Category: Competitive Advantage

Design thinking is a crucial concept and the different modes encompassing it involve empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test. The unique concept associated with the mastery of design thinking can be well linked to Honda (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). The motor company has been widely known to achieve advanced delivery design along with collaborating with suppliers in order to prove worth. The motor company Honda has become a pioneer in the vehicle market for personal and commercial use. The design to cost and the innovative techniques designed for the vehicles are significant (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). They are along with a host of strategies which Honda has adapted. There are several innovative techniques that have been associated with Honda and it is being proved to be a success. The innovation linked to the organization Honda is unique in its own way with a combination of new pattern and styles which has got Honda achieve new heights (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). With respect to the price point and customer centric approach, the company has been able to generate greater margins since the time it evolved as a mega player n market. With the concentric deployment of various innovative tools, Honda has been able to deploy and well implement design thinking approach with the lean startup model (Schilling & Johng, 2017; Kim-Soon et al., 2017; Cuaresma et al., 2017; Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016).

Innovation Based Trend – Honda

Honda has been established since long and incepted business in 1948. The company stands to gain to a great extent from the position it has garnered and considering the world perspective, reaching the required limits. Honda has been well able to maintain the required quality standards along with the production and sales across the globe aid in the unique distribution. It has been the world’s largest producer of automobiles considering the completive scenario too (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). The innovative techniques which are associated with Honda are associated with constant discipline and the innovative drive which has been part of the company. The organization has 215638 people serving corporate structure of Honda and the same has been divided under leadership heads pertaining to different departments (Schilling & Johng, 2017; Kim-Soon et al., 2017; Cuaresma et al., 2017; Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016). The purchasing and the supply of materials for Honda have been formulated in a manner to well utilize the uniqueness based on innovation and well admired.

Defining of Concepts and Relationships

Organizational Environment

The environment of Honda Company is based on the crucial technologies and based on the innovation (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). The consideration of lean startup and the composition of the environment. Considering the internal and external environment prevalent in case of Honda, the operations in are closely linked to innovation and growth. The goal with respect to the manufacturing market is to have the requisite bearing unique capabilities and also based on bonding existing between processes and people.

Innovation Trend

The innovative trend which has been created and demonstrated well in case of being the innovative drive, Honda has strived hard in creating a market well linked to the lean startup movement which has been proved to be a success (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). The designs of Honda have been altered in a crucial manner in which it is inevitable to create an environment which offers lesser abilities and capabilities. The innovation trend for Honda is being set with a combination of methodologies and technological innovation clubbed together (Schilling & Johng, 2017; Kim-Soon et al., 2017; Cuaresma et al., 2017; Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016). The price along with the customer centric approach are also well deployed as the design thinking takes place with the lean startup and this has become crucial part of the innovation.

Innovation Strategy

The innovation strategy for Honda is based on the adoption of a unique methodology which is reliant on lean startup along with the business idea associated with Honda (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). This is primarily to offer range of products which are being well designed and developed based on the position to afford the development based on the research. The market positioning for the company has been crucial and it plays a greater role too as that form the developed environment in case of achievement.

Innovation Capabilities

The innovation capabilities linked to Honda are closely associated with the designing of vehicles undertaken by Honda (Schilling & Johng, 2017; Kim-Soon et al., 2017; Cuaresma et al., 2017; Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016). The collaboration with vendors and partnering with brands by Honda has been to well ensure that there is creation of functional products which is being linked to the minimization of transportation costs as well as the storage costs (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). Greater emphasis is laid on the designing and promotion of the technology being part of the vehicles marketed by the organization.

Innovation Value Creation and Capture

The innovation value being created for the organization is based on needs and the requirements as that exist in the market. In order to have the leading customer and the innovative value delivered, several considerations are kept into plan which target the market (Schilling & Johng, 2017; Kim-Soon et al., 2017; Cuaresma et al., 2017; Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016). While manufacturing the new products, the innovation and application of the lean methodology is crucial and well serves the market of users. The innovation capturing is brought out by the innate design which is kept into consideration while the products are marketed by Honda.

Creation of Innovation Strategy Ensuring Strategic Alignment Within Organization & Its Importance

It is crucial that the innovation strategy which is being utilized at Honda is well aligned to the strategic alignment (Schilling & Johng, 2017; Kim-Soon et al., 2017; Cuaresma et al., 2017; Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016). The relevance of the concept is associated to the growth and development. The products of Honda are being used worldwide and the customization stands to be crucial. The management of processes linking the styling along with the design along with the application of crucial resources (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). It is essential that the strategic alignment with respect of the resources too is closely associated.

Analysis of Impact of Innovation Trend on Honda

The application of the strategic tool in case of the organization Honda is the analysis which is done and the trend impacts the processes linked to production and manufacturing of vehicles (Schilling & Johng, 2017; Kim-Soon et al., 2017; Cuaresma et al., 2017; Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016). The production criteria are unique for the organization and the impact that the innovation trend brings to Honda is significant (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). The impact is felt with respect to the increase in the customer segment and increasing the target base for Honda. The strategy to be deployed is linked with the analysis based on the impact which is felt in the quality standards along with the opportunities and the use of design for creating the dashboards and styling tuned to the likes of customers and keeping the competition too in mind.

Recommendations

The organization Honda needs to scale up the production and keep up with the quality levels. In order to beat the competition, the prices for the vehicles sold need to be consumer friendly (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). The additional innovation capabilities linked to Honda includes is to enhance the research and development in bringing the technical innovations in line with the consumer needs.

The research done on the innovation and the several initiatives which are taken need to well utilize the resources along with the capabilities in building up a strategy that is unique (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). The organization is required to deploy the resources in an effective manner to yield the results and have margins which can bring about the needed sources for enhanced research and innovation.

Recommending How Honda Will Ensure Strategic Alignment To Address Innovation Trend

The innovation strategy adopted by Honda has to be unique. It has to be well synchronized with the resources that adoption of a unique methodology is linked to (Schilling & Johng, 2017; Kim-Soon et al., 2017; Cuaresma et al., 2017; Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016). There pertains reliance on lean startup and along with the business idea linked, the organization would require to offer range of products which would be well designed and development reliant on the position to afford the development based on the research. The market positioning is significant for Honda and the developed environment is crucial to be maintained (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). While manufacturing the new products, the innovation and application of the lean methodology is crucial and well serves the market of users. The innovation capturing is brought out by the innate design which is kept into consideration while the products are marketed by Honda. The strategic alignment that Honda would require is to segregate the production process and break it into sub processes (Schilling & Johng, 2017; Kim-Soon et al., 2017; Cuaresma et al., 2017; Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016). The sub processes would be further quantified by the requisite quality standards. There would be review of various strategies that are in accordance with the alignment to the goals of the organization (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). The capabilities and the resources being aligned in accordance have to be well synchronized with the flow of innovation. The innovation value which would be created for the organization needs to be well based on crucial needs along with the requirements pertaining to the market. With the market trends being innovative, the value delivered along with several other considerations need to be well taken into account. The plan has to rely on the market offering an innovative approach. While manufacturing the new products, the innovation and application of the lean methodology is crucial and well serves the market of users (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). The environment pertaining to Honda Company is based on the crucial technologies and the consideration of lean startup is a crucial composition of the environment. With respect to the internal and external environment prevalent in case of Honda, the operations in are closely linked to innovation and growth (Amabile & Pratt, 2016; Gonzalez et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2016; Wu et al., 2016). The goal with respect to the manufacturing market would require the alignment to the resources such that the unique capabilities are also based on bonding existing between processes and people.

References

1. Amabile, T. M., & Pratt, M. G. (2016). The dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations: Making progress, making meaning. Research in Organizational Behavior, 36, 157-183.
2. Cuaresma, C., Lagrimas, A. P., Perez, A., & Atento, R. G. O. (2015). Strategy Innovation For Honda High–End Car. Laguna Business and Accountancy Jounal, 1(2), 185-200.
3. Gonzalez, E., Arrondo, R., & Carcaba, A. (2017). Product innovation in the Spanish auto market: Frontier shift and catching-up effects. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 50, 170-181.
4. Kim-Soon, N., Ahmad, A. R., Kiat, C. W., Sapry, H. R. M., Simpang, B. S. H. S. B., Ampat, P. P., & Pahat, M. B. (2017). SMES Are Embracing Innovation for Business Performance. Journal of Innovation Management in Small & Medium Enterprises, 1.
5. Ramos, J., Anderson, N., Peiró, J. M., & Zijlstra, F. (2016). Studying innovation in organizations: a dialectic perspective—introduction to the special issue.
6. Schilling, M. A., & Johng, J. (2017). Honda insight: Development and launch of a hybrid electric vehicle. In New Horizons in Research on Sustainable Organisations (pp. 125-145). Routledge.
7. Wu, S., Wee, H. M., & Lee, S. B. (2016). Technical innovation vs. sustainability–A case study from the Taiwanese automobile industry. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 48, 20-30.

The alternative strategies that Ryanair should adopt to maintain competitiveness include the following.

Firstly, Ryanair should continue to adopt the ‘red ocean strategy’ where it steals customers from other markets segments or from other major airlines. It can do this by stealing customers from the business class segments of other airlines for its’ own airline’s leisure and business travel. If the company continues with the adoption of this strategy then it can prove that a differentiated marketing strategy is still vulnerable when it comes to competition (Morris, Schindehutte and Allen, 2005).

The number of air travel passengers keep on growing at an unpreceded pace and most of these are from a middle-low and middle-middle income groups who use these low-cost carriers like Ryanair for their travelling needs. Since its inception, Michael O’Leary has said that the no-frills services provided by the airline should reflect the culture of Ryanair and so both he and the staff was downright rude to the customers stating that those who travel on low fare and low-cost carriers can take the insults. However, in the service sector, the customer is the most important person and his or her satisfaction needs to be, guaranteed. Therefore, Ryanair needs to improve its customer relationship management by designing a better service system that can deliver air travel at a low cost, provide training facilities to staff on how to deal with customers and monitoring Ryanair’s target markets and their needs, wants and values. If the airline does this than it can respond accordingly, rather than just assuming that offering the lowest fares is the only alternative to beating its competitors. Therefore, Ryanair should implement a strong CRM policy to minimize this particular weakness and give it an edge over its other competitors (Hitt, Hoskisson and Ireland, 2011).

Ryanair has also experienced the after-effects of the rising fuel prices, staff turnover costs, personnel and equipment costs, which seem to have increased by more than twenty percent since last few years. However, Ryanair can still maintain its’ competitive edge due to its ‘flying slow’ policy which is a smart inimitable strategy for the airline. Here the airline boasts of using resources efficiently. Ryanair needs to take advantage of its economies of scale that occurs due to its’ high fleet turnover, increase of in-flight cabin crew and effective staff payment structures where the salaries and bonuses of staff depend on productivity levels and on the number of hours they remain in the air.

Another thing that Ryanair’s can to do maintain its competitiveness is to extend its’ airline’s presence on the social media and the internet. It can also focus on the business travelers to pass through the low seasons of little or no air traffic and improve their airline’s sales margin while at the same time consolidate the position of the airline in the new markets and develop itself so that it is able to cater to long-haul sector as well.

Conclusion

Here in the paper, we made an analysis of the viability and ability of Ryanair to overcome the economic and other obstacles and restraining forces that the airline faces to become one of the largest European low-cost carriers and/or budget airlines in the UK. The major concern for Ryanair was its low-cost strategy over differentiation however, the airline is still able to become a true budgeted European airline which offers all the basic and no-frills services to its customers including good quality and quick flights with zero delays and even with increased fuel surcharges. In the paper, we saw that it would also be beneficial for Ryanair, if it expands its markets through related and unrelated diversification and starts catering to leisure sectors and FMCGs. In short, this paper is also about the existing strategies in lace and what must Ryanair do in terms of its strategies so as to maintain a competitive edge and make sure that they are in alignment with the goals and objectives of the airline.

The strategy and performance of LEGO® has seen many changes over the years it has been operating. This initially family-run business has gone through major fundamental changes which has allowed it to become one of the largest global toy manufacturers with high quality products and strong customer loyalty. Some key changes over time include changes of focus in strategic management, changes of top leadership figures, investments in LEGO® theme parks, advancement from physical products into digital gaming and movie franchises and the creation of strategic partnerships resulting in different product lines (Jensen 2013). As LEGO® went through several phases in its history, with a crisis period from 1999 to 2005, we aim at researching and clarifying why and how they reached the position they currently hold in the toy market.

A Short Company History

The LEGO® Group is a privately held company created in 1932 in Billund, Denmark, by Ole Kirk Christiansen. Their first products were wooden toys which were abandoned by Ole and his son Godtfred to focus on the introduction and development of plastic “Bricks”. Today LEGO® produce and sell a range of toys based on their main product “the Brick”, as well as video and online games. The LEGO® products focus on children’s creativity and problem-solving development, as well as introducing new playing and learning techniques. In 2016, Lego was the top ranked major toy company in the world, based on revenue, ahead of companies such as Mattel and Namco Bandai (Brand Finance 2017). The company’s products are sold in more than 130 countries and in 2017 LEGO® employed around 16,500 people globally (Buglione et al. 2013). The company, together with its subsidiaries, operates in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia (Statista 2017a). LEGO® and Merlin Entertainments own six LEGO® theme parks worldwide. The LEGO® Group continues to expand its global presence, eventually reaching children in every country of the world.

Financial Highlights of the LEGO Group from 1995 to 2018

LEGO® started as a small family business and achieved continuous financial growth from its inception in 1932 through the late 1990’s. From 1999 to 2005, the company was accumulating losses and came close to bankruptcy. Implementation of the strategies we will look at further resulted in LEGO® to reconsolidate its operations and not only become profitable again but at the same time to generate growth figures which resulted in it becoming the market leader in the global toy market in 2016. Today, LEGO® competes for its share of a total toy market of 89 billion U.S. dollars (Statista 2017b).

Strategic Leadership and LEGO®’s Strategic Drift in the Crisis Years

LEGO® is considered to have a transformational leadership style. This leadership style causes valuable and positive changes within the organisation and encourages employee involvement and innovation (Crawford 2005). The leadership style of LEGO® can be seen to change over the years from its initial family-run business to hiring people who are better equipped to the leadership roles needed for the business to keep progressing in an ever-changing digital world.

Strategic drift can be defined as a gradual deterioration of competitive action that results in the failure of an organisation to acknowledge and respond to changes in the business environment (Harris et al. 2009). The term strategic drift is used to describe a sense of cognitive sloth in the ability to meet the original objectives of an organization.

LEGO® went through strategic drifts over the course of many years. The suffered many fluctuations due to many categorical mistakes made from leadership styles to budgeting and changes to product development. When the crisis started in 2000, Kjeld, the last family member CEO, stepped down and an external COO was appointed (Jensen 2013). However, as the results did not improve significantly, Kjeld stepped back in, disrupting the plans instigated by the COO. At the end of 2004 however Kjeld removed himself again from the office and Jorgen Vig Knudstorp became the company’s CEO. Needless to say, that this chaotic change of leadership brought confusion not only inside the company but also to the then stagnant market. There was no clear focussed leadership. Jorgen understood this and acted in order to restore a viable management structure. When appointed, Jorgen Knudstorp went on a “discovery journey” in order to understand what exactly made LEGO® unique. He did this by visiting LEGO® retailers asking them about what was missing in the product and marketing mix. He knew that the understanding the psychology of learning by playing was crucial for the company; he went to M.I.T. for a reminder about how children learn. He also attended a Lego conference and liaised with the targeted adult fans. “They really inspired me to go back to the creative expression of the core product”, he says (McGregor 2017).

The drifts LEGO® experienced were also caused due to geographical scope and market presence with LEGO® being a mature provider in a stagnant industry that had to be re-vamped to attract new customer market segments. Compliance with local laws were also a strategic challenge to LEGO® as different laws regarding environmental issues and trading had different regulations. Maintaining high quality levels became a strategic drift, as when LEGO® outsourced its bricks to cheaper suppliers, the quality and level of production could not be maintained causing financial losses to the company (Jensen 2013).

The years 2000 to 2005 were very tumultuous for LEGO® and nearly brought the company to its knees.

LEGO – Strategy to Outperform the Competition and Solidify Its Market Position

LEGO® differentiates itself from the competition by designing and selling specialised sets and licensed with movies and firms such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, Toy Story, and more. LEGO® uses age-appropriate target marketing campaigns and has product lines specifically developed for boys, girls and adults; this includes the architecture studio set with over 1200 pieces and no instructions (Schultz and Hatch 2003). You can “Let your imagination guide your design” (LEGO Shop 2018). To evaluate LEGO®’s attractiveness as a company and assess its potential profitability LEGO® could use Porter’s 5 forces analysis. These 5 forces define the competitive environment and can erode the company’s profitability. Our analysis for LEGO® in its current state is shown below. Porter’s 5 forces analysis.

Threat of New Entrants

The LEGO® company was founded in 1932 and has been in operation for 87 years. It has a strong brand loyalty built over many years and is a known and family-trusted global toy industry. In 2018, LEGO® was one of the top ten most reputable companies in the world (Valet 2018).

Threat from new entrants to LEGO® is very low as toy production is a seasonal operation and a risky investment to get involved in. The technological base needed to produce high quality “Bricks” like the LEGO® ones can only be built at high cost and will need a long time to be optimised. In order for new entrants to be a threat they would have to create new innovative toys and strategies to displace LEGO®’s consumers. Threat of new entrants may come in the form of online-multiplayer digital games as LEGO®’s project ‘LEGO® Universe’ was unsuccessful with several postponements and lack of popularity amongst younger users (Schultz and Hatch 2003). However, LEGO® was successful with video games such as LEGO Star Wars and other movie franchises. This investment by LEGO® into the digital scene has increased the barriers of entry to new potential entrants wanting to move into this area allowing LEGO® keep better control over its place in the industry.

Rivalry Among Existing Competitors

LEGO® has a limited number of competitors, these include, Mattel, Hasbro, Playmobil, K’NEX, Cobi and others. Out of these, the largest competitor is the cooperation between Mattel and Mega Brands. Mattel and Mega Brands have formed a partnership to create a new set of toys called Mega Bloks, directly rivalling LEGO®’s toy designs and market segments (MEGA Brands Inc. 2012). They announced a multi-year global licensing partnership to develop construction toys based on the most iconic children’s brands Barbie and Hot Wheels (Mega Brands and Mattel 2012). Each of these products are fully customizable through the use of extra addition pieces. Although LEGO® has these competitors, it has not swayed the consumer loyalty it already has. This is because LEGO®’s construction toys are of extremely high quality, creative and educational to children, safe to use and sturdy in design. The partnership moves into electronic sectors such as Sega and Nintendo has allowed LEGO® to expand beyond just physical toy production and into wider areas increasing the barriers to entry from its competitors who may only focus on the non-digital sector of toy production (Milne 2015). The oligopolistic nature of the toy industry reveals that only a small number of producers are in it which reduces the chances of competitors being able to compete directly with LEGO® (Consortium 2013).

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

When LEGO® outsourced production of its bricks, market feedback, flexibility and fast adjustments in the supply chain were lost as the external sourcing partners could not cope with supply demands (Jensen 2013). This made them reconsider their strategy and approach to suppliers. As there are many potential suppliers, the suppliers have a low bargaining power. The materials for the production of the LEGO® bricks are fairly common and cheap. LEGO® ensures that the prices it gives suppliers matches the quality of the product the supplier has produced; this keeps initiative high to keep standards high and promotes strong business links. In general, LEGO® uses its high power of their brand to keep the bargaining power of their suppliers in check. However, the bargaining power of suppliers increases in the digital sector. This is because LEGO® outsources its investment ideas in the technology department by creating partnerships with these suppliers. They must cooperate with these companies and find compromises to any issues that may arise and abide to the contracts made with these companies. They are sharing knowledge work and any breach of contract or leak of intellectual property or information would cause major backlash to the LEGO® corporation.

Bargaining Power of Buyers

The bargaining power of buyers is considered relatively high for LEGO®. This is because consumer habits, markets and segments were changing over the years and technological innovation and continuous flow of new products was needed to keep consumers happy. LEGO® have tailored its products to its customers wants and ideas which has led to a better relationship between the organisation and the buyers. They also try to maintain reasonable prices for its goods and have yearly offers and promotions allowing families of all backgrounds enjoy the experience LEGO® toys have to offer (Schultz and Hatch 2003). This shows that the bargaining power of consumers is high as it influences LEGO®’s decisions in terms of price, availability and new product designs. The bargaining power also directly affects the profits made by LEGO®, so by adjusting to some of the needs outlined by consumers they can continue to make high profit margin levels and expand their consumer base.

Threat of Substitute Products or Services

Accumulated knowledge about plastics and production technologies has made it difficult for imitators to replicate the LEGO® Brick. Direct imitation and compatible bricks are therefore more of a threat to the brand, rather than direct sales threats (BBC News 2018). However, there is a high threat of substitutes as LEGO®’s patents and copyrights were unsuccessful to repel competitors in court (Eaton 2016). The high-quality products they produce minimises the likelihood of consumers not buying their products – reducing the loss of profits. Some substitutes to LEGO® may be on-line gaming, sports, hobbies and school for children making this a threat to the products and services supplied by LEGO®. However, one may argue that LEGO®’s products allow creative expansion and physical, visual and analytical education in design and engineering aspects. Most parents prefer their children to develop abilities through play, and as children may learn at a young age through using Lego blocks to approach tasks from a more analytical angle whilst become better thinkers, the parents will keep a close loyalty to the LEGO® brand.

This analysis shows that LEGO® has a unique position in the toy market. It does not have to worry too much about new entrants and its direct competitors are limited. Supply of primary materials is well controlled, while partnering with their customers has solidified LEGO®’s position and justified their premium price point. Substitute products are a possible threat but LEGO® has acknowledged this and build partnerships to adapt to the substitute markets demands.

LEGO – Internal Strategy Analysis and SWOT

The SWOT Analysis allows LEGO® to develop four types of internal strategies: SO (Strengths-Opportunities) strategies; WO (Weaknesses-Opportunities) strategies; ST (Strengths-Threats) strategies, WT (Weaknesses-Threats) strategies. The following matrix is a compact representation of the results from literature (Buglione et al. 2012)(LEGO 2017a)(Milne 2017)(BBC News 2018)(Helms and Nixon 2010).

Strenghts Weaknesses

• Strong brand name and recognition;
• No longer patent protected;
• Advanced technological knowledge;
• Small target group;
• Investments in capacity expansion;
• Digital developments: strong growth drivers;
• Single product: the “Brick”;
• Negative impact of operations on the environment;
• Massive market;
• Seasonal demand for the product;
• Licensing deals in other media;
• Premium price point compared to other producers;
• Efficient marketing;
• Large corporate structure;
• Brick 69 years in the market;
• Strong financials with sustainable growth.

Opportunities Treats

• Market expansion in emerging markets;
• Target group expansion;
• Existing and new competitors;
• Counterfeits and cheap imitations;
• Creativity tool expansion;
• Restricted product range;
• Legoland parks and Lego House;
• Increase in input prices;
• Streamline production process;
• Population decrease in some areas;
• Optimise distribution;
• Effects of a weak economy;
• Image tarnished due to patent fights with Tyco.

Based on the SWOT matrix, internal strategic plans can be developed by focussing on answering below questions. I do not expand on this topic due to word count limitation, but LEGO apparently successfully defined and implemented these strategies allowing it to come out of the crisis stronger and more streamlined as it had ever been before.

LEGO® – Strategy for Future Growth

Having faced many changes, LEGO® finally becoming profitable again in 2005. The mistake made by the company was the fact that it tried to grow by introducing product lines that LEGO® had no experience with. The major change made by Jorgen Vig Knudstorp as CEO was to refocus LEGO® onto its core business the “Brick”. Jorgen made major cost cutting decisions aimed at reducing the company’s debt and consolidate its financial position. In parallel he adopted a strategy in marketing and sales of partnering with the world’s largest retailers and including these retailers in LEGO®’s product planning; Jorgen used the myriad of intellectual marketing data he obtained from his retailers to steer LEGO® through the stormy waters of the Toy Industry expand (Hunt 2017). Refocussing on some prime directives also meant to restore the image of quality and durability of the core product while being innovative in order to align itself with the changes in the playing habits of their customers (O’Connell 2009).

Increasing market share was achieved by accepting the differences in their customers between genders, geographical locations and local cultures. Using ethnographic research allowed LEGO to develop gender specific toys for girls, a market niche they had neglected before (De Castella 2014).

Having restored a strong financial position, the marketing strategy is paying off for LEGO® as it was able to increase its market share in their existing markets while expanding in emerging markets such as China, South Amerika and Asia.

LEGO achieved their goal and became one of the world’s largest toy company because it understood that rather than fighting their competitors using a diversity of different toys to be the biggest, it needed to focus on one toy, the ”Brick” and produce a variety of different flavours by partnering with major forces in the multi-media industry and “be the best”, not the biggest (McGregor 2016).

The dirty water comes from homes,drainage of industrial waste and many other sourses is what we call sewage water or waste water. Due to ever increasing population the demand for clean water is constantly increasing, so purification and production of potable water is one of the alternatives to deal with this problem of water crisis. Recycling of waste water or rain water harvesting are some of the means by which water can be used for industrial and agricultural purposes. Wastewater are storehouse of many unused minerals, pathogens which cannot be used as such for kitchen gardens, aquaculture ponds or agricultural fields. Thus wastewater have to be purified with cost effective methods, so that water can be used for agricultural purposes. An effective method of waste water treatment is the use of agricultural waste such coconut coir, rice bran waste, neem bark, waste bamboo. Till date several methods have been used for the treatment of waste water.

The purification of waste water from various industrial processes is a world wide problem of increasing importance due to the restricted amounts of water suitable for direct use. Maintaing the drinking water quality is essential to public health. Various types of dyes, heavy metal, BOD, COD are of important classes. Removal of dye from effluents of chemical industries such as plastics, dyestuffs, textile, pulp and paper has remained a problem of increasing concern to the environmentalists. The presence of these dyes even at a very low concentration is highly observable and undesirable. Therefore dye removal has been a very important but challenging area of wastewater treatment. The present study is undertaken to investigate the efficiency of raw coconut coirdust (without physical/chemical modification or activation) as a low cost adsorbent for the removal of methylene blue from aqueous solution. Similarly, in the era of industrialization and urbanization, there is a huge increase in the use of metals in the industries. The effluents from these industries contains heavy metals in their effluents which leads to the deterioration of the water quality. Neem bark are used for the removal of heavy metal such as Cr(VI), Cu(II) and Zn(II).In addition rice bran is also used for decreasing the sludge volume. Both biological oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand decreases relative to that before the addition of rice bran.

Prelimnary Treatment

Waste water contains suspended solids such as rags, wood, metal, plastic,etc. These suspended impurities have to be removed as they interfere with treatment process.

Primary Treatment

Consist of mainly the sedimentation process to remove suspended organic solids. ? hemicals are sometimes added in primary clarifier for the removal of colloidal solids.

Secondary or Biological

Treatment Here 2 types of process takes place one is activated sludge process and another is filtration.With the use of rice bran during actvated sludge process for the removal of organic matter and further removing 75-95% of BOD. In the filtration tank ,waste water is passed over a bed of rocks or soil profile,it removes finely divided suspended matter and also removes 80-95% of BOD.

Tertiary Treatment

This is the most important one in which we use agricultural waste foe the removal of pesticides, dyes, heavy metals. For this purpose we use coconut coir as a bioabsorbant for the removal of excess dye present in water. Neem bark is used for the remol ov heavy metal from waste water.Bamboo chips as a bioabsorbant for the removal of pesticides.

Output of the Idea and Application

Beside the classical waste water treatment techniques,adsoption is the most promising separation and purification method using different agricultural waste. There are various potential agricultural waste adsorbents for the removal of toxic heavy metals, dyes and various pesticides. Waste water which cannot be used due to the presence of pathogens and trace elements after get treated with agricultural waste having various properties can now be used as such for kitchen garden,aquaculture pond or agricultural fields. Thus waste water is purified in a cost effective method.

Commercial Viability

The waste products from the agricultural field can be easily used in a ecofriendly way the agricultural waste like rice bran,waste bamboo,neem bark, coconut coir can easily be collected and can be used commercially for the treatment of waste water. This process of using agricultural waste is a cost effective process.

Competitive Advantage

Over Existing Technologies We can clean 200L/2hour by using 1 kg of each adsorbant(3 types) cost maximum 50 rupees. Where as by using motor about 1500/-, by using machine about 6000/- and in one time investement programme about 7500/-is used. In comparission all other exsisting techniques it is the most effective, with low cost treatment process.