Business Strategy for Commonwealth Bank Australia

RUNNING HEAD: Business Strategy
Business Strategy
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Business Strategy 1
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Business Strategy.............................................................................................................................2
Company Background.....................................................................................................................3
Current and Past Business Strategies...............................................................................................4
Critical Evaluation...........................................................................................................................6
Recommendation for Future Business Strategies............................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................10

Business Strategy 2
Introduction
The purpose of this report is to enlighten the reader about the background information of the
company Commonwealth bank and its past and future strategies as well. The report evaluates the
meaning of business strategy along with the background information of the company as well. It
future analyses the current and past strategies of Commonwealth Bank Australia initiated in the
market from last 5 years. The critical evaluation of the activities of the company defines the
actions taken by the organization that are favourable for the growth or not. Lastly, the report
evaluates the future business strategies that Commonwealth bank should utilize in order to
achieve success in the target market. A business strategy refers to a set of decision and actions
that are organized in the business process with an aim to help the business succeed in their
defined goals developed. The business strategy of an organization is formed by the management
that helps them in formulating actions, making decisions, allocating work etc. Commonwealth
Bank is an Australian multinational bank that operates its business across UK, New Zealand, the
United States and Asia. The Commonwealth Bank is the largest Australian listed organization on
Australian Securities Exchange. Further, more details about the report are discussed below:
Business Strategy
A business strategy refers to the strategy that helps an organization in reaching specific business
objective within time. A strategic plan succeeds because of the business strategy implemented by
the organization in the target market. So, it can be said that a business strategy is a working plan
of an organization that helps them to achieve its vision, prioritize objectives, compete
successfully and optimize the effective financial performance with the business model of the
company. An effective business strategy helps the company in gain competitive advantage in the
market and sustaining their position as well. Even if a business has well-qualified resource, then
also it will not achieve success if it does not have an adequate business strategy (Schlagwein,
Thorogood, and Willcocks 2014). Thus, it is very important for companies to make use of an
effective business strategy in order to compete and gain their position in the target market. The
business strategy formed should value the objectives of the company and align the business
model as well. Three basic business strategies present in the environment were proposed by

Business Strategy 3
Porter that are cost leadership, differentiation and focus. Under the cost leadership business
strategy, the companies focus on reducing the cost of their production. While in differentiation,
the companies focus on differentiating the products and services in the market than the
competitors. Lastly, the focus strategy emphasizes on a particular niche market and understand
the dynamics of that market in order to help the company to focus on one thing and succeed in
the target market (Dell'Atti, et. al., 2017).
Company Background
Commonwealth Bank Australia, commonly known as CBA or CommBank is an Australian
multinational bank. The bank provides a variety of financial services to the customers in the
market. These services include retail, institutional banking, business and insurance, fund
management, broking services, superannuation, and investment. The CommBank is the largest
bank present in Southern Hemisphere. The company was founded in the year 1911 by the
Australian government and it was fully privatized in the year 1996. Commonwealth Bank is a
part of the big four Australian banks along with NAB (National Australian Bank), ANZ and
Westpac. The bank was listed on ASX in the year 1991. CBA has headquartered Sydney and has
more than 1100 branches and 4300 ATMs in total. The company works with more than 51800
employees worldwide. The bank has been struck with various controversies like data loss of 20
million people, 2008 financial planning scandal etc. (Commbank 2018). The company is
working under the leadership of Matt Comyn (CEO and MD). CommBank is Australia’s largest
retail bank that offers a wide range of products and services to the customers including credit
card, savings account, loans and transaction services (Commbank 2017). The bank has the
largest branch and ATM network as well. It also offers various help and services to people who
are aiming to move into Australia. The bank provides its internet banking services through
NetBank. The NetBank allows the customers to manage their account, transfer funds, and
manage to save, saving goals and access assets and liabilities as well. The ban also provides its
mobile application to iOS and Android users. CBA has its subsidiaries in Australia that are
named as Commulnsure, Colonial First State, Commonwealth Securities and Bankwest. In New
Zealand, the subsidiaries are called ASB and in Asia-Pacific, they are called AMTD Group
Company Limited (Hong Kong), Colonial National Bank (Fiji) and PT Bank Commonwealth
(Indonesia) (Chanthadavong 2014).