Strategic Planning at Canon with a Cooperative Corporate Style - Case Study Example

1. In attempting to highlight the strategies employed by Canon, it is imperative to give a brief explanation of what a strategy is as well as planning. According to Mintzberg (1979), “strategy formulation involves the interpretation of the environment and the development of consistent patterns in streams of organisational decisions.” On the other hand strategic planning can be defined as the process of attempting to strike a balance between the organisation’s objectives and resources and its changing opportunities (Robson 1997). It tries to set the direction for the use of all resources and this direction will remain valid for a period of time. As going to be discussed below, it can be noted that Canon employs various strategies and has to a greater extent managed to meet the strategic challenges and changes as a result of the key success story in its operation. However, in view of the above explanations, it can be noted that Canon instead has been successful in managing its strategies by virtue of embarking on an open approach in formulation of strategic plans rather than being imposed by the top management. Its strategies are influenced and driven by the strategic vision of Canon’s senior and other managers. This strategy is very flexible in that it promotes an open door policy where views from other equally important decision makers are taken into consideration towards the attainment of the overall organisational goals. In most cases, strategic planning is viewed as bureaucratic in nature where it is often regarded as a preserve for the top management to impose their views and vision about the company on the other work mates. Canon’s policy is flexible and open to accept ideas from other people within the organisation. Through technological differentiation, Canon has managed to grow from strength to strength to catch Xerox which had been a world leader in the photocopying market since the 1950s. They have managed their strategic challenges as well as changes by developing technology that was completely different from Xerox and this offered new features which were not very common by then which gave them the competitive advantage against this rival competitor. Technology is dynamic and is expected to change constantly hence taking into account these changes is one guaranteed way of trying to keep up pace with the new developments in the market which will also ultimately impact positively on any business. Another strategy that was used by Canon was to target the small photocopier niche markets which were poorly served by Xerox. This coupled with technological innovations such as the development of laser printers, digital scanners for instance has seen Canon developing its core competencies by major strides compared to its rival competitors. The strategy to target small niche markets is very brilliant in that once these are satisfied there would be likely chances of growth in response to the good products offered. Home grown markets nurtured from the grass roots level are always advantageous in that the customers would be loyal as they would have known the good qualities of products offered from the ground level. A close analysis of the case also reveals that strategic planning at Canon is not only concerned with setting the vision and identifying core competencies of the organisation but is driven by the strong belief in customer satisfaction. One of the major aims of business enterprises is to satisfy the needs of the customers profitably. By offering satisfactory products or services to the customers, an organisation stands better chances of building loyal customers who in the long run would spell the organisations viability as it would be guaranteed of sustained business through the its loyal customers who in turn can even attract more potential customers. Canon has also defined its strategies under the headline, “Excellent Global Corporation Plan” where it seeks to gain and maintain top market shares. It believes that top share and profitable operations must go hand in hand. Such approaches are employed so as to shape development at an early stage to determine the projections about the future of the company. The center believes that planning itself should be developed over a number of years. For instance, high technology products take quite a number of years to develop hence there is no need to rush into premature conclusions. It can be noted from a close reading that Canon is competing with other strategic groups in the industry which also offer the same services it also offers. Copying is one of the strategic areas found in the industry which also forms part of the bed rock for its operations. One of the key success factors for Canon in this study was its ability to develop the state of the art technology especially its laser printers and digital scanners which gave it competitive edge against Xerox which had been dominating the markets for quite a long period dating back to the 1950s. However, note should be taken that this feat requires a long period of time to accomplish which is one of the success factors of Canon which takes its time in the implementations of the strategic plans set. The undertaking of long term strategies often relies on strong cooperation between divisions where resources will be allocated accordingly over a relatively long period of time. Considerable emphasis is placed on scenarios and contingency plans so that so that Canon is not caught off guard by particular developments which might be unexpected. These are some of the key success factors which determine Canon’s ability to manage its challenges. It can be seen that the essence of strategy is for the firm to achieve a long term sustainable advantage over its competitors in every business it participates in (Quinn 1991). This spells the ultimate viability of the business where the predictable and unpredictable changes in the market environment will be catered for inorder to promote the growth of the business. Therefore, when it comes to strategic making process, intuitive thinking ought to play a pivotal role in informing and shaping of the organisational vision. This can be possible through the use of effective thinking which is not only subjected to the principles stipulated to be followed but can be achieved through encompassing different views from different people involved in the affairs of running the organisation. A critical analysis of the article given shows that it is concerned with strategic decision making process which ought to be guided by creative thinking based on the changes that would be taking place both within and outside the organisation. There ought to be committed effort from all the sides involved in the process of making decisions that affect the operations of the organisation. Over and above, it can be said that Canon employs quite a number of strategies in its operations in order to manage the challenges as well as the changes within the environment it operates under. Some of the major approaches in its strategies involve the notion of openness in formulating the strategies. It also thrives on targeting the niche markets that were often ignored by Xerox. However, technological innovations have played a great role in ensuring that Canon occupies a top position in the industry which was formerly dominated by Xerox. The approach taken by Canon in its formulation as well as implementation of its strategies is to a greater extent responsible for most of the notable success factors in managing the strategic changes as well as strategic challenges it encounters in its operation. 2. Indeed, other companies outside this industry can draw some useful lessons from strategies used by Canon industry. Whilst in most cases strategic planning is regarded as a bureaucratic process meant to articulate already existing ideas and visions, Canon’s approach is quite open and is inclusive where all the views of the people involved in strategic formulation are taken into consideration and crafted as part of the strategies. In some instances, strategic planners or other top management can just impose their strategies on the workers where they will not have any contribution. In such a situation, this can be problematic in the long run where attention will be focused on following the stipulated vision of the company which may overlook some of the challenges or changes that can be encountered. An inclusive strategy often has advantages in that it will encompass a lot of ideas and views about the market structure which will likely promote the development of informed decisions with regards to the resource allocation as well as direction of the operations of any organisation. The other strategy which is very important during the contemporary period is the aspect of technological development. Technological differentiation is very important in that it will make the organisation unique from other competitors which would be a force to reckon with as it would attract more customers. The markets during these days are characterised by various technological advancements which need to be taken into consideration. Whilst other companies may be doing a different business from Canon, they can still draw a good lesson from the initiative taken by this organisation where it sought to differentiate itself from other competitors in terms of technological advancement. The markets today are driven by new technology hence it is imperative to undertake some research as far as development of technology is concerned. However, embarking on an initiative to technologically differentiate an organisation from another requires concerted effort and a good deal of prior research into the areas that can be developed. Poor planning with regards to this matter may be one of the major limitations as the result would fall far short of the expectations of the company if it is not properly implemented. There ought to be some form of research that is undertaken to establish if the initiative would be viable or would be rather costly to the company. Informed decisions ought to be made from correct information drawn from the actual market rather than simply project the vision of the organisation basing the strategies on assumptions without properly undertaking research. Whenever an organisation decides to undertake strategic planning, it must always be remembered that there also ought to be contingent plans to accompany the strategies formulated in cases of the unexpected events happening without due notice. The contemporary market is dynamic and is susceptible to changes that can occur within a short period of time. In most cases, these changes are unavoidable and they would only require to be confronted as they are. However, during the early stages of strategy formulation, such measures should be taken into account that would be specifically aimed with dealing with such a situation. Strategic planning tends to lose its essence when it does not cater for unpredictable factors in the market. As shown in the case study for Canon, it has in place contingent measures that are primarily designed to deal with such situations like changes in the money market. Therefore, other companies can benefit from such strategies if they properly take into account all the intricacies involved in strategy formulation. It can be concluded that from a close analysis of Canon’s case study that any other organisation can draw some useful lessons from its strategic plan as this requires more time and effort. Canon’s strategic formulation is open and flexible where the views of other stakeholders within the organisation are taken into consideration than simply imposing a strategy which is determined by a small cliché of influential people within an organisation. References Lynch R. (2009), Strategic Planning at Canon with a co operative corporate style Meyer et al, (2006), Management, Fresh perspectives, Pearson Prentice Hall Mintzberg H. (2000), The rise and Fall of Strategic Planning, Pearson Education Limited. Mintzberg H. & Quinn J. (1991), The Strategy Process, Prentice Hall Module 4 (2002), Management: Economic and Management Sciences Course, Project literacy Productions, SA. Porter, M.E (1985), Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Free Press. Quinn, J. (1980), Strategies for Change, Irwin. Robinson W. (1997), Strategic Management and information system: An Integrated Approach, 2nd Edition, Pearson Education Limited. Staude et al (2001), Management, Oxford University Press. Read More