Strategic Management: Personal Development Plan for Business Analyst

This assignment showcases a student's strategic personal development plan designed for a business analyst role. The plan begins with identifying personal missions, emphasizing the importance of identifying needs, bridging gaps, advocating for employees, and delivering solutions to the company. A SWOT analysis is conducted, highlighting the analyst's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within the business context. The plan also focuses on clarifying values, such as reducing project costs and facilitating communication. The second part of the assignment is a strategic report that focuses on the relationship between strategies, stakeholder expectations, and organizational performance, particularly for Tata Consultancy Services. It includes an executive summary, an introduction to the company, a discussion on strategic management, and a PESTEL analysis to assess the impact of political, economic, cultural, and technological factors. This analysis explores the company's resource-based theory, stakeholder engagement, and sustainability strategies, providing a comprehensive overview of the business environment and strategic planning.

Running head : STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Assignment Task 1: Strategic Personal Development Plan
Begining
The research paper has selected these goals as because these are the goals
which the business analyst has in their lives. Goal setting is a powerful process
for thinking about the ideal future. These gal swill motivate me and turn my
vision into reality in the future. The process of setting goals will help me
choose where is want to go in life. The goals which I have set will be attained
by setting out various strategies, activities and services in my career. First I
have set smaller goals to achieve. After being an expert in the area I will be
achieving higher goals.
Identify personal mission
Every profession has a very sophisticated business structure which has a certain mission
that is attached with it. These mission includes the job duties, deliverables that are attached with
the job and meeting the targets that are assigned with the job. However the mission of the
Business Analyst is created by the Business analyst only. Few of the points which i found
important in achieving the missions of a Business analyst are identifying needs, Bridging the
gap, Advocating and Delivering needs to the company.

2STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
 Identifying the needs – Meeting the basic requirements of the job is my first priority of a
business analyst. It is known to require few sets of skills which helps in meeting the
requirements. The requirements includes both verbal and hand written.
 Bridging the gap –I should be able to transform the unknown to known which further
delivers business solutions. In a very complex multi divisional business environment
delivering the right solution is not a proper way. The business analyst is known to
involve and engage each and every party along with the stake in the problem and
provides proper solution to them. According to the authors (Moutinho and Vargas-
Sanchez 2018) the business analysts are known to resolve various types of disputes and
conflicts which appear in a business, negotiate the priorities and preaches the needs
across the organization. Be it in the core business values or in the intricate technological
needs the business analyst will have to fight many fronts in the same time. Therefore in
order to get a bird’s eye views of the whole business I should be able to bridge the gap
between various departments. A very good example of bridging the gap can be provided
by saying that if an organization is bringing new technologies in the organization’s core
functional department, it might be challenging for few of the departments in the
business. Therefore the business analyst helps the company in bridging the gap of the
challenges faced by them by bringing the employees of the department onto the same
page.
 Advocating – Once the employees working in the organization is helped by bridging the
challenges faced by them the work of the business analysts id to see that if they are able
to work properly in the new environment. This is known as advocating the employees in
a broader scheme of things. If a company is facing an problem or challenges with the

3STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
stakeholder involvement then the business analyst provide solution to the intertwined
processes. They might use a right combination of division of specific business languages
and proper tones that will pitch the benefits in addressing the needs.
 Delivering needs to the company – According to the author the most important work of
the Business analyst is to deliver the promises which were made to achieve the goals of
the business. I should always take care of the work of the departments which are
working together in order to achieve the group goals. The person will be seeing that the
promises made are converted in to reality and tangible outcome or solution. For this the
business analyst will have to work with the delivery team in order to meet the group
gaols. However the ultimate success of the business analyst lie in the successful
executions of the solutions and checking the end user satisfactions of the company.
SWOT analysis Of a Business Analyst
Strengths
 The work of the business analyst is to often work
with the needs of the business and support
recognition of problem and challenges faced.
 They interact with multiple levels of the
organization that is by strategically, tactically
and operationally.
 Gains experience and supports in corporate
direction in achieving the enterprise structure,
stakeholder needs and business process.
Weakness
 The main weakness of the business analyst is
the lack of knowledge with various types of
organization.
 Developing and understanding the career
path of the business is one of the greatest
weakness of a business analyst.
 There is no promotion in career of a business
analyst which creates a lack of gaining
knowledge in the career path of the person.
Opportunities
 The business analyst has various opportunities in
driving and accelerating the change management
Threats
 Agile restricts the business analyst to
function properly in the business

4STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Clarification of values
The business analyst is known to add values to the organization so as by reducing the cost
of the projects which the organization works with. I will help the organization by reducing the
ongoing process of reworks in a business. This will reduce cost to the business by managing all
the environmental factors, timeline of the salary and thoroughly budgeting the projects which
will be followed by the departments present in the organization. All of a sudden if the business
analyst is implementing a new plan in the operations of the business and if by any reason it gets
complex, defects come in then the business analyst will have to propose a change request in the
process authors (Moutinho and Vargas-Sanchez 2018). I will thus have to bring in some analysis
into the project figure out what is needed and propose a rework time to the top management of
the business. However a good business analyst helps the organization by presenting proper
solutions, creating a logical decision making process, reminding the employees in the department
to go through the new process and build the communication gap. Thus I will help the
organization by facilitating communication gap among the department.
End
I am constantly keeping a track of the progress update of the goals which I have achieved
and those which are yet to be achieved in life. In order to track the implementation of the
goals in career I will take feedback from my clients and note them down. After analysing
the feedback received from the clients and employees I will be able to judge myself if I am
going in the correct direction or not.

5STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Assignment Task 2: Strategic Report
Begining
The research paper has selected these goals as because these are the goals which the business
analyst has in their lives. Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about the ideal future.
These gal swill motivate me and turn my vision into reality in the future. The process of setting
goals will help me choose where is want to go in life. The goals which I have set will be attained
by setting out various strategies, activities and services in my career. First I have set smaller
goals to achieve. After being an expert in the area I will be achieving higher goalsExecutive
Summary
The aim of the research paper is to focus on the relationships between the strategies
imposed, stakeholders expectations, and the performance of the organization in the present
scenario. It will therefore indentify and further evaluate the impacts of the external factors on the
strategic management in the international market mainly in the political, economic, cultural and
technological factors. The paper will also thoroughly explain the strategy which is used to
encourage the business innovation and change in the environment. It will comment on the
strategies on which the company is gaining success. In the later part it will conclude with
developing and implementation plan for the strategies which the paper has developed.
Introduction

6STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Tata Consultancy Services is a leading global IT service, consulting and a business
solution organization which ahs been recognized as one of the best company to work in the
Middle East. The company is known to have an individual HR body and is known as the Top
Employer Institute for the last three consecutive years. The company is known to have more than
25 yeras of experience and is recognized world’s leading organization in the field of HR
management and employee conditioning. The company also provides optimum environment for
the employees in order to develop their career both personally and professionally.
Strategic Management
The stakeholders who are present in the company are treated as the partners of the
company value creation process. The stakeholders are vital to the operations of Tata Consultancy
Service Company operations including their material feedback to the strategies implemented by
the firm. This helps in planning the forms of the backbone of our value creation process. There is
an active stakeholder engagement mechanisms such as the investor relations, human resource
employment management, marketing and sales procurement.
The sustainability strategy of the company is founded on a very sound understanding of
the issues which are faced by the stakeholders. The stakeholder’s engagement process is known
as the only relationship the company has with the strategic management of the company.
The Resource based theory of strategic management theory is conditioned on the fact that
the resources are not homogenous in nature and are limited in mobility . The company can
therefore these resources and the capabilities in to strategic advantage if they are found
vulnerable, inimitable or rare. I decided to settle on this approach rather than some other one
because this approach involves knowledge based economy, the tactic knowledge specialist skills

7STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
of the employees will be very difficult for the competitors to imitate. It also engages effective
communication process which can be very easily transferred into explicit knowledge. It will thus
help the firm in developing dynamic operational capabilities that will help the firm to adapt any
changes in the environmental factors. The firm will also be able to change its resources which
are based on certain technologies, leading it to meet the competitive challenges and goals. Thus
Tata Consultancy Service Firm will not have to fold its business operations, it will be able to
outperform its competitors over a very long period of time (Moutinh and Vargas-Sanchez
2018).
However the company this ensures a strong relationship with the suppliers, stakeholders
and strategies across the value chain so as by engaging them in the surveys which depends on the
customer satisfaction, ethical practices and environmental factors. The company has also planned
for developing new and small business for their suppliers who belong to the community which is
mainly underprivileged.
PESTEL Analysis
Political factors – The UAE is a major marjet for TCS which is closed to almost 16% of the
revenue which is generated from this geographical place. The immediate law which is imposed
on the company has lead to a depreciation in the GDP by almost 10 to 15% (Lieder and Rashid
2017). This has madev an effect on the bottom line and top line functioning of the company.
Another impact of the company is the low business visibility and uncertain economic condition
of the company. The new law which has been passed by the government is the Brexit. This has
been passed through the regards of the UAE Prince.

8STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Economic factors – The large workforce of the company is leading g to a increase in the
operating cost of the company. The company has a huge amount of workforce that is more than
387,000 employees as of the year 2018. The attrition level is steady hovering around 15%. The
cost of the revenue has increased from 56% to 59.90% in the financial year of 2017(Lieder and
Rashid 2017). Therefore the attrition of the employees who have higher level of experience in
the firm also has an increase in the salary pay slip of the company. Information technologies like
TCS will be also benefiting from the SEZ scheme that is the Special Economic Zone by the
government of the country. This scheme will provide the company with breaks in taxes and
duties will be marked free. The tax breaks is marked up to the approaching 10 working years of
the company on setting up development centres in approved location.
Social factors – The TCS Group is majorly known for the brand reputation and for its
ethics in the business. The flagship company with the global brand reputation in conducting the
business properly. This image of the company helps them in building the trust with the
consumers and clients. However according to the authors Anderson and Sun (2017) the
company is involved in employee volunteer investments and in the Information Technology
schools in UAE. The company also funds an encourages much volunteering activities through
employee and customer relationship and active participation in the activities. Moreover it also
conducts various educational programs which has the main focus in developing the weaker
students. The company is helping them in order to get a head start in understanding the
technological industry.
Technological factors – It is the era of technology where people are very much interested in
using new ways of technology. The consumers also expect the companies to adapt to the
technologies according to the latest trends. TCS has been always known for adapting to the new

9STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
technological trends under its domain. It has the best customer service facility which is fully
updated with the latest trends available in the market. This has led to the success in the company.
TCS is known to have the latest mark up technologies in all its centres and technological hubs all
over the country in managing all its services. The customers of the company are thus always
found happy and content with the services provided by them.
Environmental Factors – There are certain environmental factors such as the environmental
pollution factors and water wastage factors which are the concerns of the company in UAE. The
preservation of the environmental factors has always been a concern for the company. It should
thus abide by the global concerns which are related to the environment of the earth. TCS has
been known as the top most courier service provider in UAE. Therefore maintaining the position
in the market is very essential for the policy makers of the company. Therefore in order to
conclude it can be said that the company should consider all the aforementioned factors related
to the environment. This will help the company in achieving the goals and overcoming the
hurdles.
Legal factors – TCS highly regulates and follows the laws which are under the UAE laws, rules
and regulations. These factors are something which cannot be undermined. Ignoring these legal
factors can be fatal and lead to huge loss for the company. Therefore the company should
regulate the basic laws, rules and regulations set by the UAE Government in those places where
they are working or having their centres.
These factors can directly or indirectly impact the business on a long term business
performance. The tool is very useful when the company is starting new business in a new

10STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
location or is expanding internationally. The use of the PESTLE Analysis will give the company
a clear understanding of the situation and related internal and external factors.
Relevant Business Strategy which encourages and supports innovation and change
According to the author the TATA group has made the innovation part of the business
DNA which helps them in setting up a way for handling new and relevant ideas and making
creative thinking a performance criteria. The Chief Technology Officer of TCS who is Mr.
Annath Krsihnan speaks that the steps which are taken to simulate innovative thinking. 10% of
the revenues were directly traceable by the innovation activity of the company. The company has
also set further goals for the recognition of the customers through their innovations. The latest
technological change or innovation brought in the company is the TCS Innovista where the
company has launched research and innovation techniques for small companies and autonomous
infrastructure, personalized medicine and use of smart machines. The company has a research
and innovation lab which provides the company with various kinds of innovation technologies in
order to drive the future capabilities and create impact for the society and the customers.
The company also follows the change management strategies in oder to bring an
organizational change and remain competitive in the market. The most important change
management strategy which is followed by the company is redefined cultural values. According
to the author Auty and Furlonge (2019) it is the only way to drive the employees of the company
by redefining the organizational cultural values. The company has successfully established a
culture of continuous improvement which is one of the best way ton change the mind and heart
of the employees who are asked to change the way they work. If they also bring inside them the
idea of change then they will very easily improve and upheaval the change management.

11STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Lewin’s Change Model
According to the author Furlonge (2019) stagnation mans decline which is one of the
most famous saying of many dynamic organizations all around the world. This is the reason why
reorganizations, adjustments, and other types of changes takes place within the organizations.
Therefore most of the employees who are working in the organization for a long period of time
might not be happy with the changes in the organization. In order to handle these properlt the
company should use the “ Unfreeze- Change-Refreeze model or the Lewin Change Model which
clearly describes the three stages about the general changes which will be made.
In the Unfreeze stage people realize that something will be changed and the employees
will be dealing with them with strong emotions such as denial, impatience, doubt and
uncertainty. Therefore it is the responsibility of the business to clearly disclose the state of affairs
and explain the advantages of change management and innovation in the business. As a result of
clear communication they will try to change. In the change state the employees slowly tends to
change within a short span of time. Therefore this stage is most popularly known as the move
stage. In the Refreeze state the employee are prone to accept the change and adapts the changes
in the organization fully for the long term (Anderson and Sun 2017).
Organizational Strategy and Competitors Strategy
TCS is known to use Differentiation strategy which is an approach in developing a
unique product or a particular service which the customers will be finding better than or in
another way distinctive from the products and services offered by the competitors in the
segment. Differentiation strategy is a way for the business which distinguishes itself from the

12STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
competitors in the market. With the help of the Differentiation strategy the company us able to
provide low cost global delivery of goods and services (Samuel and Sommers 2017). It has also
been able to focus on the relationships of customers and customer retention which increases the
business revenue. The differentiation strategy provides low end services in terms of cost and
revenue. This helps the company to contribute towards the success.
TCS has its biggest competitor in the market which is Infosys. However the company is
known to follow Cost Leadership strategy. The cost leadership strategy is one of the strategy
where the company is the most competitively priced product on the market. Therefore making
the products and services offered the cheapest one in the market. Infosys is known to use the cost
leadership strategy to become a cost leader in its industry (Hill 2017). The company manages its
value chain actively by lowering the cost throughout the entire supply chain. Infosys also takes
care of the quality offered to the customers of the company. If the company is a cost leadership
then it have to look after the quality offered because if there a decrease in the quality the
customers might shift to the other companies.
Evaluation of leadership styles
The company can bring in the technological changes inside the organization. With the
help of the technological changes the company will be able to increase the efficiency of the
employees who are working in the organization. With the technological changes the overall
output of the company will increase without the excess increase in the inputs. This will reward
the company with the same amount of work. For this types of technological changes TCS can
implement Coach – style leadership structure in the organization (Auty and Furlonge 2019).
Similarly to the sports team’s coach, the leader present in various departments will focus in

13STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
identifying and nurturing the individual strengths of the members present in the team and help
them to increase the productivity as an overall (ElMahdi, Samhi and Farrag 2019). This will
help them to focus on the strategies which will enable their team work better together. Therefore
it will prove more emphasis on the growth and success of the employees who are working
individually in a team (Walsh and Martin Ginis 2015). Rather forcing them to do the same task
the coach or leader will help the employees focus on similar skills and goals and build the skills
of the employees.
Implementation Plan
Basis of changes Initial
implementation
Plan
Accessibility Time Required Expenses
1. Web
platform
Updating personal
data
Peoplesoft
Integration
2 month $2000
2. Creation of
new sites
External web
bridges
New employee
login
1.5 month $2.500
3. IR partner
incentives
Help desk role Basic
personalization
2.3 month $6300
4. Tactic
knowledge
specialist
skills of
the
Getting Employee
Direct Access to
work
Basic
communication
issues
4 month $1600

14STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
employees
It is very important to maintain and fulfil the stakeholders expectations as because the
stakeholders are the lifeblood of effective project relationships. This means that the company
should not only know the stakeholders but also understand their unique communications at
various points of projects. TCS fulfils the stakeholders expectations by managing them and
properly communicating with them (Abril, Malvar and Martín 2018). They might have different
expectations like addressing various issues, resolving the conflict situations and achieving the
project goals. TCS actively manage the stakeholders expectations which likely helps the
company in achieving higher success in their business. The project manager of different teams
continuously negotiates and influences the desires of the stakeholders to achieve strict
conformity of project goals (Al Sayari 2018).
Recommendations
In order to conclude the above research paper it can be said that the company is working
on the innovations and change management where the company is improving its operations in
UAE every day. The company keeps a focus in the technological innovations and change
management because it will help the company to increase the overall output from the employees
whereas there will not be any change in the input of the resources. The company is also known to
follow the differentiation strategy which helps it to gain advantage over its competitors in the
market. It has it research and innovation lab where the company keeps on innovating new
technologies in order to achieve success.

15STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Conclusion
The above research comes to conclusion where the paper has focused on the relationships
between the strategies imposed, stakeholders expectations, and the performance of the
organization in the present scenario. It has identified and further evaluated the impacts of the
external factors on the strategic management in the international market mainly in the political,
economic, cultural and technological factors. The paper has thoroughly explained the strategy
which is used to encourage the business innovation and change in the environment which makes
the company a competitive one in the market.
End
I am constantly keeping a track of the progress update of the goals which I have achieved
and those which are yet to be achieved in life. In order to track the implementation of the
goals in career I will take feedback from my clients and note them down. After analysing
the feedback received from the clients and employees I will be able to judge myself if I am
going in the correct direction or not.

16STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
References
Ashames, A., AlAbdin, S.Z., ElMahdi, F.E., Samhi, A. and Farrag, M., 2019. Qualitative and
quantitative characterization of hazardous triclosan traces in household personal care soaps
marketed in UAE. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, 11(1), pp.89-92.
Al Sayari, A., 2018. UAE Balance of Payments Challenges and Innovative Compilation method.
IFC Bulletins chapters, 48.
Abril, C., Santos, J.L., Malvar, J.L., Martín, J., Aparicio, I. and Alonso, E., 2018. Determination
of perfluorinated compounds, bisphenol A, anionic surfactants and personal care products in
digested sludge, compost and soil by liquid-chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Journal
of Chromatography A, 1576, pp.34-41.
Auty, R.M. and Furlonge, H.I., 2019. The Rent Curse: Natural Resources, Policy Choice, and
Economic Development. Oxford University Press, USA.
Yahaya, R. and Ebrahim, F., 2016. Leadership styles and organizational commitment: literature
review. Journal of Management Development, 35(2), pp.190-216.

17STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Anderson, M.H. and Sun, P.Y., 2017. Reviewing leadership styles: Overlaps and the need for a
new ‘full‐range’theory. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(1), pp.76-96.
Arnold, K.A., Connelly, C.E., Walsh, M.M. and Martin Ginis, K.A., 2015. Leadership styles,
emotion regulation, and burnout. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 20(4), p.481.
Amanchukwu, R.N., Stanley, G.J. and Ololube, N.P., 2015. A review of leadership theories,
principles and styles and their relevance to educational management. Management, 5(1), pp.6-14.
Samuels, M. and Sommers, S.L., 2017. What is the impact of leadership style and strategy on
Business Performance and Transformation?.
Ansoff, H.I., Kipley, D., Lewis, A.O., Helm-Stevens, R. and Ansoff, R., 2018. Implanting
strategic management. Springe
Moutinho, L. and Vargas-Sanchez, A. eds., 2018. Strategic Management in Tourism, CABI
Tourism Texts. Cabi.
Hill, T., 2017. Manufacturing strategy: the strategic management of the manufacturing function.
Macmillan International Higher Education.

18STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Lasserre, P., 2017. Global strategic management. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Williams, N.J., Glisson, C., Hemmelgarn, A. and Green, P., 2017. Mechanisms of change in the
ARC organizational strategy: increasing mental health clinicians’ EBP adoption through
improved organizational culture and capacity. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and
Mental Health Services Research, 44(2), pp.269-283.
Jose, P.D., 2016. Business and society: creating shared value: in conversation with NR Narayana
Murthy, Founder, Infosys. IIMB Management Review, 28(1), pp.43-51.
Thomas, A.S. and Lukose, A., 2018. Financial statement effects on convergence to IFRS-A case
study of Infosys limited. research journal of social sciences, 9(8).
Garud, R. and Kumaraswamy, A., 2005. Vicious and virtuous circles in the management of
knowledge: The case of Infosys Technologies. MIS quarterly, 29(1).
Hlupic, V. ed., 2002. Knowledge and business process management. IGI Global.

19STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Storey, J. and Barnett, E., 2000. Knowledge management initiatives: learning from failure.
Journal of knowledge management, 4(2), pp.145-156.
Maier, R. and Hadrich, T., 2011. Knowledge management systems. In Encyclopedia of
Knowledge Management, Second Edition (pp. 779-790). IGI Global.
Liebowitz, J. and Megbolugbe, I., 2003. A set of frameworks to aid the project manager in
conceptualizing and implementing knowledge management initiatives. international Journal of
project management, 21(3), pp.189-198.
Cagliano, R., Caniato, F. and Spina, G., 2003. E-business strategy: how companies are shaping
their supply chain through the internet. International Journal of Operations & Production
Management, 23(10), pp.1142-1162.
Lieder, M., Asif, F.M., Rashid, A., Mihelič, A. and Kotnik, S., 2017. Towards circular economy
implementation in manufacturing systems using a multi-method simulation approach to link
design and business strategy. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology,
93(5-8), pp.1953-1970.
Thompson, A., Strickland, A.J. and Gamble, J., 2015. Crafting and executing strategy: Concepts
and readings. McGraw-Hill Education.

20STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Lieder, M., Asif, F.M. and Rashid, A., 2017. Towards Circular Economy implementation: An
agent-based simulation approach for business model changes. Autonomous Agents and Multi-
Agent Systems, 31(6), pp.1377-1402.