Category: Business Strategy

Introduction

A successful business organization will always invest heavily in marketing strategy in order to develop a marketing mix that yields the best results as well as making the organization earn a competitive advantage over its competitors. Marketing competition in the current business climate has advanced significantly such that a company that lags behind in terms of satisfying customers or in terms of innovation may find it difficult to survive the storm. Marketing mix has been defined by Kotler and Scheff (1996, p. 42) as the set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target market. According to Stone (2001, p. 54), a marketing mix may be explained as a tool that plays the role of balancing the 4Ps of marketing (products, price, place, and promotion) to create a marketing strategy that yields results. In addition, the mix should be flexible/dynamic in order to adapt to the changing market climate and therefore deliver the right product at the right price in the right place and at the right time (Stone, 2001, p. 54).

Generally, there are four elements in a marketing mix namely place, product, price and promotion, each of which plays a significant role in creating a utility to the customer. Every activity in the organization focuses on satisfying the customer needs and therefore marketing collaborates with other organizations functions in order to enhance the accessibility of the companys products, as well as influencing the appeal of the products to the target customers. It is therefore important to have a marketing mix strategy that will address all the pertinent issues dealing with marketing decisions and strategies. Depending on the target market situation, the components of the marketing mix may be altered to fit into the needs and demands of the target market, for example where the target market is affluent and high-income earners, the price may not be a big issue but quality and promotion may play a key role in establishing the product. A well-organized marketing mix will not only satisfy the need of the customers but will also boost the performance of the organization. The focus of this paper is to describe the elements of the marketing mix and how they impact the development of the marketing strategy and tactics of Wal-Mart.

Elements of the marketing mix

Product

Product is the most important of the four elements of the marketing mix because it is what the customers will consume; that is even when the other elements are excellent and the customer is not satisfied with the quality of the product, then the whole marketing strategy will fail. The essence of product strategy is to ensure that the product delivered to the customer is actually what the customer wants, putting into consideration the basic characteristics of quality, product definition, product mix, product lifecycle, and branding and packaging (Peter and Donnelly, 2003, p.88).

Product classification is important as it will enhance in organizing the products depending on the market segmentation. For instance, consumer goods may be classified as a convenience, shopping or specialty goods and therefore, based on the market conditions, the company may organize on which products to deliver to the market efficiently and with ease. In addition, where a company is playing in a competitive market, improvement in terms of quality and branding may play a key role in positioning the products in the market. It is therefore important for the company to invest heavily in product development to ensure that its product is always at par with market needs.

Price

In simple terms, price strategy involves applying the most favorable price that the customers are planning to pay vis a vis the price of other competing products in the market. Pricing strategy may be a tricky affair and should be applied with a lot of consciousness as various factors may affect the performance of the product based on the price. For instance, the least price applied should take care of underlying costs and the profit margin, while a price cap should be applied to avoid adverse effects on sales. For a new product, the price should be low in order to attract customers but the same should be gradually raised as the company gains market share (stone, 2001, p. 61).

However, pricing strategy may be affected by psychological factors of the customers in that what may appear to be a fair price in relation to competing products may not be appealing to the customers as they may relate the price charged to the quality of the product. In most cases, although customers will go for the cheaper products, they at times have the perception that cheap is expensive and that the cheap products are of lower quality than the expensive products. Therefore, in making pricing decisions, market segmentation is always important.

Place

As much as the ability to meet the demand of the customers is important, delivering the products nearer to the customers and at the right time is equally important. An organizations effectiveness will be measured on how well its logistics are structured in order to create consumer utility. Depending on the type of business, products may be delivered to the market directly or through middlemen. This will also be affected by the durability of the products. For instance, perishable goods need to be distributed with a lot of speed; and market demand should also be assessed first before acquiring such perishable goods to avoid wastage (Stone, 2001, p. 63).

Promotion

This involves communication to the customers about the availability of the product in the market. Promotion is very vital in the contemporary business environment in that unless the customers know that the product exists, they can never purchase it despite how high quality or well priced it is. Promotion includes communication about the product through advertising, sales promotions, and public relations.

Marketing Mix in Wal-Mart Stores Inc

Wal-mart is a retail store chain dealing with general merchandise, based in the US and with operating units in over 15 countries in the world. It was established in 1962 and has grown over the years to over 8100 retail units around the world (Walmart, 2009).

Wal-marts marketing strategy has been influenced greatly by the marketing mix elements. The availability of various retail chains (such as Tesco) offering the same products in the market has offered a lot of competition and Walmart has reacted to this by trying to differentiate its products and improving the quality as well as investing heavily in innovation. The company has made efforts to ensure it stocks the products that reflect the diverse need of the customers. This is emphasized by the comment that our store of the community concept is helping us&. Whether its locally-grown produce, the hottest seller in electronics or ever-changing seasonal items, we do our best to have the right product in the right place, right when the customers need it (Wal-Mart, 2009). Moreover, the company has diversified its products as evidenced by the introduction of new products such as a new line of play and learning Pre-School Toys and KISS Korner, as well as revamping its Great Value brand to ensure high-quality products are delivered to the customers. In addition to this, the company has taken steps in repackaging its products. Its Great Value brand was repackaged with a well labeled, easy-to-read, and appetizing food photograph package in order to make it easier for customers to identify.

Walmart has also experienced challenges in the pricing of products especially when other products are offering competitive prices. It is in this view that the company has been always alert to make price decisions that positively add value to its customers. For instance, in October, the company launched $10 toys to its customers for the Halloween holiday which is a competitive price compared with other toys (Walmart, 2009). The company has, also endeavored to increase customer benefits across the globe by among other things lowering prices of its goods and boosting customer traffic regardless of where the storage unit is. Indeed the companys goal is to be the low price leader in every community where we operate. Our customers trust us to have everyday low prices& (Walmart, 2009).

The place element of the marketing mix has also had an impact on the company necessitating its expansion to various regions around the world. This is influenced by the need of the company to meet the ever-increasing demand for its products. Moreover, the company has reacted to the high demand by setting up a well-structured logistics division with distribution centers both on the land fleet and online distribution network. Indeed, the company claims that logistics is at the heart of its operations and the company uses the latest environmentally sustainable practices in ensuring that the products reach the customers at the right time. The company has also a fleet of trucks for distribution and claims to have the best truck drivers in the country (Walmart, 2009).

The promotion has also featured prominently in the operations of Wal-Mart. Most competing stores are always promoting their products through advertisements and public relations. In this regard, Wal-Mart has always been advertising its products and stores in all media in order to boost its products in the market. Moreover, the company has invested heavily in public relations through press releases; RSS feeds as well as giving back to the community. The evidence of its outreach to the community is through the comments made by some beneficiaries of the companys activities.

Conclusion

A marketing mix is a powerful tool in marketing a company as can be evidenced by the success of Wal-Mart which is a household name in most global markets. A well-structured marketing mix can not only have a great influence on the performance of the organization but can also ensure the company becomes a market leader by gaining a competitive advantage over its rivals. A successful marketing mix must be dynamic such that it can be changed to suit the demands of the market, and it should also be sound enough to be able to gel with the marketing strategy employed by an organization.

References

Kotler, P. and Scheff, J. (1996). Standing Room Only. MA, Harvard Business Press.

Peter, J. P. and Donnelly, J. H. (2003). A preface to marketing management. McGraw-Hill Professional.

Stone, P. (2001). Make marketing work for you: boost your profits with proven marketing techniques. Oxford, How To Books Ltd.

Walmart. (2009). Walmart. Web.

Introduction

The major corporate-level strategy formulation responsibilities include the following.

Direction setting

Direction setting involves various activities which the management needs to do in order to define and put clarification on the objectives of the organization and they will include identifying and acting upon the major goals of the organization and the overall procedure for businesses integration & management.

Direction setting may also include identifying the corporations vision, objectives, and aims. It also takes into account the type of business organization will involve itself in and the way in which businesses will be integrated and managed.

Development of corporate-level strategy

A good corporation should be able to maximize on its resources to beat up competition on the market, come up with better goods or services than their competitors, therefore corporate strategy very situation, the management will only choose the best to use depending on the nature of its clients, the strength of the competitor and the government policies in that area (Henry & Quinn, pg 32). There are various methods that the management can implement depending on the environment of the business and these includes,

Concentration

Concentration marketing strategy involves targeting of a small group of populated consumers of a product or users of a service. The marketing messages are intended to this segment of consumers or customers but the fact that a company only concentrates on a small targeted customers can be very costly because it ignores the other area of the market and it may be difficult for the company to expand its products (Henry & Quinn, 46).

Vertical integration and diversification

Vertical integration involves expansion of a corporation on different areas but with the same product line in an industry for instance an oil company, which has a single unit firm usually has oil drilled wells, refines its oil, and then sells petroleum at the roadside filling stations. While diversification involves a firm spreading its interests to different industries as long it has got the resources of maintaining itself, diversification can occur at either at business level or at corporate level (Hitt, A & Erickson, pg 28).

Another corporate level strategy responsibility is the selection of competent business and portfolio management, these are good men and women who have what it takes to take the corporation above its objectives, they understand the market and they know their competitors (Priscilla, pg 6). In addition to this there is another responsibility of corporate strategy and this is the act of management resources, there is no firm that has got all the resources it wants. Therefore this calls for proper channel and use of resources to the benefit of the organization, resource management is very important since they are the major in any organization.

How corporate level strategy formulation responsibilities is different from business level strategy formulation responsibilities. Business level strategy is mainly concerned with satisfying the customers needs or their preferences in the market in order to achieve their corporate strategies which include the mission and objectives. The major difference comes in because business level strategy responsibilities call for the management to know who their customers are, what the goods that those customers want are and how the corporation can avail those goods or services to their customers, At the unit level of business, issues of strategic management are minimal in the supervision and coordination of operational units and maximum in competitive advantage sustainability (Priscilla, pg 26).

The strategy initiation phase deals detail actions which are aimed at gaining a competitive advantage, another function is to give a precise decision on how the firm or organization should go about in managing its group of operations.

In addition to this corporate level strategy involves Developing and implementing multi-business strategies may be necessary for effective use of excess resources, capabilities and core competencies that have value across several businesses in order to enhance strategic competitiveness, & earn above average returns.

Why Organizations Diversify

To Increase Economies of Scale

When two companies merge, and these companies produce the same product to their customers, this will enable these two companies to pool their resources together and in the long run they will end reducing their operation costs. The company may benefit from a reduced overhead cost or they can benefit from allocating a larger amount of operation using a limited fixed cost.

Enhancing Market Power by Vertical Integration or Multi-Point Competition: Most companies who have got mergers or acquisitions are able to increase larger market share for both companies especially when they are trading in the same product, and this will be able to fight away competitors who are sharing the same customer base (Priscilla, pg 34).

For Profit Stability: The Acquisition or formation of a merger with new companies can reduce fluctuation in business income by increasing the companys lines of business operations. This typically occurs when the main business depends on sales that are always seasonal.

For Growth: The main reason why most companies diversify is the desire to grow; therefore growth is the main reason for diversification. Normal growth of a company takes time and a lot of resources to achieve but diversification for growth is a quick thing since the staff, technology and in fracture is readily available (Hitt, A & Erickson, 14).

How Marketing Strategies are affected by Firms Business Level Strategy: Growth strategies, which are a business strategy, the firm will only concentrate on increasing its market share while it is ignoring how the firm should create product awareness through advertisement and promotional channels.

In addition to this there is retrenchment strategy where the firms mainly concentrate only on those segments that are profitable while ignoring the efforts of advertisement to promote the products in other segments of the population.

Characteristics Of A Well Developed Functional Strategy: The decisions made on each functional area are consistent with one another. The decisions made in one functional area should be also consistent with those made in other functions. The decisions within functions are and should be consistent with the business strategies.

The Matrix Structure

It is structure which is hybrid in nature which involves the combination of some elements of both functional and production market forms. It is involves the bringing together of professionals having different experience to work together in the organizations projects.

Use of Matrix Structure

It is a type of organizational structure which has two distinct organizational forms and therefore offering the utility benefits of both structures. Many of the well established organizations in the world today have integrated matrix structure where they blend product divisions with geographical divisions. In this particular way they are able to get maximum benefit from both the divisions. Geographical structure is able to enable the organization to increase its product(s) while product based structures is able to make the organization to practice economies of scale. An example of a company which has used matrix structure is Unilever international. An organization which produces many different products and has branches in different geographical regions is advised to use the matrix structure.

Work Cited

Hitt, A & Erickson, M. Performance and experience outcomes of diversification, Journal of Management, 12: 48, 1998.

Henry, M. & Quinn, B. The strategy practice. Harlow: Prentice-Hall, 1988.

Priscilla, K. The Competence of an organization. USA: McGraw Hill, 1990.

Dexcom Corporation is a healthcare company that distributes generic, branded, and specialty pharmaceuticals in the United States. The firms main goal is to offer quality health care and enhance the quality of care through the products provided in the market. This paper will identify business-level and corporate-level strategies and evaluate their effectiveness in the company. It will also analyze the competitive environment and evaluate whether it fits in a fast or slow cycle market.

Business-level strategies

Business-level strategies refer to an organizations specific actions to provide its customers with value and gain a competitive advantage by exploiting its core competencies. It is concerned with the firms position in the industry relative to the forces of competition and its contenders (Hitt, 1, 108). The three business-level strategies that Dexcom has applied to its advantage include cost leadership, segmentation, and differentiation. Organizations are often faced with stiff competition that necessitates the need for market research to obtain essential souk requirements.

Market segmentation enables a firm to yield products tailored to meet the customers needs, which gives it a better chance to utilize the most effective method of executing the market promotion (Hitt, 1, 117). Dexcom serves every market niche using a separate distribution channel to promote competence and ensure that the needs of its customers are met. The company uses a cost leadership strategy as a competitive tool to provide quality products at an affordable price. Dexcom can do this because it acquires cheap raw materials from its suppliers by merging and absorbing them. Product differentiation is a strategy that Dexcom uses to distinguish its products, particularly in the less sensitive segments.

Amongst these business-level strategies, product differentiation is the most important in the long-term success of the Dexcom Company. Dexcom has implemented product differentiation as an essential strategy that has helped it to benefit from a competitive advantage. The company has taken advantage of its market, characterized by exceptional and distinct customer needs that are easily satisfied if it directly produces goods that respond to diversity. Differentiation is an essential tool for business success because it is an intellectual property protected by patents (Hitt, 1, 122). However, competitors tend to establish related products, whereby consumers are convinced to purchase counterfeit products at the same price. Dexcom Inc has benefited from product differentiation because it is an extremely expensive venture involving high costs and time, discouraging other firms from doing it.

The company has maximized its ability to innovate new products and services, attracting new customers and providing long-standing clients with a good reason to purchase its items. That has been made possible by its ability to build economies of scale, hence decreasing the cost per unit. Therefore, the company can manufacture high-quality, varied products, thus differentiating itself from its competitors. Product differentiation has been facilitated by the companys ability to build its capacity and spend money on research, enabling the firm to define its standards continuously. Differentiation strategy might benefit Dexcom in the future because the company is likely to change product designs, features, and names, making them stand out in the market. It will benefit from its core competencies, including developing products using variety and quality features, brand names, and differentiated packaging.

Corporate-level Strategies

Corporate-level strategies refer to business decisions that affect the functioning of the entire company in terms of finances, human resources, management, and the markets where products are sold. These strategies often define a plane that hits a particular target required to achieve a specific purpose (Hitt, 1, 172). Dexcom has implemented various corporate-level strategies to increase its organizational goals and objectives. It has adopted strategies such as growth, diversification, and stability. Growth strategies often entail identifying methods to acquire increased revenue from the sale of the companys goods and services.

Diversification strategy involves developing a plan for successfully marketing the companys products and services. Dexcom has adopted the strategy through a single corporate diversification approach and dominant business modification to become a leader in the niche. Stability strategy is applied in Dexcom to help the company attain its optimum market share. Instead of scaling up, the company has chosen to introduce stability by making cost-efficient processes through cutting costs, automation, and negotiating better deals on some of its distribution margins and raw materials.

A business growth strategy has been adopted successfully, and it is likely to be the most beneficial in the future. Dexcom Inc has been focusing on developing new solutions that enhance the delivery of patient care while driving incremental growth of profit (Cappuchino Finance, 3). This strategy entails multiple growth pillars and considers a comprehensive review of the companys cost structure and operations, designed to enhance efficiency, execution, and the companys performance in the long term. The business growth strategy in Dexcom has been used in the expansion of the supply chain and commercialization of services for both pharmaceutical and manufacturers of medical supplies (Hitt, 1, 175). This also includes the provision of enhanced solutions for the growing pharmaceutical market and the establishment of new offers that strengthen and expand the role played by a retailer in delivering patient care. Dexcom can achieve long-term growth by investing in those areas and simultaneously accelerating its growth trajectory.

The growth strategy will be most successful in the future for Dexcom. Its growth initiatives can be funded by savings made from optimizing its cost and model structure. The growth will occur in multiple phases and will encompass essential functional areas in the organization, including finance, technology, and human resources. Dexcom has invested in innovation in response to changing patient and customer needs in the recent past. The growth initiative will continue to build on the companys previous successes while focusing on new areas with the most substantial impact on the patients. Embracing improved ways of working and becoming more agile and efficient will help the company support innovation while creating value for its shareholders, customers, and patients (Cappuchino Finance, 3). This indicates that although stability and diversification strategy have a significant impact on the companys growth and success in the future, the business growth approach has the greatest potential.

Competitive Environment

Dexcom faces stiff competition from multinationals in the established industry, such as AmerisourceBergen Corp, GlaxoSmithscline Inc, Owens & Minor Inc New, and Cardinal Health Inc. The state of competition has been increased by companies financial status and the ability to conduct in-depth market research to advance their practice. Competitors are an essential stakeholder group in the organization as they determine the level of rivalry and extent of new entrants entering the industry. Dexcoms competitors, Amerisourcebergen Corporation, represent 30% of the market share, and Cardinal Health represents 22% of the total share in the American market (CSIMarket, 2). Dexcom faces significant competition from specialty wholesalers spread in various parts of the country. Dexcom, though remains the largest distributor of pharmaceutical products in the United States despite the competition.

CSI market reports of 2019 show that Dexcom had a net margin of 5.15%, lower than its competitors. Its competitors, such as Carefusion Corp, reported a net margin of 10.52%, Helen of Troy Ltd a 10.81%, while Johnson& Johnson reported the highest margin of 27.27% (CSIMarket, 2). Dexcom is ahead of its competitors in terms of revenue and profit margin due to the technological solutions that allow it to reduce the variability and costs of its health care products and services. Its team has consistently built stable and reliable relationships with its customers by providing innovative supply chain products and services.

The ability of Dexcom to adapt to the recently advanced manner of production and to diversify its growth has helped the company to remain ahead of its competitors. Unlike Dexcom, where the management is executed, Cardinal Health has experienced significant problems with the performance of its administration. This harms the rate of tax change, and the ability to resolve issues is slowed, hence affecting the execution of its services.

Market Cycles

The main competitors in the market depend on the cycle and market conditions for success. The pharmaceutical market will continually have competition so long as there are competitors. Therefore, the decision to own and run a business in the industry should be well thought out. However, the factors that determine if a specific business will be successful or not are whether it is a slow-cycle or fast-cycle market. A slow-cycle market is one where the competitive advantages of the firms are protected from imitation for a long time, especially where it is costly (Hitt, 1, 159). The companys competitive advantages are sustainable for a long period in this kind of market. Competitors are different in a slow cycle market than in a fast cycle market.

The choices presented will differ in both fast and slow-cycle markets in different ways. In a slow-cycle market, it will make changes for the long term, and the souk does not introduce innovative products in a short time. With the fast-cycle markets, products change continuously, and innovative products are introduced within a short time (Hitt, 1, 169). The fast-cycle type of market is rapid, and the company is not likely to depend on outstanding resources. The demands of clients are continually changing, and an organization that wants to thrive must lay extra effort in identifying new trends and gaps to incorporate its products and services.

The choice of growth strategy in the question above will change in the fast-cycle market. With plans to introduce new products within the long term, there are also high chances of establishing innovative products in the short term. Besides, a company faces high competition from its opponents, which will necessitate the introduction of new innovative and high-quality products to differentiate it and identify new gaps and trends. Therefore, the market cycle is perfect for the pharmaceutical environment because it will encourage competition and is cheap to run, hence acting as an advantage to Dexcom Inc. The company will also discourage monopoly since customers will benefit from improved quality and cost of products.

Sources

1. Michael A. Hitt. 2020. p. 108-203. Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases: Competitiveness and Globalization 13th ed. Cengage Learning.
2. CSIMarket. 2019. Dexcom Efficiency versus its Competition. Stocks. Web.
3. Cappuchino Finance. 2018. DexCom: Fast-Growing Medical Device Company For Diabetes Care. Web.

Introduction

Business level strategies are the specific actions required to ensure an organization meets its objectives and compete equally with the other businesses in the market. Business level strategies help to determine who the customers are, what the customers need and how they expect the product or service to be. These are the guidelines on how the business will operate depending on the various factors and conditions it is subjected to in their area of operation (Chron.com, 2012).

The management at Kodak will be required to critically think and come up with strategies that will ensure it gets back to its initial position of profit-making. Some of the business-level strategies, as stated by Scott Gallagher (2004) that can be used include the following: cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy, and focus strategy amongst others.

Cost leadership strategy

In applying the cost leadership strategy, Kodak will be expected to have the lowest costs in the market. This does not mean they should have very low prices, but instead, their prices should be fair both to the customer and to the company. To become a cost leader in the market, QuickMBA, (2010) suggests that Kodak may need to invest more in their products or new technologies that will make them be at a notch higher than the competitors, thus improving them.

This strategy will help boost the company in gaining the confidence of the customer when it comes to their product prices and a bigger market share and gaining the profits they require to avoid filing for bankruptcy. Gaining customer confidence will also help Kodak sell the patents they have been marketing in the past six months (Christian Science Monitor, 2012). However, there are risks involved with employing this strategy because of factors like imitation or technological inventions will result in changes, yet they would have already invested in the products.

Differentiation strategy

Differentiation strategy is a move to give customers a reason why they should prefer a certain product over another, and in most instances, the product being given preferences is the highest priced one. This strategy helps to gain more profits once a few of these products or services are sold. Differentiation strategy basically aims at putting the products on different scales from the low priced ones to the higher ones.

Another way of differentiating a product could be through aiming at penetrating several markets and ensuring the product gains enough popularity and market existence whereby it is available in every section of the market where potential buyers are situated. This helps address the performance gap of a company like Kodak Differentiating its products will be the ultimate goal in meeting the needs of the customers (Helium, 2012).

Differentiation of products, however, may not be effective if the competitors follow suit and do the same and also this strategy will require a lot of marketing skills for it to be accepted by buyers.

Focus strategy

Kodak may begin to do well if they concentrate intently on the market and aim at dominating the market. For example, the company should find out the regions where their business is doing well, even outside the main area of operations. This will help it identify exact needs of that specific market and also narrow it down to a smaller segment with more profits other than operating in a larger market with less profit as indicated by Tutor2u, (2012).

Focus strategy can assist Kodak in cutting cost on various products. This may curb excessive expenditures on the production of its core items such as inkjet printers, home photo printers and commercial inkjet presses, which Kodak has previously spent quiet a lump-sum of dollars. They should, therefore, take advantage of this and focus on marketing them to specific relevant customers. Concentrating on a specific niche of the market may not work well all the time because if that focused place does not pick up the product as expected, it will lead to losses.

For Kodak to survive in this era which has become digitally competitive, it will require to choose strategies and concentrate on improving its products presence and performance in the market. Choosing them however will require critical thinking and decision making to be able to design what best suits the company because not all strategies will work well with what they offer and also so as to avoid counter attack strategies (Differentiate your business, 2011).

As Slideshare (2012) puts it the main concern here is not which strategy Kodak will choose but how well the firm has aligned its resources and capabilities on that strategy. This is to say that the compatibility of the strategy must be there and the firm must be able to evaluate and know what exactly does the strategy mean and what it requires for it to work.

List of References

Christian Science Monitor, 2012, Bankruptcy protection, Kodak makes moves to stave it off. Web.

Chron.com, 2012, Five Types of Business-Level Strategies. Web.

Differentiate your business, 2011, Principles of Competitive Advantage. Web.

Helium, 2012, How a business differentiation strategy can help give a competitive advantage. Web.

QuickMBA, 2010, Porters Generic Strategies. Web.

Scott Gallagher, 2004, Why Does Firm Performance Differ. Web.

Slideshare, 2012, Aligning Manufacturing Strategy and Business- Level. Web.

Tutor2u, 2012, Competitive advantage. Web.

Executive Summary

The fundamental objective of the paper is to identify the primary business strategy employed by the Coca-Cola Company. Moreover, it seems significant to evaluate the strategy in relation to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that were identified in accordance with Porters Five Forces.

The company uses a modern social network in order to promote a new strategy. Instagram and Facebook followers can see over a hundred photos of different people who share happiness, feelings, and their unique moments with the Coca-Cola brand. It is worth noting that on every photo red Coca-Cola disk, as well as the glass bottle, can be found and it creates an atmosphere of mystery and magic.

The strategies chosen by the company are influenced by changes in the market and environmental issues. The corporation realized that the primary strength is the buyers power, and thus, makes an accent on the satisfaction of the public and promotion of the creative campaigns.

Introduction

Coca-Cola is a popular brand that is known and loved across the globe almost in every country. Such popularity can be explained not only with a high-quality product but with outstanding business strategies. The discovery of the modern business strategy of the Coca-Cola Company is the primary objective of the paper. In order to get deeper involved in the issue, it is of paramount importance to make an accent on how the modern business strategy is related to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that were identified in accordance with Porters Five Forces.

Business Strategy

As a matter of fact, the Coca-Cola Company is one of the most popular and famous brands across the globe. The strategies of the company changed throughout history because the organization understands the importance of changes and being flexible. The tastes of the customers change, and thus, the companies should follow it.

Taken into consideration the above states, the Coca-Cola Company has already announced a new global strategy that will be reflected in the creative campaign, and it sounds unusual to the customers, namely Taste the Feeling. The top managers of the enterprise aim to highlight that this beverage is for everyone and can suit any needs of the customer. There is a wide range of product choices, namely the following one, Coca-Cola Light, Diet, Zero, and Life, with caffeine and without, Coca-Cola with different flavors. Although there are different types of beverages, the brand shares the same iconography, missions, and values. The strategy Taste the Feeling highlights that people who consume Coca-Cola make their everyday life a little more special. The previous strategy and creative campaign were centered on happiness and was reflected in slogan Taste the Feeling. Nowadays, the managers want consumers to experience emotional and functional element of the Coca-Cola brand.

The campaign Taste the Feeling promotes drinking Coca-Cola with ice. The choice of the strategy is based on exploring the role of the Coca-Cola in happiness and consequently derived from the previous campaign. The advertisement for TV and the Internet were created for people to see how others share special moments with the Coca-Cola Company. The managers of the company state that the campaign kicks off with the lead commercial, Anthem, which presents a series of moments linked by a Coca-Cola, such as ice-skating with friends, a first date, a first kiss and a first love (Sulphey, 2010, p. 54). Music is considered to be the integral element of the strategy and promotion of the campaign. The music of Avicii and Conrad Sewell is associated with the Taste the Feeling strategy. The Coca-Cola Company devotes a lot of time to leadership because it influences the success of the corporation in a significant way (Scilly, 2015).

The advertisements are made in the form of the story, and it is a reasonable move. First and foremost, it highlights that Coca-Cola unites people and creates a special atmosphere. There will be no story without this company. Describing the design of the global campaign, James Sommerville, made an accent that the photography features human moments that blur the boundaries between who people are and what they love to do (Peng, 2009, p. 76). The Coca-Cola plays a primary role in every story, making it brighter, colorful, happier, and adding textures and unforgettable emotions.

Generic Strategies

The marketing strategies that the Coca-Cola Company follows correspond to the Porters Five Forces analysis (Porters generic strategies, 2007). In order to implement appropriate strategies that will lead the company to success, it is significant to investigate the market, determine a threat of new entrants, a threat of substitutes, the buyers, suppliers bargain power, and rivalry among competitors (Competitive advantage, 2014).

The fundamental strategy that is followed by the Coca-Cola Company is the buyers power (Kapferer, 2012). In the modern economic conditions, it is of paramount importance for the corporation to have a close connection with the consumers. Because of the big amount of rivals, the companies that are trusted and have established good relationships with the purchasers have bigger chances to succeed in the market. As a result, the companies, who have a connection with the buyers and target group are provided with a stable growth index and increase in production. However, in order to follow this strategy, it is essential to keep in mind some key aspects that are involved in the conception.

As a matter of fact, the Coca-Cola Company is a transcontinental corporation; it is sold almost in every country across the globe, excluding Cuba and North Korea. Nevertheless, the list of countries where it is impossible to buy Coca-Cola will be reduced because according to the situation on the world arena, Cuba is likely to have better relationships with the United States, and it will consequently lead to the expansion of the Coca-Cola market (Sulphey, 2010). With the consideration to the potential buyers across the globe, one of the most significant elements is the capability of the manufacturing process to provide the purchasers with enough goods for consumption. Moreover, it is essential to make an analysis of the selling process, determine tendencies, and needs of the market, and direct all the forces to satisfy the current needs of the customers.

Providing the customers with the information regarding the good is a pivotal objective for the accomplishment of the goals set by the company. The information is a vital aspect that influences sales. The Coca-Cola Company is an active participant in the promotion and advertisement segment. In addition, it invests impressive sums of money for sporting events, competitions, and contests. Thus, people always hear about the company, see the product, and promotion. According to the recent research in the sphere of neuromarketing, the Coca-Cola Company is recognizable even without the logo, slogan, or the picture of a bottle made of glass (Groza & Ragland, 2016). The red color is associated with the brand. The New Year commercials have already become a tradition, and Christmas as well as New Year would not be full without traditional Coca-Cola commercial and popular songs that are used to complement the video.

It should be noted that the company creates a unique beverage for the consumers and speaks about it. The person, who buys a product, wants to be sure that the good is unique and will make his or her life a little special (Kim & Mauborgne, 2009). The Coca-Cola Company reflects this principle leaving rivals with no chance to enter the market or compete with the worlds famous brand.

Strategic Choices

The Coca-Cola Company operates in over 200 countries and provides the customers with a wide range of products (David, 2009). The corporation is represented in a non-alcoholic segment that is considered to be highly competitive due to the presence of different brands in the market. The major rival of Coca-Cola is believed to be Pepsi. Diversification is considered to be one of the fundamental strategic choices for the Coca-Cola Company. The society turns attention to the healthy lifestyle, responding to this phenomenon, the enterprise produces Coca-Cola Zero, for example. Turning their attention to the sports drink influences the market share in a positive way.

The disconnect point can be found in the dimension of values and missions of the company. In spite of the fact the corporation is flexible and adjusts to current market needs and it is reflected in their strategy, the company does not react to temporary social moves. It creates new products, however, does not forget its traditions and serves not temporary trends but stability and customs.

With the consideration to the stated above, the conclusion can be drawn that the Coca-Cola Company addresses to the needs of the customers, realizes the significance of the buyers power, and acts in accordance with the business strategy (Gulati, 2016). However, it is worth pointing that there is hardly a company in the world that has a perfect management plan and acts in accordance with it on a hundred percent.

Leverage of Strengths and Shoring up Weaknesses

The strength of the company is trusted relationship with the customers. In order to leverage this aspect, the company uses social networks interacting with the target groups (Iansiti & Levien, 2004). Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter followers are provided with an opportunity to follow Coca-Cola and be updated with the current information (Liang, Czaplewski, Klein, & Jiang, 2009). The weakness of the company is the competition with Pepsi and the fact that this corporation has a variety of products. The Coca-Cola Company can create new products, such as new lines of beverages with flavors and snacks.

The company can positively influence the environmental situation in the world by altering strategic choices. The organization realized the significance and value of water not just because it is a primary raw material for the beverage production but also because water is life. Thus, the company developed water strategies that are based on three primary aspects:

1. Reduction of the water that is used for production;
2. Partnership with suppliers in order to minimize the water footprint;
3. Investments in the sustainable technologies (Gulati, 2016).

Moreover, the company cares about the climate changes, and thus, makes the production more efficient and fosters the transition to the cleaner technologies.

Conclusion

The vision and missions of the Coca-Cola Company are relatively stable, although some changes are evident because of the different situation in the market and ecological situation. The corporation cares about the customers and environment. Its strategies correspond to the objective of the company, and successfully influence the position of the brand in the modern market. I would recommend the company to focus on environmental issues and address to the problem of water scarcity.

References

Competitive advantage. (2007). Web.

David, F. (2009). Strategic management: Concepts and cases. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Groza, M., & Ragland, C. (2016). Marketing challenges in a turbulent business environment. Bloomington, IN: Springer.

Gulati, R. (2016). Management an integrated approach (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Iansiti, M. & Levien, R. (2004). Strategy for small fish. Web.

Kapferer, J. (2012). The new strategic brand management: Advanced insights and strategic thinking. London, UK: Kogan Page.

Kim, C. & Mauborgne, R. (2009). What is BOS? Nine key points of Blue Ocean Strategy. Web.

Liang, T., Czaplewski, A., Klein, G., & Jiang, J. (2009). Technical opinion leveraging first-mover advantages in internet-based consumer services. Communications of the ACM Commun. ACM, 52(6), 146-148.

Peng, M. (2009). Global strategic management. New York, NY: Routledge.

Porters generic strategies. (2007). Web.

Scilly, M. (2015). Examples of cost leadership and strategy marketing. Web.

Sulphey, M. (2010). Introduction to environment management. Delhi, IN: Phi Learning.

Introduction

The activities of various firms and businesses translate to a myriad of environmental issues. The responsibility of companies and businesses towards the environment is continually emphasized through care for the natural environment (Gomes, Scherer, Gonçalves, Neto & Kruglianskas 2013). As a result, many firms are taking up environmental sustainability while designing their business strategies and objectives (Del Río, Peñasco & Romero-Jordán 2015).

Ideally, an integration of a firms environmental aspects into its strategies translates into non-environmental benefits like higher sales, return on investment, new market development, product differentiation, and better product image among others (Dangelico & Pontrandolfo 2015). However, the incorporation of environmental activities in the business strategy of the firm may lead to poor financial performance over the short run. Notably, such initiatives are costly, impeding on the general revenues of the company. Nonetheless, there is a growing demand from key business stakeholders; that is the local community that the business is operating in, to the final customers, for firms to undertake sustainable environmental practices (Dögl & Behnam 2014).

However, the integration of green management into the strategy of the business encompasses key challenges and needs to develop novel capabilities to handle such challenges (Bacchici, Dowell & King 2012). Notably, the idea of how to manage a firms capabilities and resources is addressed in the resource-based view line of thought. Thus, a company may make provisions in its Resource-based view by expanding it to ensure that it includes both opportunities and challenges present in the natural environment (Ghosal 2013). As a result, most studies utilize the Resource-based view to analyze strategic issues likely to affect the environment (Aragón-Correa & Sharma 2003).

While most studies expose the link between a businesss environmental strategies, its competitive advantages, and capabilities as well as its financial performance, however, there have been minimal studies explaining how an organization can channel their abilities and skills, better their image and market performance besides promoting environmental sustainability.

Research Question, Aims, and Objectives

The research study aims to analyze how a firms strategic business strategies impact a firms environmental sustainability objective. Thus, the primary study question is; how does a companys business strategies affect the environment in which it operates?

Objectives

• To analyze the relationship between a firms strategic goals and its sustainable environmental practices.
• To investigate how a firm can apply the resource-based view theory in coming up with sustainable environmental management strategies
• To examine the impact of environmental business strategies on a firms market performance and image.

Literature Review and Context

This research study will utilize the theory-testing approach. It will analyze the resource-based view theory to developing environmentally sustainable business objectives as part of an organizations strategy. The resource-based view provides a platform for proper analysis of a firms capabilities and resources. Further, RBV provides the necessary guidance through which firms can be able to apply while handling the immediate challenges that confront firms while integrating sustainable environmental practices into their business strategies (Temminck, Mearns & Fruhen 2015).

Ideally, RBV helps understand the relationship between environmental strategy, a firms competitive advantage, as well as its developmental capabilities (Ghosal 2013). Further, RBV highlights two strategic capabilities that are likely to affect the environmental performance of the company. These are; the firms capacity to get into environmental collaborations and its capability to practice environmental actions (Rondinelli & London 2003).

The research will be based on the context of environmental sustainability. Indeed, this is study does not analyze a firms business strategy in the general context of both the internal and external context but how they are specific to environmental consideration. In effect, the case study will be based in the manufacturing industry for some reasons:

(1) The participants will be the companys top management as they are directly accountable for their business practices and the conduct of their employees towards promoting environmental sustainability (2) The manufacturing industry is presently being challenged for its practices towards ensuring a sustainable environment. It should be considered that analysis of the research question through narrowing down of manufacturing industries is instrumental in getting better results as these businesses are widely known for their pollutive environmental processes. Thus, an analysis of how they carry out their business operations and come up with their strategies are instrumental in getting first-hand information for the study.

The context of the study will only cover manufacturing industries operating within the United States. Limiting the scope of manufacturing companies to this geographical region implies consistencies in results are they are all governed by similar external factors and environmental laws.

Methodology

Research philosophy

This research will commence from a theoretical point through an analysis of the resource-based view and will extend to how firms present their business strategies in consideration of the environment. Data collection for the study will be facilitated by a qualitative study of the available literature about the sustainable behavior of manufacturing firms in the United States. Further, the application of the grounded theory will be useful in coming up with more information, where there is little information available on the manufacturing practices and behavior of the manufacturing firms versus environmental sustainability (Goulding 1998). Ideally, the application of this interpretation mechanism implies that the researcher will conduct inquiries through interacting with the principal persons necessary to facilitate the results of the study (Goulding 1998).

Eventually, the information attained will go through a systematic process, in which the interviewer will ensure to create meaning out of the information offered by the interviewees as regards their business strategies and how they conform to sustainable environmental behavior.

Further, the researchers position and bias will be declared within the research work along with any instances that may have impacted on the subject, and results of the study. The declaration is in line with Webers statement about subjectivity while researching humans, stating that the researcher cannot be alienated from the study (O Gorman, Lochrie & Watson 2014). In support, OGorman et al (2014) further assert that an evident relationship exists between the investigator and the subject, as well as the researcher and the one being researched.

Following qualitative data, the researcher will be able to develop a hypothesis for the study following an analysis of the available texts, after which validity will be established through an explanatory case. On the other hand, there will be limited use of quantitative data as this will only be applied for confirmation of the results, through analysis of the results obtained from the secondary data, the answers were given by the interviewees and the available environmental sustainability reports of the various companies to be researched. The reason there is a limited application of quantitative data is that there is limited time to carry out data analysis, thus, the researcher seeks to utilize a small sample size for the project.

Data collection

The research study will take up several data collection methods. First, most of the data that will be applied to the study will mainly be on the internet. Various internet journals will be applied as a principal research basis for most of the secondary information applied to the research. Secondly, the data will be derived from the case study analysis which will be an interview of the key organizational management cognizant with the development of business strategies.

Ideally, structured interviews are chosen as a key information source for the study as it is one of the ways through which the researcher will be able to gain a deep insight into the practices of the organization, which would be quite unclear through the reliance of qualitative studies only. During the onset of the interview, descriptive information about the informant and the organization will be gathered. For verification of the information attained during this first interview phase additional information as obtained from the public reports, organizational report and their financial records will also be examined and verified.

However, the primary focus of the interview will be in the interviewee, mainly in their discussion of the organizational strategies and how these tie in with sustainable environmental objectives that the business has laid out if any. The design of the interview will follow the documentation of about twenty interview questions that will guide the interviewer on how to proceed. Most of the questions to be discussed will be paramount and compulsory for the researcher to ask to appropriately. The data when the time comes. However, to allow for proper data interpretation using hermeneutics, the interview questions will be semi-structured.

Further, such questions compel the interviewee to give an in-depth analysis of the topic they are discussing. In this case, the respondent will be subjected to discuss their overall business strategies before narrowing down to how they have tailored these to meet the environmental obligations for sustainable behavior. The study seeks to attain information derived from the personal experiences of the interviewee, how they view the business processes and strategies of their firm and how they believe this tie in with being environmentally sustainable.

Public sustainability reports of the chosen organizations will also be utilized as a source of information as they will provide the primary information on the conduct of these firms and their level of sustainable behavior. After all the information obtained during the interview complies, that data will be analyzed through hermeneutics.

Data analysis

After data collection, the collected information will be analyzed through hermeneutics, which is a form of theoretical analysis. This method is ideal to analyze the information obtained through the interviews. An applicable analysis that will be applied will follow the following outline:

Forming a total impression of the information obtained. In this step, most of the information obtained is all over and can be referred to as chaotic. Therefore, the researcher will consolidate this chaos and present them as key themes.

The second step will involve the identification of information and sort them out in given meaning units. Most of the collected information will be categories into the themes they represent, after which they will be presented in code form.

Condensation. It is hard to interpret or understand the meaning of a given code if not explained. Therefore, this step seeks to ensure that the various codes have been translated to a particular meaning.

The next step is information synthesis. This not only involves give meaning to the codes bit also expanding the meanings given through offering various descriptions and key concepts after synthesis, but the information is also now fit to be subjected to matrix form, analysis, and assessment after which it can be presented in the analysis and findings section. However, the information will first go through the data triangulation phase in which the researcher will take their time to cross-examine and reference the obtained quantitative and qualitative information. This process enables the researcher to effectively compare the various findings and to confirm whether they correlate with the hypotheses. The aim of doing so is to ensure that the information provides the most reliable and unbiased. Thus, even when the final findings are presented, they will be consistent with the subject of the research.

Ethical Issues

The research study may face some ethical concerns.

First, secondary information will be a vital source of information. Application of secondary information from the internet like books and journals as an information source for the research implies bias as the researcher is likely to lean to the findings presented by the authors of the articles they will access.

Secondly, the participants of the research are top company management who are an essential source of information on the companys business strategies. However, this may not be representative of what is on the ground owing to the need to paint the business better than what ideally happens.

Third, the internet is going to be used as the leading source for getting information. This implies that most information may be hard to access, with library passwords, poor connectivity issues, meaning that valuable information may be left out.

Fourth, the selection of the companies to use for the case study may result in bias. Ideally, there are many manufacturing companies in the United States, and not all of them will be included in the study. However, the few chosen may not represent the actual picture of what is happening on the ground.

Owing to the private nature of the information to be gathered, the interviewer will guarantee the participants that the information offered will be collected confidentially. This is to ensure that the competing companies are safeguarded from information loss. Thus, the utmost care and discretion will be applied to the interview process. In effect, all the information that will be collected during the interview process will be safely stored on a laptop with a password. Any print documents will further be stored securely and later disposed of after the research is completed.

Further, the researcher will ensure to exercise informed consent when dealing with all the interviewees, with the rights of the participants mentioned and adhered to. Thus, research approval forms for the interview by the rules of the university will be offered and disclosed to the participants in the research to ensure that they are aware of how the interviewer should conduct themselves during the process.

Reference List

Aragón-Correa, J & Sharma, S 2003, A contingent resource-based view of proactive corporate environmental strategy, The Academy of Management Review, vol. 28, no. 1, pp.71-88. Web.

Berchicci, L, Dowell, G & King, A 2012, Environmental capability and corporate strategy: exploring acquisitions among manufacturing firms, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 33, no. 9, pp.1053-1071. Web.

Dangelico, R & Pontrandolfo, P 2015, Being green and competitive: the impact of environmental actions and collaborations on firm performance, Business Strategy and the Environment, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 413-430. Web.

Del Río, P, Peñasco, C & Romero-Jordán, D 2015, Distinctive features of environmental innovators: an econometric analysis, Business Strategy and the Environment, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 361-385. Web.

Dögl, C & Behnam, M 2014, Environmentally sustainable development through stakeholder engagement in developed and emerging countries, Business Strategy and the Environment, vol. 24, no. 6, pp.583-600. Web.

Ghosal, V 2013, Business strategy and firm reorganization: role of changing environmental standards, sustainable business initiatives and global market conditions, Business Strategy and the Environment, vol. 24, no. 2, pp.123-144. Web.

Gomes, C, Scherer, F, Gonçalves, D, Neto, R & Kruglianskas, I 2013, Strategies of sustainable management and business performance: an analysis in innovative companies, Int. J. Innov. Mgt., vol. 17, no. 5, pp.1-35. Web.

Goulding, C 1998, Grounded theory: the missing methodology on the interpretivist agenda, Qualitative Market Research: An international Journal, vo. 1, no. 1, pp. 50-57. Web.

OGorman, K, Lochrie, S, & Watson, A 2014. Research philosophy and case studies in OGorman, K &Macintosh, R. Research methods for business and management: a guide to writing your dissertation (57-79). Oxford, Goodfellow. Web.

Rondinelli, D & London, T 2003, How corporations and environmental groups cooperate: Assessing cross-sector alliances and collaborations, Academy of Management Executive, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 61-76. Web.

Temminck, E, Mearns, K & Fruhen, L 2015, Motivating employees towards sustainable behavior, Business Strategy and the Environment, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 402-412. Web.

Nowadays, there is the growing popularity of international business activities between both the developing economies and the emerging economies. Therefore, each company is searching for the appropriate strategies to interfere with the world market, as it opens new opportunities for development. Initially, there was an assumption that the industry-based approach is the basic principle to advance the company. However, this method is efficient for the developed economies. Therefore, recently developed research has put forward the institutional view for the emerging economies and has given ground to their successful advancement.

According to the article under consideration called An Institution-based view of international business strategy: a focus on emerging economies (Peng et al. 2008, 920), the institution-based approach constitutes the third major component of a successful performance together with industry-based and researched-based theories. The authors prove that institution-based view is an inherent component not only for the developed economies but also for the emerging ones because the previous theories are not relevant. The focus of ID research on the study of competitiveness of the companies is especially urgent as it covers many areas of marketing strategies.

Considering the four cases, the institution-based theory is to different extent impacts the emerging economies. The reason for that has a complicated nature. Anyway, the new approach considerably contributed to a better adaptation of the newly developed companies.

Hence, the presented novelty in this business establishes the new price policy that excludes dumping. The countries that accept the new businesses must take into closer consideration the height of entry barriers. The institutional view on economies has many negative outcomes such as constant dumping. In that regard, the dumping campaign of the emerging industries could be harmful to the existing business as well as for the customers. The institutional influence imposes the tariff barriers so that the emerging should be subjected to the rules in order to survive. Direct foreign investment will be the only solution to the problem. In this respect, the emerging economies should not rely on the myth of free-market competition, as it is the false to a success.

Because the institutions are just the new rules of the game, they become the basis of the international strategy. Moreover, as those institutions could be both governmental and non-governmental, the emerging businesses should take into consideration social and cultural aspects. In the case of India, the global emergence of the Indian warehouse company was due to the insightful approach. Still, the formal and informal attacks from abroad took place irrespective of the perfect legality of the product. Arising out it, the major task of the companies is to capture the social recognition of the foreigners since even the price policy might not be helpful. In this case, the insight orientation is the best way to invade the international.

The following case reveals another reason why the institution is important in building the new strategy of the emerging economies. In that regard, Chinas rapid economic growth also witnesses the interference with the informal institutions that created a powerful system of cooperation. Such economic processes enhanced economic stability and developed a powerful social network. Here, the companies considered carefully the peculiarities of the Chinese mentality and business traditions to fit their product need. Here, the institution view has the main evidence and the main ground for the dramatic economic growth. The transitions that occurred in China triggered the new campaign in the related countries. The web relationships became quite popular among other countries thus promoting the creation of the new corporations. In that regard, China created the fashionable tendency for establishing the new partnerships not only within the cultural framework but also beyond it. Consequently, the local patterns turn out to be international.

Another issue under consideration is the acknowledgment of the existing principal conflicts in the developed economies as the underpinning of the institutional approach. The Anglo-American corporations fail to realize the importance of this innovative theory as the core reason for their problem. The shareholders role is to capture the larger segment thus enhancing their control over the others. The contrast between the volume of the shares forces out the minor ownerships to extinct. Due to that, presence of the institutional view is evident here because the problem lies not in the inner structure of the corporations but the personal predictions of the shareholders. Anyway, each of the three types of research contributes to the progress of the emerged companies. To prove from the contrary, the industry and resource-based research do not relate to the existing problem because ownership depends only on the social factor.

Considering the four cases, it should be mentioned that the institutional view on international business in terms of emerging economies does exist. The cases prove that this novelty helps to advance the company at the international marker so that it is even more effective than the previously existed approaches. Moreover, novelty helps to defend and support self-awareness thus forcing companies to produce a universal product that would meet the requirements of a foreign consumer.

Reference List

Peng, M.W., Wang, D.Y.L. & Jiang, Y. 2008. An institution-based view of international business strategy: A focus on emerging economies, Journal of International Business Studies, 39 (5), pp. 920936.

Introduction

Operation Strategy refers to the actions chosen, mandated option, and is stimulated by an organization within its operations functions to be able to meet the mission and objectives. A firm must make decisions that are in line with its strategy. The decisions must bind with the organizations rules and should provide a consistent response to competitive forces in the market. This will give the firm-wide range above its competitors in the market. The strategic goals are translated into clearly defined implementation targets which are aligned to the value proposition. The strategy entails a master-plan that integrates the elements and gives the specific timelines to specific assignments and has a master plan as the basis for the process.

An operation business model is an organization essential logic template used in consistently achieving the principal objective by maximization of the available resources, policies, and systems to be able to realize maximum output to the benefit of the business. Some of the key elements of operation strategy include; human resources and job description, capacity and location, the strategic implication of operation decisions, matching the productive system design to market needs, techniques, and suppliers.

For the business to remain competitive in the market, it must employ the process and the principle of Strategy formulation which is a process by which an organization determines its competition in the industry. This process entails the determination of goals and policy development for the achievements of the goals (Meredith & Schafer 2002). For an organization to achieve the maximum possible output, and to have a distinct advantage over the other players in the market, various disciplines and other functions in the business must have come into play.

Literature Review

Organizations always have structures that aid in ensuring that their performance is measured and that they do not lose focus on their key mission. A few of these strategies change over time but some stand the test of time. Balance scorecard and McKinsey 7S framework for example have been used in firms for a very long time. The McKinsey 7s was developed by two consultants Robert Waterman and Tom Peters then working at the McKinsey & Company consulting firm. The model entails aligning seven aspects of an organization to ensure its operation yield the desired results. It can be used widely in different situations where an organization needs to align its operations. This approach is useful to an organization to align the different functions in the firm; it also helps determine the best strategy to be used. An organization may also want to know what changes it needs to effect over time to realize maximum output, here McKinsey 7S becomes very useful. They include; skills, staff, shared values, strategy, systems, style, and structures. For an organization to perform these seven elements must be aligned and mutually reinforcing. BSC is used to measure both the financial and non-financial aspects of a firm. Its a model of performance and it acts as a link between the inputs and outputs in an organization. It takes into consideration what an organization has set as targets and deliverables in a given period and also the physical input like human resources etc. It involves the identification of a small number of financial and non-financial aspects and attaching them to the laid down targets.

Discuss and critically evaluate the role and importance of performance

Measurement

An organizations main objective is to perform and generate maximum output. The management concern, therefore, needs to constantly evaluate the performance of the business if it is in line with what is expected. Business performance review, therefore, is significant because it helps in ensuring the business remains focussed to achieve this goal. To evaluate how well an arm of the firm is doing, for example, an agency, it is important to carry out an evaluation. This process consists of two variables which are organizational performance data and benchmarks that create a framework for analyzing the data.

BPM helps organizations to have control over the systems and also the HR to ensure certain roles are executed in the organization, function heads always have designed guidelines that aid in executing control in the organization.

Demonstrate knowledge and critical awareness of the complexity of business performance

The importance of BPM at times is difficult to quantify but most organizations have come up with a few reasons why it is necessary. Matching and aligning performance measure with the business strategy is not easy for most of the organization (Hannagan 2002). There are financial and non-financial measures that relate to performance. Financial measures relate directly to the firms financial books of accounts and give the position where the organization is in terms of how much they have made for the given financial period. Such elements as net profit, expenses are the key components of financial measure. Non-financial measures do not appear in the financial charts and may include customer satisfaction, system quality, and even environmental factors like office accessibility, etc. Performance measures can be complete or incomplete, responsive, or nonresponsive.

There is the aspect of key performance indicators (KPI) in business which can be related to Human Resource Utilization (HRU), market conditions, and also the process performance. Measures here include tangible things. These are often included in the chart accounts for example list of debtors, creditors, inventory, etc. Examples of intangibles include but are not limited to knowledge level, skills, creativity, and innovation (Taylor 2000).

Critically review the different approaches for nonfinancial business performance measurement

Financial Data such as profits have limitations as a measure of a firms performance (Neil 2010). There are however other performance indicators that are non-financial such as quality and innovation, customer satisfaction, employee wellness, and employee satisfaction, intellectual capital, and customer loyalty.

Firms have also incorporated the approach of nonfinancial measures to be able to determine their productivity. Reference Models are well-established measures and include TQM, Six Sigma, and EFQM. Customer Value analysis- Firms have deployed technologies and measurement systems that manage business activities and either directly or indirectly incorporate the customers needs and they provide firms with integrated data hence the ability to measure customer aspects like satisfaction, complain handling process, etc (Neil 2010). Quality Programs are continuous improvement frameworks within an organization and focus on product quality is more or less concerned with other business processes.

Review of the Business Performance Concepts

The business that exhibits the greatest performance is the BSC when compared to other firms such as KPI and Stakeholder Scorecard.

Causal Measurements

This process of identification may be really hard because it could take firms a long period within which the firm is to prove statistically the causal linkages that exist between performance matrices. This can affect the diagnostic advantages that are to be supplied by the systems (Brown, et al. 1996).

Several firms do struggle with subjective measurement that can give insights by use of less time and effort. At the same time, some firms have indulged in the course of establishing measurements that are in closed-loop forms hence very complex. These complexities too are possessed by the correlative measurements that require a complex data source.

BPM Principle Violation

The principles are the defining performance of a firm, accurate measurement of performance, and contingent rewards upon measurement (Teece 1997). The only problem that may occur is the continued acceptance of the principles. Though there are companies that violated the three principles but still ranked high in performance.

Making proposals for the improvement of business performance measurement and Research an area of business performance in a chosen organization

A well-established business performance measurement gives an organization the capability to prevail over the competitors. All process of measuring performance appraisal needs the use of statistical models to get results. There are also those parameters that can only be determined via observation (Brown, et al. 1996). Collect appropriate data- Data is the primary source of information that an organization uses to identify if they are on track, so for a firm to improve on their performance measurements, then correct data must be collected and tabulated appropriately.

Dashboards are used to display performance measurements. An organization may need to use correct data to come up with a proper dashboard and this gives direction in terms of an organization achieving its goals and objectives.

There also needs to be proper systems in place to be able to analyze these data to give direction. A firm also needs to continue to invest in manpower through training and the conceptualization of the expected results. There is the need to have experts who know how to interpret the data and communicate it to the organizations management.

Critically evaluate proposals and justify any recommendations based on Concrete Evidence

Marketing

Marketing is very important in any business set up. It plays a big role in contributing to the increase in performance of any type of business. Through marketing, one can gain a large series of clients who would improve the business in terms of income. For web-based businesses, marketing increases the number of hits a particular website gets. This is encouraging because one would know for sure that his or her products and services are valuable, therefore, the person would look for the next strategy to employ in that particular business. Every business deserves marketing and the related strategies to survive (Jacoby 2009).

Financial worth

Finance is another key investment in the business. It is the basic data analysis factor for any business to improve. It is all about placing a monetary value on the existing products (Manaj 2003). The important points for research when adding financial value to any business are tax consideration, risk management, internal control, time value, and improving cash value.

Management and Technology

This is important in the line of a business model. The art of technological advancement has to lead to recognizable exponential growth to all business types, small and big. Studies such as management information systems are good to go by when one has ventured into a business (Krajewski & Ritzman 2002). Computer manufacturing and virtual reality are some of the advancements that can be included in businesses. This would improve business.

Ethics of the Business

These are the right principles to be followed in a business set up. They provide ground for which a good business can thrive. Topics for research in this area relate to whether business ethics can be cost-effective. This can be answered when there is additional value to the business in question. Any good thing has value and has to be cost-effective. This would automatically result in improvement in the business strategy.

International Payments services

The most renowned international payment service since time immemorial has been the western Union Money transfer service. This service provides an interface for customers to send and receive money across countries. This service is very much available at MHB. The MHB allows customers to send money overseas via the bank. This can take place in any branch of the bank and is safer and faster. The transaction takes place in a few minutes. One should do not bear any cost when receiving money (Anthony 2011). One is always informed about the time his or her money has come as soon as possible by a telephone or a letter. One does not need to make a statement about the source of the money. There is no limitation to the amount of money transacted via MBH. Finally, it does not bear an income tax. The forms of remittances are domestic, inward, individuals overseas, and the most common inward remittance via Western Union.

Reports Submission

The main motive of this bank is the confidence of the customers. It is in the process to put lots of effort towards a strong and perfect development. The Bank works day and night to perfect its agency in money transfer. It had increased to about 194 locations. It is also working to increase its service revenue of a whole connection. Their reports are up to date and are on the positive move for the sake of customers. There is good coordination on the proper services given to customers.

The use of Anti-money laundering has got significant benefits both locally and internationally. This has resulted in reduced cases of crime. The issues of anti-money laundry transaction services are relatively expensive because they are subjected to intense scrutiny. This service is rare and only limited financial institutions have access to such service (Brown, et al. 1996). It is important for clients to always verify. The AML ensures financial stability and fighting corruption and crime (Jacoby 2009).

The management of Nostro accounts is done perfectly by the workers. They would help in foreign exchange transactions or trade transactions. This will ensure the monitoring of the service fees.

Financials

The bank is stable. It has provisions for interest negotiations between the bank and the customers. There is a stable clientele. There is a program for management by external firms. The MHB Equity increased to VND 3000 Billion from VND 1000 Billion.

The bank uses both BSC and the McKinsey 7S framework to be able to ensure that the banks realized maximum profit. It uses both the approach of financial and nonfinancial aspects and sets out achievable goals. The bank strength is the personnel and everyone has been assigned roles that are commensurate with their qualification. Systems have also been put in place to ensure the bank can review the progress and ensure it remains on track in its endeavor to serve customers better with improved products and services. The bank has invested a lot more in systems and technologies in all the areas of operations such as Automated Teller Machines, POS terminals, Internet Banking, etc. The MIS has been implemented as a banks project and this adapts fully with the IAS and ensures the banks operations comply fully with statutory reporting requirements. The project has helped the bank in mapping out the strategy by the international practice for banking. The staff has also grown so much in number and the bank has consistently employed experts in both business and personal banking and also all the other departments. This the bank does to consolidate operations as well as remain very competitive in the market.

Reference List

Anthony, P 2011. Money Transfer Policy, The Economist.

Brown, S et al., 1996. Operation Management Strategies, Butterworth, New York.

Hannagan, P. T., 2002. Practice and the Management Concept, 3^rd ed., Pitman, London.

Jacoby, D 2009. Performance Expert, The Economist, 21 October, p. 7.

Krajewski, L. J., and Ritzman, L. P., 2002. Operations, Management, Strategy and Analysis, 6^th Ed., Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

Manaj, S. J., 2003. Assessment and Outcomes, 2nd Ed., John Wiley & Sons. New York.

Meredith, J. R., and Schafer, S. M., 2002. Operations Management, 2^nd ed., John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.

Neil, T. F., 2010. Business Excellence: Quality Management, 4th Ed., Routledge, California.

Taylor, J. T., 2000. Business Impacts, 20(12), Strategic Management Journal.

Teece, D. J., 1997. Dynamic Management capabilities, 18(7), Strategic Management Journal.

Company & Business Description

Company Purpose

Zappos will seek to create value for its target market, such as young and adult fashion lovers with medium income levels in the U.S. and abroad, by offering a wide selection of clothing and home product categories online. The pride of place will be given to over twenty categories of shoes, ranging from aerobic/athletic models to eco-friendly boots and the Zappos Couture line, followed by accessories (bags and eyeglasses), the various items of clothing for both women and men, and houseware. Using zappos.com, Zappos will deliver retail and customer care services, including informational support, product shipping, operating a day-and-night call center, coming up with individualized delivery solutions for customers, and implementing a client-friendly return policy. The business plans success is likely due to its realistic nature and adaptability to the ever-changing retail market environments stemming from utilizing a flexible and decentralized Holarctic structure.

Mission/Vision Statement

Zapposs mission centers on providing the best possible quality of customer service in shoe/clothing retail and creating wow experiences. The companys vision revolves around bringing true happiness to stakeholders, including clients, vendors that the service collaborates with, and employees.

Core Values

Zappos has selected ten core values to inform service delivery. The values of delivering WOW through service, creating fun/weirdness, and being adventurous were chosen to support the clienteles desire for self-expression by offering endless styles and options (Askin & Petriglieri, 2016, p. 7). Embracing change, being passionate, pursuing growth, and doing more with less were emphasized to maximize the organizations productivity and wisdom in resource allocation decisions (Askin & Petriglieri, 2016, p. 7). Finally, promoting honest relationships, building a positive team spirit, and staying humble were selected to embrace Zapposs ethical excellence when reaching the vision.

Team & Org Structure

Tony Hsieh, Zapposs CEO, will bring valuable takeaways from his experiences at Link Exchange to ensure the enterprises profitability, and his expertise in fostering connectedness will help Zappos to create positive team environments. Alfred Lin, the chairman and the businesss CFO, will apply his business acumen, experiences in the food industry, and profound knowledge of statistics to promote Zapposs financial growth and stable returns on investments. Except for the executive leadership team, Zappos will be structured as a Holarctic entity with temporary non-fixed functional roles, with the HR department consisting of lead links, compensation appraisers, and mentors responsible for process guidance, employee development, and salaries, respectively (Askin & Petriglieri, 2016). Flexible circles consisting of lead links, rep links, and facilitators will be established to proceed with the businesss functional tasks.

Products and Services Line

Product Offering(s)

1. Shoes  branded footwear items of various types to offer aesthetically pleasing solutions to protect the feet.
2. Accessories  branded eyewear to enhance vision and offer protection from excessive insolation: handbags/cosmetic bags to carry daily essentials and self-care products.
3. Clothing  branded head-to-toe apparel that offers physical protection, comfort, and the variability of styles.
4. Houseware  branded aromatherapy products, toys, holiday decorations, and other non-essential items to create a festive atmosphere.
5. Zappos Couture  high-end fashion products to offer exceptional footwear and clothing styles for the pickiest customers.

Service Offerings

1. Online shop and parcel delivery  offering convenient online shopping and order tracking experiences.
2. Returns  emphasizing client-oriented, earning customers trust, and increasing profits in the long-term perspective.
3. Customer support/call center  differentiating Zappos from the competition, providing clients with assistance in purchasing, addressing preventable disputes/conflicts, and offering customized service.

Pricing Model

With a cost-based pricing model, branded products prices will be determined on an individual basis depending on each items purchase price and operating costs. The cost of customer services, including call center representatives wages ($11 per hour at a minimum) and shipping, will be included in each products price. The markup on products will be at least 50% since the business should account for the expensive overnight and international delivery services (Askin & Petriglieri, 2016).

Market Analysis

Target Market

The target market is online consumers. Zappos offers free shipping, 24/7 customer service, and free 365 uncomplicated returns.

• Geographics: 87.14% of their business is in America, the United Kingdom 0.96%, Canada 1.28%, Russia 0.54%, Germany 0.45%. (SimilarWeb, 2018). Urban and suburban.
• Demographics: 20-40, female and male, middle social class.
• Behavioral: low involvement products, therefore, the customer is more likely to be further along on the buyer decision process by Dewey, J. (1910).
• Psychographic: Customers who want excellent customer service, delivering wow, free shipping, and free returns, which is Zappos competitive advantage. (Zappos, 2018) (Ivarsson, 2018).

Zappos has a strong presence on multiple social networks. They are near the top of major brand marketing in customer service and social media. They set a high bar when it comes to being social and engaging its customer. Their social media tactic revolves around their company website and main social media networks, including Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, and Google +.

Buyer Personas

Blue Persona 1

Purple Persona 2

Location Analysis

We have chosen an online platform where the coexistence of different cultures occurs naturally. We chose the online location because it gives us the opportunity to be in contact in many places at the same time without having to be physically present. With people from diverse social and cultural origins, it also allows us to obtain free promotion through word-of-mouth advertisement. Satisfied customers talk with friends and relatives about the businesses that provide impressive experiences, and when that business is available online, anyone can access it. We also chose it because this location allows us to understand that it is possible to develop business anywhere and gives us a macro-perspective of what other parts of the world expect in terms of service and invites us to take advantage of the tools and opportunities that technology offers.

Benefits:

• Access to the widest variety of styles and sizes using a virtual network of online providers
• Customer visibility at the macro-level to the online market
• availability of demographic data of potential consumers and their preferences when shopping online.

Competitor Analysis

As a matter of fact, Zappos operates in a highly competitive environment. According to Porters Five Forces, competition may be created from new entrants, already existing rival sellers, substitute products and services, customer bargaining power, and supplier bargaining power (Thompson et al., 2021). In relation to Zappos, the main forces of this company are already existing rivals and customer bargaining power. In other words, it is forced to apply new strategies for competitive advantages as other companies offer similar products and services. In addition, it should constantly consider customers preferences and expectations to ensure their loyalty.

References

DSIM Team. (2016). Case study: How zappos win the heart of customers by putting their core values into business? Dsim. In.). Web.

Ivarsson, M. (2018). Zappos customer journey | internet marketing. (n.d.). Web.

Thompson, A., Peteraf, M., Gamble, J., & Strickland, A. (2021). Crafting & executing strategy: The quest for competitive advantage: Concepts and cases (23^rd ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Zappos. (2022). Where were located. Web.

Introduction

The carnival cruises marketing plan is considered the most successful company. It controls up to 44% of the cruise industry worldwide. It runs ten different cruise lines, and it boasts to be the worlds largest night cruise company. The company operates in the Bahamas, Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii, Europe, Mexican Riviera, Canada and Bermuda. It operates over 100 ships and serves an average of 8.5 million guests in a year. The company success in becoming a multi-billion is attributed to its intense marketing strategies that use the motto FUN FOR ALL. ALL FOR FUN to communicate that cruising with them is just fun.

Generic strategy in primary market

The company does not have a specific source of generating money. It deals with a number of activities ranging from ticket sales, on board gambling, bar revenues, and shore excursions and other amenities. The low prices offered by the company have made them gain acceptance by many economies. The company has adopted a strategy to ensure high security by use of high surveillance to enhance safety of their consumers. It has worked out mechanisms to expand the cruise lines with the aim of curbing competition and increase their profit margins.

Customer satisfaction

The company has ensured customer satisfaction by using new, most recent and innovative ships that have luxurious amenities in them. Amenities enjoyed by customers include entertainment, shopping malls, security and great dining service experiences. It provides practical information ahead, creating awareness of what to expect while you are on and off board by use of interactive digital version that is important in providing this information. They have ensured easy movement of people to and from various destinations by using taxicabs and limos that are readily available for higher at the cruise terminals. They provide secure parking that makes vacations stress-free. This service is free to the disabled.

Functional strategy in supporting business-level strategies

The corporate level strategy ensures the entire enterprise works as a team to achieve success. The company has offered to have its customers insured to make them feel safe to cruise with the company. Moreover, they have made their rates affordable to make more people afford their services as well as compete favorably with other cruise companies. The company persuades people to use Carnival Cruise Company through advertisements, although they are expensive. The company has adopted a range of travel plans that range from air, bus, to train travels to cover the tastes of their customers.

The company monitors fuel prices as a way of maximizing profits. It purchases fuel while prices are low for use when prices increase. The functional strategy has innovated new service offering by ensuring that ships have on-board shopping malls, wireless computer communication networks and making television and radio frequencies accessible. They have developed an array of choices by its different cruise line divisions. They pursue alliances with international governments to allow them do business with them.

Competitive advantage of organizational culture

The company enjoys the tax evasion policy to the federal government making it compete favorably. The company enjoys a competitive advantage in ship construction because it can afford the cost of financing. It has set its ports in places with historical, beautiful sceneries that includes wildlife, sports, natural environment and local culture that enhances new discoveries. These ports have recreational facilities that help to alleviate stress and relax the customers minds. The cruise terminals are custom designed to ease the customer through the embarking process to get one into a joyous cruising mood. The company is buying ships rather than the expensive building of ships. This practice cuts on down costs.

Conclusion

Despite the stiff competition from other cruise lines, Carnival company has managed to be a profitable company. This is evident by its expansion programs its undertaking to finding new market opportunities. The company has managed to offer maximum satisfaction to its customers.