Strategic Management Report: Analysis of Sainsbury's Environment

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Sainsbury's strategic management. It begins with an introduction to strategic management and its importance, followed by an in-depth examination of Sainsbury's internal environment, including the process for determining strategy, prioritization of objectives, plan development, execution, and review. A SWOT analysis is presented to assess the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The report then delves into change management, focusing on Kotter's 8-step model and its application to a scenario involving employee attendance issues. The report explores the steps of Kotter's model, providing insights into implementing change within the organization. The report also discusses potential setbacks during the change process, such as employee resistance. The conclusion summarizes the key findings, and references are provided.

Strategic Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Analysis of internal environment.................................................................................................1
Change management....................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Strategic Management refers to a process under which an effective strategy for the
purpose of the implementation of plans in the organizations is framed (Broman and Robèrt,
2017). Thus it becomes quite important from the point of view of the managers so that they are
able to raise the bar of efficiency, effectiveness and productivity level in the firm. For this report,
Sainsbury's has been considered. It is British retail company which deals in groceries and other
related products. In this report, there will be specific focus on process used by the organizations
for determining strategy, evaluation of tools which they can use for determining it, setbacks
suffered by organization during change process. Additionally, focus will be made on importance
of change management as a part of this project.
MAIN BODY
Analysis of internal environment
In the organizations, there is a particular process which can be used so that they are able
to determine their strategy in a highly effective manner (Demir, 2017). The process which can be
used by Sainsbury's is as follows-
 Determination of strategic position- It is quite important to determine the strategic
position (Jain, Jain and Metri, 2018). The managers of Sainsbury's are required to carry
out their assessment of the market to identify the factors which are able to create an
impact on them. Thus in this manner they will be able to determine the strategic position
of the firm in the right manner.
 Prioritizing the objectives- In the firms it is important that the required priority can be
given to the objectives. In the context of Sainsbury's, it is quite important that the
management is able to analyse the situation of the company and set the objectives
accordingly. Thus in this way the management of the company will be able to give the
desired priority to the objectives by arranging them in the order in which they should be
achieved.
 Develop a plan- There is an importance in the organizations for the purpose of
developing a specific plan. Therefore, In Sainsbury's it is important that the right plan is
framed for the purpose of achieving short-term, medium-term and long-term goals and
objectives. Thus, In this manner the management will be able to make a proper strategy
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which will help it a lot in achieving a much-required competitive advantage over the
various competitors in the market.
 Execution and management of plan- It happens when the plan is ready and can be
implemented quickly. In Sainsbury's, it is crucial that the managers are able to execute
the plan and manage it accordingly. In this manner the strategy can be managed
effectively and efficiently in an appropriate manner in the organization.
 Review and revise the plan- It can happen once the plan has been already implemented.
Therefore, In the context of Sainsbury's it becomes important that the plan can be
reviewed and revised so that the problems and issues can be identified and can be solved
effectively and efficiently. Thus accordingly the plan can be managed in the right manner
for achieving the specific goals and objectives of the firm.
Analysis of environment-
The business environment of the organization refers to the sum total of the various types
of internal and external factors which can create an impact on the firms (Kantur, 2016). It
contains two parts- Internal environment and External environment.
For analysing the internal environment of the organization the use of SWOT analysis can
be made by the organizations. The SWOT analysis in the context of Sainsbury's is as follows-
SWOT analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
 Sainsbury's has a large customer base
which allows it to ensure that it is able
to sell more of its products and services
to the various types of customers.
 The company provides quality products
and services to the customers which
allows it to ensure that it is able to earn
higher-level of profits from the
customers.
 The business philosophy which is being
used by the organization is quite good
which allows it to ensure that it is able
 The organization is lagging behind
some of its competitors in the terms of
execution of its marketing strategy.
Therefore this is creating an impact on
the level of profits which it is earning
in the market.
 The enterprise has not been able to
execute some of its strategies
effectively which is creating problems
and issues for it.
 Due to the change in the retail market
structure the company has been
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to cater its customers by fulfilling their
needs and requirements.
 The firm can make use of innovative
promotional strategies which allow it to
ensure that it is able to create a right
strategy for the purpose of application.
operating on lower profit margins
which is creating an impact on its
functioning.
 The costs of The enterprise have been
increasing constantly since the last few
years which is creating an impact on
the profits which it is earning.
Opportunities Threats
 The company can expand to various
other countries which offer it plenty of
scope to earn more profits.
 The firm can bring innovation in its
products so that it is able to ensure that
it can target new customers in a highly
effective manner.
 The company has an opportunity for
aiming to have higher market share
through which it will be bale to expand
its business and the customer base.
 Digital marketing offers an opportunity
to the organization so that it is able to
ensure that it can target the customers
using its different techniques which
will help it a lot in enhancing the level
of profits effectively and efficiently.
 The enterprise faces a higher-level of
competition in the market which is
creating an impact on it.
 The company is also facing a threat
from the higher-level of tax rates which
are being levied by the government
which can create an impact on the
overall level of profits which the firm is
earning in the market.
 The economic slowdown has created an
impact on the company as it has
affected the prices of the products and
services which it is providing in the
market.
 The substitute products which are
offered at a much cheaper rate than the
organization's products are impacting
the level of profits of the organization
because some of the customers prefer to
purchase these cheaper substitute
products.
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Change management
Change management refers to a process in which the organizations plan and bring the
change which is required in the firm by making use of techniques and methods (Li, 2017). For
the purpose of bringing change the use of suitable models can be made. Kotter and Lewin's
models are quite useful in implementing the desired changes in the organization.
Scenario- In Sainsbury's, some of the employees are reporting late for work. Also there
have been frequent cases of absenteeism among the various workers which is hurting work
productivity and the achievement of the different types of goals and objectives in the
organization. Therefore, the HR managers of the organization are planning to bring a structural
change in the organization's attendance process so that the workers report on time and there are
less cases of absenteeism among the employees of the company which will raise the level of
overall efficiency, effectiveness and productivity.
For the purpose of implementation of this change the use of Kotter's model can be made.
The application of this model in Sainsbury's is as follows-
Kotter's 8-step change model-
In this model, there are various steps which can be taken so that the management of the
change can be done in the right manner in the organization (Lorincová and et.al., 2018). Thus in
this way it is crucial that the steps of this model is applied in the right manner in Sainsbury's so
that it can allow it to implement its new attendance system for the employees.
The different steps of the model can be applied in the following manner in the company-
Step 1: Urgency- Here, a sense of urgency can be developed in the organizations so that the
change is accepted in the organizations. Therefore, In the context of Sainsbury's it becomes
crucial that it is able to motivate its employees and convince them by making use of proper
methods and techniques which will help them to be able to accept the change related with the
new attendance system.
Step 2: Forming a powerful coalition- In big organizations, there is a requirement to form a
coalition and change teams which can help in implementing the change quickly by managing to
convince the employees to accept the change. In Sainsbury's, the coalitions and change teams are
required to be formed which will help a lot in convincing the employees that a change in the
attendance system is required in the firms.
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Step 3: Creating a vision for change- The organizations require that a vision is created so that
the change is effectively implemented. There is a requirement for setting a vision because a
vision will help in planning properly for the purpose of ensuring change implementation in the
organization. In the context of Sainsbury's the requirement is to ensure that a proper vision is
framed so that the change related to Attendance System can be implemented for the employees
raising the level of overall efficiency, effectiveness and productivity level.
Step 4: Communication of the vision- When the vision has been set in the organizations it is
required to be communicated so that appropriate strategies can be framed for the purpose of
bringing the desired change. Thus, Sainsbury's managers can communicate the vision when
required. This will help them a lot in implementing the change related with Attendance System
in the firm in the right manner.
Step 5: Removal of obstacles- It is crucial for the firms to ensure that the various types of
obstacles are removed from the process of change. Therefore, In Sainsbury's, it becomes very
important that the obstacles in the process of implementation of new attendance system is
identified and they are removed which will ensure that the change process can be implemented
helping the company to raise the overall efficiency, effectiveness and productivity.
Step 6: Create Short-term wins- As the process of implementing change in the organizations
faces problems it is highly necessary to enjoy short-term wins (Mehdikhani and Valmohammadi,
2019). Thus, In the context of Sainsbury's it is very important that these wins are celebrated
which can allow the company to be able to implement the change in attendance system so that
the workers are able to accept it.
Step 7: Build on the change- In the change process, it is crucial that the firms are able to build
up on the process which has been initiated for the change process. Thus, for Sainsbury's it
becomes very important that it is able to identify the appropriate process for initiating change
related to the attendance system and can build up on it which will be quite helpful for it in
achieving its goals and objectives effectively and efficiently.
Step 8: Anchor the change- It is not only important to implement the change process but it is
equally crucial to anchor it so that it becomes a mainstay in the organization. In the context of
Sainsbury's, it is very crucial that the managers are able to make the change related with
attendance system in the organization stick which will help it a lot in maintaining the proper
functioning of the various processes.
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When a change is introduced in a company an organization can face different types of setbacks.
Some of them are explained as follows-
 Resistance by the employees- When the management of a company wants to implement
the change process it can face resistance from the different workers (Sarpong and
Meissner, 2018). This can be due to the reason that some of the employees may not want
the change to be implemented in the organization and thus can create resistance towards
it. Thus Sainsbury's can face this resistance by the workers when it wants to implement
the change related with the attendance system.
 Lack of efficiency of the management- The management of the company may lack
efficiency which is desired for the purpose of introducing the desired change in the
organization (Shah and et.al., 2019). In the context of Sainsbury's, this can lead towards
problems and issues in implementing the change related to attendance system for the
employees.
 Inadequate communication- In the firms, the change process can face a setback if the
requirements of the change are not communicated properly in the different departments
(Shih and et.al., 2018). Thus, In Sainsbury's the change related with attendance system
can face a setback if the communication is not done sufficiently with the employees.
 Lack of resources- The organizations can face this setback in their change process when
there are lack of resources for implementing the change within their overall processes
(Younis, 2017). Thus, In the context of Sainsbury's this can lead towards an setback if the
resources are not available in sufficient quantity to implement the change related with
new attendance system for the workers.
Therefore for the companies it becomes important that they properly plan and execute a
change management process. The importance for doing this is explained as follows-
Making people ready for the change- When there is proper planning and execution of a
change management process it helps in making people ready for accepting the change (Zhang
and et.al., 2020). Thus, In Sainsbury's the requirements from the managers is that they should be
able to initiate change related to attendance system and ensure that the people become ready to
accept it. They should act responsibly and help in explaining the importance of change to the
people.
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Solving the problems- Proper planning and execution of a change management process
is quite helpful in ensuring that the various types of problems can be solved by the company. In
the context of Sainsbury's the change related with attendance problem will face various problems
before it can be finally implemented. Thus the managers of the firm are required to identify these
problems and solve them to allow for a smooth implementation of the change.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that strategic management is a process
through which the managers are able to identify the strategies which can be implemented for the
purpose of achieving advantage over the competitors in the market. Its use is important from the
point of view of management of the companies to set goals and objectives and achieve them. The
firms can make use of a specified process to implement their strategy. The internal environment
can be analysed by making the use of SWOT analysis. There are various models which can be
used for the purpose of implementation of change and among them Kotter's model can be used
for the systematic and step-by-step implementation of the change. The change management
process can face various types of setbacks. It has a particular importance in the organizations and
thus in this way they can be able to implement it in an effective manner in the processes of the
company.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
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strategic decisions and performance. Journal of Management & Organization. 23(4).
pp.504-523.
Lorincová, S. and et.al., 2018. Strategic instrument for sustainability of human resource
management in small and medium-sized enterprises using management data.
Sustainability. 10(10). p.3687.
Mehdikhani, R. and Valmohammadi, C., 2019. Strategic collaboration and sustainable supply
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Sarpong, D. and Meissner, D., 2018. Special issue on ‘corporate foresight and innovation
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Shah, H. A. and et.al., 2019. Promoting strategic performance through strategic orientation and
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Shih, D. H. and et.al., 2018. A Strategic Knowledge Management Approach to Circular
Agribusiness. Sustainability. 10(7). p.2389.
Younis, T. S., 2017. Strategic vision to knowledge management strategy: An evaluative
paradigm. World Sustainable Development Outlook 2007. pp.86-93.
Zhang, X. and et.al., 2020. The micro-foundations of strategic ambidexterity: chinese cross-
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Review. 29(6). p.101710.
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