Strategic Business for the United States Air Force - Example

Strategic Business Plan for United s Air Force of the of the Contents Strategic Focus Aim: The major aim of the marketing plan is to develop strategies for innovative services and products for the officials and air force pilots in the United States Air Force (USAF). Mission: According to USAF’s website, “The mission of the United States Air Force is to fly, fight and win in air, space and cyberspace. To achieve that mission, the Air Force has a vision of Global Vigilance, Reach and Power” (US Air Force, 2014b). Even so, considering aim of this plan, the proposed mission statement can be stated as follows; “Delivering high-class performance in air with the objective of defending United States of America, its integrity and survival” Core Organizational Competencies: Key competencies of the USAF include its leadership and highly trained professionals. The air force takes a lot of care while training and developing leadership qualities among the professionals. As a result, their skills and competencies comprise core organizational strengths supporting future growth and development. Organizational Values: The organizational values include establishing a culture that is capable of fulfilling the mission and aim. The major values that are greatly imbibed among US air force members are selfless national service, honesty and integrity. It also includes achievement of excellence in every activities conducted within the organization (US Air Force, 2014d). Highest Priority goals: Six high priority goals have been formulated in the marketing plan. These include: 1. Reducing delivery time of weapons used by air force officials from 1 week to 72 hours. 2. Increase supply volume by 25 percent within six months. 3. Increase retention of air force officials by 50 percent within six months of implementation. 4. Setting state-of-the-art facility or development centre for nuclear weapons management within eight months. 5. Reduce cost of suppliers by 10 percent within four months of implementation 6. Improve supplier retention by 50 percent within 1 year of plan implementation. The Business Owners/Directors/Shareholders/Shareholdings: USAF or United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of US Armed Forces under the US government. The US air force is run by a group of four star generals. They include secretary of air force, defense secretary, (JCS) Joint chief of staff and the president. At present, General Mark A. Welsh III is the chief staff of the US air force. The CSAF is appointed by the US president and confirmed through highest votes by Senate. A brief history of the business: USAF is a part of the department of Air force, United States. It was established in the year 1947, along with the department. However, the first antecedent was launched in 1907. Since then, the force has been involved in innumerable wars across national and international borders. Some of the prominent wars were Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, Somali Civil War, Bosnian War and the recent Libya bombing (US Air Force, 2014a). Corporate and business cultures: US Air Force’s culture is fundamentally pilot driven. As a result, the culture has been shifting from types of aircrafts and their functionalities towards priority of the situation. For instance, the initial focus was on bombers, which gradually shifted to fighters. The top level commanders also incorporate culture of individualism, progressive theories of airpower as well as advanced technology applications in all activities. A specific cultural tradition, known as roof stomp, has been practiced by the Air Force members in order to welcome new officers and commanders as well as to commemorate events like, retirement. Nature of the business and it main activities: The nature of business is to serve the nation during war or unauthorized infiltration as well as in situations where the national security is threatened. Therefore, the business involves highly trained professionals who are motivated to serve the nation. The major business activities include selection and training of personnel, distribution and logistics of armors and other fighting weapons and food services for the air force. Location: The US air force has been serving internationally. In the present scenario, the US air force is not only involved in war and disruptions across United States border, but also helps other partnering nations to stabilize war. The US air force, together with military and navy, has been invading various terrorist regions and war zones. Currently, USAF serves 65 bases around the US continent. Besides that, it is also serving 14 bases outside US. The USAF also maintains 79 additional bases, which are generally used and maintained by the national Air Guard (US Air Force, 2014c). Current stage in its life cycle: At present, USAF is almost 66 years old (US Air Force, 2014a). The organization is continuously growing in terms of technology and skills. However, the number of personnel or soldiers working for USAF has been stable. Thus, it can be said that the organization is mature with improvements in areas such as, technology, training methods and introduction of new weapons. Past performance and key achievements: USAF has been involved in several wars such as, Korean wars, Vietnam War and Bosnian War. Nonetheless, the US force has achieved major victories in recent invasions such as, Libya, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia and Iraq. This can be attributed to the constantly upgraded warfare equipments and highly trained officials (US Air Force, 2014a). Key business advisors: The USAF can be categorized into internal function and external function. The internal functions are controlled by generals and commanders. This basically covers training and development exercises and leading during national and international wars and similar crisis (US Air Force, 2014e). External environment is controlled by the government, secretary of defense and the presidents. Competitive strengths and weaknesses: The US air force is one of the largest and strongest air force across the globe. With its huge numbers of personnel and high support from the US government and research and technology, USAF has been able to achieve greater competitive advantage compared to other troops worldwide. Currently, a major competitive weakness faced by USAF is its inability to manage nuclear missions (Bresnahan, Brynjolfsson & Hitt, 2002). Market Analysis Global/National Trends Global trends have a huge impact on the defense services of any nation. For instance, impacts generated by changes in weaponry and shift in political power from one nation to another. A nation’s defense department is heavily funded as it forms a pivotal aspect for existence and survival of a nation. Since its inception in 1907 and formation as a separate entity in the year 1947, USAF has undergone major transformations such as, incorporation of advanced training activities, aircrafts and fighter planes as well as weapons for mass destructions, thereby gaining a competitive advantage during war and invasion (US Air Force, 2014a). Macro-environment Political: USAF is heavily supported as well as influenced by the politics. For instance, head of the USAF is appointed by the president and all major decisions regarding funds, new technology and weapon development as well as war and invasion are influenced by political powers (US Air Force, 2014e). Another political factor influencing USAF and its operations is the illegal trafficking of weapons. Economical: The budget and funding for USAF has decreased, majorly due to economic slowdown and political intervention (Reuters, 2013). The budgets are categorized according to installations and force structures. At present, overseas installations are lesser in number. The USAF has a strong base of product portfolio with advanced jet fighters, missiles and weapons for mass destruction. Socio-economical: Currently, career and cultural issues have been recognized as major reasons for the high attrition rate as well as shortfall of required professionals. Also, reduced fringe benefits and stagnant compensation packages are forcing soldiers to opt out of the air force after task completion. This has a major socio cultural impact as lack of skilled air force professionals might be a threat to the nation’s security and power (Slashdot, 2013). Technological: The USAF is supported by extensive research and development facilities, which aids the air force with latest air weapons, advanced jets and fighter planes as well as enhanced self-protection suits for preventing damage. At present, USAF is facing steep budget cuts in its R&D department as a result of economic slowdown (Reuters, 2013). Legal: Strict legal regulations are followed in almost every sphere of the air force services. For instance, air marshals and commanders are legally prohibited from communicating any information that is deemed as secret and confidential. Even the training and air bases are restricted areas with limited access. Industry Barriers to entry: Entry barriers are very high in the air force industry, primarily because of heavy interference of the government. The government has imposed strict monitoring and tracking mechanism in order to detect any unauthorized activities. As such, the government is in total control of the US air force and do not plan to share its stake with any other alliance. Threat of substitutes: Threat of substitutes is low to medium. Constant research and development on weapons and aircrafts is conducted so as to launch advanced weapons and technologically developed fighter jets, drones and planes. As a result, present products of USAF might become obsolete in future. Supplier’s bargaining power: The supplier’s bargaining power is low in the air force industry. The major suppliers of US air force consist of defense companies and aircraft manufacturing firms. Supplier’s bargaining power is limited in this industry owing to huge base of the air force. Majority of the companies in this segment are supplying only to US air force, thereby increasing controls of the latter (Porter, 2008). Buyer’s bargaining power: The buyer’s bargaining power is high as there is only one major buyer in the defense industry. Moreover, these weapons and other products are not available for general public. Rivalry among competitors: The major competitors in this industry will be suppliers from other nations. However, rivalry is weak because of strict regulation and guidelines, which suppliers in United States need to follow (Porter, 2008). Markets, Customers and Suppliers: The objective of the current marketing plan is to ensure retention among air force soldiers and infuse motivation in them for better performance and higher job satisfaction. This can be materialized through intrinsic and extrinsic motivational activities. As present, soldiers in the US air force form the core customers. It can be said that there is a huge pool of target customers that is continuously growing. Competitors and their Products: The major competitors in this target market segment are the defense forces of other national governments. For instance, air force departments from Canada, Italy, France and Germany can pose a threat to the US air force, in terms of products, services and offerings. In case of US Air force terminating their contacts with prominent suppliers, these suppliers aim at other government and private bodies, including international air forces, for selling their products and services. In such cases, there is not only transfer of weapons and other associated products, but also knowledge and intelligence associated with those services and products. Products Current products: The key products of USAF include weapons, operations and maintenance of healthcare equipments, aircrafts and associated equipments as well as other equipments such as, satellites, required for a successful air force operation. An analysis of the products of USAF will help in evaluating their key strengths and weaknesses associated with them. Strengths: The products are sourced from world class weapon firms in order to maintain quality and standard. The current values and benefits, apart from products and services in the air base, provided to the air force officers include retirement and recreation options, housing and food services as well as insurance facilities. Weaknesses: The major weaknesses of air force products are the social and environmental impacts. The use of warfare products not only results in loss of life, but also cripples innumerable people forever. The warfare often occurs across civilian places inducing collateral damage such as, loss of civilian lives, property as well as natural flora and fauna. The warfare products and equipments must comply with strict regulations, standards and codes, before they are bought by USAF. Product analysis and planning Current Situation: At present, USAF is suffering from high attrition and loss of motivation among entry level officers as well as professionals. Key Product and Market Issues: The key issues faced by USAF are lack in maintenance of advanced warfare equipments and healthcare facilities. Rising fuel prices have limited the purchase options for USAF. In addition, the organization is in dire need of an advanced facility for production and maintenance of nuclear weapons (Air force Magazine, 2012). Key Strategies for addressing weaknesses: The future products portfolio for USAF will include a combination of advanced warfare equipments and intangible benefits, both before and after the service. The major competitive advantage of the product portfolio will be differentiated and unique services, enhancing motivation and retention among air force officials. Future Products: Strategic future products for attracting and retaining air force officials will include high-tech air weapons such as, missiles, light weight and durable arms, vehicles with advanced tracking and monitoring faculties as well as fighter planes equipped with latest automatic defense techniques and effective weapons. Apart from the above, future products will also include highly advanced aircrafts and training accessories, high-end healthcare facilities and equipments for better health management during emergencies and suits and warfare apparels that are highly resilient and protective. In order to increase efficiency of the aircrafts and fighter planes, they will function on bio-fuels (Air force Magazine, 2012). Also, the marketing plan emphasizes on merging the present nuclear plant with a bigger and more advanced facility. Future Services: Apart from the products, the plan will also include unique service offering such as, vacation benefits to the official’s families along with providing loans for higher education and foreign educational tours and insurance benefits to them. In addition, the plan will include a 24 hour gym and Medicare centre for these air force officials. Products and service life cycle: Majority of the products is at their research and development phase; for instance, the government is planning to fund USAF for the expansion and better management of nuclear facilities. Furthermore, research has begun on developing advanced warfare equipments and attires for the air force officials (Forbes, 2013). Competitive advantage: With introduction of the abovementioned strategic future products, survival rate of air force officers will increase significantly. This will also improve motivation and ensure continued service from officers. Better health equipments and healthcare facilities will assure that officials are treated well, thereby improving overall confidence of USAF (Defense News, 2014). Performance Measures and Targets: Performance of the products and services will be measured through regular feedback from air force officials. The target is to achieve a minimum 50 percent increase in satisfaction level among air force officials and employees by offering competitive and innovative services and products. Marketing In the previous sections, the organization’s future products and services portfolio along with their competitive advantages were established. In the current section, pricing, promotions and communications, distribution, packaging and other legal compliances required have been discussed. Distribution: In order to enhance distribution of the products, supplier base will be increased. An increased supplier base will ensure minimum demand and supply gap. Also, increase in supplier base will automatically infuse competition, which in turn will heighten the bargaining power of USAF. The organization can also tie-up with foreign nations’ transport facilities for speeding up the supply of warfare equipments and associated materials to air force officials working in foreign bases. Another grave aspect of distribution is occurrence of theft and mishandling during the process, which can be dangerous. In order to avoid thefts, distribution process will be heavily guarded and continuously monitored through satellite imaging and audio-visual devices. Promotion: The promotion of products and services will be appropriately set for attracting new recruits as well as enhancing attrition among air force professionals. Open letters to US citizens communicating the benefits of joining air force will be initiated through different channels such as, print and television media as well as outdoor advertising like, billboards and hoardings (Smith and Taylor, 2006). In order to improve communication among air force officials, the organization can introduce online and offline chat sessions, inviting officials to provide feedback, queries or complaints regarding products or service of USAF. Feedback and interaction can also be increased by regular informal meeting between the higher management and ground level staff officials (Semeijn, et al., 2005). Product support: In order to increase durability and life of the future products, they will be continuously checked and revamped. The warfare equipments used by air force officials will have a definite time frame of usage, which will be replaced with new equipments accordingly. The aircrafts, fighter planes and drones will be regularly inspected and serviced, even if they are not in use. In case of services, regular feedback and meetings with officials will help in generating awareness regarding issues and problems with the offerings, which will be fixed in minimum time (Defense News, 2014). Purchasing and pricing: The pricing and purchasing are generally fixed on contact basis. For instance, contracts with the suppliers will be fixed on the basis of various product categories such as, weapons for officials, apparels and attires, aircrafts, weapons for mass destructions and healthcare equipments. Short-term contracts will help in adjustments during high or less demands. In order to maintain a transparent purchase, pricing and purchase patterns will be regularly monitored by higher officials as well as accounts department. Packaging and presentation: Products will be placed in tight and packed containers, avoiding friction. The materials will be composed of high-tech polymers and corrugated packaging meeting the standard guidelines. They will also be labeled and clearly marked accordingly to their descriptions and handling guidelines. The objective of the presentation will be to communicate the benefits and competitive advantage of the proposed products and services offered to various departments of USAF (Silayoi & Speece, 2007). Compliance: Compliance to the legal and government legislations is a pivotal step during sourcing, distribution and marketing of warfare products. For instance, compliances and background check should be done at every check point during transportation. Budget for marketing communications The branding and promotional activities will continue for a period of six months as follows; Amount/Activity (in US Dollars) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Outdoor 20000 15000 15000 20000 15000 15000 Print 10000 5000 5000 10000 5000 5000 Television 15000 15000 15000 20000 15000 15000 Social Media advertising 12000 13000 12000 15000 15000 15000 Press Releases 10000 - 10000 - 10000 - References Air force Magazine. (2012). The Air Force’s Fuel Problem. Retrieved from http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2012/July%202012/0712fuel.aspx Bresnahan, F. T., Brynjolfsson, E. & Hitt, L.M. (2002). Information technology, workplace organization, and the demand for skilled labor: firm-level evidence. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 117 (1), 339-376 Defense News. (2014). USAF Secretary Sees Smaller Force in Future. Retrieved from http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140129/DEFREG02/301290031/USAF-Secretary-Sees-Smaller-Force-Future Forbes. (2013). What Are the Air Force’s Big Five Programs for the Future? Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2013/09/10/what-are-the-air-forces-big-five-programs-for-the-future/ Porter, M. E. (2008). The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 78-93.  Reuters. (2013). Air Force says R&D funding may face cuts with sequestration. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/04/us-airforce-congress-budget-idUSBRE9B30W320131204 Semeijn, J., Van Riel, A. C. R., Van Birgelen, M. J. H. & Streukens, S. (2005). E-Services And Offline Fulfilment: How E-Loyalty Is Created. Managing Service Quality, 15(2), 182 – 194. Silayoi, S. & Speece, M. (2007). The importance of packaging attributes: a conjoint analysis approach. European Journal of Marketing, 41(11/12), 1495 – 1517. Slashdot. (2013). US Air Force Reporting Pilot Shortage. Retrieved from http://tech.slashdot.org/story/13/07/22/1911249/us-air-force-reporting-pilot-shortage Smith, P.R. & Taylor, J. (2006). Marketing Communications. London: Kogan Page. US Air Force. (2014a). History. Retrieved from http://www.airforce.com/learn-about/history/ US Air Force. (2014b). Mission Statement. Retrieved from http://www.airforce.com/learn-about/our-mission/ US Air Force. (2014c). Base locator. Retrieved from http://www.airforce.com/contact-us/base-locator/ US Air Force. (2014d). Our Values. Retrieved from http://www.airforce.com/learn-about/our-values/ US Air Force. (2014e). Senior Leaders. Retrieved fromhttp://www.af.mil/AboutUs/AirForceSeniorLeaders.aspx Read More