meeting with its board of directors to discuss the forecasts and expected trends in the e-publishing industry. This will enable the company to clarify issues which makes the board of directors hesitant the new strategy pursued by Harrison-Keyes. This will also enable the administration to gather more insights in its expansion. Harrison-Keyes should prepare for this meeting by compiling and analyzing the different forecasts presented by the industry experts. The company should also generate its own forecast on its performance based on the experts' estimate. Harrison-Keyes should also prepare and present a reasonable sensitivity analysis. References Allen, M. (2002). E-publishing FAQ. Retrieved January 26, 2006, from http://www.writing-world.com/publish/FAQ.shtml First Mover Advantage. (2001). Retrieved January 27, 2006, from http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/first_mover_advantage/ Moss, T. (2003). Making the Philippines ICT World Class. Retrieved January 26, 2006, from http://www.johnclements.com/articles/article_MakingPhilsICT.htm Thomson, A. and Strickland, A. (2003). Strategic Management Concepts and Cases. New York: McGraw-Hill, Read More