Competitive and Strategic Analysis - Assignment Example

s: Competitive and Strategic Analysis Q1. Functional strategy: This strategy defines how the employees should undertake the activities and roles in an organization or business. The management of the organization has the role of formulating such strategies and it is the role of the employees in the various departments to follow such strategies to ensure the general success of the organization. Each functional strategy in each department has a special focus on the general company objective and goal. Some areas for implementation of functional strategy include finance, production and even at times the research and development department. Corporate strategy: Corporate strategy on the other hand is the overall and general scope as well as the direction that a corporation takes in relation to its activities in the various departments. It is not specific, but gives a glimpse and idea on how all the operations of the various departments contribute to the general good performance of the corporation. Business strategy: Business strategy refers to the choices and decisions made in a company or corporation to realize a long-term value while at the same time achieving the desired objectives of the company or the corporation in question. It is the means of maximizing the outcome in a companys production system or in realizing the maximum profit from a company. At Best Buy, the functional strategy is vital in the marketing department because it is in this operational department that the customers will be able to familiarize themselves with the company and get to purchase the products. Any strategy put in place in this department is important because it affects the entire business outcome of the company. Marketing thus is the functional division of this company that is useful as the company does not produce its own electronics fully and yet it is a retailer competing with thousands of other retailers. Packaging the marketing team with the right and consistent information will thus affect the entire outcome of the company and affects all other departments. The function essential to the goal of 2014, which is expanding the number of stores, is proper marketing in the new zones of operation. The marketing strategy should be so that it captures the tiny little details and appeals to customers all across the boards as it redefines Best Buy as the best brand in the market. The marketing team should advertise the company as the best brand available in the market and at the same time gives customers the incentives necessary to have the goods and electrical items from the company. This is possible through online advertisements and allowing the shoppers to buy products online. The logo as well as the designs used in marketing both online and on other advertising platforms should be appealing and customer friendly. There should be consistency and emotional attachment in the marketing strategy so that customers connect to Best Buy. The various resources necessary for expansion will be the capital to set up new stores, market wire to advertise the new stores and at the same time Bravo videos will come in handy in capturing what previous clients have to say about the company through their testimonials. Revamping and redesigning a website where customers can communicate freely with the sales agents and the entire company is important. The measurement for the success of this strategy will be the difference in the number of stores that will open in 2014 in comparison to the number opened the previous year over the same period. The difference whether positive or negative is what will determine the failure or the success of the strategy. The level of customer satisfaction will also be a measurement point in all this, as it will indicate where the strategy has put Best Buy in terms of appeal to customers. Q2. Six-Sigma is a strategy that advantages huge performance while at the same time contributes to the saving of costs, which the company may incur due to defects in the process. Six-sigma is a type of measure that gives the deviation that a company is from the normal operation system. According to Welch, the main idea that six sigma defines is the identification of defects and eliminating them in order to have a perfect system of operation. The key processes in a company need to be without any flaw and this increases the efficiency of the processes. According to GE six-sigma is a near-perfect process that allows the company to have a quality service delivery to the customers. The company’s focus was on the six areas of six-sigma. These areas include critical to quality where most of the quality that the company exhibits emanate from customer demands, thus customers are a very important part of the day-to-day running of the company at GE. The other focus is a defect and according to GE when the company fails to deliver what the customer demands then that is a defect already. GE focuses on process capability, thus, every new process that the company brings must conform to the needs of the customers. Variation is yet another area of focus for the company as the feel and the taste of the customer is a factor in the production process in the company. This means that at the end of the production process GE has a lot of variation in its products, thus meeting the needs of diverse customers it has. GE focuses on consistency in its work meeting the expectations of all its clients while at the same time operating within its business mandate. GE is thus a good example of a company that uses the six-sigma approach in its operations to further advance its course and meet its objectives. The strength of the approach lies in the value it offers to customers. This emanates from the satisfaction that the employees get thus they shift their focus on offering quality to the customers through the quality work that they perform. A satisfied employee produces quality at work while an unsatisfied employee will produce poor quality. The major weakness of six-sigma is the fact that it is complicated and involves a lot of statistical data and information collection. This is time consuming and requires a high level of analysis that most companies do not have the time to conduct thus rendering the approach unsuitable for them. One of the major burning issues that hold the implementation of good strategies back to Best Buy is the issue of duplication in the retail shop. The company has the duties of its various departments and operations overlapping each other, thus at some point creating confusion. Those in the customer care department at times do not understand the queries that customers bring up and in the process, they have to call in the technical team to explain to the customers so that they can understand. This means that the customer care employees do not understand the business and thus more training is necessary to meet the needs of the customers especially for those working at the call center. This lack of information by the customer care employees is something that is preventing the company from emerging out with good strategies. A good strategy is one that offers simple solutions to the problems that a company or an organization might have in order to realize the objectives that it has set for itself. Q3. Balance scorecard is a strategic planning, performance and management tool that managers and those in charge use to measure the occurrence and the execution of activities by the one responsible and measures the performances with the expectations to realize the consequences of the actions in the company. The four scorecard components according to Kaplana and Norton are financial, customer, internal business process plus learning and growth. For financial perspective in the case of Best Buy, the objective will be to sell our products at a price that is favorable to the customers while at the same time still ensuring that the business remains profitable. When it comes to customer perspective, the objective will be to ensure that customer satisfaction is present at all times and that the customers get the best quality there is in the market. Internal business process will ensure that the company expands into many stores and that the employees receive proper remuneration for their work. Learning and growth in the scorecard will serve the function of training and promotion in the company. The objective will be to have the most qualified persons in the work place and at the same time, hone their skills through training from time to time in order to improve on the outcome of their work. The basic and simple scorecard used by Best Buy is through translating its vision to the customers and to the employees in a simple and clear manner and then later communicating the goals and the objectives that align with the vision. When the vision and the goals are clear, then the company plans its business in the locality where it sets out its targets and then later, after starting the business it gets feedback from the customers which they use to improve on the vision to capture the new information. All these receive analysis from time to time to diagnose any defect in the business. Q4. Kernel: It is an argument backed up by actions as well as thoughts which together when combine to make up a good strategy in business. The three elements include diagnosis, guiding policy and coherent action. In diagnosis, the major challenge is competing with online traders. This means that the shoppers use the outlets as places to search for cheaper items online. When it comes to guiding policy, the approach for dealing with the issues at the diagnosis stage is important. To deal with the competition there may be programs such as the loyalty programs by Best Buy. It can also allow shoppers to shop online through Smartphones and the like. The coherent action is the action to implement guiding policy. These actions include support by Geek squad, loyalty programs and price matching policy. A good strategy allows for the enhancement of the business with minimal defects and at the same time ensures that the customers are satisfied. A good policy also leads to the growth of both the organization and the employees. On the other hand, a bad strategy leads to loss in the company, it allows for work with several defects and customer satisfaction is never the objective. The CEO of Best Buy implemented a bad policy by matching prices with other competitors like amazon.com who do not incur expenses related to brick-and-mortar as Best Buy does. The quality by Best Buy remains high and the expenses remain the same and as such the margins go down in the process. The outcome is attraction of customers, but profit margin is lower as compared to the competitors especially amazon.com. The CEO too has implemented a good policy by employing the GEEK squad to help with technological advancements and help customers with technology issues. This boosts customer confidence in the shops, as they know they will get quality services. A strategist: Is a person who is ready to take advantage of an opportunity that befits the growth and the wellbeing of an organization or a company at any particular moment. Best Buy is bringing electronics to the people and allowing them to have a better choice in their outlets. This is different from other outlets that deal with only one brand of electronics yet are not at the service of the customer like Best Buy. This creates a big difference as the customers can come back for more services or call for fixation. The bond between the company and the customers is therefore tight. This is difficult for other companies to imitate, as there are no known companies with Geek squad like Best Buy. This idea will matter in the future, as customers will shop online and expect the various outlets to help in servicing their products just as the Geek squad does. Read More