Strategic management and business policy module

Strategic management and business policy module 1 There were a number of concurrent changes in the VSM Group in the period 1997-2003, is the VSM Group still the same company? No the company has changed a lot with the arrival of the new CEO, new things has been introduced as: More people were involved in strategic sessions New mission statement Companion strategy High involvement of employees on different level Purchase of competitors added production capacity to the firm Processes have been directed towards strengthening the linkages between functional areas in the value chain. The physical relocation of the RD and marketing departments to the same building New programs for educating the retailers and customers on sewing and using the machines. Integrating technology (mainly on line) with the innovation of the new machines. 2 How would you describe the strategic capability of Viking Sewing Machines in 1997? In 2003? In 1997: The Company brought their managers of their major national sales companies as well as the marketing vice president into the top management; also there were changes in their operating systems New mission and documents brought different level together which added a broader sight Bringing the technical expertise and marketers together to come up with new innovations that meet customers needs. In 2003: New and exclusive dealers had been added. Two strong brands, Pfaff as a high quality brand, and Husqvarna as the family and innovative brand. Brno added add capacity of production to the company, which was cost efficient and added capacity to the production. They have expertise in the product development of the sewing machines industry 3 Are the core competences in 2003 more robust than in 1997? Definitely yes; there were more focus in the strategy and direction in 2003 They have better product development capabilities. Two strong brands. An IT company to develop their own technology work, thus controlling the embroidery market. Building linkages within the value chain. 4 What are the important factors in the macro-environment that influence VSM and its industry? Political The political situation might be influenced by the trade agreement between the States and the European origin products. Also, manufacturing in the Far East might have some regulations and extra taxations since these markets are flooding the world with lower priced products. Economic The economic situation is affected by the difference in currency of the different origin or production and consumer markets. To raise quality they might need to shift the factors from Far East to another location with higher pays. Also, Sales of low priced simple machines have increased, while more advanced machines showed steady sales. Social Clothes became cheaper so no need for sewing at home. More social activities emerged and resulted in less time afforded to sewing hobbies Technological This had the major contribution here due to: The high development of the internet usages and its spread; The power and reach of the new software. Enhancement of the senses and computerized motors to give better functionality to the machines. People (Customers) are more technologically driven and are up to date with innovations thus request the new and complicated models. Environmental Natural crisis as Tsunamis are threatening the Far East which might result in a cut of production and disturbance to the manufacturing flow. Legal It will depend on new regulation for this industry or in the industrial market as a whole 5 What are the forces of competition in the sewing machine industry? Five Forces analysis Competitive rivalry Moderate since there are moderate product innovation, and no real competition in the market through prices and addressing resellers. Low number of competitors covering the same segment There are some product differentiations in the complete products that depend on innovation Entry barrier Low, with some concern regarding the reach to the distribution channels that work exclusively with the other companies. There are some capital investment and know-how but its not a major one. Buyer power Buyers have high bargaining power due to low switching costs between brands since the industry is mature and there arent a lot of product differentiations for the general products. Supplier Power There arent any concentration in the supplier side , and the raw material are mainly general materials and the production and the RD at the VMS are covering the other parts , thus we see this as weak Substitutes Mostly this market have good quality machines and a lower cost ones from east Asia , thus they differ in price and quality , and switching cost is low , thus it will increase the threats for the normal machines , while complex computerized machines are limited in the market. From the above we dont see the market as attractive for new entrant since people tent more to buy cloths outside and have very attractive and affordable prices of clothes rather than creating their own. 6 What are the next strategic issues Viking will have to address? What strategic options might be considered? They need to maintain their technical leadership and managing the value chain. Also they need to manage their brands and their recent acquisitions. As for their next steps it should be to protect and build on their current successful position. They should work on increasing their customer orientation, RD, production, marketing, distribution in all parts of their value chain. Where the retailers have a major role in reaching their customer, which needs concentration and follow up on their training and supporting them , this will also place a good part of the attention on marketing and customers relationship management and VSM has transformed with the help of the new CEO from a product orientated company to a market oriented one. They also started to focus on selected customer segment to cover their needs; this is shown with the different targeting technique from their VMS and Pfaff line of machines, were they need to work on the innovation of products and services. The company has good attention to the acquisition of Emnet and software engineers computing companies. Where they need to build on their traditional strength and benefit from their product development, and the use of the new technology to add an edge for them in this industry m where the production have to be met with an aggressive and smart sales force . 7 How does the strategy of the VSM Group match its strategic capability with its environment? How did it change from 1997 to 2003? They need to concentrate on their existing resource positions and building on their new resources to capture a position on their selected market. VSM had many important recourses and competences that help them with their initial strategy building on their RD process and innovative production which have highlighted their brand , here they missed the importance of marketing and its power to play with the environmental factors to bring more success to the firm . And since the market was declining the way to survive was to concentrate on differentiation products that are high computerized. And mainly focus differentiation and top of the line models ,which needed to reach the customer with exclusive retailers and at prime locations , and took keep the flow of the experience they had trained the retailers to a level that represent them and keep a good relationship with the customers . Here they also created training programs for their end users of the machines and train them on professional ways and patterns of using these machines. Problem with their earlier value chain and not being able to have the benefit reach their clients due to the lack of the marketing control over retailers thus the new strategy was to fix this cut in the link in the value chain, another issue they were facing is the lack of communication between their RN and their marketing department, which the new CEO brought these department physical near each other to enhance this channels. Their new acquisition of their competitor Pfaff added new resources and a strong high end brand to the group, the thing now is how to manage their two brands since they compete in the same markets knowing that the perceived value and prices are not the sole player in the market, here they benefited from their technological edge and their high quality products in a clear market communication process to reach their desired customers segments each one by its own without affecting the flow and the strategy of the other brand. 8 The case starts with the arrival of the new CEO. What role did Mr. Runnquist play in the transformation of the company? How important is he for the future of the company? The New CEO defiantly added a lot to the organization and did a paradigm shift to their working culture, such as collaboration of a bigger audience in major decisions of the organization, educating employees, retailers and end users . He was under press since the company was newly sold to a new owner that expected revenues to jump , which made him shift the organization from production oriented to market oriented one to capture all aspects and react on them . Here the need for a new mission, vision and strategic document of the organization emerged , where he have going the forces from different departments to participate and build them , this of course included different levels of the organization to jump in these activity which have added some sense of commitment and ownership among all levels . Another major issue he worked on is the harmony and good level of communication in their value chain, working from the RD, production, marketing, Sales, retailer to the end customers. This helped in having all these level at the same level of professionalism and updated knowledge to better understand the products to be able to sell or buy them. He is very important for the continuity and the future challenges that will face VMS, he need to continually have an eye open for new channels and treats and benefit from this firms resources and capabilities building on their experiences to capture opportunity and turn around weakness and treats to bring more success to the firm, this of course implies that he might have another paradigm shift if it is needed. 9 At two points in time, the CEO of the VSM Group opens up a broad discussion on the strategic issues. What issues are discussed and why does he involve a larger group of the management on these issues? The first one was in 1997, when he joined the organization and need all level to be part of the new paradigm shift and mind set of the firm and be a part in creating their new mission. The second one was in 2000, after the acquisition of other firms team from outside the higher management was brought again to discuss the future of the firm and to gain legitimacy for the strategy ahead. The importance of this part was also to set all minds to a focused set of actions to deal with the two competing rand so as not to confuse the market and employees so and not to lose their corporate identity. It is important to participate a good audience to create commitment to the new strategic moves and create some sense of ownership among different level in the firm and push hard for the future and targets.

Building a strong community partnership: when it comes to creating effectives school-family-community partnerships, take some advice from veteran districts

The idea of creating school-family community partnership is good. However, some statements do not make much sense and there are many vague parts. The essay was not very well written and there are a couple of grammatical and spelling errors. There are errors when it comes to spacing. These could be because the paper was not properly proofread. Creating school-family community partnership is good because it will make school easier for children.The essay focused mainly on the methods of how a school will have a good relationship with parents aside from the regular PTA meetings as well the advantages of the development of the relationship. However, the paper failed to note any negative consequences of such. One possible negative effects is that the children may feel that they are always being watched by their parents. The guidance is good but it will hinder the children from developing independence. This concept indicates that too much parental guidance has negative effects.The essay was written in a way that the readers will not be attracted to read. The use of several quotations somehow gave the essay more life to it, but generally, people would not waste time to read the whole of the essay. A warning for controversy was posted at the end of the essay which is good. It emphasizes on a good point that controversy would be hard to avoid. Differences in opinion makes a lot of room for disagreement and controversy. It is important to avoid such situations and the author prepared good advice on how to avoid and how to deal with such situations.The essay was brief but it made the essay boring to read despite its being informative. It provides very good information on the different aspects which could help promote better relationships between the school and the parents. School-parent relationship may be one thing that the education system is missing. It is an interesting topic because it could provide a solution to change the country's education system for the better. S chools have been focusing too much on academic quality and putting a little more

The Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered - 2098 Words

No one can deny that alcohol is a huge part of the American and global culture. Even looking into the past histories of countries around the world, one can see how alcohol and drinking have been integral parts to religious, professional, familial, and social life. Alcoholic consumption began for many as a symbol of friends and acquaintances coming together to simply enjoy life and â€Å"be merry.† However, in the United States, alcoholic consumption and the law have collided quite often in the past. Through Prohibition’s ultimate failure of banning the sale, transportation, and manufacture of alcohol and future amendments and acts mandating who should be allowed to drink in this country, the United States has surely been accustomed to controversies regarding the consumption of alcohol. The most recent and ongoing controversy regarding drinking is whether the legal drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen. This is a huge controversy specifically relevan t to college students, as drinking at American universities has grown to become a defining part of college life despite the fact that a majority of college students cannot even legally drink. It is clear through the prevalence and dangers of binge drinking among college students and the high percentage of DUI and alcohol-related accidents and deaths that something needs to change in this country. Lowering the drinking age from twenty one to eighteen would be an effective and beneficial step in changing theShow MoreRelatedThe Legal Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered973 Words   |  4 Pages The Legal Age for Drinking Alcohol Should Not Be Lowered To 18 In the United States. Every state has the right to set its own legal drinking age. 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These are not easy tasks for one to take on, yet our governmentRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered955 Words   |  4 PagesIn the United States of America, the National Government requires the states to enforce a legal drinking age of twenty-one. Where as the world average drinking age is eighteen, and in some Countries it is even lower where it is possible to get a beer at sixteen years of age. Taking that into consideration, there is a great deal of controversy in the United States on what the legal age should be to purchase and consume an alcoholic beverage. The largest issue being that you are considered to be anRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered1170 Words   |  5 PagesFor a majority of the 20th century, the United States drinking age has been a big issue. After prohibition had concluded in 1933, twenty- one was the new legal drinking age. Meanwhile, during the Vietnam War, eighteen became the new legal drinking age. Finally in 1984, Congress pa ssed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act (MLDA). Since then, twenty-one years old has been the legal age to drink in the United States. There are several ways alcohol has been a reason for death such as, alcohol poisoningRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered1553 Words   |  7 Pagesold male who lives in Oregon. To celebrate his 18th birthday, he decided to go out with some friends and have a few drinks. He knows that the legal drinking age is 21, but he thinks what is the harm? I am 18 and in other countries, you are allowed to drink before you turn 21. Later that night as John gets in the car with his friends after a few hours of drinking, everything seems to be going well as they are driving down the freeway on their way over to his friend Dan’s house that is just a few milesRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered988 Words   |  4 PagesThe Legal Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered There are copious amounts of people who believe that the legal drinking age should be lowered to eighteen. Others think the drinking age needs to remain the same. A few of those also conclude the legal age of adulthood should be raised to 21. The belief is if the adolescent brain has not matured enough to support alcohol use by age 21, it cannot make the responsible decisions required at 18 years of age. Voters should make the decision toRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered1117 Words   |  5 Pagesto the legal age of alcohol consumption have been going on for many years. 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There are many different points, made by people from both sides of the issue about whether or not to lower the drinking age to eighteen, or leave it where it currently stands at twenty-oneRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered1481 Words   |  6 Pagesthe century, underage drinking happens every day in the United States and for some this might seem unacceptable but for most this is all because an unfair law put up by the government. The legal drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18 because, among other things; 18 is the age of adulthood in America and adults should have the right to make their own decisions, also traffic accidents and fatalities are most common among newly-legal drinkers regardless of their drinking age; and, this law has notRead MoreLegal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered2099 Words   |  9 Pages friends, and the feeling of being invincible. Although there are a legal alcohol drinking and purchasing age in various countries, it is easily accessible to those who are underage. Alcohol is a monitored and controlled substance that can be purchased legally, yet there are many concerns that surround the substance. There are pros, cons, and different patterns regarding alcohol and the legal alcohol drinking and purchasing age. As a result of alcohol use, there have been many fatalities and injuries

Essay on Study of Communication - 2728 Words

Studies on Human Communication The past century has been an enormously productive one in regard to the analysis and description of human communication. Building on the ideas of Ferdinand de Saussure, early structuralists delineated the phonological and morphological building blocks of speech by refining and applying the concepts of the phoneme and the morpheme. In addition to the rigorous description of hundreds of indigenous languages, anthropological linguists using this body of data worked on the problem of language histories and the division of current languages into families of related languages with the concomitant contribution to cultural history. Another achievement was the demonstration that not only was language separate from†¦show more content†¦This interest often characterized under the name of pragmatics to distinguish it from the â€Å"true† or internal language systems of phonology, semantics, and grammar. The question of how speech was used in social expression and how it was evaluated by its users was raised in the last several decades of the 20th century under the banner of the sociology of language, or sociolinguistics, and the ethnography of language, or ethno linguistics, and thus rapidly became the dominant orientation of linguistic anthropology. The research question was not so much how speech forms were constructed but what they signified as choices or alternatives in a complex field with several varieties of codes ranging from dialects, registers, and jargons within one â€Å"language† to different languages (Becker, 2000: 54). Joshua Fishmans (1968) work on minority language maintenance in the United States formed the field of sociolinguistics: language choice as a social issue and the interplay between national politics and ethnic identity. 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