Strategic Management

The STEEPLE model is a strategic management tool used to analyze the macro-environment, the opportunities and threats in the external environment. It is an expansion of the well-known PESTEL analysis, and provides a more comprehensive view of the external environment. The STEEPLE acronym stands for Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political, Legal, and Ethical factors. Social: […]

Situation analysis is the analysis of the internal and external factors of a business. It involves conducting a market analysis, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, doing an assessment of the external environment, and doing a competitive analysis. Here are some of the tools used in Situation Analysis: PESTLE/PEST, Porters 5 Forces, SWOT/TOWS, […]

Resource Dependence Theory (RDT) is a framework that suggests that firms are not self-sufficient entities but are instead reliant on various resources in their environment for survival. These resources include capital, raw materials, technology, expertise, etc. One can find the application of Resource Dependence Theory in organizational behavior and strategic management. This theory helps understand […]

Various strategies (innovation, growth) adopted by Netflix to become the largest streaming service provider in the world. About Netflix Netflix, the world’s largest online streaming services provider, serves a diverse subscriber base globally. Its popularity over the years has been driven through original content and sound use of technology. Netflix maintains that member satisfaction is […]

The GE-McKinsey (9-box) Matrix (aka Directional Policy Matrix) is a tool that enables a firm to understand which are its strong products/segments, where it has a strong competitive position so that it can focus better on those areas. This tool enables a firm to carry out analysis of its portfolio of products or various areas […]

Here are various strategies adopted by Walmart over the years that has helped the company become a retail giant. Pricing Strategy The pricing strategy of “Everyday Low Prices” has been at the core of the business model of Walmart. This strategy is focused on selling goods at a lower price per item at all times, […]

Technological Environment (Domestic or Foreign Technological Factors) and its impact on business. Two of the principal divers of global development have been speed of communication and the reduction in cost of technology. Impact of technological advances: Ability to gather data on markets Management control capabilities Operational practicalities of electronic communication 4th Industrial Revolution: Autonomous production […]

Economic environment refers to the external economic factors that can influence businesses as well as consumer behavior, and in turn impact the performance of a business. Economic environment factors are further categorized as macroeconomic factors and microeconomic factors. It is important for managers to appreciate the importance of the economic analysis of foreign markets, to […]

The legal environment of a country is framed by its government and comprises of business laws that every business operating in that country must adhere to. Understanding the Legal Environment Legal Environment (Domestic or Foreign Legal Factors) stems from the political stance and cultural attitude towards business in the domestic and foreign market in which […]

Political Environment (Domestic or Foreign Political Factors) includes any domestic and foreign political factors which may affect the organization’s decision making, planning, implementation and control mechanisms. Marketers have to work within the framework of each country’s ruling parties in which they operate. Introduction Each nation has a unique political culture that: reflects the relative importance […]

Culture is an intangible and wide-ranging concept whose theoretical basis is based in several traditional fields of research including anthropology, management, psychology and other social sciences is culture. Culture has many views; however, a very common understanding of culture is that it is related to concepts such as behaviour, values, and norms of a certain […]

Ansoff Matrix, often referred to as the Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a strategic planning framework used by firms to help plan their growth initiatives. The matrix talks about four different growth alternatives – market penetration, market development, product development and diversification. The Ansoff matrix is named after Igor Ansoff, who published it in a Harvard […]

McKinsey’s Three Horizons of Growth suggests that a firm should categorize its various goals into three different ‘horizons’ in order to effectively focus on growth as well as innovation. Horizon 1 Current core activities – extend and defend these activities. This is about conintuing to do what a firm does best. Horizon 2 Develop emerging […]

The Internal Environment includes all aspects that are directly within the span of control of the global company and can be altered, stopped or started at its decision, e.g. strategy, structure, people, processes, resources. What is the Internal Environment? The internal environment refers to the culture, people (directly or indirectly related to the organization), events […]

Understanding mission, vision and value statements. A mission statement talks about the organization’s business, its purpose, its objectives and how it intends to meet those objectives. A vision statement details what the organization hopes to become in the future, where it aspires to go. The values statement talks about the organization’s core principles and ethics. […]

A useful way of gaining insights into competitors and the competitive environment is through industry analysis. Porter’s five forces model is a framework that helps understand the competitive patterns within the industry in which a firm operates. Introduction An Industry is “a group of firms that produce products that are close substitutes for each other. […]

While strategies at the corporate level provide the broad direction, below this level are the business level strategies. Corporate level strategies lay down the framework in which business strategies operate. These strategies are then applied at the business level. Business strategies are the courses of action adopted by an organization for each of its businesses […]

Environmental scanning is an activity that helps an organization to identify the opportunities and threats in its environment. It is the systematic, ongoing collection and interpretation of data about internal and external factors that affect marketing and performance. According to Aguilar (1967), environmental scanning is the process of gathering information about a company’s external events […]

The Churchill & Lewis Growth Stage Model is a useful framework that helps analyse what particular stage of growth a small firm is at, and the issues and problems that they need to be aware of – now as well as in the future as the business grows. The five stages of small business growth […]

Strategies for different functions of management are known as functional level strategy. Functional Level Strategy is concerned with operational level decision making, called tactical decisions, for various functional areas such as: Marketing Finance Production Logistics Research & Development Human Resource Functional level Managers operate at lowest hierarchical level of strategic management. This level is responsible […]