Business Strategies Analysis

This assignment delves into the world of business strategies by examining diverse examples from a range of sources. It utilizes a collection of academic papers and online resources to analyze different strategic approaches employed in various industries and contexts. The analysis encompasses topics such as international business, digital innovation, risk management, and the counterfeit market, providing a comprehensive overview of current trends and challenges in strategic planning.

BUSINESS STRATEGY

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................1
A Key options while considering the future strategies of Sony Corporation.........................1
B Selection of an appropriate future strategy for SMC..........................................................2
C Roles and responsibilities of staff in SMC, for the implementation of diversification......3
D Resource requirement in order to meet the strategy...........................................................3
E Contribution of SMART objectives and considering the balanced score card approach.. .4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
This report is in regard to state the business strategies of Sony Corporation, which is one
of the largest multinational mobile company, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a chief
manufacturing company of information technology devices. It together has a leading position in
the field of electronics and entertainment (Han, 2014). The below report is covering a set of
strategic steps to be introduced into the management system of SMC. Sony is globally leading
the international market and desires to hold its position as the world's largest entertainment
company. For which, business strategy is proven to be an effective tool of success.
TASK 2
A Key options while considering the future strategies of Sony Corporation
Market entry- It is related to import and export of services by establishing and managing
contracts in foreign countries (Tan, 2012). Sony is working globally and thus needs to consider
the following few factors of marketing, sourcing and investment control, while entering into a
new or international market. The market entry strategy further includes- Exporting- It is a traditional way of approaching foreign markets which refers to
marketing of goods, produced in one country into another.
 Licensing- It is a method of acquiring permission to operate in the foreign markets,
where the firm applied for license is liable to use the manufacturing and trademark
processes of another country.
Substantive Growth- Growth is the key goal of any business strategy. Substantive growth is in
regard to diversify the business. A gain in substantive growth can easily cover the deficiency of
any business (Taylor, 2014). Few other advantages of having an independent existence in the
industry are- Exponential growth- The biggest advantage of achieving substantive growth into the
business leads its way towards an increasing wealth. Therefore, a substantive growth
ensures the fund for future growth and expansion.
 Competition- An immediate achievement in substantive growth too ensures a success
against the competition. By using the added wealth, SMC can fund more projects to lead
its market shares as compared to its competitors.
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Limited Growth- Limited growth is a smarter option, as compared to substantive growth with a
comparatively low risk. Faster growth may lead to challenges in maintaining the product quality.
However, it consists of certain disadvantages, as well- Market Share- Limited growth can generate a negative outlook when the competitor
tends to lead the market by having a faster growth, which may gain the consumer's
attention more than SMC (Kenyon, 2012).
 Cost- A positive outlook of limited growth is its low requirement of funds if compared to
a rapid growth, which is more expensive. As growing a business requires spending
money to recruit employees, open more stores and buy more inventories which generally
tends to reduce the profit margin of the business.
Retrenchment- This strategy is used to attain a stable financial position in the industry by
cutting few expenses. In this process, the company attempts to reduce or even eliminate its one
or more business operations as per the current market scenario with a customer's view point,
considering their present needs and demand. It further includes 3 more factors, namely-
Turnaround, Divestment and Liquidation. Turnaround refers to backing out from a decision, wrongly taken earlier. There are
certain conditions which clearly define and indicate the requirement of turnaround in
order to reverse the process of declination. Such indicators consist of continuous losses,
mismanagement, reducing shares in the market, and unmatched competition of products
and services etc. Divestment strategy is a reestablishment plan which has been adopted when the
turnaround seems to get fail, and company finds difficulty in facing the competition. It
works best when the company has a better alternative for investment (Kelly, 2013). It
usually involves selling some portion of a business or sometimes a large part, as well.
 Liquidation is when the company sold out its assets by totally shutting down the firm. It
is the last solution which may even lead to loss of employment for employees. It
generally takes place when business totally becomes unprofitable, facing high
competition with a failure in its strategies.
B Selection of an appropriate future strategy for SMC
Substantive growth is the best suited future strategy for SMC. Already being a global
market player, Sony fulfills the required attributes of market entry and thus, it is now
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successfully leading the international markets. The next step for SMC is to focus on its broad
vision of becoming a lead provider in electronics by including a new segment of peripheral
devices in its wide range of products (Bresciani, 2015). It will also include routers to run Wi-Fi,
dongles and memory cards, etc. Assignments of innovation by heading towards an exited
entertainment world will also help in strengthening its core business area in the market segment
of technology products and services. Therefore, in order to make a rapid growth into the market,
it needs to introduce some new products and services together satisfying the present market
demand.
C Roles and responsibilities of staff in SMC, for the implementation of diversification
For successfully creating a strategic plan of diversification, SMC needs a direct
involvement of its employees. The personnel's charged with this responsibility mainly involves a
group HRM, Finance and Operation manager. Operation manager is the one who is responsible for managing both material and human
resources of the company. Being in the senior most position of the company, operation
manager is directly responsible for setting goals by determining the present market
demand. Finance manager looks after the financial status of the company. The main
responsibility includes raising and allocating funds to meet the business requirement
(Loebbecke, 2013). The actual requirement of fund is concluded with the help of
operation manager.
 HRM is responsible in determining the need of personnel's in the organization in order to
meet the diversified business areas. It includes making new hiring by proper
identification of job and selecting an appropriate person who can perform the assigned
task.
D Resource requirement in order to meet the strategy
In order to meet the present strategy of developing a new product, an equal amount of
resources will be required. As per the current statistics, to launch a new product into the market,
SMC needs to raise both its Financial and Human resources. Presently the company is lacking
skill based people to work in the creation of a new device. Thus, the HRM holds responsibility of
hiring such knowledgeable people covering all the aspects, in order to successfully meet the
objective of receiving a positive response from the public, once it launches a new product into
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the market. Other than production, sales and marketing also holds an effective position into a
product based organization. Thus, in terms of promoting the new product, experts with
equivalent knowledge of the product will be required (Mazzanti, 2013). Finance is another
important resource to achieve the desired goal. In the present competitive scenario, entering into
the development of a complete new product is quite challenging and thus, in terms of avoiding
any risk, SMC will also need a huge allocation of funds.
E Contribution of SMART objectives and considering the balanced score card approach
Setting objectives is a key to every successful business. Therefore, bright business leaders
opt for a SMART method to ideally determine the company's goals and objectives. The SMART
model consists of five traits which emphasis on creating a specific, measurable, achievable,
relevant and time bounded objective (Pendergrass, 2013). It states that the company should
specifically set its targets in a particular area like SMC has planned to establish a new product in
the section of peripheral devices. Measurable quality states that there should be visible progress
in the targeted area. Achievable specifies assignable, stating that an appropriate candidate should
be selected to perform the task. For which, the HRM of the stated company is liable to select
skill based workers in all its department. Relevant defines the realistic results that the company
should attain on implementing the strategic plan. Time bounded relates to the exact time required
for the accomplishment of a particular objective. Thus, with the help of SMART model, SMC
can easily develop an effective position in its new section.
Balanced score card is another effective approach in order to implement the strategy. It has been
extensively used by the industries, government and non profit organizations all over the world. It
aligns the business activities as per the company's vision and strategies. It also rectifies internal
and external communications, together monitoring the entity's performance towards its goals.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, one can clearly identify the present business strategies of Sony
Mobile Corporation that clearly states that how efficiently SMC is strategically moving towards
its growth. Strategic plans are always helpful in attaining a long term success by clearly defining
the company's goals and objectives. It together includes the participation of every personnel in
SMC for successfully implementing the plans. Furthermore, the report also depicts the bestiality
of various approaches being used at the time of building a strategic organizational plan for Sony.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Amran, A., Ooi, S. K., Mydin, R. T. and Devi, S. S., 2015. The Impact of Business Strategies on
Online Sustainability Disclosures. Business Strategy and the Environment. 24(6). pp.551-
564.
Antonioli, D., Mancinelli, S. and Mazzanti, M., 2013. Is environmental innovation embedded
within high-performance organisational changes? The role of human resource
management and complementarity in green business strategies. Research Policy. 42(4).
pp.975-988.
Cleff, T. and Rennings, K., 2012. Are there any first-mover advantages for pioneering firms?
Lead market orientated business strategies for environmental innovation. European
Journal of Innovation Management. 15(4). pp.491-513.
Doeksen, A. and Symes, D., 2015. Business strategies for resilience: the case of Zeeland's oyster
industry. Sociologia Ruralis. 55(3). pp.325-342.
Haley, G. T., Haley, U. C. and Tan, C., 2012. New Asian emperors: The business strategies of
the overseas Chinese. John Wiley & Sons.
Kelly, J. R., 2013. Leisure business strategies: what they don't teach in business school.
Sagamore Publishing.
Kernbach, S., Eppler, M. J. and Bresciani, S., 2015. The Use of Visualization in the
Communication of Business Strategies An Experimental Evaluation. International
Journal of Business Communication. 52(2). pp.164-187.
Markus, M. L. and Loebbecke, C., 2013. Commoditized digital processes and business
community platforms: new opportunities and challenges for digital business strategies.
Mis Quarterly. 37(2). pp.649-654.
Mathur, S. S., Mathur, S. and Kenyon, A., 2012. Creating value: successful business strategies.
Routledge.
Segers, J. and Inceoglu, I., 2012. Exploring supportive and developmental career management
through business strategies and coaching. Human Resource Management. 51(1). pp.99-
120.
Staake, T., Thiesse, F. and Fleisch, E., 2012. Business strategies in the counterfeit market.
Journal of Business Research. 65(5). pp.658-665.
Taylor, L., 2014. Practical Enterprise Risk Management: How to Optimize Business Strategies
Through Managed Risk Taking. Kogan Page Publishers.
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Wesseling, J. H., Niesten, E.M.M.I., Faber, J. and Hekkert, M. P., 2015. Business strategies of
incumbents in the market for electric vehicles: Opportunities and incentives for
sustainable innovation. Business Strategy and the Environment. 24(6). pp.518-531.
Wild, J., Wild, K. L. and Han, J. C., 2014. International business. Pearson Education Limited.
Zaefarian, G., Henneberg, S. C. and Naudé, P., 2013. Assessing the strategic fit between business
strategies and business relationships in knowledge-intensive business services. Industrial
Marketing Management. 42(2). pp.260-272.
Online
Pendergrass, K., 2013. Marketing Objectives As SMART Goals And Part Of The Marketing Plan.
[Online]. Available through: <https://blog.udemy.com/marketing-objectives/>. [Accessed
on 23 February 2016].
Strategy theory, 2016. [Online]. Available through: <http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/business-
theory/strategy/business-strategy.html#axzz40zcCMyzf>. [Accessed on 23 February
2016].
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