1. Strategy Formulation and Execution
Chapter 8
Strategy Formulation and Execution

2. Strategy Every company is concerned with strategy
It determines which organizations succeed and which ones struggle
Strategic blunders can hurt a company
Strategic management is a specific type of planning

3. Thinking Strategically
The long-term view of the organization and competition
Thinking strategically impacts performance and financial success
Today’s environment requires everyone to think strategically
THINKING STRATEGICALLY
Strategic planning in for-profit organizations pertains to competitive actions in the marketplace. In nonprofit organizations, strategic planning pertains to events in the external environment.
Strategic thinking means to take the long-term view and to see the big picture of the organization and its environment to achieve organizational goals.
Understanding the strategy concept, the levels of strategy, and strategy formulation versus implementation is an important start toward strategic thinking.

4. Strategic Management
The set of decisions and actions used to formulate and execute strategies that will provide competitively superior fit (= competitive advantage) between the organization and its environment to achieve organizational goals
Strategic management is the set of decisions and actions used to formulate and implement strategies that provide a superior fit between the organization and its environment to achieve organizational goals.
It helps managers answer questions such as:
What changes and trends are occurring in the competitive environment?
What products or services should we offer?
How can we offer those products and services most efficiently?
Answers to questions help managers make choices about how to position their organization in the environment with respect to rival companies.

5. Purpose of Strategy
Explicit strategy is the plan of action that describes resource allocation and activities for dealing with the environment, achieving a competitive advantage, and attaining the organization’s goals
Competitive advantage is the organization’s distinctive edge for meeting customer needs
Strategies should:
Exploit Core Competencies
Build Synergy
Deliver Value
Target Customers
Purpose of Strategy
Strategy is the plan of action that describes resource allocation and activities for dealing with the environment, achieving a competitive advantage, and attaining the organization’s goals.
Competitive advantage refers to what sets the organization apart from others and provides it with a distinctive edge in the marketplace. The essence of formulating strategy is choosing how the organization will be different. To remain competitive, companies develop strategies that focus on core competencies, develop synergy, and create value for customers.
Exploit Core Competence. A company’s core competence is something the organization does especially well in comparison to its competitors. A core competence represents a competitive advantage because the company acquires expertise that competitors do not have. A core competence may be in the area of superior research and development, expert technological know-how, process efficiency, or exceptional customer service.
Build Synergy. Synergy occurs when organizational parts interact to produce a joint effect that is greater than the sum of its parts acting alone. The organization may attain a special advantage with respect to cost, market power, technology, or management skill. When properly managed, synergy can create additional value with existing resources, providing a big boost to the bottom line.
Deliver Value. Delivering value to customers should be the heart of strategy. Value can be defined as the combination of benefits received and costs paid. Managers help their companies create value by devising strategies that exploit core competencies and attain synergy.

6. 3 Levels of Strategy in Organizations
What business are we in? Corporate‑level strategy pertains to the organization as a whole and the combination of business units and product lines that make up the corporate identity. Strategic actions at this level usually relate to acquisition of new businesses, additions or divestment of business units, plants, or product lines, and joint ventures with other corporations in new areas.
How do we compete? Business‑level strategy pertains to each business unit or product line within the organization. Strategic decisions focus on advertising, direction and extent of R&D, product changes and development, equipment and facilities, and expansion or contraction of product and service lines.
How do we support the business‑level competitive strategy? Functional‑level strategy pertains to the major functional departments within the business unit. Functional strategies involve all of the major functions, including finance, research and development, marketing, and manufacturing.

7. The Strategic Management Process
The strategic management process begins when executives evaluate their current position with respect to mission, goals, and strategies.
Then they scan the organization’s internal and external environments and identify strategic factors that might require change.
Events might indicate a need to redefine the mission or goals or to formulate a new strategy at either the corporate, business, or function level.
The final stage in the strategic management process is execution of the new strategy.

8. Strategy Formulation vs. Execution
Assessing the external environment and internal problems to create goals and strategy
Execution:
The use of managerial and organizational
tools to direct
resources toward accomplishing
strategic results
Strategy Formulation versus Execution
Strategy formulation includes the planning and decision making that lead to the establishment of the firm’s goals and the development of a specific strategic plan. It includes assessing the external environment and the internal problems and integrating the results into goals and strategy.
Strategy execution is the use of managerial and organizational tools to direct resources toward achieving strategic outcomes. Managers may use persuasion, new equipment, changes in organization structure, or a revised reward system to ensure that employees and resources are used to make formulated strategy a reality.
Discussion Question #3: You are a middle manager helping to implement a new corporate cost-cutting strategy, and you’re meeting skepticism, resistance, and in some cases, outright hostility from your subordinates. In what ways might you or the company have been able to avoid this situation? Where do you go from here?

9. SWOT Analysis
Formulating strategy often begins with an audit of internal and external factors
Internal Strengths and Weaknesses
External Opportunities and Threats
Information is acquired from reports, surveys, discussions, and meetings
SWOT Analysis
Situation analysis typically includes a search for SWOT—strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats—that affect organizational performance. Situation analysis is important to all companies but is crucial to those considering globalization because of the diverse environments in which they will operate. External information about opportunities is obtained from customers, government reports, professional journals, suppliers, bankers, friends, and consultants. Internal information comes from reports, budgets, financial ratios, surveys of employee attitudes, and meetings.
Internal Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths are positive internal characteristics organizations can exploit to achieve strategic performance goals. Weaknesses are internal characteristics that may inhibit or restrict the organization’s performance. The information sought pertains to specific functions such as marketing, finance, production, or R&D.
External Opportunities and Threats
Opportunities are characteristics of the external environment that have the potential to help the organization achieve or exceed its strategic goals.
Threats are characteristics of the external environment that may prevent the organization from achieving its strategic goals. The task environment sectors are the most relevant to strategic behavior and include the behavior of customers, competitors, suppliers, and the labor supply. The general environment includes technological developments, the economy, legal-political and international events, and sociocultural changes.
Discussion Question #4: Perform a situation (SWOT) analysis for the school or university you attend. Do you think university administrators consider the same factors when devising their strategy?

10. SWOT: Audit Checklist

11. Strategic Business Unit (SBU)
SBU – an autonomous organization within a firm:
Budgeting authority
Personnel authority
Examples of SBU:
ABC Television – one of four SBUs in Disney
Division in Army – the division commander (two star general)

12. Formulating Corporate-Level Strategy: Portfolio Strategy
Strategic Business Units (SBUs) have a unique mission, products, and competitors
Companies manage the mix (portfolio) of SBUs for synergy and competitive advantage
Organizations should not become too dependent on one business
Portfolio Strategy
Portfolio strategy pertains to the mix of business units and product lines that fit together in a logical way to provide synergy and competitive advantage for the corporation. Corporations like to have a balanced mix of business divisions called strategic business units (SBUs).
An SBU has a unique business mission, product line, competitors, and markets relative to other SBUs in the corporation. Senior corporate managers generally define the grand strategy and then bring together a portfolio of SBUs to achieve the strategy.

13. Agency Theory, Agency Cost
A Manager (CEO) is an agent for shareholders.
Owners of the firm are clients of the manager.
The manager is supposed to work for the best interest of the shareholders, that is, to maximize shareholders’ wealth – increase the stock price, by boosting the profit, increasing revenue and/or decreasing cost.
In reality, a manager works for his own best interest, not for the shareholders.
When this problem occurs, we call it “agency cost (problem) .”

14. M & A, Corporate Strategy, Agency Cost
Merge & Acquisition is an example of corporate strategy.
Like any other strategy, M & A should focus on synergy, efficiency, shareholders’ wealth maximization.
However, some M & As create Agency Cost.
Cases in Point (Real World Applications):
M & A b/w HP & Compaq
M & A b/w BoA & Merrill Lynch
M & A b/w Disney & ABC Television

15. Agency Cost, Stock Option
How do shareholders know whether the manager (CEO)’s corporate strategy works or not?
If the stock price does not go up after the M & A announcement, the strategy is not working.
Managing (Controlling) a manager: Shareholders can use a carrot-and-stick approach to control the manager.
Carrot  Stock Option: A widely used carrot to motivate the manager to work hard for the best interest of shareholders.
Stick  Termination

16. Formulating Corporate-Level Strategy: The BCG Matrix
Organizes business along two dimensions
Business growth rate
Market share
Four categories for corporate portfolio
The combination of high/low market share and high/low business growth
The BCG Matrix
The BCG (Boston Consulting Group) matrix organizes business along two dimensions — business growth rate and market share.
Business growth rate pertains to how rapidly the entire industry is growing.
Market share defines whether a business unit has a larger or smaller market share than competitors.
The combination of market share and business growth rate provides four categories to judge SBUs within a corporate portfolio:
Star
Cash Cow
Question Mark
Dog

17. The BCG Matrix
Star. The star has a large market share in a rapidly growing industry. The star is important because it has additional growth potential and profits should be reinvested for future growth and profits. It will generate a positive cash flow as industry matures and market growth slows.
Cash Cow. The cash cow exists in a mature, slow-growth industry but has a large market share. The cash cow has a positive cash flow and can be milked to feed riskier businesses.
Question Mark. The question mark exists in a new, rapidly growing industry but only has small market share. The question mark is risky. It could become a star or it could fail.
Dog. The dog is a poor performer with small market share in a slow growth industry. A dog provides little profit and may be targeted for divestment or liquidation.
Discussion Question #7: Walt Disney Company has four major strategic business units: (1) movies (including Miramax and Touchstone), (2) theme parks, (3) consumer products, and (4) television (ABC and cable). Place each of these SBUs on the BCG matrix based on your knowledge of them.

18. Formulating Corporate-Level Strategy: Diversification Strategy
Moving into new lines of business
Expand into new valuable products and services
Why does a firm attempt to diversify its business?
Manage/control/minimize the risk
A Case in Point:
DELTA (Airline Company) vs. SHELL (Oil Company)
When oil price goes up, DELTA stock goes down, but SHELL stock goes up.
If DELTA merges/acquires SHELL (diversification), DELTA can lower the risk of uncertainty (a sudden spike of oil price due to the war in the Middle East)
Diversification Strategy
The strategy of moving into new lines of business is called diversification.
The purpose of diversification is to expand the firm’s business operations to produce new kinds of valuable products and services.
When the new business is related to the company’s existing business activities, the organization is implementing a strategy of related diversification.

19. Unrelated Diversification Strategy – Corporate Strategy
Expansion into new lines of business
Can be a difficult strategy
Many companies are giving up on unrelated diversification
Unattractive to investors; hard to value the firm
Hard to measure the profit, cost of capital
Hard to measure the firm value
Hard to measure the firm’s stock price
Hypothetical Example: GM enters a clothing business.
Unrelated diversification occurs when an organization expands into a totally new line of business.
Valuing a Firm: a firm value is estimated by:
Firm Value = Profit / Cost of Capital
When a variety of unrelated businesses are included in the balance sheet, it is very difficult to estimate the profit and cost of capital of the firm.
When we can estimate profit & cost of capital easily, we can easily estimate the firm value.
Profit = $1 million
Cost of capital = 10%
Then, the firm value is estimated: 1,000,000 ÷ 0.10 = 10,000,000
# of outstanding common stocks = 1,000,000 shares
Estimated stock price = Firm Value ÷ # of outstanding common stocks
= 10,000,000 ÷ 1,000,000
= $ 10 per share
Now, NYSE reports the stock price is being traded at $8 per share. It is undervalued according to your analysis, so you would purchase (invest) this stock.
When an investor finds easy to understand & analyze a firm’s business operations and financials, he is more likely to purchase the firm’s stock.
If this unrelated diversification strategy makes your company unattractive to investors, then what’s the point? The firm’s stock price goes down, as your manager career also does.
That’s why the unrelated diversification is not recommended in general.
However, there are some companies (conglomerates, private equity firms like Bain Capital run by Romney, etc.) that implements the unrelated diversification strategy very well.

20. Vertical integration (VI) – Corporate Strategy
Vertical integration expands into businesses that supply to the business or are distributors
Benefits of VI: Securing supply & distribution chains  cost savings  efficiency
Limitations of VI: Less competition  less productive  inefficiency [Soviet Economic Model]
Hypothetical Examples:
Starbucks in VI
GM in VI
Managers may also pursue diversification opportunities to create value through a strategy of vertical integration. Vertical integration means the company expands into businesses that either produce the supplies needed to make products or that distribute and sell those products to customers.
Hypothetical Examples:
Suppose Starbucks owns a whole supply chain: coffee farm in Africa coffee trading in Africa  coffee vendor in US  coffee factory in US  coffee distributor  coffee retail
Suppose GM owns a whole supply chain: raw materials  parts manufacturing  parts vendors  GM Assembly Factory  distributor  dealership

21. Formulating Business-Level Strategy
Strategy within the business units (SBU): How do we compete?
Business-level strategies are developed by Porter’s Five Forces
Web technology is impacting all industries in positive and negative ways
The focus of business‑level strategy is how to compete. Generic strategies at the business level are the same as at the corporate level: growth, stability, and retrenchment. At the business level, strategies are accomplished through competitive actions rather than acquisition or divestment.

22. Porter’s Five Competitive Force Model
Porter’s Five Competitive Forces
Potential new entrants. Capital requirements and economies of scale are examples of barriers to entry that can keep out new competitors. Internet technology has made it easier for new companies to enter an industry by curtailing the need for an established sales force, buildings and machinery, or access to existing supplier and sales channels.
Bargaining power of buyers. Informed customers become empowered customers. The Internet provides easy access to a wide array of information about products, services and competitors, thereby greatly increasing the bargaining power of end consumers.
Bargaining power of suppliers. The concentration of suppliers and the availability of substitute suppliers are significant in determining the bargaining power of suppliers. Procurement over the web gives a company greater power over suppliers, but the web also gives suppliers access to a greater number of customers as well as the ability to reach end users.
Threat of substitute products. The power of alternatives and substitutes for a company’s product may be affected by cost changes or trends that will deflect buyer loyalty. The Internet has created a greater threat of new substitutes by enabling new approaches to meeting customer needs.
Rivalry among competitors. Rivalry among competitors is influenced by the preceding four forces, as well as by cost and product differentiation. With the leveling force of the Internet and information technology, it has become more difficult for many companies to find ways to distinguish themselves from their competitors, so rivalry has intensified.

23. Porter’s Competitive Strategies
Differentiation. The differentiation strategy is an attempt to distinguish the firm’s products or services from others in the same industry. The organization may use advertising, distinctive product features, exceptional service, and new technology to achieve a product perceived as unique. The differentiation strategy can be profitable because customers are loyal and will pay high prices for the product.
Companies that pursue differentiation need strong marketing abilities, a creative flair, and a reputation for leadership. This strategy can reduce rivalry with competitors if buyers are loyal. It can reduce the bargaining power of large buyers because other products are less attractive. Differentiation erects barriers in the form of customer loyalty to new entrants.
Cost Leadership. With a cost leadership strategy, the organization seeks efficient facilities, pursues cost reductions, and uses tight cost controls to produce products more efficiently than competitors. A low‑cost position means the company can undercut competitors’ prices and still offer comparable quality and earn a reasonable profit. Being a low‑cost producer provides a successful strategy to defend against the five competitive forces. The low‑cost company is protected from price wars, powerful customers who cannot find lower prices elsewhere, suppliers, substitute products, and potential new entrants.
Focus. With a focus strategy, the organization concentrates on a specific regional market or buyer group. The firm may use a differentiation or low-cost approach but only on a narrow target market.
Discussion Question #6: Using Porter’s competitive strategies, how would you describe the strategies of Wal‑Mart, Macy’s and Target?

24. Formulating Functional-Level Strategy
Action plans used by major departments
Marketing
Production
Finance
Human Resources
Research and Development
FORMULATING FUNCTIONAL-LEVEL STRATEGY
Functional-level strategies are the action plans used by major departments to support the execution of business-level strategy. Major organizational functions include marketing, production, finance, human resources, and research and development. Managers in these and other departments adopt strategies that are coordinated with the business-level strategy to achieve the organization’s strategic goals.

25. New Trends in Strategy
Strategic Flexibility – managers must be prepared to change and adjust strategy quickly
Strategic Partnerships – collaboration with other organizations is important: Sharing Resources & Information: eg. Boeing with Delta on airplane engine cost sharing
Global Strategy – organizations pursue a distinctive focus for global business
NEW TRENDS IN STRATEGY
Strategic Flexibility
In many industries today, things change so fast that managers have to be ready to shift course on the fly. Many companies are developing adaptive strategies that take into account multiple scenarios. Managers must find the right balance between strategic stability and strategic flexibility to keep their organizations healthy during good times and bad.
Strategic Partnerships
Collaboration with other organizations, sometimes even with competitors, is an important part of how today’s successful companies enter new areas of business. The Internet is both driving and supporting the move toward partnership thinking. The ability to rapidly and smoothly conduct transactions, communicate information, exchange ideas, and collaborate on complex projects via the Internet means that companies have been able to enter entirely new businesses by partnering in business areas that were previously unimaginable.
Global Strategy – Refer to the next slide.

26. Global Corporate Strategies
GLOBAL STRATEGY
In global strategy, management tries to formulate coherent strategies to provide synergy among worldwide operations for the purpose of fulfilling common goals. A systematic strategic planning process for deciding on the appropriate strategic alternative should be used. Firms that pursue further international expansion must decide whether they want each global affiliate to act autonomously or to standardize and centralize activities. This choice leads managers to select a basic grand strategy alternative such as globalization, multidomestic strategy, or transnational strategy.
Globalization
In a strategy of globalization, product design and advertising strategies are standardized throughout the world. This is based on the theory that people everywhere want to buy the same products and live the same way. A globalization strategy can help an organization reap efficiencies by standardizing product design and manufacturing, using common suppliers, introducing products around the world faster, coordinating prices, and eliminating overlapping facilities.
Multidomestic Strategy
In a multidomestic strategy, product design, marketing, and advertising are modified to suit the specific needs of each country. Many companies reject the idea of a single global market.
Transnational Strategy
A transnational strategy seeks to achieve both global integration and national responsiveness. This is difficult to achieve, as one goal requires close global coordination while the other goal requires local flexibility. Caterpillar Inc. uses a transnational strategy by designing products to use many identical components but adding certain product features to meet local needs. Although most multinational companies want to achieve some degree of global integration to hold costs down, even global products may require some customization to meet government regulations in various countries or some tailoring to meet customer preferences.

27. Joint venture License IB strategies Wholly owned subsidiary
Copyright ©2012 by South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

28. Strategy Execution - The final step!
“Strategy is easy, but execution is hard”
Most important but most difficult part
Strategy must be skillfully executed
Alignment requires all aspects of the organization to focus on strategy goals
Everyone is moving in the same direction
S.E. needs more dynamic approaches
S. E. requires vision, intuition and employee participation
S. E. is done through changes in leadership, org. structure, information and control systems, and human resources.
STRATEGY EXECUTION
The final step in the strategic management process is strategy execution. Execution may be the most difficult and important part of strategic management.
In today’s competitive environment, there is an increasing recognition of the need for more dynamic approaches to executing strategies. Strategy is not a static, analytical process. It requires vision, intuition and employee participation. Once a new strategy is selected, it is executed through changes in leadership, structure, information and control systems, and human resources.

29. Six Silent Killers of Strategy

30. 4 Tools for Putting Strategy into Action
Visible leadership. The primary key to successful strategy implementation is leadership. Leadership is the ability to influence people to adopt the behaviors needed for strategy execution. Leadership means using persuasion, motivating employees, shaping culture and values to support the new strategy.
Clear roles and accountability. People need to understand how their individual actions can contribute to achieving the strategy. To execute strategy effectively, top executives clearly define roles and delegate authority to individuals and teams who are accountable for results.
Candid communication. Managers openly and avidly promote their ideas, but they also listen to others and encourage disagreement and debate. Effective strategy execution requires candid communications with shareholders, customers, and other stakeholders.
Appropriate human resource practices. The human resource function recruits, selects, trains, compensates, transfers, promotes, and lays off employees to achieve strategic goals.
Discussion Question #8: As an administrator for a medium‑sized hospital, you and the board of directors have decided to change to a drug dependency hospital from a short‑term, acute‑care facility. How would you go about executing this strategy?

31. Review: Strategic Planning & Strategic Management
Truth vs. Spin
Strategic Planning - Strategy Map
Agency Theory – Agency Cost
SWOT Analysis
SBU - BCG Matrix
Porter’s 5 CFM & Competitive Strategies
Tools for Strategy Execution – Leadership, Clear Roles, Accountability, HR, Candid Communication
Management: Leadership, Organization, Planning, Control

32. Chapter 8 - Discussion Questions
Explain briefly what "think strategically" means in practice.  (class discussion)
Explain why a strategy matters for competitive advantage.  (class discussion)
Explain briefly core competency of GM, Wal-Mart. (class discussion)
 There are three types of strategies: corporate, business, and functional (operational) strategy.  Explain what kind of strategy Merge & Acquisition (M&A) belongs to.  Explain briefly the reason. (class discussion)
Explain briefly agency theory.  (class discussion)
Explain briefly when the agency cost incurs in a firm.  (class discussion)
Suppose you are a shareholder of GM. How would you control the agency cost? 
Conduct a SWOT Analysis of Facebook Inc.. Explain briefly internal situations.
Conduct a SWOT Analysis of Facebook Inc.. Explain briefly external situations.
Explain briefly what makes a SBU unique in an organization.  Give an example of SBU in Disney, Army, LSSU.  (class discussion)
Give an example of SBU in Lake Superior State University. Explain briefly why it can be a SBU.

33. Chapter 8 - Discussion Questions (continued)
Explain briefly why the unrelated diversification strategy makes a firm unattractive to investors. (class discussion)
Explain briefly why a manger must focus on profit. (class discussion)
Explain briefly what benefits a firm can gain from vertical integration strategy.(class discussion)  
Explain briefly why the vertical integration sometimes leads to inefficiency. (class discussion)
Explain briefly potential new entrants in Porter's 5 Competitive Force Model.
Explain briefly bargaining power of buyers in Porter's 5 Competitive Force Model.
Explain briefly bargaining power of suppliers in Porter's 5 Competitive Force Model.
Explain briefly threat of substitute products in Porter's 5 Competitive Force Model.
Explain briefly rivalry among competitors in Porter's 5 Competitive Force Model.
Explain briefly the differentiation strategy in Porter's Competitive Strategy Model.
Explain briefly the cost leadership strategy in Porter's Competitive Strategy Model.
Explain briefly the focus strategy in Porter's Competitive Strategy Model.

34. Chapter 8 - Discussion Questions (continued)
Two firms want to become partners.  Explain briefly the most important thing they need to do in strategic planning, from the business partnership perspectives if they want to be partners truly. (class discussion)
List Six Silent Killers of Strategy Implementation.
Among “six silent killers of strategy,” employees were not listed. Explain why.
Explain briefly the four tools for putting strategy into action.
Real World Applications: Avon Products Case (Feb. 2014) | MS-Word |: In this business case, which U.S. federal law did Avon break? What was the background for drafting the federal law? Give the main reason that the law was needed in the U.S. In class, we learned the three international business strategies on foreign direct investment (wholly-owned subsidiary, joint-venture, and licensing). Which strategy would you recommend Avon to avoid such legal troubles? Explain how Avon can benefit from the strategy.