Business Strategy and Planning Techniques

This document discusses the importance of business strategy and planning techniques such as strategic planning process, BCG matrix, SWOT analysis, Porter's five forces model, and Mendelow's matrix. It also includes a detailed analysis of the stakeholders and their role in the organization. The document is suitable for students pursuing business courses.

BUSINESS
STRATEGY

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................3
1.1 Discuss strategic planning process..............................................................................3
1.2 Role of strategy and issues involved in strategic planning..............................................4
1.3 Description of BCG matrix as a growth planning technique...........................................6
TASK 2......................................................................................................................................7
2.1 How SWOT analysis helps in analyzing organizational audit.........................................7
2.2 Environment audit for the organization with the help of porter five forces model..........8
2.3 Importance of the stakeholder analysis with the help of Mendelow’s matrix...............10
3.1 State the difference between vertical and horizontal integration...................................11
3.2 Selecting a entry market strategy for the company........................................................12
TASK 4....................................................................................................................................13
4.1 roles and responsibility for proper implementation of resources...................................13
4.2 Gantt chart for the strategy and milestone.....................................................................13
4.3 assessing all the step in implementing strategy..............................................................14
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................15

List of figures
Figure 1: swot analysis...............................................................................................................8
Figure 2: Porter 5 Forces Model..............................................................................................10
Figure 3: merger and acquisition..............................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Business strategy helps in achieving the organizational objective with the help of
resources. It plays a significant role in making firm sustainable with guiding it in a way to run
its operations in a manner that maximum profits with lowest level of risk and expenses can be
gained. Further, report talks about vision, mission and core competency of firm. It also
emphasizes on the strategic planning process and BCG matrix which helps in analyzing the
competitive position in the market.
1.1 Discuss strategic planning process
Strategy is basically the direction which helps in achieving the organizational goal of
the company. Strategy is made according to the aim and goal of the company. Generally,
company makes strategy to achieve the vision and mission of corporate. In a retail firm,
strategy is the approach which helps in fulfilling the vision and mission of the organization.
Strategy planning is basically planning the strategy or the moves towards fulfilling the goals.
Strategy planning is very long process in which several steps are involved. In a retail firm, its
mission is to become the world’s number one retail organization. Presently its objective is to
expand its business in more countries. Vision and mission are long term goals of the
organization. But the objective is precise goal which has to be achieved in the precise time
period. Further, strategic vision and mission of the company are to achieve competitive
advantage and core competency. Competitive advantage is the benefit which it renders to the
employees. It can be in terms of price; quality etc. Core competency is the feature of the
product or company which cannot be copied by other competitor brand. So for achieving the
short term objective, strategy planning is done by the organization. There are 5 phases
involved in strategic planning process.
 Developing a strategic vision- Company has to develop the strategic which
they want to achieve. Strategic vision of the firm is to become the leading
consultancy firm. For this, it has to plan strategy for competing with its
competitors.
 Setting objectives-After the company has made the vision now to attain this
vision it has to make objective which are short term goals. Presently, the firm
objective is to expand its business in other countries.

 Developing the strategy to achieve the objective- After the objective has been
set by the firmand then it has to make strategy for achieving the objective. In a
retail firm, it is big organization so it can set up its business with collaboration
with other company who is successfully working in that region.
 Implementing and executing the strategy- After the strategy has been
successfully made then it has to be implemented. For implementing the
strategy, it has to analyse all the aspects before collaborating with other store.
 Monitor, evaluate and corrective measures- Once the strategy has been
implemented then has to be monitored as well as evaluated. There are chances
that collaboration may not work. In that case the company has to change the
strategy. So close evaluation is required by the firm. When a firm has
evaluated all its aspects then it should make corrective actions to fill the gap
which are pertaining in strategy.
1.2 Role of strategy and issues involved in strategic planning
Role of strategy
Strategy is focused on directing organization toward their goals and objectives
through ensuring the allocation and utilization of resources in an effectual manner. Strategy
plays an important role in the success of strategic planning and strategic planning cannot be
ended without the implementation of strategy.
Mintzberg, ‘Five Ps for Strategy’
This model includes description about the 5 ps which are mentioned below as:
 1p: Perspective: It is a business which is used to implement an idea into practice.
 2p: Plan: It is used a guide or direction which is made in present for improving the
level of future.
 3p: Patterns: Patterns are the existing sources which are used for the constant decision
making.
 4p: Position: Position indicates the level of company in the market as well as its
image in front of people.
 5p: Ploys: Ploys can be defined as the strategies used for improving, maintaining and
reinforcing the position of company in the market.

In case of a retail organization, strategies adopted company through
considering this model are as follows:
 Strategy as a plan: In a firm, manager is focused on making plans by using
brainstorming options at the time of formulating strategies.
 Strategy as a ploy: In order to maintain its position in the market, management of
company is focused on expanding its business in the national and international
market.
 Strategy as a pattern: By considering this, manager of a firm is focused on
understanding the responses of customers before taking any kind of decision.
 Strategy as a position:
 Strategy as a perspective: In order to get better position in market, organization
provides better quality of products and services to its customers in a competitive
price.
Two problems in strategic planning:
 Availability of Uncertain aim as well as general purpose.
 Process of the strategy is not defined clearly and is not communicated to anyone.
Two different planning techniques:
 BCG matrix
 Space matrix

1.3 Description of BCG matrix as a growth planning technique
BCG matrix is defined as a framework which is created by Boston consulting group to
assess the strategic position of the organization and it’s potential. This model states that firm
needs to maintain both types of high growth and low growth products in order to gain long
term value in the market. This model is created for assisting business in long term strategic
planning and helping them to gain growth opportunities by assessing its product’s portfolio.
BCG matrix describes about the four different types of market conditions. These are as
follows:
 Stars: Product which has high market share and high market growth comes under this
section.
 Cash cows: Product which has high market share and low market growth is come
under the section of cash cows.
 Dogs: Product is considered in this section which has low market share and low
market
 Question marks: Product which has low market share and high market growth comes
under this section.

TASK 2
2.1 How SWOT analysis helps in analyzing organizational audit
SWOT technique helps in evaluating the internal factors which affects the working of
the organization. This technique is performed by every company to identify the strong
factors. As most of the competitors identify the weak point of the firm and according to that
make their strategy. So it is beneficial for the corporate to identify their weakness and make
their strategy to overcome this. It will help in building competitive advantage. In case of
coca cola which is the most popular soft drink brand but still have several weak and strong
points which it should identify to maintain its position in the market.
Figure 1: swot analysis
(Source: swot analysis, 2015)
Strengths Weaknesses
 Market share of coca cola is huge
 The brand image of the product is very
strong
 It is financially very stable
 It manufactures different flavors in its
 It is bad for the health and nowadays
people have become more health
conscious.
 The management system which is
followed in the company is weak

soft drink  Due to large expansion there quality of
product has been degraded.
 They have been witnessed with many
legal issues.
Opportunities Threats
 The demand for the soft drink is more
 The target market is very large as it is
drunk by the entire individual
irrespective of their age.
 They can introduce new flavors in the
brand according to the need of the
consumer.
 The biggest competitors are Pepsi
and the juice brand which has
recently launched their healthy
products in the market.
 Major threat is from the government
as because this product harms the
human body, government does not
give license for the new product
easily.
2.2 Environment audit for the organization with the help of porter five forces model
Environment audit can be done with the help of porter five forces model. This model
helps in identifying the competitive scenario in which the industries are operating their
business. In an organization, there are many supermarkets which are dealing in the same
products and the customer whom they are serving is also the same. It is important for the
company to do competitor analysis to know the intensity of the competition which they are
facing in the present time. Further, after analyzing the competitive market they can make the
strategy which helps them to compete in this competitive market.

Figure 2: Porter 5 Forces Model
(Source: porter 5 forces model, 2015)
 Threat of new entrant- In a firm, the threat of new entrant is high as retail store does
not require huge amount if finance to open the store. The major threat is from the
small vendors who open their store in the locality. To maintain the position in the
market it is very essential for the organization to retain their position in the market.
 Bargaining power of power- The bargaining power is also high as the customer has
large number of options to buy the product. The product which is sold in the market is
homogenous and it is not different from the one which is sold by other vendors. The
buyers switching power is high. It is beneficial for the company to introduce new
services so that they can lower the bargaining power of buyer.
 Threat of substitute products or services- The threat of substitute product is very low
as the products which is sold by the company is a necessity product so it cannot be
substituted with the other products.
 Bargaining power of supplier- The bargaining power of supplier is high as there are
many competitors so for them t is easy to make clients. But in case Tesco because of
the brand image and the bulk goods, it is difficult for the supplier to lose its client
company.

 Rivalry among existing competitors- The rivalry among the competitors is high
because the products are homogenous and they generally make innovation in the
services to become superior in the competitive market.
2.3 Importance of the stakeholder analysis with the help of Mendelow’s matrix
Stakeholders are the owner of the business. They are included in the decision making
of the organization. But the role and responsibility of every stakeholder is different and they
are involved in different decision making of the company. They are affected by the
achievement of the organizational goal and objectives. With the help of analysis it helps in
identifying the need of the stakeholders and also assists in making strategies which can help
in fulfilling the need of them. There are basically internal as well as external stakeholders.
Internal stakeholders are management, employees, owner of the company etc. But the
external stakeholders are government, local body and the large professional bodies. It is very
important for the coca-cola company to identify its stakeholders and do the stakeholders
mapping which will help in identify the relationship between the goals which are made by the
organization. Indentifying important stakeholders- There are many stakeholders in the company
who are very important in the organization. The most important one in the company
are the customers and the government. The major decisions are made by keeping in
mind these two stakeholders and they are the one who highly affects the operations of
the coca cola company.
 Power and influence of the stakeholders- Every stakeholder has different power and
influence on the products of the company. Like in case of coca cola the power of the
government is to change the policy of the company according to the interest of the
user. Other than this, government influences the operations which are carried out by
them. Consumer can influence the company to modify the product according to the
needs and demands of the user.
 Determining appropriate project response- The response has to be determined by the
company of each stakeholders of the project is made by the firm. If the response is
positive then it can carry out the project and implement it.
 Planning the participation of the stakeholders- Every stakeholder has to participate in
the different activities of the company. In the project cycle, employees are the one
who participate and make the strategy for the project. Employee participates at the
time when the idea has been given by the company owners. They give suggestions

ideas and the way the project can be executed. These things mark their participation in
the project.
 Identification of risk from stakeholder- Company has risk from the government. Most
of the things which create hindrance in the firm are from the government. They are
the one who indirectly guides the operation of the company. In case of coca cola their
major hand is in the manufacturing of the product. The main risk attached to is the
government of the country in which it is operating its business.
 Developing business strategy for building participation- The participation of the
stakeholders can be increased by giving them chance to speak in the meeting and
involving them in the decision making process which are related with the
stakeholders. They will keen to participate in the process and their participation will
be increased
3.1 State the difference between vertical and horizontal integration
Vertical and horizontal integration are very different from each other. It is said that
both are beneficial for the company. Horizontal integration can be categorized as the merger
of two companies which are mainly the competitors and are at the same stage of
manufacturing. The successful horizontal integration is seen in the case of easy jet and the go
airlines. Mostly the merger is done because one of the airlines is not giving more profit and
for the other it will be beneficial to merge as one of the competitors will be deducted. Vertical
integration is gaining the power of the suppliers. Like in case of LG, now company is
manufacturing its own products and assembling in their factory. It is also the growth strategy
which is used by the organization.
Vertical integration Horizontal integration
The company gains more control as in LG they
are less dependent on the suppliers.
The control of the organization is distributed as
Easy Jet as well as Go airline will take the
decision regarding the services.
The capital requirement is more Capital requirement is less as compared to
vertical integration.
If the company is successful they it will get
higher profit which is seen in LG.
If the company becomes successful then the
profit is distributed between the two.
Many resources are required by the firm But in this case the resources are plenty as both
the company combine their resources and
manufactures the product.

3.2 Selecting a entry market strategy for the company
There are different market strategies which can be adopted by the company to become
successful in the business. The different types of strategies are organic growth, turnaround,
strategic alliances etc. these strategies are adopted by the firm for different purposes. Merger
and acquisition was seen in the case of Kraft and Cadbury. These two organizations merged
because they want to lower down the competition. There are many advantages of merger and
acquisition as in this the market share of the company increases which helps them to cater the
market needs of the target customer.
Figure 3: merger and acquisition
(Source: merger and acquisition, 2015).
The main advantage which was witnessed by this merger was the profit became very
high as the cost of the production reduced which gave rise to economies of scale. In this case
Cadbury was more famous than the craft company so for the company it was beneficial and
the loss which was suffering was distributed with the Cadbury. The main advantage which
was seen was that the culture was same in the business as well as the way of operating was
also same which prove beneficial in competing with other brands.

TASK 4
4.1 Roles and responsibility for proper implementation of resources
The roles and responsibility for proper implemented resources are as follows:
Roles
 Allocating the resources
 Forming the team for making the plan
 Communicating the plan to teams members for execution
Responsibilities
 To see whether the resources are allocated properly or not
 Using the upgraded technology and helping the members in operating them
 Evaluating the performance timely.
Business activities Brainstorming- it is done with the group members to identifying problems and
developing ideas.
 Communication-To communicate the information and strategy for implementing the
strategy. Employees, management are included in the communication.
 Outsourcing- In this, the materials are taken from the suppliers for accomplishing the
strategy.
Besides this, there are many human and material which are needed by the organization
 Financial resources- capital,
 Human resource- skilled employees, management etc.
 Material resources- Infrastructure, computer, office.
4.2 Gantt chart for the strategy and milestone
ACTIVITY MONTH 1 MONTH 2 MONTH 3 MONTH 4 MONTH 5 MONTH 6 MONTH 7 MONTH 8
Post closing
integration
Strategic

criteria &
cultural fit
Identifying
and
evaluating
targets
Valuation
and
transaction
structure
Diligence &
definitive
terms
Funding
and options
and sources
4.3 assessing all the step in implementing strategy
Steps for strategy implementation:
 Post closing integration- Evaluating and monitoring the merger which took place.
This will help in identifying the gap.
 Strategic criteria and fit- identifying that it will fit the culture of the particular country
or not. Identifying and evaluating targets- identifying the target customer of the customer
and how to increase the market share.
 Transaction and value structure- Identifying the valuation of the company after the
strategy and structure of the transaction. Funding as well as sources- It is related with the capital resources which are required
by the company.

CONCLUSION
From this it can be concluded that, there are various strategies which can be used by
the organization for being successful. But the merger and acquisition of Cadbury and craft
has proved to be beneficial for both the organization. With the changing time it is advisable
for the company to make different strategy to become successful in the market. Lastly, it can
be inferred that the company should evaluate and monitor all the areas so that the gaps
lacking in the strategy can be identified.