MGT4023 : Business management and strategic management : Proposed New

Proposed new strategy

Theory of competitive advantage is derived from the increased level of customer values and sustainable development of the organization in this emerging competitive market (Lieder, and Rashid, 2016). In this order to take such a competitive advantages organizations typically adopt product strategy, especially a launch strategy to enhance the existing business as well as attracting new customers towards the new product launch (Leonardi, 2015). In many researches, it has been noted that product launch is one of the riskiest, expensive, and least managed strategies that an organization adopts for business enhancement (Safon, 2007). For making a business sustainable and increasing its customer values product strategy plays a key role. In this case of G8 Education is initiating to provide an additional empowering education to its students. For this organization can implement such a product strategy through launching a new online tool which will connect the students and enhance their learning skills as well as knowledge treasure. With this launch, the organization will serve as a hub for sharing professional development opportunities, fellowship, grants, instructional resources, and best practices in the field of providing child care through education.

Methodology

Management of an organization can approach the strategy implementation on top most priority with perspective planning as well as process approach at different ends. Perspective planning involves moving of the management from strategy to the implementation of action planning through a specific process of setting objectives and different performance controls. This process also includes allocation of resources and motivating people working for the organization through different means (Tansey, Spillane, and Meng, 2014). On the other hand process approach defines that the successful implementation of any strategy depends completely on the behavior of people working in the organization.

G8 Education is initiating this new programme of providing online services to increase its customer value and to gain an additional competitive advantage in the market. With this strategy, the organization will be operating with a maximum number of operating 256 childcare centers along with such facility of online learning for students. With this implementation, the organization will be the only one organization doing so and can use this advantage to enhance the business as well.

In order to implement this initiative of organization different strategies will be used to make this implementation successful and sustainable along with increasing their customer values. Some of the initiative implementation strategies are such as Porter’s Generic Strategy, Strategy Clock, Ansoff’s Matrix. 

Porter’s generic strategies

A category scheme was described by Michael that is consisting of three general strategies commonly used by organizations to take a competitive advantage in the new emerging market. These theories also help the organization to maintain the competitive advantage they achieve. Two different dimensions: strategic scope and strategic strength are used to describe these strategies along with. Strategic scope dimension is the demand side of the organization whereas strategic strength is the supply side along with the strength of the organization in core competition. These three general strategies introduced by Porter are: Cost leadership strategy, Differentiating strategy, and Focus strategy (Tanwar, 2013).

Cost leadership strategy

This strategy of leading the cost market emphasizes the efficiency of an organization that can be enhanced in its products profitability or service efficiency. This strategy states that by producing a mass production of standard products company can hope for an advantage of economic scale as well as experience an effect in curve change of the business success. Such standard product selected for such a big mass production must be a basic standard product that can be produced at a low cost and is available to a large number of customers. In order to be successful, this strategy requires a considerable share advantage in the market as well as preferential access to the raw material, labor, production process, and other components. Successful implementation of this strategy can also benefit from:

• Design of product for easy manufacturing
• Tight cost control
• Engineering process skills
• Close supervision of the process

Differentiation strategy

This strategy aims at the broad market that involves the creation and innovation of products. In the case of G8 education, this strategy can be implemented more effectively to make this implementation more efficient. In this strategy to increase their customer values and sustainability of business introduce a completely new product or provide a premium version of its pre-existing product. Differentiation is a viable strategy that can be used to make an above average business by lowering the cost sensitivity of customer with the brand loyalty of customers.

Focus strategy

This strategy suggests that the organization focus their concentration on particular market segments to make their business more sustainable in those segments only. In case of G8 education’s initiative of starting online service of providing childcare, the organization is focused on only one objective of making the business sustainable.

Strategy clock

In 1992, Bowman has illustrated an interpretation of competitive strategy, upon two dimensions namely price and differentiation, called strategy clock or map. In this illustration organization after identifying the industry average price and degree of differentiation, it can place itself in a simple model of competitive strategies defined as porter’s generic strategies, and on the other hand companies creating more demand are situated in the zone I (position 2, 3, and 4) and those at the opposite end are placed in zone III (position 6 to 8). The important reduction of question about how to compete with six possible competitors positioned from 1 to 5 and 9 was the most interesting factor of the model (Safon, 2007).

                                                               (Source from Safon, 2007, Bowman’s model of strategy clock)

Ansoff’s matrix

This methodology of taking a competitive advantage is mainly used during the recession period. During the recession period, businesses have to keep in mind their core competencies to get the best production from the available limited resources (Leonardi, 2015). Therefore, in the process of taking such decision of forming some optimal product mix and match company strategies with the competitors according to the changing environment, Sir Igon Ansoff's Matrix’s application is inevitable (Chahal, and Khanna, 2016). Below are the dimensions of Ansoff's matrix

Recommendations:

From the above analysis, it is recommended that before implementing an initiative organization must select a best suitable general strategy and must check its strength and efficiency in the recessive market as well. For increasing its customer values and sustainability G8 Education’s initiative of providing its services online through some internet tools comes into the category of differentiation strategy. This strategy has to be tested upon different criteria using some above-discussed theories and models for ensuring its success in achieving its main motive.

Conclusion:

The above discussion on the implementation of the proposed new strategy concludes that before implementing a new strategy for an organization it has to be related with the theories and model provided for analysis of strategy implementation. These theories and models designed for strategy implementation are useful in selecting a right strategy implementation for a new change. Also, models provide analyzing tools by which businesses can check the strength or sustainability of their strategy selected for the market change. Above analysis concludes that porter’s generic strategies will help an organization to select the right strategy while strategy clock and Ansoff’s matrix will help them to analyze the strategy.

References:

Chahal, B, and Khanna, R, (2016) Marketing strategies during financial crunch. The International Journal of Business and Management, 4(4), pp. 440-444.

FIIG, (2013) Case study: G8 Education, [online]. Available from: https://www.fiig.com.au/docs/default-source/debt-issuers-docs/casestudy_g8aug13.pdf [Accessed on 19/09/2018].

Leonardi, P.M., (2015) Materializing strategy: The blurry line between strategy formulation and strategy implementation. British Journal of Management, 26, pp.S17-S21.

Lieder, M. and Rashid, A., (2016) Towards circular economy implementation: a comprehensive review in context of manufacturing industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 115, pp.36-51.

Palinkas, L.A., Horwitz, S.M., Green, C.A., Wisdom, J.P., Duan, N. and Hoagwood, K., (2015) Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 42(5), pp.533-544.

Safon, V, (2007) How to compete and how to compete profitably: A model of competitive positions and business performance. Global Journal of Business Research, 1(1), pp. 47-59.

Saunders, M., Mann, R. and Smith, R., (2008) Implementing strategic initiatives: A framework of leading practices. International Journal of Operations and Production management, 28(11), pp. 1095-1123.

Tansey, P., Spillane, J.P. and Meng, X., (2014) Linking response strategies adopted by construction firms during the 2007 economic recession to Porter’s generic strategies. Construction management and economics, 32(7-8), pp.705-724.

Tanwar, R, (2013) Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies. IOSR Jourrnal of Business and Management, 15(1), pp. 11-17.

Uplekar, M., Weil, D., Lonnroth, K., Jaramillo, E., Lienhardt, C., Dias, H.M., Falzon, D., Floyd, K., Gargioni, G., Getahun, H. and Gilpin, C., (2015) WHO's new end TB strategy. The Lancet, 385(9979), pp.1799-1801.