NABU470 - NewStar Marine & Scooter Inc.: Business Strategy & Policy

This case analysis examines NewStar Marine & Scooter Inc., a family-operated business in Nova Scotia facing strategic challenges despite initial success. The company's strengths include a diverse product range and growing revenue, but weaknesses such as limited marketing, operational inefficiencies, and human resource issues hinder further development. The analysis explores the company's strategic context, including internal and external factors using SWOT and Porter's Value Chain. Recommendations include improving financial management through professional record-keeping, hiring qualified personnel, implementing effective marketing strategies using STP (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning), and developing a comprehensive implementation plan with clear expectations, measurable goals, and regular evaluations. Addressing these issues will enable NewStar Marine & Scooter Inc. to overcome its limitations and capitalize on its growth potential.

North American Business Policy & Strategy
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Introduction
In this case analysis paper, an analysis will be based on "NewStar Marine & Scooter Inc."
It was one of the family operated a business in the Eastern part of Nova Scotia. The business
offered a different kind of products, which range from motors and boats to trailers and scooters.
All the above were sold under a similar roof. Therefore, because it was mainly a family business,
it was considered to be successful. Its sales increased from over $198 thousand during operations
of the first year to over $600 thousand by the end of the third year. All the above success was
realised despite the business's limited marketing, operation strategy which was unconventional
and limited staff, which was even part-time. As of the year 2017, the business had grown
significantly and created several problems due to the lack of effective planning. Among the
problems faced by the company were unsatisfied employees, limitations in terms of facilities,
along with the confusion in terms of the brand.1
The company is faced with problems, which arise due to both external and internal
environments. Internally, the most ineffective issue is the human resource since there is no clear
employment mode. The company is supposed to have employees, whose duties are to ensure
they work towards its goals and objectives. It is therefore a strategic problem to employ a few
and unskilled employees for such a company. On the other hand, the family has several effective
ideas to ensure that the business is enhanced. However, there is a problem of lack of knowledge
to initiate and execute the above ideas. For instance, turning the company's warehouse into a
product show room, having the distribution channels diversified and moving the entire business
to the city are some of the plans in place. The above plans are quite feasible. However, the
1 Ozer, Business ethics course and a proposal for artist oath in fine arts faculties

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family lacks clear decision making skills and do not have an articulate business plan since they
are not qualified enough.
Strategic Context
From the context of a situational analysis, it is clear that the company is faced with
several issues that need to be effectively addressed. From the strategic point of view, both the
internal and external factors in the company need to be taken into consideration.2 From the
strategic context, the company offers a wide range of products like scooters, outboard motors,
electric bikes, inflatable boats along with trailers. It is evident the company has grown
significantly over the past three years with its total revenue tripling. The above trend is a clear
indication that the company has great potential over the coming years. However, due to the
problem of insufficient space, products that do not meet the needed quality and lack of employee
motivation have been one of the main barriers to escalated development. Moreover, competition
from other companies like Costco, Walmart, and Zodiac among others also affected its sales and
profits. Such stiff competition coupled with the quality of the company products, which is not at
the required level affected the company's rate of growth. Therefore, there was need for the
company to effectively address internal bottlenecks like low employee motivation, inadequate
space, improving the quality of its products and investing more resources in marketing. Such
attributes would ensure that company retains its market share, which can further been seen in the
company's SWOT analysis in the appendix.3
In terms of the external analysis of NewStar Marine & Scooter Inc., the porter value
chain will, therefore, be explored. As seen in Appendix A, the manager of the business needs to
2 Arabzad, Improving Project Management Process in Municipality Based on SWOT Analysis,607-612
3 Walton & Buchanan, Motorcycle and scooter speeds approaching urban intersections,335-340

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evaluate each of the above activities to decide with the activities impact the business operations.4
It is clear that the business is associated with activities of storing, receiving and along with
dissemination of the different product inputs. Moreover, operations are undertaken, and the
above activities are done to effectively distribute all the finished products to the different final
buyers through outbound logistics.5 The business further undertakes sales and marketing
activities to ensure products and services are accessed by the customers. The different activities
are marketing, though limited, pricing, and promotion among others. The business infrastructure
has been prevalent over the years, from which expansion has been realised.6 However, there is a
need to ensure that new infrastructure is established to accommodate the expanding business.
Evaluate Options and Recommendation
From the case above, the main problems have been brand recognition, limited marketing
strategies and inadequate operational facilities.
In terms of the company operations, the company has been applying the use of financial
management practices along with applying the use of company structures in the daily activities.
It is however clear to note that the above financial management practices like book keeping
along with the different points of sales have been inappropriate, making establishment of the
company's financial position quite difficult. Because of the above, the company's finances have
either not been appropriately used for the growth of the company or have been misused. The
company's loans have therefore not been able to yield the anticipated returns due to the above
practices. Moreover, it is clear that the company structures have been insufficient for the
4 Madudová, Creative industries value chain: The value chain logic in supply chain relationships,227-235
5 Yan, Chen, Yue, & Fu, STP Approach to Model Controlled Automata with Application to Reachability Analysis of
DEDS, 2027-2036.
6 Yadav, Han, & Kim, Sustaining Competitive Advantage Through Corporate Environmental Performance, 345-
357.

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company to show off all its products. The above has reduced the loyalty of customers along with
compromised quality of the products. In the above regard, I recommend that there is need for
proper operations through professional record keeping through recruiting competent and highly
skilled workers (accountants) to manage the finances of the company for growth and
development.
The other arising issue in the company was the mode of human resource management.
The family has been the main company employees over the years. All the duties in the company
have been entirely under their jurisdiction. On few occasions, part time employees were
employed to offer assistance, although they were unskilled and with no experience. The above
limited the scope and expertise of operations in the company. Therefore, I recommend that the
company hires more qualified and permanent business operators like sales managers, marketers,
accountants among others to ensure that the company is effectively managed.
In terms of marketing, it is important for the business to effectively segment its
customers, do effective positioning and target the right group. As seen in appendix c, STP
involved processes need to be effectively undertaken for proper operations.7 In this case, the
business manager needs to identify the needs of the market and segment the market.8 The above
must be based on market research and informed analysis of customer data. Moreover, the
manager needs to make the evaluation and selection of the target segments after making the
demand analysis. 9On top of that, the manager needs to restructure operations and integrate the
online marketing mix concept in the planning process. Technological advancements must also
be taken into consideration to ensure increased productivity, and produce for the market based on
7 Kampamba, An Analysis of the Potential Target Market through the Application of the STP Principle/Model, 24
8 Lucarelli, Co-branding public place brands: towards an alternative approach to place branding, 260-271
9 Lacroix & Jolibert, Targeting Consumers Who Care about Future Generations, 783-794

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the research public opinion and with ethical boundaries.10 There is need for hiring information
technology persons to create and manage online operation to effectively market the products of
the company.
Implementation
In order to ensure that the above marketing, staffing, facility expansion and effective
branding are done, there is a need for an effective plan to be implemented. The manager needs to
ensure that he determines the organisational process and structure for implementing,
communicating and evaluating the above recommendations. The manager, therefore, needs to
have clear expectation from the concerned teams in each of the above-recommended changes
and have clear expectations of from the different implementations. Therefore, an oversight
committee needs to be put in place with clear implementation and expectations.
In the second phase. The action plans or recommendations need to be clearly reviewed and well
refined. These must be measurable and realistic, with clear responsible individuals recruited with
a high level of competence rates. Timelines, which are realistic along with evaluations of the
available resources established.
The next step is to effectively prepare for implementation. In this case, a concerned committee
ensures that regular contact with the manager to ensure that all barriers are eliminated and
ensuring that the action plans are on track.
Finally, preparing for evaluation. An evaluation of the different refined plans is done at this stage
to access whether there is a success and or the set goals have been achieved.
10 Yu & Shunko, A Quality Value Chain Network: Linking Supply Chain Quality to Customer Lifetime Value

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Bibliography
Walton, D., & Buchanan, J. Motorcycle and scooter speeds approaching urban
intersections. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 48, 335-340. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2012.02.001
(2012).
Mohammad Arabzad an, S. Improving Project Management Process in Municipality Based on
SWOT Analysis. International Journal Of Engineering And Technology, 4(5), 607-612. doi:
10.7763/ijet.2012.v4.443 (2012).
Madudová, E. Creative industries value chain: The value chain logic in supply chain
relationships. Marketing And Branding Research, 4(3), 227-235. doi: 10.33844/mbr.2017.60236
(2017).
Yu, Q., & Shunko, M. A Quality Value Chain Network: Linking Supply Chain Quality to
Customer Lifetime Value. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2979592 (2017).
Lacroix, C., & Jolibert, A. Targeting Consumers Who Care about Future
Generations. Psychology & Marketing, 32(8), 783-794. doi: 10.1002/mar.20818 (2015).
Yan, Y., Chen, Z., Yue, J., & Fu, Z. STP Approach to Model Controlled Automata with
Application to Reachability Analysis of DEDS. Asian Journal Of Control, 18(6), 2027-2036.
doi: 10.1002/asjc.1294 (2016).
Kampamba, J. An Analysis of the Potential Target Market through the Application of the STP
Principle/Model. Mediterranean Journal Of Social Sciences. doi:
10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s3p324 (2015).

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Huang, K., Dyerson, R., Wu, L., & Harindranath, G. From Temporary Competitive Advantage to
Sustainable Competitive Advantage. British Journal Of Management, 26(4), 617-636. doi:
10.1111/1467-8551.12104 (2015).
Yadav, P., Han, S., & Kim, H. Sustaining Competitive Advantage Through Corporate
Environmental Performance. Business Strategy And The Environment, 26(3), 345-357. doi:
10.1002/bse.1921 (2016).
Lucarelli, A. Co-branding public place brands: towards an alternative approach to place
branding. Place Branding And Public Diplomacy, 14(4), 260-271. doi: 10.1057/s41254-017-
0085-3 (2018).
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Analysis. International Journal Of Business And Management, 7(24). doi:
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Appendix A: Potters value chain
Appendix B: SWOT Analysis
Strength weaknesses
 The company has a wide range of
products. Moreover, the business has
a formidable position in terms of
market leadership in the marketing
and sales industry.
 The company revenue models,
which are diverse.
 The business has formidable brand
recognition in the market along with
a successful product mix.
 For the weakness, the business is
faced with a problem of few
employees and therefore replacing
the current experts and recruiting new
ones will be more difficult given the
current company trend.
 Business models in the industry have
changed over the years and therefore
there is a need to build a robust
logistics and supply chain network,

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which may be quite expensive.
 The business is further faced with a
problem of limited investments in the
products (scooters) which are
demanded most by customers.
 More so, in terms of operations, the
business needs to come up with a
new business model, which integrates
vendors, end users and suppliers.
 Also, there is a less effective
customer network, which has been
promoted by the business over the
years.
Threats opportunities
 The ever-changing environment
politically along with the
unfavourable trade relations between
Chain and USA.
 Poor operational strategies, limited
marketing, and limited skilled
human resource are some of the
other threat facing the business.
 Some of the opportunities that the
business has are the ever growing
economy.
 Moreover, the rates of inflation are
low, changes in the preferences of
customers along with the accelerated
technological advances and
innovations.

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Appendix c: STP model
Appendix D: PESTEL analysis

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