Generate and evaluate options - Research Paper Example

Strategic Development Process – Generate & Evaluate Options After the internal and external analysis of the environment, an organization formulates different strategies. These strategies guide the actions and decisions of the firm and have potency to help the organization achieve its objectives. These strategies are evaluated and the line of attack that makes commercial sense is adopted. Purpose:The business environment is dynamic and therefore an organization must generate and evaluate different strategies.

Ideally, the company must have a back-up plan in case the future business scenario does not turn out to be as expected. Responsibility:The responsibility of deciding corporate level strategies rests on the top management. The divisional or middle level managers generally decide the business level strategies. The detailed tactics to achieve specific goals in the domain of marketing, finance, operations and HR are determined by the functional managers. Approach:The strategies for BCE have been generated and KPIs (key performance indicators) that have been identified are listed below.

Strategy A: Expand 4G LTE network in Canada to enhance profitability.KPI A (1): LTE to reach 98 percent of Canadian population by end of 2014.KPI A (2): ARPU (Average revenue per customer) to increase by 5 percent in 2014.Strategy B: Increase Bell TV footprint.KPI B (1): Extend service coverage to 7 million household in two years.Strategy C: Continue to grow media leadershipKPI C (1): Increase revenue to $3 billion in 2014 by tapping online digital properties.KPI C (2): Forge strategic alliance with Hockey Canada (Erstwhile CHA).

Strategy D: Augment investments in broadband networks.KPI D (1): Increase data hosting centers to 30 by end of 2014.Strategy E: Increase operational efficiency to save $2 billion every year.KPI E (1): Resort to paperless billing and save 3 percent expenditure.KPI E (2): Build efficient LEED-certified campus buildings.Strategy F: Provide unmatched customer serviceKPI F (1): Reduce customer churn rate to .5 percent.KPI F (2): Turnaround time (TAT) to resolve customer complaints to be reduced to 6 working hours.

The strategies are evaluated to gauge if pursuing them is worthwhile or not. Strategy A: This strategy should be pursued since the goal will be achieved with minimal capital investment. BCE’s existing 4G LTE penetration is 96 percent and a 2 percent increase is easily achievable. Furthermore, the 5 percent increase in ARPU will lead to long term profitability and growth of the company. Strategy B: Increasing Bell TV footprint is a long term objective. This strategy should be pursued so that the company gets a head start with immediate effect.

Strategy C: Bell has already signed an agreement with the National Basketball Association; hence this option can be dropped, at least as of now. Strategy D: The Company has 21 data centers which have sufficient capacity to meet demand for the next few years. The company can delay this capital expenditure.Strategy E: Pursuance of this strategy is a must as it can provide competitive advantage to the company.Strategy F: It is an established fact that retaining an existing customer is less expensive than acquiring a new customer.

BCE should pursue this strategy and go to the extent of delighting customers. Timing:The SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, related and time bound) KPIs enable the easy implementation and evaluation of strategies. These KPIs also provide direction and timeline to the managers to carry out the assigned tasks. The KPIs that have to be achieved by the end of 2014 will be broken down into monthly targets. Meanwhile, the KPIs that have to be achieved in the long run will be evaluated on a quarterly basis.

InputsOutputsList all the strategic imperatives for BCE and evaluate them Select the ones that contribute to the furtherance of the company’s goals.