Strategic Management Analysis - Essay Example

and Section # of Introduction The article deals in the Roadmaps, the veryfirst section of the article will discuss the three main "Term" which together leads to the term of Roadmaps. Then the next section holds the development phase of the Roadmaps. The last part holds the importance and the criticism on Roadmaps. Within this article different cases are shown, showing companies sharing different information's across the boundaries of the company. The term "Strategy" means a plan that is developed in order to fulfill the long-term goals and objectives. The strategies are developed by the companies in order to fulfill different purposes and tasks of the company. The strategy is the choice which leads an outcome, and among different strategies the company chooses the one that suits better with the company and helps in achieving the best. The term "Comparative Advantage" means that the companies shares the best resources with each other in order to provide various prices of the product that provide the edge for the advantage. The last term "Networks of Firms" means that the firms are now trying to adopt the strategy that were similar to the networking of different departments within a single organizations. The networks of firms between different companies are a simple strategy that is used to provide comparative advantage to the companies involved in networking. The new term the roadmaps is now in used in which the different companies across the world adopt the process of networking through which they use to share information's, technologies and different issues related to business in order to provide a standardized product to the world. Usually this strategy is adopted in order to provide the quality product at a very low cost as the companies are using the cost-effective strategy. The companies use to share their resources, information's and technology that lower their cost when they work alone. The strategy is used in order to capture the global market with minimum uncertainty. The strategy is not even the cost-effective but also it reduces the time cost. The companies do not need to spend their time in allocating resources and information. From the last few years the departments of a single company is using the techniques of networking. This help in improving the communication levels within the departments and enhance the better management system. Usually this networking helps the prime activities to communicate very efficiently with the support activities. These enhance the quality system and process among the departments. Similar is the case with the roadmaps. The roadmaps development helps in sharing the different resources and information among different companies that enhances the operational cost of each product and provide quality with low price tag on the product. The strategy of roadmaps is only used when you require the standard product and for diversifying the product at global level with minimum uncertainty it is consider that the roadmaps strategy works very well. Starting our main topic, the Roadmaps, it is very similar to the networking of different departments. But the only thing is that developing the roadmaps is very complicated and complex process and need a lot of time in developing the different phase of the roadmaps. The roadmaps development is divided in three phases. While description of these phases we are using the simple ways rather making it more complex. The very first step or phase is the preliminary which itself consist of three phases or steps. The very first step of the phase 1 is satisfying the essential conditions, the second step is providing leadership or sponsorship and the very last step is defining the scope of technological road map. The step of satisfying the essential condition involves the organizations to satisfy on the rules and regulation in order to work together. Different planning horizons with perspectives are drive out within each organization and thus these are satisfied. It actually involves the step of satisfying the needs of each company. What actually the company wants is derived out and the common above them is selected and are used further to achieve these needs. The second step is of providing the leadership or sponsorship and requires time and effort. This step needs to know that which company will actually be given as leadership shield, or among different companies few managers are selected in order to provide the leadership activity. Whereas, the sponsorship requires that who will allocate and provide resources to other companies. The last step of the first phase is defining the scope or technological roadmap. This step involves a vision statement that will describe that what actually the companies are trying to achieve. This vision statement actually describes the scope of the companies that to what extent the companies will share their resources in order to fulfill the mutual mission. The second phase of the roadmaps involves the seven major steps. Among these seven steps the very first step is identifying the product or the service which actually the companies are trying to provide at global level. This step will describe that which specific product holding different variables is to be manufactured and distributed at global level. The companies will originate that common variables that the customers around the world want to see in the product. These common variables are then described and are provided in the product to make it standardized product for the world. The second step involves the identifying of critical requirements of the system ad the step involves to target different issues and aspects related to product and its price. This critical requirement is evaluated that shows that what actually we are needed in our process and systems that could enhance our product. The critical requirement of the product involves the resources, special steps and processes and new systems that are enhanced to produce the product as demanded by the global world. For this critical requirement the companies use to share their resources, technologies, techniques and processes in order to achieve the maximum quality not only in the product but also in the process. The companies try to share different techniques of financial system like capital budgeting system. The third step is to specify the technological drivers that are mainly used in order to achieve the target. These technological drivers are shared among the companies and are used in critical system. These technological drivers are not only used in different processes but also used at various steps to enhance the quality of the product. Now after developing the technological driver's different areas of technologies alternatives are specified. This step means that the companies will together discuss that what type of technologies and its alternative are required at different areas. The companies will discuss that how they have to assess the market and how to develop their global market. What technologies will better suit in the future After this step, their comes the requirement of e-commerce and software development and the minimum time required for software development is noted. The e-commerce and software's help in further developing the more comfortable processes for the organization. After this the companies are required to know that which technology and techniques will suit better in order to communicate between the companies. The step is very important as it will show that which technology is very useful and causes less cost. The companies will select the technology that requires the least time, providing the high quality product and causing minimum cost. The step requires the companies to examine deeply to know that which roadmap or which process or which technology will suit better in order to communicate in a better form. Now the last step requires submitting the roadmap report showing the selection of that process, technology and system which could enhance better networking among the firms at global level. This report will close the statements holding the information that which strategy will suit better for the companies and what resources are required. The report holds all the information that through which techniques the companies will be able to share different things and will produce a standardized product. Significant affect of roadmaps The roadmap techniques is consider to be very useful and few of its points holding the benefits of roadmaps are shown as The strategy is very cost-effective. This strategy involves minimum operational cost as different resources and information plus technology is shared that together lowers the cost of production. The strategy is very useful when the company wants to serve at global level. At global level the chances of uncertainty is very high. Therefore, by this strategy this uncertainty is lowered at very lower level due to the minimum level of competition that the companies will face at global market. This strategy helps in allocating the resources which are less costly and requires less time in allocating these resources. The resource allocation within the company is les costly as these resources are shared among different companies and their cost is shared among them and thus finally it causes a low cost on a single company. This strategy helps in allocating the best technology among the companies. The technologies are shared and thus enhance the processes and systems of the company. The technology sharing thus become less costly and holds very benefits for a single company. The strategy is basically used in order to provide a standardized product at global level. So before going for roadmaps, the companies must take in consideration that the product must be standardized as it suit better to the global market. For instance, the Boeing Company introduces a Boeing which is a standardized product and suit better at global market. Similarly producing the standardized jeans at global level will not make the market share for you. So before launching the roadmaps technique so consider that what type of product you really going to introduced. Criticism on Roadmaps techniques Where there is the benefits there are some drawback of the strategy and these are The very first criticism is that the company loses its image as a single entity, which may cause a serious problem to survive in a long-run production plan. Usually the strategy only suits to the standardized product, therefore the strategy is limited to some specific goods and products. When all the companies combine then their may be the risk of sharing the secrecy of your company. Once your expertise and secrets are shown to other then your company remain no powerful and may declines in its life cycle. The consumers always need a unique product and service; therefore this strategy may not be successful for a long term purpose. After few months may be another company can come at global level to produce the same product holding more enhancements in it. Therefore, your mutual sharing and road mapping might comes to end and causes a huge cost in the end. Similarly in this strategy we can not help in forecasting that how much long our product will remain in the market and thus we are unable to know the time length on long-term basis. This strategy requires a huge cost before starting and once it fails it will lead towards the end of your company, therefore, it holds different risk. Conclusion The strategy of roadmaps only works for the standardized products, whereas it would not work for the products that need innovation after a short period of time. Therefore, it can achieve the success at long-term level when we are using the standardized product launching at global level. Where as if we are choosing the product that needs enhancement then such products did not suit to this strategy. Usually huge products like aircrafts, Boeings or conductors may require such strategies as these products need more technological advancement rather any other product. This shows that the strategy of road mapping suits well to the companies where there is required technical advancement at each step after some period. On the other hand, the strategy also suites well where the companies required costly resource allocation which then reduces the total affect of the resource allocation cost. References/bibliography Larissa Terpeluk Moss, Shaku Atre (2003) "Business Intelligence Map" Garth Saloner, Andrea Shepard (2001) "Strategic Management" Fred R, David (2005) "Strategic Management" Eleventh Edition Henry Mintzberg (2003) "Strategic Planning" Charles W.L. Hill, Gareth R, Jones (2003) "Strategic Management" 6th Edition Gregory G. Dess, G. T. Lumpkin (2003) "Strategic Management" Michael J. Stahl, David W. Grsigby (1997) "Strategic Management" Kenichi Omaha (1892) "The Mind of the Strategists" Read More