Strategic Management: Analysis of Bang and Olufsen Case Study

Strategic Management

Table of Contents
Set 1.................................................................................................................................................3
Introducing the case.........................................................................................................................3
Evaluation of Strategy and its impact on decisions and activities of company...............................3
Strategic directions at business unit level....................................................................................4
Strategic directions at corporate level..........................................................................................5
Analysis of External and Internal Factors.......................................................................................6
External Analysis.........................................................................................................................6
Internal Analysis..........................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
Set 2...............................................................................................................................................10
Group Presentation....................................................................................................................10
Set 3...............................................................................................................................................14
Individual reflective essay.........................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................18

Set 1
Introducing the case
Strategic management refers to management of organisational resources in strategic manner to
reach goals and objectives of the company. Strategic management consider all the important
factors that affect and influence success of the company. This report will contextualise Bang and
Olufsen (B&O) is a luxury Danish consumer electronics company that designs and manufacture
audio products, television sets and telephones. Company was founded in 1925 by Peter Bang and
Svend Olufsen and is headquartered in Struer, Denmark. Bang and Olufsen after successful
operations experienced significant losses in year 2008 and 2009, followed by this a restructuring
plan was developed by company development of different types of products along with products
for automotive industry. Bang and Olufsen is a famous Danish and well known luxury brand of
its industry around the globe. This is because of the experience that they are providing to
customers with help of effective technology. There are several competitors of the company in
which companies offering personal audio systems as well as audio systems for automotives are
included. Competitors of the company involve Sennheiser, Bose, Beats, Shure and Dynaudio.
This report will discuss about analysis of environment of the market with help of different
models that are PESTLE, Porters five Forces, and industry lifecycle to understand external
environment and will also involve Value Chain, VRIN and SWOT analysis models for internal
environment.
Evaluation of Strategy and its impact on decisions and activities of company
Strategies can be defined as set of actions that are developed and designed so that organisations
can achieve its goals and objectives. Strategies in organisation guide different activities that are
aimed at achieving goals and realising vision of the organisation. There are different types of
strategies that are developed and employed by organisations on the basis of different areas of the
organisation and different levels of the job. Mainly strategies are created and employed at
different levels of business that are known as corporate level and business unit level.

Strategic directions at business unit level
Business unit level refers to level in organisation that is responsible for management and
operations of individual business of the organisation. Strategies at business unit level
significantly affect and influence performance of each business of the organisation. Strategic
directions at business unit level involve different strategies that are related to particular
department, division or function of the company that represent a specific business function. This
strategy is part of firm’s value chain activities. In context of Bang and Olufsen it can be related
to particular organisational function or this can be based on strategies for different products of
the company. Bang and Olufsen is involved in different businesses as it develops different
products. Strategies at this level are visible through success of different functions of the
organisation in terms of their contribution to overall success in achievement of organisational
objectives. Company’s decision and activities that gets affected at this level of strategy involves-
 Determination of products and their production in terms of quantity and quality that is
likely to be marketed by Bang and Olufsen, this is an important strategy and decision at
business unit. This mainly is concerned with production function of the Bang and Olufsen
and also is concerned with decisions regarding individual product of decision Bang and
Olufsen.
 Other than product and decisions regarding production and actions that gets affected by
business unit level strategies involve decision and actions regarding financial aspect of
business, marketing and promotion, sales and packaging, human resource and other
supportive elements. These factors and elements involve those elements that affect
overall success of the organisation.
In context of Bang and Olufsen company has developed different products and still working on
them.
Abandonment Strategy
In this context when company stop further production of a particular product in a product line
this is also a business unit level decision. This is however concerned with corporate level
decision but business unit decisions and actions get significantly affected by this. For example-
due to economic crisis and poor performance of Bang and Olufsen in terms of profitability,