Business Strategy Assignment Solutions (Doc)

Business Strategy

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
1. Analysis of company's capabilities and its key success factor in market...............................1
2. Stakeholder theory to analyse major stakeholders of the business........................................5
3.Theoretical framework to access the company's culture..........................................................8
4.Strategy recommendation for future development of the organisation....................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13
.......................................................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Business strategy is the grand plan made by organisations to perform their activities and
to achieve the goals (Business Strategy , 2018). It is a long term business planing and is related to
issues like resources for the organisation (manpower resources as well as financial resources).
Strategies are also help in planning about the scope of activities like what to produce, where to
produce and for whom to produce. Business strategy is divided into two i.e. Generic strategy and
competitive strategy. Virgin group is taken as example to understand the concept of business
strategy. It is a British multinational conglomerate venture founded in 1970, its headquarter is in
London UK and is dealing in diversified products which include banking, books, commercial
aviation, consumer electronics, internet, health care, films, radio, travel, retail, rail transport etc.
Further in this report companies capabilities and its success will be discussed with the help of
VRIO model and stakeholder theory will also be critically analysed. At the end company's
culture will be discussed with the help of theoretical framework.
1. Analysis of company's capabilities and its key success factor in market
VRIO is a framework of business analysis which organisation uses for their strategic
scheme (Nohria, 2017). It is used for analysing the internal procedure of business and also
evaluate resource and capabilities of organisation. It consist of four questions value, rarity,
inimitably and organization.
Resources Value Rare Imitation Organisation Advantage
Intellectual
property
rights, copy
right and
trademark.
Yes, it is
valuable to the
Virgin group
because IPR,
Trademark and
Copyrights are
different in
every
organisation
which others
are not
Yes, IPR and
trademark are
rare to every
organisation
so do the
Virgin group
because it is
not made to
copy and it is
unique.
Success factor
No, imitation
of IPR and
trademark is
not possible in
Virgin Group
because it is
their personal
and legal
assets which
no one can
copy because
Yes, company
have proper
resources and
arrangement to
keep their IPR
and trademark
safe. They
have secured it
by doing
patent of their
intangible
It provide
strong
competitive
advantage to
the virgin
mobile.
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allowed to
copy.
It is
contributing in
the success of
organisation
by improving
company's
goodwill, it is
acting as its
key success
factor.
for the
organisation is
that it make
Virgin group
unique from
others and
help them in
competing in
the market.
it is against the
law.
It is
contributing in
the business
organisation
by providing
them an
unique or
different
identity
(Meckling,
2015).
assets.
Brand
positioning in
comparison
to
competitors
Yes, it is
valuable to the
Virgin group
because brand
is the element
which help
them in
making
themselves
different and
successful
from its
competitors
(Rosemann
and vom
Brocke,
2015).
No, is it not
rare because
others are also
want to reach
that level of
success and
position.
Yes, it is
imitable by
other
companies
because they
also want to
reach to hat
position and
for that
competitors
can copy the
Virgin group
and their
products. They
bring fake
products in the
market which
lower down
Yes, company
has those
resources
which can
help them in
maintaining
their brand
image in the
market.
It provide
temporary
competitive
advantage to
the Virgin
Group.
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It is
contributing in
the success of
business
organisation
by attracting
more
customers
through its
brand image
(Leischnig,
Wölfl and
Ivens, 2016).
the Virgin's
image and
reduces its
customers.
Pricing
strategy
Yes, it is
valuable to the
Virgin Group
because it is
what they get
in return from
their services
they are
providing to
the customers.
It is also
valuable for
company
because they
have so much
of hope from
it.
No, it is not
possible for
organisation to
keep it rare
because there
are many
imitators
working in the
market just to
copy others.
Yes, it is
easily imitable
because
competitors
can copy is
and make their
pricing
strategy same
as Virgin's.
They do it
because they
want to create
a tough and
equal
competition
(Soltanizadeh
and et. al.,
2016) .
Yes, company
have
arrangements
for keeping
their pricing
strategy
different from
others. They
have market
analyst to help
in deciding the
prices as per
the demand
competition in
the market.
It provide
temporary
competitive
advantage to
the Virgin
group.
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It is
contributing in
the success of
business
because price
is one of the
best ways to
influence
customers.
Opportunitie
s for brand
extension
Yes, it is
valuable to the
company
because new
opportunities
are entering
the market
which is
creating for
scope for the
Virgin group.
It is
contributing to
the business by
providing
more
opportunities
to the
Organisation
(Teh and
Corbitt, 2015).
No, it is not
rare because
there are many
competitors
who are also
targeting this
opportunity
and creating
competition.
Yes, it can be
easily imitable
by the
competitors
because they
are also
waiting for
opportunities
to knock their
doors
(Kossyva,
Sarri and
Georgolpoulos
, 2015).
Yes, it is also
possible for
the Virgin
group. It
require higher
market budget
for expanding
a business and
Virgin group
is a large
organisation
with good
financial
reputation in
the market, so
it will be
easily
manageable by
them.
This is
temporary
competitive
advantage for
the Virgin
Group.
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Implementati
on of digital
strategy
Yes, it is
valuable to the
Virgin group
because digital
strategy is the
blood for the
company and
they can not
work without
it.
digitisation is
contributing in
the success of
organisation
by helping
them to run
their business
smoothly.
No, it is not
rare because
many firms
are investing
in digital
strategy to
convert their
activities into
digital
operation.
This is
opportunity
for every
company and
not just for the
Virgin Group
(Torrent-
Sellens,
2015).
Yes, it can be
imitable by the
competitors
because it is
not something
to hide.
Digitisation is
the
opportunity
for every firm
and they are
eager to grab
it.
Yes, Virgin
group has
resources and
arrangement
for
maintaining it
because they
are one of the
leader players
of the market.
They have
their market
analyst who
help them in
planning
organisation's
advancement
and
development.
It does not
provide any
sustainable
competitive
advantage
even after
critical
digitization
strategies in
the market.
2. Stakeholder theory to analyse major stakeholders of the business
Stakeholders are the people which can affect the business organisation by its
performance. Stakeholders theory is also know as Edward freeman's stakeholder theory which is
related to the business ethics and organizational management, it is made to find out the morale
and values which is required by organisation to manage its activities. It include factors like
market economy, social contract and corporate social responsibility. It also help the Virgin group
to define its major stakeholders who affect the company and its working. This theory also
suggest that business organisations to maximize the value for its stakeholders, it try to show an
interrelation between the company and its stakes which include investors, employees, suppliers,
owners, government, customers, society, creditors and many more (Whittle and Myrick, 2016).
Virgin Group's major stakeholders are-:
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Stakeholders Description
Employees Virgin group is a very large organisation
working in UK, it is dealing in many products
which is also making it huge in nature (Hart,
Sharma and Halme, 2016). There are more
than 71000 employees working with the Virgin
group. Employees of organisation are
contributing their best to make it such a
successful organisation so in return Virgin is
also providing them with a good working
conditions. They are also paid good
remuneration for the services rendered and
some facilities are offered for increasing their
motivation. Employees of the Virgin group are
considered as the family and they are not
pressurised for work so that staff can perform
better.
Customers Virgin group is working on a very large
platform and on diversified products which is
helping them in targeting different segments of
people. As a result company's customer base is
increasing at very high rate. Customers are the
major source of earning to organisation so it is
important for Virgin group to take their regular
feedback about products and prices. It help the
to determine the demand of public and what
new features they are expecting in the
products.
Government and local communities Government is an important part of every
organisation including Virgin group. Role of
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government in compay is to analyse its profit
margin and its legal & ethical functioning of
the company (Grant, 2016). On the other hand
local communities task is to find out the
contribution of Virgin group in environment. It
is also very important for company to keep a
good relation with the government for
receiving benefits offered by them like
subsidies and other tax benefits. Apart from it
they should not break any laws of the country
for smoothly running their activities.
suppliers Suppliers are the major part of every
organisation including Virgin group, it is a
very large company dealing in number of
products at a diversified platform with large
number of suppliers working for them.
Because of its good credit in market Virgin
Group purchases bulk raw material on credit
from their suppliers and in return it is the
responsibility of company to share every
important and required details with the
suppliers like sales, inventory turnover ratio
etc.
Investors Virgin group has a good investment plans like
they are investing on researches and
development regularly for determining the
trend & demand of public. Company is also
investing in their advertisement and promotion
for attracting more customers and increasing
its sales. One important thing that Virgin is
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taking care is to maintain their good or strong
profitability ratio so that it can influence banks
and other investor to invest in the company.
Stake holder analysis or approach is important for the company because they can use the
strongest or powerful stakeholder to share their projects. It also help them in winning resources
and making the project successful. It also help them in making new business strategies which
provide satisfaction and happiness to the stakeholders of the company.
3.Theoretical framework to access the company's culture
Handy model of organisation culture is one which tell four different types of basic
organisation and that are-:
Power culture is a culture in which power is held with the few people have power to
control and they influence the entire organisation. If Virgin group uses this culture in their
company there will be few rule and regulations which will be very much easy for them & their
staff to handle (Evans and et. al., 2017). But on the other hand there are some drawback of this
culture which Virgin has to face if they use it. That are dominating decision of one person which
others need to follow, this will create dissatisfaction among employees and their performance
will go down. Other than this individual in this culture take quick decision which may or may not
be the best for the organisation and as result it may impact overall image and performance of the
Virgin group. Quick review of power culture is swift decisions, few rules and little bureaucracy,
concentrate power among few, control radiates from the centre. It is a strong culture but it is not
successful if company apply this and it also increase the rate of employee turnover.
Other culture is role culture which is based on rules in which roles and responsibilities of
every person are fixed. In this culture power is held with the person as per their position in
organisational structure. If Virgin mobile uses this culture of Handy model it is very easy for
them to control their staff and to smoothly perform the task because every person knows their
responsibilities. Employees of the company is also feel motivated and unconfused about their
duties in the company , they will be also sure about their superiors and whom they need to follow
(Yuliansyah, Rammal and Rose, 2016). This culture can increase productivity of the company
by improving organisation's performance or by making this clear for every person working in
Virgin group. Role culture is a lengthy culture with a long chain of command so major problem
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which company face if they use this culture is delay in decision making. Because there is a long
chain of command which include many people in it, delay by one can affect the entire process of
decision which also impact the performance of organisation. A quick overview of role culture is
delegated authority, hierarchical bureaucracy, little scope for expert power (Burlton, 2015).
Other culture from Handy model is Task culture in which teams are made by the
organisation to tackle specific issues or projects. If Virgin mobile use this culture it become easy
for them to work with such a large base of employees. Here in this, power is delegated to the
teams according to their project or problems and also on the basis of their team members so it
help Virgin Group to delegate authority and responsibility which in return motivate team
members. Another reason why this form of culture is good for the company is it create a unity
and team spirit among members which enhances their morale and make them work together for
achieving the common goal of the firm. Team is made out of the people with right skills and
personality which help the organisation in increasing its productivity and creativity. This is
because when so many people with different skills and knowledge work together it will give
good result. Quick review of Task culture is power is delegated as per the expertise, no single
power source, teams are made to solve problems.
Person culture is another form of culture from the Handy's model in which people think
that they are the superior of the organisation as well as they are the unique from other. According
to this culture organisation is the collection of people who are working for the same reason in the
company. If Virgin Group uses this form of culture it will be difficult for employees to adjust
with each other as every person see themselves superior and above the all working with them. It
create a situation of conflict for the company which reduces the performance of employees as
well as their motivation goes down (Buckley and Ghauri, 2015).
After analysing all the cultures, it has been find out that Virgin mobile is following
TASK CULTURE in their premises. They are using it because it is one of the most clear form of
culture with no conflicts, confusion and no delay in decisions. Company make different teams
for specific issues and problems so that there is no confusion remain between employees about
their task. Other than this sufficient power is delegated to each team according to their team
members and status of the issue which gives a level of satisfaction every member of team. It also
allow team to make their own objective which is the best method used by company for
motivating their employees and improving overall performance of the firm. It consist little risk
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also but organisation allow teams to make their objectives because without risk, a good return is
not possible.
4.Strategy recommendation for future development of the organisation
Development strategies are the plans which is made by the Virgin group for the future
growth of the company. this is made for increasing the market share, there are four different
strategy which Virgin group can follow are diversification, product development, market
penetration and market development.
Market penetration is one of the strategy in which company is require to increase the sale
of their products in the current market with existing product and services. If Virgin group apply
this strategy into their organisation they need to increase their production so that they can sale
more and can attract customers from their competitors. They need to increase their market share
by retaining the existing buyers and attracting the new one. This is possible by reducing the
prices of the products, increasing the promotion of products & improving distributional channels
of the company.
Another strategy for future development of organisation is development of market. In this
strategy new market is explored by the organisation with their existing products. If Virgin group
decides to use this strategy they need to explore the new market and do some research &
development for determining their scope in new market. Company can do it by targeting new
segment of people and selling them existing items. Doing this can increase their customers,
existing as well as new and increase company's sale and as result overall productivity of the
organisation will improve.
Product development is also one of the strategy which organisation can apply for growing
in future. If Virgin Group uses this strategy into their company, they need to launch new
products and services in the current market where they are working. They are require to offer
new products to their existing customers for which research and development is necessary for
further investment because company can not launch anything new without knowing about the
market.
Another strategy which organisations can use is diversification in which they are require
to sell new product in completely new market. If Virgin group use this strategy they have to put
lot of efforts on marketing for reaching to the minds of customers.
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Recommendation which virgin group should follow is the Market development strategy,
because it is a very big and famous organisation working in UK and it is already dealing in so
many different products i.e. it has already adopted the diversified strategy. Company should
follow marketing development by increasing their sales through entering into the new market so
that it can grow itself. For expanding its market Virgin need to analyse the market requirement
by doing a good research & development. It will help the company to increase its productivity,
sales and its profitability.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been concluded that every organisation need to have a
business strategy because it help them in performing without any hurdles, It make everything
clear to every person. Other than this, how does VRIO work for an organisation is understood
while performing this task. Detailed study is conducted on the importance of stakeholders and
how does they impact the performance of the organisation. Apart from all this, a framework is
necessary for organisational culture and which culture is appropriate for the firm has been
discussed to reach at some solution.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Buckley, P. J. and Ghauri, P. eds., 2015. International business strategy: theory and practice.
Routledge.
Burlton, R. T., 2015. Delivering business strategy through process management. In Handbook on
Business Process Management 2 (pp. 45-78). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Evans and et. al., 2017. Business model innovation for sustainability: Towards a unified
perspective for creation of sustainable business models. Business Strategy and the
Environment. 26(5). pp.597-608.
Grant, R. M., 2016. Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley &
Sons.
Hart, S., Sharma, S. and Halme, M., 2016. Poverty, business strategy, and sustainable
development.
Kossyva, D., Sarri, K. and Georgolpoulos, N., 2015. Co-opetition: a business strategy for SMEs
in times of economic crisis. South-Eastern Europe Journal of Economics. 12(1).
Leischnig, A., Wölfl, S. and Ivens, B., 2016. When does digital business strategy matter to
market performance?.
Meckling, J., 2015. Oppose, support, or hedge? Distributional effects, regulatory pressure, and
business strategy in environmental politics. Global Environmental Politics. 15(2).
pp.19-37.
Nohria, N., 2017. Fast forward: The best ideas on managing business change. Business Review.
9. p.10.
Rosemann, M. and vom Brocke, J., 2015. The six core elements of business process
management. In Handbook on business process management 1 (pp. 105-122). Springer,
Berlin, Heidelberg.
Soltanizadeh and et. al., 2016. Business strategy, enterprise risk management and organizational
performance. Management Research Review. 39(9). pp.1016-1033.
Teh, D. and Corbitt, B., 2015. Building sustainability strategy in business. Journal of Business
Strategy. 36(6). pp.39-46.
Torrent-Sellens, J., 2015. Knowledge products and network externalities: Implications for the
business strategy. Journal of the Knowledge Economy. 6(1). pp.138-156.
Whittle, R. and Myrick, C. B., 2016. Enterprise business architecture: The formal link between
strategy and results. CRC Press.
Yuliansyah, Y., Rammal, H. G. and Rose, E., 2016. Business strategy and performance in
Indonesia’s service sector. Journal of Asia Business Studies. 10(2). pp.164-182.
Online
Business Strategy , 2018 . [Online] . Available through<https://businessjargons.com/business-
strategy.html>
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