Reflective Essay: Insights on Business Strategy and Environment

This reflective essay provides a detailed analysis of weekly learnings covering various aspects of business strategy and the international business environment. The essay begins with an evaluation of macro-environmental factors, including the importance of strategic business management, competitive advantage, and stakeholder negotiation. It explores analytical tools like PESTEL and Porter's Diamond model, emphasizing the significance of innovation and the impact of global megatrends. The subsequent weeks delve into the international business environment, discussing strategies for market penetration, the roles of globalization, and the impact of environmental forces on multinational enterprises. The essay also examines the importance of environmental analysis tools, resource-based and market-based views, and the significance of supply chain relationships. It highlights the roles of shareholders, stakeholders, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The essay concludes by discussing the importance of maintaining a healthy psychic distance, joint ventures, and strategic alliances in achieving business objectives.

Running Head: REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON WEEKLY LEARNINGS
Reflective Essay on weekly learnings
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

1REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Table of Contents
Week 2:............................................................................................................................................2
Week3:.............................................................................................................................................2
Week 4:............................................................................................................................................3
Week 5:............................................................................................................................................4
Week 6:............................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6

2REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Week 2:
Within this week various macro environment factors regarding a business environment
both internally and externally were evaluated. The level of competencies. The importance of
strategic business management which most of the leaders seek to deal with. They strive to arrive
at a preferable solution after evaluating various environmental factors. The essence of
competitive advantage, the unique properties that separate a business firm from the other rival
firms. The role of negotiation among the stakeholders, regarding profit sharing criteria (Zaridis
et al., 2014).
The use of the analytical tools regarding market-driven or positioning perspective to
analyse the various external factors of the business environment. The use of PESTEL to examine
the business environment.
However, the primary learning within this week is regarding business strategy.
Formulation of strategy by identification of opportunities. The essence of evaluating national
industry and market forces by making use of Porter’s Diamond model. The reason why some of
the industry and specific countries are successful in their business. The essence of the base in
one’s own domestic country. Innovation is the key to business success. The role of mediocre
countries and globalisation for shaping the business undertakings. The essence of 5 megatrends
Digitalization, Demographic change, Climatic Change, Urbanization, and Globalization
(Fainshmidt et al., 2016).
Week3:
Within this week much of the exposure was acquired concerning the international
business environment. How strategies do takes the business firm to the next level by making use

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of aspects like dimensions, path, drivers, and inhibitors. The various environmental forces that
affect the MNE’s. The various forces of global integration and Coordination. Globalisation
essence and its various drivers, they are market factors, cost factors, environmental factors, and
competitive factors. Required criteria for market penetration, product standardization, activity
concentration, uniform marketing, and integrated competitive moves (Khadartseva et al., 2014).
There exists a need to evaluate the buyers, sellers and the taste preference of the buyers
with that of the firm’s potential to satisfy the existing needs, firm’s resources and the rival firm’s
potential. The various obstacles of barriers to entry such as capital requirements, economies of
scale, product differentiation, access to distribution channels, government policy and expected
retaliation. However, key learnings like on which motive a business firm should aim towards, the
motives are market segmentation in respect of which segment to make product offerings.
The arena of competition and co-operation, each of the individual body to be evaluated
they are the buyers, sellers, competitors, Intermediaries, firm’s potential. How an existing
product does fail to survive for a long period, every product has a product cycle when one stage
passes another stage reaches and so on, it is a continuous process, how industry changes with
time by making use of the creative. Thus the introduction of innovation in the business
undertakings for development and growth (Taylor et al., 2014).
Week 4:
Taking into consideration this week lectures, the essence of making use of the
environmental analysis tool is acquired. The analysis tool helps in depicting out the core
competencies, unique properties, negative default areas, strength and weakness of the concerning
business firm. By comparing this aspect with those of the rival firms helps to carry on the

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business at a more convenient point. What are the dynamic demands and the need to avail the
demands to the needy consumers to sustain the business firm.
It is the innovation within the business firm that takes the business to the next height and
differentiates one firm with that of another firm. The product offering properties should be
different from that of the rival business firms to penetrate the international as well as domestic
market. It is the vision of the managers and other contributing bodies that together create an
innovative offering (Souto et al., 2015). The need to observe the business firm as a resource-
based view and market-based view. The two different perspectives will yield two different
outcomes.
The importance of maintaining a positive and healthy relationship among the chain
supply, the chain supply comprises of inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics,
marketing and sales department. Moreover, the business firm should make sure that whether they
require a vertical marketing system (VMS) or horizontal marketing system (HMS).
Week 5:
According to this week lectures, knowledge regarding shareholders was acquired. There
is a need for the business firm to understand the motive of the individual shareholders; they
invest with the vision to acquire a certain amount of profit. There exists a CSR both for the
business firm and for the environment as well. It is the CSR that ensures that the business
undertaking should be carried out in a legal manner (Spence et al., 2016). The difference in the
taste and preference that exists among the shareholders and the stakeholders, both are the
primary asset of the business firm and are required to be satisfied as each has their contributions
towards the business firm.

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It is the shareholder and stakeholder who are the main contributors towards the
organisations business. The shareholder is the investors that invest in the business preceding, and
the stakeholders are the internal as well as external bodies which comprise of customers, brokers,
banks, auditors, sellers, governments, and many more.
However, there exist some business firms who are not much success because they pretend
to follow the legal guidelines and act according to the CSR policy. However, this is the firms
who are responsible for their loss.
Week 6:
There is a need for psychic distance as such that within the business premises having
bond and attachment directly results in hampering of the business activities. Maintain a psychic
distance is positive as such that it helps in keeping a relationship healthy and focus on the
business objective. The concept of joint-venture a firm can undertake business moves with joint
contribution from the other firms as such that the burden of work will be divided among two or
more joint ventures (Griffith et al., 2014).
This also eliminates the necessity of financial capital requirements, and the risk-bearing
capacity of the concerning business firm also increases a lot.
However, a strategic alliance is also a kind of joint activity in which a firm irrespective of
remaining independent in nature work together towards the attainment of the one or more
common objective. This is most useful in a situation when the business firm is new and stable in
the domestic market but has huge potential for growth within the international market. As such
that the business firm can undertake a partnership with the international market only upon profit

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bearing objective, while the business activities of the independent organisations remain as per
their business process.
References
Fainshmidt, S., Smith, A. and Judge, W.Q., 2016. National Competitiveness and Porter's
Diamond Model: The Role of MNE Penetration and Governance Quality. Global
Strategy Journal, 6(2), pp.81-104.
Griffith, D.A. and Dimitrova, B.V., 2014. Business and cultural aspects of psychic distance and
complementarity of capabilities in export relationships. Journal of International
Marketing, 22(3), pp.50-67.
Khadartseva, L.S. and Agnaeva, L., 2014. Globalization and business ethics. In Сборники
конференций НИЦ Социосфера (No. 16, pp. 148-153). Vedecko vydavatelske centrum
Sociosfera-CZ sro.
Souto, J.E., 2015. Business model innovation and business concept innovation as the context of
incremental innovation and radical innovation. Tourism Management, 51, pp.142-155.
Spence, L.J., 2016. Small business social responsibility: Expanding core CSR theory. Business
& Society, 55(1), pp.23-55.
Taran, Y., Boer, H. and Lindgren, P., 2015. A business model innovation typology. Decision
Sciences, 46(2), pp.301-331.
Taylor, P.J., 2014. Competition and cooperation between cities in globalization. Urban
Competitiveness and Innovation, p.139.

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Tjemkes, B., Vos, P. and Burgers, K., 2017. Strategic alliance management. Routledge.
Zaridis, A.D. and Mousiolis, D.T., 2014. Entrepreneurship and SME's organizational structure.
Elements of a successful business. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 148,
pp.463-467.