(BPP Learning Media) CIMA - E3 Strategic Management
(BPP Learning Media) CIMA - E3 Strategic Management
(BPP Learning Media) CIMA - E3 Strategic Management
Strategic Paper E3
Strategic Management
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Preface Contents
Welcome to BPP Learning Media’s CIMA Passcards for Strategic Paper E3 Strategic Management.
They focus on your exam and save you time.
They incorporate diagrams to kick start your memory.
They follow the overall structure of the BPP Learning Media Study Texts, but BPP Learning Media’s CIMA
Passcards are not just a condensed book. Each card has been separately designed for clear presentation.
Topics are self-contained and can be grasped visually.
CIMA Passcards are still just the right size for pockets, briefcases and bags.
Run through the Passcards as often as you can during your final revision period. The day before the exam, try
to go through the Passcards again! You will then be well on your way to passing your exams.
Good luck!
Page iii
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Preface Contents
Page Page
1 Fundamentals of strategic management 1 7 Business applications of information and
information technology 87
2 Corporate objectives and stakeholders 19
8 Customers and marketing 99
3 The environment and uncertainty 35
9 Understanding organisational charge 117
4 Resources and capabilities 47
10 Leading and managing charge 135
5 Identifying and evaluating strategic
options 61 11 Strategic performance management 145
6 Information systems and strategy 79 12 Performance measurement 157
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Strategy formulation
Definition of strategy
Strategic The rational Other approaches Management accountants Roles and responsibilities
management model to strategy and business strategy of directors
Strategic The rational Other approaches Management accountants Roles and responsibilities
management model to strategy and business strategy of directors
Strategic The rational Other approaches Management accountants Roles and responsibilities
management model to strategy and business strategy of directors
Advantages Disadvantages
Strategic The rational Other approaches Management accountants Roles and responsibilities
management model to strategy and business strategy of directors
{
The rational model of strategic planning
Mission Vision and strategic
Purpose Products intent
Policies Values
Where the organisation wants to be
Competences Culture
Goals
Strategic analysis
Stakeholder expectations
Objectives
Quantified measures Position audit
Environmental analysis Strengths and weaknesses
Opportunities and threats
PEST/PESTEL
Corporate appraisal Resources, competences
Value chain
Porter's 5 Forces SWOT analysis Systems structure
Scenarios Gap analysis Portfolio analysis
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Strategic choice
{
Generating options: Value chain
Scenarios
Strategic choice
{
Feasibility – resources
Strategic implementation
Strategic The rational Other approaches Management accountants Roles and responsibilities
management model to strategy and business strategy of directors
There have been many proposals for alternatives to the rational model, most emphasising creativity and pragmatism.
Alternatives Bounded rationality They:
Do not consider all options,
Strategic managers’ decision but choose from a restricted
Freewheeling opportunism
making is constrained by the time range
Bounded rationality
and amount of information Make political compromises by
Incrementalism
available to them and by their own partisan mutual adjustment
Emergent strategies
skills, habits and awareness. Satisfice rather than optimise
Freewheeling opportunism Incrementalism This approach avoids major errors by
– ‘seize opportunities as they arise’ the exercise of caution and produces
Flexible and creative? acceptable solutions because it uses
Development by small
Undisciplined and unco- consultation, compromise and
scale extensions of past
ordinated? accommodation.
practices.
Reacting rather than acting? Logical incrementalism combines this
approach with an in-depth review to
establish the broad outlines of strategy.
(002)CME3PC13_CH01.qxp 7/17/2014 8:54 PM Page 9
behaviour strategies
Manage stability Mintzberg says strategy must be crafted
Strategic The rational Other approaches Management accountants Roles and responsibilities
management model to strategy and business strategy of directors
Resource-based strategy
Positioning strategies (eg the rational model) seek to develop and maintain competitive advantage by responding to the
threats and opportunities in the competitive environment.
The resource-based view is that sustainable competitive advantage can only come from the possession of unique
resources (or competences) within an organisation because:
The business environment is too complex and dynamic for effective analysis and response.
Competitors will rapidly imitate any position-based strategy.
Resources
Protected intellectual Scarce raw materials,
property – designs, unique production or
processes, copyrights distribution facilities
Competences
Such as: experience – talent – management – techniques
Johnson, Scholes & Whittington say: Hamel & Prahalad say core competences have three qualities:
Threshold level of competence required in Disproportionate contribution
all activities. to value customer receives actually unique
Core competences out perform ‘Competitively unique’ superior to competitors
competitors and are difficult to imitate. Extendable to new products can be dramatically improved
Strategic The rational Other approaches Management accountants Roles and responsibilities
management model to strategy and business strategy of directors
Focus of management accountant’s role is increasingly on business support and decision support, and not
just on financial control.
Management accountants are an integral part of multi-skilled management teams addressing:
Strategic The rational Other approaches Management accountants Roles and responsibilities
management model to strategy and business strategy of directors
Success factors
Aid strategic decisions – close the communication gap between accountants and managers
Identify the type of decision – and offer performance measures
Distinguish between economic and managerial performance
Provide relevant information – distinguish committed, discretionary and engineered costs
Use standard costs strategically
Allow for changes over time
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3 Operational control
Information needed to conduct day-to-day implementation of plans - largely details of individual
transactions
Strategic The rational Other approaches Management accountants Roles and responsibilities
management model to strategy and business strategy of directors
Notes
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Mission Stakeholders
Business Ethics
Sustainability
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Mission Goals and Critical success Stakeholder Ethics and social Not for profit and
objectives factors management responsibility the public sector
Mission is the logical starting A formal mission statement may: BUT a mission statement may also:
point of the process of strategy.
Impress customers Be ignored in practice
Mission
Motivate staff
Guide manager’s actions
Be treated cynically as mere PR
Merely rationalise what is done anyway
The entity's fundamental Guide strategic thinking Be the same as everyone else’s
objectives, expressed in general
terms. Resource planning The organisation must know
This involves: what it wants to achieve.
Includes, typically:
Purpose Establishing currently
Basic strategy eg products obtainable resources
Policies and standards of Estimating the resources
behaviour needed
Values and culture Assigning management
– business principles responsibility
– internal relationships Identifying factors affecting
– behaviour resource availability
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Mission Goals and Critical success Stakeholder Ethics and social Not for profit and
objectives factors management responsibility the public sector
Mission statements are open-ended, so in order to implement its strategy and manage performance, an
organisation needs to develop some more specific objectives and targets.
Goals and Objectives
Goals and objectives flow from mission. The hierarchy of objectives
They should be: They should be
Specific consistent across the
Measurable organisation so that all Corporate Unit objectives
Achievable (or Agreed) objectives for the determine for individual
pull together
Relevant (or Realistic) firm as a whole departments
Time bound
They should balance:
Long term considerations should take
Short term imperatives Primary Secondary
precedence
Conflicting objectives objectives over objectives
Mission Goals and Critical success Stakeholder Ethics and social Not for profit and
objectives factors management responsibility the public sector
Short termism
Commercial and financial goals
is a tendency to place pressure and emphasis
on the achievement of results in the near future,
Profitability Dividends rather than in the medium or longer term.
ROCE/ROI Market value of
EPS shares
TRADE OFFS
In a hierarchy of objectives, the highest level of objective for a commercial organisation will always be based
on profitability over the long term, though growth may be regarded as of equal importance.
Secondary objectives include functional and Example
departmental objectives as well as corporate
objectives that support the main objective. Corporate objective: Profit improvement
Supporting objectives: Cut administrative costs
Improve quality
Despatch dept objective: reduce misdeliveries to 3% of total
Conflict between the demands of secondary objectives can be dealt with by:
Rational evaluation
Bargaining between managers
Satisficing ie satisfactory rather than ideal performance
Sequential attention to goals in turn
Priority setting by senior managers
Exercise of power
Page 23 2: Corporate objectives and stakeholders
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Mission Goals and Critical success Stakeholder Ethics and social Not for profit and
objectives factors management responsibility the public sector
Critical success factors (CSFs) Linkage between mission, CSFs and KPIs
Mission
are elements of an organisation's activity which are
central to its future success. express fundamental objectives;
what an organisation wants to achieve
Once an organisation has identified its CSFs it then
needs to develop performance standards (key
performance indicators) to measure whether or not it
CSFs
is achieving those CSFs.
building blocks which enable an organisation to
implement its mission and achieve success
KPIs
performance measures which indicate whether
or not the CSFs are being achieved
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Mission Goals and Critical success Stakeholder Ethics and social Not for profit and
objectives factors management responsibility the public sector
Stakeholders
Those persons and organisations that have a legitimate interest in the strategy of the organisation.
Mission Goals and Critical success Stakeholder Ethics and social Not for profit and
objectives factors management responsibility the public sector
Mendelow's matrix
Level of interest
Low High
Low
Remember: If you get a question on stakeholders, always make sure you relate your answer specifically to the
context given in the scenario. Unless you are specifically asked to do so, do not spend time simply describing
(or drawing) Mendelow’s matrix. Rather, apply it to the scenario given.
Mission Goals and Critical success Stakeholder Ethics and social Not for profit and
objectives factors management responsibility the public sector
Organisations have many stakeholders, with lots of different interests. This can lead to stakeholder conflict.
A firm can make strategic gains by managing stakeholder relationships.
Can create positive, productive, long-lasting relationships
BUT, if stakeholders are mis-managed, can damage relationship and cause threats, eg withdrawal of
resources, lost customers, reputational damage
Mission Goals and Critical success Stakeholder Ethics and social Not for profit and
objectives factors management responsibility the public sector
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an organisation's obligation to maximise positive stakeholders benefits
while minimising the negative effects of its actions.
Should businesses actively practise social responsibility?
Examples
The business as fixer of Big business has the resources
Charitable donations
social problems Pollution control to fight inequalities
Community activities
BUT
?
Companies already discharge their responsibilities
by contributing towards tax revenues
The social audit recognises
the expectations on a firm to Pressure groups Environmental screening Long term
promote social responsibility. In Employees Sustainability of resources v
addition, there are ‘green’ Legislation Ecological concerns Short term
pressures.
Page 29 2: Corporate objectives and stakeholders
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Mission Goals and Critical success Stakeholder Ethics and social Not for profit and
objectives factors management responsibility the public sector
Environmental concerns
The impact of green issues Sustainability
Sustainable activity uses resources no faster than they can
Demand for environmentally friendly products be replaced, and waste emissions are held down to a level
Public concern and action about pollution, that the environment can absorb.
habitat destruction and global warming Elkington suggests sustainability should be measured by a
Government action through regulation and ‘triple bottom line’
taxation Economic prosperity
Impact of bad publicity (or chance to exploit Environmental quality
environmental friendliness as a marketing tool) Social justice
But Environmental management accounting enhances the
Limit to consumer willingness to change internal control and reporting system to promote both
lifestyles (or to pay more for sustainable economic and environmental efficiency.
products) Life cycle assessments of environmental impact
Cynicism about ‘green’ claims Costs of undesirable outputs such as waste and noise
Public ignorance of actual economic and Risk assessments include environmental impact
environmental impacts of ‘green’ policies Waste minimisation in production processes
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Sustainability and strategy: Strategic decision-makers need to incorporate longer-term issues with short-term
ones. If they focus too much on short-term issues this could undermine an
organisation’s longer-term reputation and prospects.
Mission Goals and Critical success Stakeholder Ethics and social Not for profit and
objectives factors management responsibility the public sector
Ethics
Business ethics and CSR are not the same thing – behaving ethically is only one part of the CSR.
But remember the five fundamental principles in CIMA's Ethical code:
1 Integrity
If one or more of these principles is
2 Objectivity threatened in an organisation, this could
create an ethical dilemma for the
3 Professional competence and due care management accountant in that organisation.
A professional accountant may be required to
4 Confidentiality
resolve a conflict in relation to compliance
with the fundamental principles.
5 Professional behaviour
Need to be aware of the potential threats a ... and the safeguards in place to mitigate
management accountant could face ... against those threats
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Mission Goals and Critical success Stakeholder Ethics and social Not for profit and
objectives factors management responsibility the public sector
Efficiency is a key objective in ‘not for profit’ and public sector organisations, due to the limited amount of
resources available. These resources often determine the strategy adopted.
Examples of objectives
Revenue maximisation
Client satisfaction
Notes
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External environment
Importance of environmental
analysis
Environmental uncertainty
Gap analysis
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Global
(LoNGPEST framework)
Urgency
in the industry
Changes in product or process technology Other High priority
issues (but not as high
Changes in supply chain or distribution (lowest priority) as major issues)
networks
Changes in customer expectations and Organisations need to analyse major issues in
trends detail and develop strategies to deal with the
Changes in communications media uncertainties highlighted in them
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Strategic intelligence
is what a firm needs to know about its environment to enable it to anticipate change and design appropriate
strategies to deal with changing environmental conditions
Collected from
Sales force The press
relevant and
Market research Trade associations
meaningful
Trade publications
Management information system sources
Government departments
Databases Internet
Public databases
One of the ways organisations can allow for uncertainty in their strategic decision making is by making use of
real options.
The option to make follow-on investments
1
A project may not make a positive return by itself, but it may open up other potentially lucrative projects
which an organisation can then take advantage of.
Gap analysis
is a comparison between desired future position and a forecast based on continuing current activities and
strategies.
Scenario planning
A scenario is an internally consistent view of what the future might turn out to be based on sets of key drivers for
change. Scenario planning is a way of dealing with possible major or discontinuous changes in the environment.
Jury forecasts, the Delphi technique and scenario planning are all ways management can attempt to get insights into the
future and prepare for some of the opportunities and threats which may arise. (Remember foresight and forecasting are very
different concepts though).
Foresight
the art and science of anticipating the future. It does not attempt to predict the future, but to identify a range of possible
outcomes.
The whole logic of scenario planning and foresight reminds us that the future is uncertain. Part of this
uncertainty comes from not knowing how competitors will react to new strategies introduced by an
organisation.
Game theory shows that an organisation cannot develop its own strategy without considering the possible
reactions of its competitors. Competitors’ reactions may mean the outcomes of a strategy are very different to
that intended, such that the strategy may benefit neither the firm nor its competitors.
Strategy should be treated as an interaction between the firm and its competitors.
Organisation Competitors
Resource audit
Benchmarking
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Resources Value drivers Value chain Supply chain The product New product Benchmarking
and capabilities analysis management portfolio development
Position audit
is the part of the planning process which examines
the current state of the organisation in respect of:
3 Operating systems
4 Internal organisation
5 Current results
6 Returns to shareholders
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Resource Audit
A resource audit is an internal review of all aspects of the resources the organisation uses
Resources are only of value if they are
Typical resources (9Ms)
properly organised: management and
organisation are vital resources.
Materials – costs, security of supply
Men and women (staff) – skills, number, morale
Management – skills, capacity Some resources are easy to define,
Machinery – age, efficiency, capacity identify and measure (eg plant and
Money – sources, gearing, cashflow machinery, finance). Others are more
Markets – products, customers problematic (such as management
Make-up – culture and structure, brands, patents skills, technical competence and
Methods – structure, outsourcing, JIT culture.)
Management information – ideas, innovation,
information systems, performance measurement
Resources Value drivers Value chain Supply chain The product New product Benchmarking
and capabilities analysis management portfolio development
Resources Value drivers Value chain Supply chain The product New product Benchmarking
and capabilities analysis management portfolio development
The value chain can be used to help identify the A firm’s value chain is connected to what Porter calls a
activities which create value for an organisation’s value system.
customers.
FIRM INFRASTRUCTURE
SUPPORT ACTIVITIES
MA
RG
IN
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
Distributor/retailer
PROCUREMENT value chains
Customer
Organisation’s value
INBOUND OUTBOUND MARKETING value chains
MA
OPERATIONS SERVICE chain
RG
LOGISTICS LOGISTICS & SALES
IN
Supplier
value
PRIMARY ACTIVITIES chains
Note: The value chain was designed for use in a manufacturing context, and can be difficult to apply to service
organisations. Stabell & Fjeldstad developed an alternative model – the value shop – in relation to service
organisations. The value shop highlights the importance of utilising expertise in order to create value for customers.
Resources Value drivers Value chain Supply chain The product New product Benchmarking
and capabilities analysis management portfolio development
The margin is the excess the customer is Traditional costing Value chain cost analysis:
prepared to pay over the cost to the firm of systems an alternative
obtaining resource inputs and providing
Focus Manufacturing operations Customers
value activities. It represents the value
Value perceptions
created by the value activities themselves
and by the management of the linkages Cost objects Products Value-creating activities
between them. Linkages connect the Functions Product attributes
activities in the value chain. The activities Expense heads
affect one another and therefore must be co-
ordinated. Organisational Cost and responsibility Strategic business units
focus centres Value creating activities
Using the value chain. A firm can secure
Linkages 1 Largely ignored Recognised and
competitive advantage in several ways.
2 Cost allocations and maximised
Invent new or better ways to do activities transfer prices reflect
Combine activities in new or better ways interdependencies
Manage the linkages in its own value
Cost drivers Simple volume measures Strategic decisions
chain
Manage the linkages in the value system Accuracy High apparent precision Low precision
Indicative answers
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Resources Value drivers Value chain Supply chain The product New product Benchmarking
and capabilities analysis management portfolio development
CHOICE
Resources Value drivers Value chain Supply chain The product New product Benchmarking
and capabilities analysis management portfolio development
Resources Value drivers Value chain Supply chain The product New product Benchmarking
and capabilities analysis management portfolio development
Resources Value drivers Value chain Supply chain The product New product Benchmarking
and capabilities analysis management portfolio development
Portfolio analysis is applicable to products, market segments and SBUs. There are four basic strategies:
Build Hold Harvest Divest
Invest for market share Maintain current Manage for profit in the Release resources for use
growth position short term elsewhere
The BCG Matrix Problems with the BCG matrix
High Low Rather simplistic
Strong brand may give competitive strength despite
Market High Star Question mark relatively low market share
growth Ignores innovation
Low Cash cow Dog
Dogs and question marks may be needed to
Relative market share complete a range
Stars – build High market growth assumed to be attractive. But
will require significant investment which may not be
Cash cows – hold or harvest
available.
Question marks – build or harvest
Ignores competitors other than market leader
Dogs – divest or hold
Does not indicate overall best mix or how to build
stars and question marks.
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Resources Value drivers Value chain Supply chain The product New product Benchmarking
and capabilities analysis management portfolio development
The development of new products (innovation) is an important aspect of a firm’s strategy. New products can
overcome entry barriers and help give a company a balanced portfolio.
Resources Value drivers Value chain Supply chain The product New product Benchmarking
and capabilities analysis management portfolio development
Benchmarking involves establishing targets and comparators against which to compare performance. It provides management with
a means of identifying how well areas of an organisation are performing, with a view to improving the performance of those areas
which are currently underperforming.
Process for benchmarking The questions to ask
1 Ensure senior management commitment (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington)
Notes
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Organic growth
Porter’s generic strategies Ansoff’s product
market matrix
Home country or abroad
Acquisition
Joint methods
Divestment and
rationalisation
Strategic choice
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The purpose of competitive strategy is to create a position within an industry which copes successfully with the five
competitive forces and thereby yields a superior return on investment for the firm and a sustainable competitive
advantage. A firm can use its value chain to help design its competitive strategy.
Cost leadership Differentiation Focus
Aim to be the lowest cost producer Aim to exploit a product or service perceived Activity is restricted to
in the industry as a whole as unique within the industry as a whole a particular segment of
the market. Either cost
Aspects of cost Aspects of differentiation leadership or
differentiation strategy
is then pursued. Such
Economies of scale Breakthrough products – radical
performance advantage concentrated effort can
Use the newest production
technology be more effective, but
Improved products – more cost-effective
the segment may be
Learning curve effect Competitive products – unique
attacked by a larger
Productivity improvement combinations of features
Minimisation of overheads Brand image firm.
Favourable access to inputs Special product features
Unique combination of value activities
Use IT to monitor costs
A niche may be more secure so a firm can Economies of scale which could be gained by
insulate itself from competition serving a wider market may be sacrificed
A firm can specialise in one particular area of Market segment may not be large enough to
expertise and not spread its resources too secure sufficient returns to satisfy investors in
thinly the long run
Because the segment is smaller than the Risk of larger competitors, with greater
market as a whole, a firm will need less resources, moving into the market segment
investment in marketing operations than if it Segment may become less distinct from the
was competing across the whole market main market meaning it is no longer an
identifiable niche
Porter argues that if a firm does not Importantly, many companies actually pursue 'stuck-in-the-middle'
follow one of the three generic strategies strategies quite successfully. Porter's model no longer reflects the full
it will be 'stuck in the middle' and can range of competitive strategies an organisation can choose from, and
only make low profits. underplays the role the customer plays in defining value for money.
But there are problems with Porter's Strategy clock
model (and perhaps with strategic (Bowman)
models more generally):
What does cost leadership actually
mean? It is not necessarily the
same as 'low price'.
Does differentiation necessarily
mean 'higher price'?
How is the 'industry' defined?
Is strategy determined at SBU or
corporate level?
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Ansoff described four possible growth strategies in his growth vector matrix.
PRODUCT
Existing New
Existing Market penetration Product development
Maintain or increase market share Launch new products
Dominate growth markets May require new competences
Drive out competition from mature Forces competitors to follow suit
markets Discourages newcomers
Increase usage by existing customers
MARKET
Market development Diversification
New markets for current products
New geographic areas - export Related Unrelated
New package sizes (conglomerate)
Vertical Horizontal
New distribution channels
Differential pricing to suit new Forward Backward
New segments New competences will be required
We can summarise possible expansion methods by looking at whether they are internal or external, and
whether they take place in a firm's home country or internationally. (Lynch – Expansion method matrix)
GROWTH
Internal External
Organic growth Merger
Home country
Acquisition
Joint venture
Alliance
Franchise
Licence
LOCATION
Exporting Merger
Overseas offices Acquisition
International
Joint ventures, alliances Divestment and Evaluating Strategic Risk and cost Decision
and franchising rationalisation Options behaviour techniques
Joint ventures, alliances Divestment and Evaluating Strategic Risk and cost Decision
and franchising rationalisation Options behaviour techniques
On occasions, rather than looking to grow, firms may divest themselves of non-core activities or businesses in
declining sectors.
Demergers and management buyouts have become more common as conglomerates go out of fashion.
Joint ventures, alliances Divestment and Evaluating Strategic Risk and cost Decision
and franchising rationalisation Options behaviour techniques
Rationalisation
Organisations may want to reduce costs and overheads without
actually selling off (divesting) any parts of the business.
Review spending, identify possible cuts Reduce the number of products in the portfolio
(eg job cuts) and focus on the ones which generate the
But need to be careful not to cut back too far most profit
in the short term because this could weaken But need to consider joint purchases (do
competitive position in the longer term consumers buy an unprofitable one in
conjunction with a profitable one?)
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Joint ventures, alliances Divestment and Evaluating Strategic Risk and cost Decision
and franchising rationalisation Options behaviour techniques
Basic tests of strategy Some firms set target returns in NPV terms, using an
appropriate cost of capital. The cost of capital may be
1 Suitability – relates to organisation's based upon:
strategic logic; fit with circumstances?
The weighted average cost of capital (WACC)
2 Feasibility – can it be done/paid for? The marginal cost of capital
The opportunity cost of capital
3 Acceptability – will it suit different Adjustments to allow for the risks of a particular project
stakeholders? A return based upon the capital asset pricing model
Strategic uncertainties
Ultimately, investment decisions for
companies are supposed to increase
Trends in the industry shareholder value
Competitors’ activities
Valuing intangibles such as brands Shareholder value analysis
Evaluating marketing expenditure Economic value added
Product interrelationships
Joint ventures, alliances Divestment and Evaluating Strategic Risk and cost Decision
and franchising rationalisation Options behaviour techniques
If you need to 'evaluate a strategy' in your exam, you should consider its suitability, acceptability and feasibility. Always
consider suitability first: there is no point assessing whether a strategy is acceptable or feasible if it is not suitable
for the situation in hand.
Joint ventures, alliances Divestment and Evaluating Strategic Risk and cost Decision
and franchising rationalisation Options behaviour techniques
Business Political
Economic Exchange rate A strategy which is simply too risky will not be followed
Financial Physical Some risks can be dealt with by insurance or
Competitors contingency plans
An allowance for risk can be built into the target return
An investor will want higher returns to for the project
compensate for higher risk. With a portfolio, risks can be balanced against each
other
Return
Operational gearing (the ratio of fixed to variable costs) is an
important indicator of risk. Businesses with high fixed costs
and low variable costs may have high breakeven levels.
Risk
Joint ventures, alliances Divestment and Evaluating Strategic Risk and cost Decision
and franchising rationalisation Options behaviour techniques
Quantitative and non quantitative methods can be employed to help appraise strategic decisions.
But remember: strategic decisions often have a long time scale and involve data which may be unreliable, so a
firm cannot guarantee to always make the 'correct' decision.
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Strategic information
systems
Importance to different
organisations
Impact of IS/IT on
corporate strategy
Developing a strategy
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Strategic Information
information systems strategy
Strategic Information
information systems strategy
The information systems (IS) strategy is the long-term plan for systems to exploit information in order to support business
strategies or create new strategic options.
The information technology (IT) strategy is concerned with selecting, operating and managing the technological element
(the hardware and the software) necessary to implement the IS strategy.
The information management (IM) strategy deals with the roles of the people involved in the use of IT assets, the
relationships between them and design of the management processes needed to exploit IT and to control it.
Strategic information systems are systems at any level of an organisation that change goals, processes, products,
services or environmental relationships with the aim of gaining competitive advantage.
A strategic approach is needed because IS/IT:
Involve high costs
Are critical to the success of many organisations
Are now used as part of the commercial strategy in the battle for competitive advantage
Have an impact on customer service
Affect all levels of management and staff
May lead to structural changes in an organisation
Affect the way management information is created and presented
Require effective management to obtain the maximum benefit
Involve many stakeholders inside and outside the organisation
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IT enhances competitive advantage by reducing Procurement Online procurement of parts (e-procurement) Extranets
Strategic Information
information systems strategy
Critical success factors (CSFs) can help to determine the information requirements of an organisation: they
are the key operational goals.
Managers should focus on a small number of objectives, and information systems should focus on providing
information (KPIs) to enable managers to monitor these.
Rockart identifies four sources of CSFs. The industry
The company itself
The external environment
Temporal organisational factors
Information audit aims to establish the information Earl’s grid analyses an organisation’s use of IS
needs of users and how they can be met.
1 Information needs assessment, usually High Renew Maintain, enhance
through interviews and questionnaires. Business
Value
2 Information analysis examines the information Low Divest Reassess
provided by the current system.
Low High
3 Gap analysis compares needs from stage 1 with
Technical Quality
what is provided (stage 2)
Strategic Information
information systems strategy
Strategic Strategic
High Turnaround Strategic High High potential Strategic
importance of importance of
planned individual
information applications in the
Low Support Factory Low Support Key operational
systems predicted future
competitive
Low High environment Low High
Strategic importance of current Strategic importance of individual applications
information systems in the current competitive environment
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Importance of information
Knowledge-based
organisations
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Need for Knowledge Databases Big Data E-commerce Web 2.0 The IT
information management department
Need for Knowledge Databases Big Data E-commerce Web 2.0 The IT
information management department
Tacit knowledge is personal, specific to context and hard to Tacit Knowledge Socialisation Externalisation
articulate
Explicit knowledge is codified and easy to transmit in formal terms From
Need for Knowledge Databases Big Data E-commerce Web 2.0 The IT
information management department
Need for Knowledge Databases Big Data E-commerce Web 2.0 The IT
information management department
Need for Knowledge Databases Big Data E-commerce Web 2.0 The IT
information management department
3 Variety – diversity of source data, with much of it being Big Data analytics – aims to extract insights from
unstructured. Organisations need to find ways of unstructured data or from large volumes of data.
capturing, storing and processing unstructured data.
Need for Knowledge Databases Big Data E-commerce Web 2.0 The IT
information management department
Need for Knowledge Databases Big Data E-commerce Web 2.0 The IT
information management department
Web 2.0 allows users/potential customers to create, share and evaluate content.
Web-based communities Social networks, blogs, wikis, instant messaging
Features of Knowledge sharing Tagging, Mashups, collective intelligence
Web 2.0 User generated content Capture, create and share, eg Youtube
Consumer generated content Product review sites
Need for Knowledge Databases Big Data E-commerce Web 2.0 The IT
information management department
Outsourcing IT services
Advantages Disadvantages
Establishes costs with some certainty May prevent development of strategic capability
Encourages planning Loss of confidentiality
Exploits contractor’s economies of scale Risk of lock-in to unsatisfactory contract
Provides greater skill and knowledge than a Loss of awareness and appreciation of
small in-house operation capabilities, limitations, costs and benefits of IT
Resources easily scaled up or down according
to demand
Notes
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Customers and
marketing
Customer view
Database marketing
Marketing audit
Digital marketing
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The marketing concept is the idea that the organisation’s key task is to find out the needs, wants and values of
a target market and to adapt the organisation to delivering them.
Marketing
is the management process which The organisation must decide
identifies, anticipates and supplies
customer requirements profitably. What target markets should be selected for development
How to offer its product or service
The organisation must commit itself
to supplying what customers need. How to establish a marketing system and organisation
This is called a marketing How to develop, implement and control a marketing plan
orientation.
The marketing mix (4 Ps)
summarises the variables that need
to be considered in marketing.
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MARKETING
Key part of business strategy
Can be a source of competitive advantage
Two approaches – product-led or customer-led
Retention
Customer relationship management (CRM)
is the establishment, development, maintenance
and optimisation of long-term, mutually valuable
relationships between organisations and their
customers. Extension
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Database marketing
Data warehouses provide a single point for storing a
is the analysis and use of customer databases in
coherent, non-volatile set of information which can be
communication and other relationship-building
used across an organisation for management analysis
contacts with customers.
and decision-making.
Data warehouses improve data quality by reducing the
Offers significant benefits to a business: risk of different people using different data during a
Identify the best customers (recency of last decision-making process. They also improve the speed
purchase, frequency of purchase, monetary of responses to business queries.
value of purchases)
Data warehouses are primarily used for storing data
Tailor e-marketing messages based on rather than analysing data. By contrast, data mining
customer usage, so can target customers more is primarily concerned with analysing data and
effectively identifying patterns and relationships in that data.
Cross-sell related and complementary
products.
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A data warehouse consists of a database, containing data from various operational systems, and reporting and
query tools.
Data mining software looks for hidden patterns and relationships in large pools of data, using statistical
analysis tools and intelligence techniques. Data mining can give organisations a better insight into customer
behaviours.
Page 111 8: Customers and marketing
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E-marketing has been defined as ‘the application of the Internet and related digital technologies to achieve
marketing objectives’ (Chaffey).
Functions of internet marketing Specific benefits of internet marketing
Any online e-communication must be consistent with the overall marketing goals and current marketing
efforts of the organisation.
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is the process of acquiring customers and Much of the information people ‘share’ is
attracting the attention of potential customers non-commercial, so how much real value does it
through social media sites have for businesses?
How much expenditure has actually been
Social media sites and other Web 2.0 technologies, generated through social media? (eg if someone
allow users to provide information about themselves. ‘likes’ a product on Facebook, does that mean
This information can be valuable to marketers. they will buy it?)
Marketers can target relevant marketing messages to Threats to brands – customers can
narrowly defined market segments based on data transmit/share messages which companies do
they have gathered about the likes and interests of not want to be transmitted (eg complaints;
customers and potential customers. negative feedback)
Social media increases consumers’ power over
the marketing process and disrupts an
organisation’s ability to control that process.
E-marketing planning
Competitor analysis Scan competitor websites; benchmark e-commerce services
Intermediary analysis Search portals for new approaches; research competitor intermediary policy; identify
and compare intermediaries.
Marketing audit Measurement: acquisition costs, leads, sales, ROI. Use web analytics to measure
impact of leads; sales and brand effects delivered over the Internet; create online
CRM capability.
Objective setting Online revenue contribution
Strategy Online value proposition; identify target online segments
Tactics Use Internet to vary the extended product
Consider new channel structures
Automate processes: auto-responder, FAQs, virtual assistants
Online branding
Online marketing communications, eg email selling, search engine advertising
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Understanding
organisational change
Process of change
Resistance to change
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Change management is ‘the continuous process of aligning an organisation with its marketplace and doing so more
responsively and effectively than competitors.’ (Berger)
An organisation may have to make a strategic change for lots of different reasons.
Internally generated change is likely to be managed more proactively, effectively and efficiently than externally
generated change, due to clear ownership, prior knowledge/understanding of the change, and the ability to
control the nature and timing of the change.
Change may also accompany organisational growth. Greiner suggested growing companies tend to have long periods
of evolution (in which organisational practices remain relatively constant) interspersed by periods of revolution (in
which there is substantial turmoil and change).
Organisations need to analyse the nature of change in order to identify the most appropriate way of managing
the change.
Two key issues:
Extent of change required
Speed with which change needs to be introduced
Balogun and Hope Hailey Johnson, Scholes and Whittington
Scope of change Nature of change
Realignment Transformation Incremental Transformational
Nature
of Incremental Adaptation Evolution Management Proactive Tuning Planned
change ‘Big bang’ Reconstruction Revolution role Reactive Adaptation Forced
Hard/soft changes
Hard mechanistic. Suitable where difficulties are easily identified.
Soft people based. Suitable when harder to define the problem.
As well as the eight contextual features, the change kaleidoscope also identifies six design choices which affect
the way change is implemented
6 design choices
1 Change path – Type of change (nature and scope) required
2 Change start point – Where is change initiated and developed? Top-down; bottom up?
Pilot site or rolled out across the whole organisation immediately?
3 Change style – Management style (eg collaborative or coercive)
4 Change target – What organisational level does change relate to? Tactical or operational?
5 Change roles – Who is responsible for leading and implementing the changes?
6 Change interventions – Changes to structures and systems; changes to organisational culture;
communications to staff, education and training for staff.
Continuous/discontinuous change
Continuous: Small scale, incremental changes
Doesn’t alter paradigm or underlying strategy
Minimises resistance
Discontinuous: Radical change in firms environment/operations
Can either be a sudden one-off change, or the result of a series of incremental changes
Very significant in the 'unfreeze' process
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Balogun and Hope Bailey: the cultural web McKinsey 7 ‘S’ model
Shows:
Link between organisation's behaviour and
behaviour of individuals
Shows cultural aspects to be considered when Change affects both organisations as a whole
managing change. and individual people and functions within it
Cultural incompatibility is a key reason where mergers/acquisitions fail. Existing cultures should be considered at
the start of the deal.
Page 127 9: Understanding organisational change
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In practice, organisations need to combine elements of both Theory E and Theory O. So managers need
to integrate E and O in a way which resolves the inherent tension between the two.
Force field analysis: identifying the factors that promote or hinder change.
For change to be successfully implemented:
Exploit promoting forces
so that driving forces outweigh resisting forces
Reduce hindering forces
The status quo
Forces driving change Forces holding back change
Improving quality Individual concerns, eg:
Improving efficiency – Fear of the unknown
Potential savings – Dislike of uncertainty
Legislation/legal requirements – Potential loss of power
– Potential loss of rewards
– Potential lack or loss of skills
Cost/budget constraints
Existing system sufficient
Forcefield analysis doesn’t give any detail about how to manage change, or how to overcome the resistance
to change. Also it presumes that all change is desirable. But on some occasions change should be resisted (if it
is undesirable for the organisation’s competitive advantage.)
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Notes
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Leading and
managing change
Importance of leadership
Leadership styles
Ethics
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Change and Styles of change Reasons for Leading Building Change management
communication management success / failure change teams and strategy
Change and Styles of change Reasons for Leading Building Change management
communication management success / failure change teams and strategy
Resistance to change can occur if reasons/triggers for changes are not communicated properly:
Appropriate method Feedback opportunities provided
Appropriate timing Redundancy programmes handled with care
Change phase Communication purpose
Unfreeze Create readiness for, and understanding of, the need for change
Move Explain changes, reduce uncertainty of impact of change, and enable staff to change
Refreeze Keep staff informed of progress
Johnson, Scholes and Whittington identify five styles for managing change.
1 Education and communication 4 Direction
2 Collaboration / participation 5 Coercion/edict
3 Intervention
Change and Styles of change Reasons for Leading Building Change management
communication management success / failure change teams and strategy
Common factors that contribute to the success of Why does change fail?
change management programmes:
Effective support from senior management
Not enough sense of urgency
Buy-in from front line managers and employees
Failure to create powerful support base
Continuous and targeted communication
Vision not clearly developed
Experienced and credible change management
Vision poorly communicated
team
Obstacles block the vision
Well-planned, well-organised approach
Failure to create short-term wins
To buy-in to the change, employees need to hear about
Systems, policies and skills not aligned
the change from two people:
Failure to anchor changes in corporate culture
(i) The most senior person involved in the change
Lack of change management / implementation
(ii) Their own line manager
skills or expertise
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Change and Styles of change Reasons for Leading Building Change management
communication management success / failure change teams and strategy
Change and Styles of change Reasons for Leading Building Change management
communication management success / failure change teams and strategy
Leadership
Individuals Membership
Interpersonal Objectives
relations Effective
Communication
teams Achievement
Change and Styles of change Reasons for Leading Building Change management
communication management success / failure change teams and strategy
The key role of change management in strategy implementation can be illustrated by looking at the key
elements of strategic management.
Strategic change is the pro-active management of change in an organisation to achieve clearly identified
strategic options.
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Strategic performance
management
Multi-dimensional
performance measures
Control Financial and The balanced The performance Building Targets and
systems non-financial measures scorecard pyramid block model rewards
Objectives, critical success factors (CSFs) and key performance indicators (KPIs)
Goals and objectives
Control Financial and The balanced The performance Building Targets and
systems non-financial measures scorecard pyramid block model rewards
Control Financial and The balanced The performance Building Targets and
systems non-financial measures scorecard pyramid block model rewards
Traditional accounting measures are inadequate for assessing overall progress. Other matters must be
considered, especially as financial reporting is heavily retrospective in focus. The balanced scorecard covers
most of the angles with its four perspectives. Note that individual measures are company specific.
Control Financial and The balanced The performance Building Targets and
systems non-financial measures scorecard pyramid block model rewards
Control Financial and The balanced The performance Building Targets and
systems non-financial measures scorecard pyramid block model rewards
Control Financial and The balanced The performance Building Targets and
systems non-financial measures scorecard pyramid block model rewards
*: Three aspects of flexibility: speed of delivery; response to customer specifications; coping with demand
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Control Financial and The balanced The performance Building Targets and
systems non-financial measures scorecard pyramid block model rewards
3 Control measures are undertaken to control any Stretch targets are deliberately challenging, on the
shortfall basis that employees will rise to the standard set
when they are faced with a challenge.
4 Goals are adjusted in the light of experience
Control Financial and The balanced The performance Building Targets and
systems non-financial measures scorecard pyramid block model rewards
Performance
measurement
Role of management ROI and RI Comparing Value-based International Transfer Divisional Strategic
accountant performance management subsidiaries pricing performance management styles
Role of management ROI and RI Comparing Value-based International Transfer Divisional Strategic
accountant performance management subsidiaries pricing performance management styles
Advantages Disadvantages
Role of management ROI and RI Comparing Value-based International Transfer Divisional Strategic
accountant performance management subsidiaries pricing performance management styles
eg for benchmarking, or
Comparing profit centres Interfirm comparisons comparing subsidiaries
Problems Problems
Role of management ROI and RI Comparing Value-based International Transfer Divisional Strategic
accountant performance management subsidiaries pricing performance management styles
A shareholder value approach to performance measurement moves the focus away from short term
profits to a longer term view of value creation.
Different shareholders will value different aspects of performance, although they will generally prioritise
financial returns.
Shareholder value analysis (SVA) The development of SVA has been driven by:
Rappaport's seven value drivers Wider share ownership
More knowledgeable investors
Sales growth rate Desire to get away from a short term outlook
Operating profit margin Discrediting of profit as the sole performance
Cash tax rate all drive measure
Fixed capital investment rate cash
Working capital investment rate generation
The planning period We need to ask the question: How well is the
The cost of capital business performing for the shareholder?
Role of management ROI and RI Comparing Value-based International Transfer Divisional Strategic
accountant performance management subsidiaries pricing performance management styles
Other measures
Market value added: the difference between a company’s
market value and the book value of capital employed
Total shareholder return:
Dividend per share + Movement in share price
_______________________________________
Share price at the start of the period
Role of management ROI and RI Comparing Value-based International Transfer Divisional Strategic
accountant performance management subsidiaries pricing performance management styles
Role of management ROI and RI Comparing Value-based International Transfer Divisional Strategic
accountant performance management subsidiaries pricing performance management styles
Setting objectives within a multinational is a complex task. There are particular difficulties with performance
measurement when operations and functions are located in various parts of the world.
Problems to be resolved
Role of management ROI and RI Comparing Value-based International Transfer Divisional Strategic
accountant performance management subsidiaries pricing performance management styles
Transfer prices are made to account for the transfers of goods/services between one department
or division to another.
Principles Uses
Ensure goal congruence Track the cost of work in progress
Do not use as penalty/reward Allocate profits to internal departments
Eccles says the method of setting transfer prices should reflect the organisation’s degree of
diversification and vertical integration.
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Role of management ROI and RI Comparing Value-based International Transfer Divisional Strategic
accountant performance management subsidiaries pricing performance management styles
An important principle to remember here is that managers should only be assesed on what they can control.
Division’s performance Manager’s performance
Role of management ROI and RI Comparing Value-based International Transfer Divisional Strategic
accountant performance management subsidiaries pricing performance management styles
3 main roles for the corporate centre Strategic management styles (Goold & Campbell)
1 Determination of overall strategy and Strategic planning style: Centre heavily involved in
allocation of resources strategic planning: lots of dialogue between centre and
2 Controlling divisional performance divisions. Centre less involved in control than planning,
and does not impose rigid targets on divisions.
3 Providing central services (eg HR, legal) Performance targets focus on longer-term strategic
objectives.
Strategic control: Fairly low amount of planning influence
from centre but tight control.
Financial control: Centre takes little interest in strategy
and strategic decisions, and company will not have a
formal long-term strategy. Strategic discussions revolve
around annual budget process, and corporate centre
exercises control through budgets and profit targets.
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Notes