Business Organization and Management
Question 1
Strategic management is assessing, planning, formulating, executing, and evaluating the requirements a firm needs to accomplish its objectives and goals. The task is carried out by top managers of the company in place of the owners. It aims to increase the performance and competitive advantage of the firm. The strategy should have the five Ps; plan, ploy, pattern, position, and perspective. The strategic management process is continuous, and it evaluates the business and its environment. A SWOT analysis is necessary to achieve a competitive advantage. The firm can utilize its strengths, minimize its weaknesses, identify and use rising opportunities, and recognize threats. It is critical for the plan to cover both unfeasible and predictable contingencies. Moreover, the firm should consider organizational culture, data collection, and effective communication in the process.
Question 2
An organizational mission is crucial to a firm. It works as a navigating tool for the firm, which it can look up to for guidance when they come across difficulties in operation and market. It also helps the organization to maintain its focus, time, and attention on what is relevant to achieve its goals. The firm can create innovative ideas from the mission, thus changing equitably with the market trends. A firm’s mission helps it to develop and shape a work culture that all employees fit. Moreover, it specifies the brand’s message to the market as it clarifies its purpose and audience. Additionally, it helps to drive the action needed and strive to meet the firm’s goals.
Question 3
The acronym T on SWOT analysis stands for threats. It is any factor in the business macro-environment that will damage the firm, its product, or venture to new markets. They are detrimental to the business and external, such as other companies’ competition and new laws. Threats are uncontrollable; some are foreseeable while others are unforeseen. However, a firm can choose how to approach it effectively. Sources of threats come from new government regulations, shift in the target audience, change in political support, market trends, change in relationships, and funding changes.
Question 4
The economic implications of Covid19 belong to the threats part of the SWOT analysis. It is an external threat to the business which affects its macro-environment. Secondly, it is uncontrollable, no company can control its impact, but they can adopt new ways to deal with it. Moreover, its effect is majorly negative. Many firms have experienced huge losses, which may be hard to recover after the pandemic. Furthermore, it made operation costs of most companies very high such that they had to lay off some employees.
However, some companies may consider it as an opportunity, especially the digital and telemarketing firms. It is because they enjoy an increase in the number of customers like Tiktok. Other companies, like those offering delivery services, also found new markets for their companies.
Question 5
Competitive advantage is the factors that enable a business to produce better and cheap goods and services to its customers than its competitors. As a result, it generates more sales to the market. Some of the factors causing competitive advantage include; branding, the structure of cost, product quality, customer service, the network for distribution, and intellectual property. Competitive advantage can be divided into a comparative advantage where the firm produces something more efficiently than its rivals, thus having more profits and differential power where the firm’s output is considered of higher quality and unique than those of its competitors. It can be achieved by either changing the external business environment, such as changes in PEST factors or developing the micro-environment through innovation.
Bonus Question
An e-business strategy is crucial to growing a business. As a business individual, I would use it to increase e-commerce search usability such that customers can quickly get what they search. Moreover, I would use a good product description with high-quality photographs to lure customers. I will also personalize the homepage to user-friendly, maintain consistency and uniqueness, and optimize the shopping cart’s functionality. Additionally, I will build an email list; improve my social media and advertising strategies.