Strategic Management: Course Discussion Posts and Analysis

This document comprises a series of discussion posts focusing on strategic management principles and their application in various business contexts. The posts delve into key concepts such as vision and mission statements, strategic objectives, and SWOT analysis, with specific examples from com...Read More

Running head: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: DISCUSSION POSTS
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Discussion Post 1
Part A
As stated by Taiwo, Lawal and Agwu (2016), the vision statement formulated by the
founding fathers of the corporations needs to be brief, should have clarity, needs to be a
challenging one, should outline the organization’s purpose, its focus or desirable goals and
others. Furthermore, the vision statement of the corporations should also match with its success
measures for it to be effective. The vision statement of Marriott Hotel is “To become the premier
provider and facilitator of leisure & vacation experiences in the world” (Marriott.com, 2020). An
analysis of the vision statement of Marriott makes it apparent that it is not only brief, clear, a
challenging one but also clearly states the hotel’s purpose, goals or focus. Thus, it can be said
that it is an effective vision statement. However, the limitation of this vision statement is that it
does match with the success measures undertaken by Marriott.
Eryılmaz and Eryılmaz (2016) are of the viewpoint that the mission statement of a
corporation needs to explain the reasons for the existence of the corporation, it needs to aim high
but not be an impossible one and it should also be valued by the society. The mission statement
of Marriott is “To enhance the lives of our customers by creating and enabling unsurpassed
vacation and leisure experiences” (Marriott.com, 2020). This is an effective mission statement
since it not only aims high but also explains the reasons for the existence of the corporation, is
realistic and also valuable for society as well.
Part B
Strategic Objective 1: To offer the best quality hospitality and leisure services to the customers

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Specific The specific goal is to take into consideration the needs and the
requirements of the customers in the best possible manner within the
hospitality and leisure services which are being offered by the hotel
Measurable The attainment of this goal can be measured through the enhancement in the
number of customers availing the services offered by the hotel
Attainable This is a completely attainable goal provided the needs or the requirements of
the customers are being taken into account in the best possible manner for the
designing of the hospitality and leisure services offered by the hotel
Relevancy This is a relevant goal since it would enable the hotel to offer the best quality
hospitality and leisure services to its customers
Time-Bound 1 Year
Strategic Objective 2: To improve the leisure experiences of the customers in the best possible
manner
Specific The specific goal is to design the leisure services by taking into account the
most important emerging trends
Measurable The attainment of this goal can be measured through by collecting responses from
the customers regarding their satisfaction with the leisure services offered by the
hotel
Attainable This is a completely attainable goal provided adequate strategies are being used
by the hotel
Relevancy This is a relevant goal since it would enable the hotel to improve the leisure

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experiences of the customers in the best possible manner
Time-
bound
I Year
Strategic Objective 3: To create value of its customers and also for the environment through its
hospitality and leisure services
Specific To design the hospitality and leisure services which would provide value to
the environment and also to its customers
Measurable The attainment of this goal can be measured through the assessment of the impact
of the business activities of the hotel on the environment and also through the
analysis of the satisfaction of its customers
Attainable This is an attainable goal provided effective strategies are being used by the hotel
Relevancy This is a relevant goal since it would enable the hotel to create value for its
customers and also for the environment
Time-
Bound
1 Year

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References
Eryılmaz, M. E., & Eryılmaz, F. (2016). Change emphasis in mission and vision statements of
the first 1000 Turkish organizations: A content analysis. In Organizational Change
Management Strategies in Modern Business (pp. 352-362). IGI Global.
Marriott.com, (2020). Marriott- Home Page. Retrieved 13 February 2020, from
http://www.marriott.com/
Taiwo, A. A., Lawal, F. A., & Agwu, E. (2016). Vision and Mission in Organization: Myth or
Heuristic Device?. The International Journal of Business & Management, 4(3).

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Discussion Post 2
The below given table offers an insight into the strengths and the weaknesses of the
corporation McDonald’s-
Strengths Weaknesses
McDonald’s enjoys a positive brand image
within the fast food industry not only because
of the high quality of food products offered by
it to the customers but also on account on its
long history as well.
McDonald’s over the years had failed to
effective develop the food products offered by
it or for that matter to adequately use the
process of product innovation (Schmid &
Gombert, 2018)
McDonald’s enjoys a strong market position
not only in its domestic market, that is, USA,
but also in the other host nations in which it
operates like Australia, Canada, UK, India,
France and others (McDonalds.com, 2020)
The food products offered by the concerned
corporation are high in calorie content because
of which the consumers of the same face
different health issues like obesity and others
(Gottdiener, 2020)
The effective focus of the corporation under
discussion here on the attribute of quality
rather than on the aspect of quantity over the
years had not only enabled the corporation to
acquire a unique market position but also
helped to attain the desired level of success as
well.
The corporation over the years had faced
different kinds of HRM issues which in turn
had adversely affected the growth of the
corporation. In addition to this, it had also been
seen that the corporation had faced various
legal disputes in some of its host nations like
Saudi Arabia and others (Schmid & Gombert,
2018).

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The usage of effective digital marketing
strategies is another strength point of the
corporation (Dixit, 2017)
The high level of dissatisfaction among the
different franchise holders of the corporation is
an important weakness of McDonald’ (Schmid
& Gombert, 2018).
References
Dixit, D. (2017). Global marketing strategies of McDonald’s Corporation (with Reference to
India and Russia). IJAR, 3(1), 870-875.
Gottdiener, M. (2020). The theming of America: American dreams, media fantasies, and themed
environments. Routledge.
McDonalds.com, (2020). McDonald’s USA: Burgers, Fries, Salads & More. Quality Ingredients.
Retrieved 13 February 2020, from https://www.mcdonalds.com
Schmid, S., & Gombert, A. (2018). McDonald’s: Is the Fast Food Icon Reaching the Limits of
Growth?. In Internationalization of Business (pp. 155-171). Springer, Cham.

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Discussion Post 3
The below given table offers an insight into the threats and the opportunities that the
corporation McDonald’s presently faces-
Threats Opportunities
The high competition or rivalry that
McDonald’s presently faces within the fast
food industry is an important threat that the
concerned corporation is presently facing
(Schmid & Gombert, 2018)
McDonald’s has the opportunity to undertake
product innovation and thereby offer the kind
of fast food products which would be in
synchronicity with the needs or the
requirements of the customers. The effective
usage of this particular measure is also likely to
help the corporation to overcome the fierce
competition which it faces within the fast food
industry
The customers have reduced the consumption
of the different fast food products on the score
of the different health ailments or for that
matter the health issues that they are presently
facing like obesity, diabetes and others
(Gottdiener, 2020)
The corporation has the opportunity to offer
completely organic food products to its
customers. This will enable the corporation to
take into account both the pricing needs of the
consumers and also their taste requirements as
well.
McDonald’s in the present times had
struggling to perform financially well in the
different host nations of its operations which in
The corporation has the opportunity to take the
help of the process of personalized marketing
for the purpose of adequately influencing the

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turn had become major threat that the
concerned corporation presently faces
(McDonalds.com, 2020).
buying behavior of the consumers of the
nations in which it had not been able to
perform adequately (Dixit, 2020)
References
Dixit, D. (2017). Global marketing strategies of McDonald’s Corporation (with Reference to
India and Russia). IJAR, 3(1), 870-875.
Gottdiener, M. (2020). The theming of America: American dreams, media fantasies, and themed
environments. Routledge.
McDonalds.com, (2020). McDonald’s USA: Burgers, Fries, Salads & More. Quality Ingredients.
Retrieved 13 February 2020, from https://www.mcdonalds.com
Schmid, S., & Gombert, A. (2018). McDonald’s: Is the Fast Food Icon Reaching the Limits of
Growth?. In Internationalization of Business (pp. 155-171). Springer, Cham.

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Discussion Post 4
Starbucks takes the help of the product differentiation strategy to distinguish the products
which are being offered by it from the ones offered by its major business rivals (Voigt, Buliga &
Michl, 2017). Kostovetsky and Warner (2019) are of the viewpoint that the usage of the product
differentiation strategy requires the business corporations to distinguish the products or the
services offered by them from their rivals by effectively focusing on the attributes of cost,
quality, performance, better service and other attributes for the purpose of attaining a sustainable
competitive advantage. In the particular context of Starbucks, it is seen that the taste or for that
matter the superior quality of the coffee offered by the corporation is the fact which distinguishes
the concerned corporation from its rivals (Starbucks.com, 2020). Thus, by adequately focusing
on the attribute of quality or taste the concerned corporation had been able to attain the desired
level of success not only within the beverage industry of USA but also in the other nations of the
world despite the fact that it takes the help of premium pricing model because of its effective
focus on the attribute of quality. Furthermore, it had been seen that the adequate usage of this
particular product strategy had enabled the concerned corporation to not only distinguish the
products offered by it from its rivals or competitors but also hold a monopoly within the
beverage industry for a very long time now (Honack & Waikar, 2017). This aspect of the
products offered by the corporation under discussion here had also enabled the concerned
corporation to attain sustainable competitive within the beverage industry as well.
References
Honack, R., & Waikar, S. (2017). Growing big while staying small: Starbucks harvests
international growth. Kellogg School of Management Cases.

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Kostovetsky, L., & Warner, J. B. (2019). Measuring innovation and product differentiation:
Evidence from mutual funds. The Journal of Finance.
Starbucks.com, (2020). Starbucks Coffee Company. Retrieved 13 February 2020, from
http://www.starbucks.com
Voigt, K. I., Buliga, O., & Michl, K. (2017). Globalizing Coffee Culture: The Case of Starbucks.
In Business Model Pioneers (pp. 41-53). Springer, Cham.

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Discussion Post 5
The business corporation Apple over the years had emerged as one of the most important
corporations which takes into account the aspect of ethics, social responsibility and also uses
environmentally sustainable policies which in turn had directly contributed towards the growth
attained by the concerned corporation. In this connection, mention needs to be made of the
women empowerment and women equality policies followed by the concerned corporation.
More importantly, it is seen that around 38% of the workers of the concerned corporation are
women workers and the corporation is also taking active measures for the enhancement of this
percentage of women workers within its workforce (Apple.com, 2020). Furthermore, the women
workers of the corporation are being treated on par with the male workers of the corporation and
thus adequate management or leadership skill development training programs are being
organized for them so as to help them acquire the skill sets which will enable them to get
promoted. As a matter of fact, it is seen that more than 45% of the business leaders, business
managers or the top management employees of the corporation are women (Apple.com, 2020).
In addition to these, it is also seen that the corporation in a bid to enhance the diversity of its
workforce is offering adequate amount of employment opportunities to the individuals from the
different minority groups (Apple.com, 2020). Along with these, the corporation under discussion
here is presently also trying to reduce its ecological footprinting as well so as to contribute in a
positively manner towards the improvement of the condition of the environment while reducing
the damage caused by it towards the same (Apple.com, 2020).

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References
Apple.com, (2020). Apple- Home Page. Retrieved 13 February 2020, from
https://www.apple.com