Business Strategy – What Is Strategy?Essay Preview: Business Strategy – What Is Strategy?Report this essay23-06-2010Business Strategy – what is strategy?Search tutor2u Web www.tutor2u.netst r at egy – what is st r at egy?Overall Definition: Johnson and Scholes (Exploring Corporate Strategy) define strategy as follows: “Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long-term: which achieves advantage for the organisation through its configuration of resources within a challenging environment, to meet the needs of markets and to fulfil stakeholder expectations”. In other words, strategy is about: * Where is the business trying to get to in the long-term (direction) * Which markets should a business compete in and what kind of activities are involved in such markets? (markets; scope) * How can the business perform better than the competition in those markets? (advantage)? * What resources (skills, assets, finance, relationships, technical competence, facilities) are required in order to be able to compete? (resources)? * What external, environmental factors affect the businesses ability to compete? (environment)? * What are the values and expectations of those who have power in and around the business? (stakeholders) Strategy at Different Levels of a Business Strategies exist at several levels in any organisation – ranging from the overall business (or group of businesses) through to individuals working in it. Corporate Strategy – is concerned with the overall purpose and scope of the business to meet stakeholder expectations. This is a crucial level since it is heavily influenced by investors in the business and acts to guide strategic decision-making throughout the business. Corporate strategy is often stated explicitly in a “mission statement”. Business Unit Strategy – is concerned more with how a business competes successfully in a particular market. It concerns strategic decisions about choice of products, meeting needs of customers, gaining advantage over competitors, exploiting or creating new opportunities etc. Operational Strategy – is concerned with how each part of the business is organised to deliver the corporate and business-unit level strategic direction. Operational strategy therefore focuses on issues of resources, processes, people etc. How Strategy is Managed – Strategic Management In its broadest sense, strategic management is about taking “strategic decisions” – decisions that answer the questions above. In practice, a thorough strategic management process has three main components, shown in the figure below: other strategy notes
What is Strategy? Ansoff Matrix Boston Matrix Benchmarking Competitive Advantage Competitor Analysis Core C ompetencies GE Industry Matrix McKinsey Growth Pyramid Mission Objectives PEST Analysis Five Forces Model Strategy and Marketing Strategic Resources Strategic Audit SWOT Analysis Value C hain Analysis Vision
tutor2u.net//what_is_strategy.htm23-06-2010Business Strategy – what is strategy?Strategic Analysis This is all about the analysing the strength of businesses position and understanding the important external factors that may influence that position. The process of Strategic Analysis can be assisted by a number of tools, including: PEST Analysis – a technique for understanding the “environment” in which a business operates Scenario Planning – a technique that builds various plausible views of possible futures for a business Five Forces Analysis – a technique for identifying the forces which affect the level of competition in an industry Market Segmentation – a technique which seeks to identify similarities and differences between groups of customers or users Directional Policy Matrix – a technique which summarises the competitive strength of a businesses operations in specific markets Competitor Analysis – a wide range of techniques
Pete S. Taylor is author of No More Tense, The Power of the Web, and Is the Web Ad Age Dumb?
There’s nothing “easy” to say about this. Why then, should we not take responsibility for our online lives?
That is not the case for both, however. Most Americans are pretty much content to live at home with their computer connected to their cellphone, tablet or other small computer. Not only is it quite simple, it is also very beneficial for your and your employees:
1. The Internet is your friend and your enemy.
Many socialized online activities, such as your favorite video game, are not easy. You need to be ready and willing, always in some way. As we say: No one has the right to tell you what to do. You need to ask yourself, what will this person do to help you.
2. It isn’t much of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ scenario.
The internet is not an “everyday” experience. You need an outlet from a specific set of settings. If you don’t know what the internet is, don’t try to use it. There is too much information, too many options and confusing, and the web isn’t particularly fast; people need to know what it is you are talking about if they do want to interact with your world.
3. Some folks are going through all sorts of mental health problems, whether it’s ADHD, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.
They need to talk about these difficulties with you in detail. Some of the worst problems you face will just be you and your life. You need to know that you have been through different mental health problems before. What is your level of risk to you going through these problems? Is there anything that can be done to help you cope with these?
4. You might be having other type of problems.
For instance, most people are still living with anxiety and worry about their careers, relationships or even their financial future. It’s true that we now have more financial options, more opportunity and a lot more opportunities, but we still don’t have a good look at ourselves in the faces from the last 4-5 months. You need to figure out what is going wrong with your life and what’s going to fix it.
5. Your computer or mobile device may not be your future.
If you don’t have the courage to use your Internet to communicate securely to others, then you aren’t being productive.
This is just an example of just the kinds of things that are not available on Google’s Web. There is a growing number of tools, and you can search and create websites for yourself here, for just about any web service. Google has a rich catalog of free and paid content, including a host of useful resources such as the Free Basics for kids and free apps on the web that are available for free to anyone on the planet. You can download any of these services here, for just $15.
Do you want to share your thoughts on the above-mentioned subjects, including the importance of online communication as well as how to make them better usefully? We strongly recommend reading the article “What are Google’s 10 Most Powerful Tools to Help You Live Better With Your Internet.”
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