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Week 8 Assignment - Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies

Overview

In this assignment, you are to use the same corporation you selected for the assignments in Weeks 3 and 6. You will examine business and corporate-level strategies and their impact on corporate success comparable to the competitive environment.

This assignment requires the use of three or more quality resources, including your textbook. Use any or all of the following resources to conduct research on the chosen corporation:

· The corporation’s website.

· Public filings from the Securities and Exchange Commission's  Filings & Forms  page.

· Strayer University's  online databases .

· The  Nexis Uni database .

· Other credible sources, such as the corporation's annual report, will often provide insights that other resources may not include.

· It is expected that you will use your textbook as a resource for this assignment. Michael A. Hitt. 2020. Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases: Competitiveness and Globalization. 13th ed. Cengage Learning. (Required text book source)

Instructions:

· Read the  Assignment Formatting and Tips [PDF]  before starting the assignment. Refer back to this document as needed.

· Review the scoring guide (rubric) in the course guide before starting the assignment.

· Download and save the  Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies Template [DOCX] . 

· Use the template to write a 4–6-page academic research paper in which you include the following:

Step 1: Assess one business-level strategy you believe to be most appropriate for the corporation's long-term success. Support your position with specific evidence.

Step 2: Assess one corporate-level strategy you believe to be most appropriate for the corporation's long-term success. Support your position with specific evidence.

Step 3: Analyze the competitive environment to determine the corporation's most significant competitor. Include a comparison of the business and corporate-level strategies for  both corporations ( your selected corporation and the competitor.) 

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· Based on your analysis, conclude which corporation ( your selected corporation or its competitor) is most likely to be successful in the long term. Support your determination with at least three pieces of evidence.

Step 4: Determine whether your corporation  or its most significant competitor would differ in slow-cycle and fast-cycle markets. Support your position with specific evidence.

· Use three or more quality sources, including your textbook, to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment. ( Note: Wikipedia and similar websites do not qualify as academic resources)

Week 8 Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies

Student’s Full Name

Strayer University

BUS499 Business Administration Capstone

Professor’s Name

Date

(Note: This assignment should be 4-6 pages not including the title or source pages. The headings for each section are provided below as well as tips for success. Delete the content provided and replace it with your own content. Refer to your assignment instructions, Assignment Formatting Tips PDF, and the scoring guide (rubric) for specific details as you complete your paper. Always follow Strayer Writing Standards. Delete this text.)

Write an introduction paragraph. No more than 6 sentences. No direct quotes. (Replace this text with your text which will be in black font.)

Business-Level Strategies

(This is Step 1 of the assignment. You are asked to assess the one business-level strategy you believe to be most appropriate for the selected corporation’s long-term success and to support your position with specific evidence. [Hint: See Figure 4.1 in the textbook.] For background, research and explain the industry in which your selected corporation operates. Your response here should demonstrate that you understand the key concepts regarding the selected business-level strategy and can apply them to a real-world corporation. Be sure to support your assessment with specific and relevant evidence. In this section, you could research and identify the core competencies your chosen firm uses to implement its business-level strategies and discuss their effectiveness. You could also demonstrate from your research how the firm uses its core competencies to create and sell its products or services in the marketplace. Consider the actions & choices your firm has made to compete in individual product markets. Review Chapters 4-9 for specifics on business-level strategies. Avoid unsubstantiated statements, extended introductory commentary, direct quotes, and unrelated content. Strive for about 1 ½ - 2 pages of well-constructed, in-depth analysis in this section. Delete this text)

Corporate-Level Strategies

(This is Step 2 of the assignment. You are asked to assess the one corporate-level strategy you believe to be most appropriate for the selected corporation’s long-term success and to support your position with specific evidence. [Hint: See Chapter 6 in the textbook.] For background, research and explain the industry in which your selected corporation operates. Your response here should demonstrate that you understand the key concepts regarding the selected corporate-level strategy and can apply them to a real-world corporation. Be sure to support your assessment with specific and relevant evidence. Your response should clearly identify the one corporate-level strategy from the textbook that you think is most important to the corporation's long-term success. Your response must also include a clearly stated and justified judgment on whether that strategy is a good choice. Include enough content and depth to demonstrate a thorough analysis of your selected corporation's corporate-level strategy. Avoid unsubstantiated statements, extended introductory commentary, direct quotes, and unrelated content. Strive for about 1 ½ - 2 pages of well-constructed, in-depth analysis in this section. Delete this text)

Competitive Environment Analysis

(This is Step 3 of the assignment. You are asked to analyze the competitive environment to determine the corporation’s most significant competitor. Include a comparison of the business and corporate-level strategies for both corporations – your selected corporation [refer back to Steps 1 and 2] and the competitor. This will require research outside the course material. Compare their strategies at the business and corporate levels. [Hint: read chapters 1 - 10 in the course textbook, as they provide a solid background for this section. Review the Week 1 - 8 Readings under "Learn" in Blackboard for supporting content.] Delete this text)

Competitive Environment Conclusion

(This is a continuation of Step 3 of the assignment. You are asked to use your analysis of the competitive environment to conclude which corporation (your selected corporation or its competitor) is most likely to be successful in the long term. You must support your determination with at least three pieces of evidence. Be sure to consider the business-level and corporate-level strategies for both corporations. This requires a thorough competitive analysis. Strive for about 1 ½ - 2 pages of well-constructed, in-depth analysis in this section. Delete this text)

Market Cycles

(This is Step 4 of the assignment. You are asked to determine whether your selected corporation or its most significant competitor would differ in slow-cycle and fast-cycle markets. You must support your position with specific evidence. It would be a good idea to briefly explain the slow-cycle and fast-cycle markets from the textbook (cite your sources) as a short introduction to your determination. [Hint: read Chapter 5 in the course textbook.] Remember, each section of your paper requires a thorough response demonstrating your understanding of the course's key concepts and your ability to apply them to a real-world corporation. Delete this text)

Sources

1. Michael A. Hitt. 2020. Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases: Competitiveness and Globalization. 13th ed. Cengage Learning.

2. Author. Publication Date. Title. Page # (written as p. #). How to Find (e.g., web address)

3. Author. Publication Date. Title. Page # (written as p. #). How to Find (e.g., web address)

(Add entries if needed and be sure to apply Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). Delete this text.)

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Week 6 External and Internal Environments

Student’s Full Name

Strayer University

BUS499 Business Administration Capstone

Professor’s Name

Date

Introduction

Coca-Cola is among the global giants that have established itself, taking its part in the beverage industry, enjoyed and recognized globally. Coca-Cola was established in 1986, yet it has continued to build roots and dominate the market over the last few decades. The present paper will carry out a comprehensive review of Coca-Cola, its business environment, as well as strategy. Further, the essay will also exploit the general environment and its path to success while suggesting the inclinations toward the future. The essay will also address the biggest threat that is faced by the Coca-Cola company, its greatest opportunity, as well as set in place strategies to leverage its strengths while addressing its weaknesses.

General Environment

Under the general environment, the concept that is most applicable in the case in question is Technological factors. Technology has the highest impact on Coca-Cola. In a world of digital age, technology has reshaped many things from how people and individuals carry out their issues. Issues like smartphones, social media, and e-commerce have become of concern in recent days, and this has revolutionized how Coca-Cola conducts its business. It has shaped how the organization carries out its business as well as how it interacts with other businesses.

Five Forces of Competition

Bruijl (2018) recognizes the threat of new entrants as one of the components of the five forces of competition. This can be seen to be one of the significant factors for Coca-Cola. Even though the beverage industry is highly competitive, the barriers to entry are relatively low, which allows new entrants either use innovative products or come in with new distribution strategies. Over the years, Coca-Cola has defended against this by prioritizing brand loyalty, investment in research and development of new products, and having strong relationships with various distribution partners. Further to this, Coca-Cola has gone ahead to differentiate its products introducing healthier products and adapting to consumer preferences has kept the company ahead of time. This shows the entity's commitment to staying ahead of time. Guo & Wen (2021) have shown that Coca-Cola has low customer switching costs and high capital requirements. This has allowed the entity to knock out excessive requirements in the market.

Future Improvements

Coca-Cola should be able to deal with several issues to bolster its ability to address the threat of new entrants over the course of 5-10 years. Such efforts would place the entity at the forefront in the implementation of an innovative entity, hence creating a higher barrier and making it difficult for other entities to join the industry. This would begin by having an agile product that would place Coca-Cola in a place where it can rapidly respond to changes and trends in the market. It will be able to test and refine concepts depending on real-time feedback. Another is investments in research so as to understand the customer preferences and hence have in place products that align with the needs of the customer (Aashish,2023). It is also important to have in a place open innovation and partnerships so that they can foster information sharing and research with other local start-ups. Leveraging the creativity and agility of external partners places Coca-Cola at the forefront of innovation in the beverage industry. It also needs to diversify the categories of beverages by moving beyond the traditional soft drinks and adopting the trends of the present times, and creating products that work as per the needs of the customers. Diversification of the new products will enable it to capture markets that had not been captured by competitors.

Greatest External Threat

The most significant external threat to Coca-Cola is the increased concern about environmental sustainability and plastic waste. The single-use plastic bags and bottles have been a major cause of scrutiny for a number of companies. This is so seen for Companies like Coca-Cola.Russ(2022) has indicated that Coca-Cola was the world's world plastic polluter in 2021. This bad reputation for being an environmental polluter may be a big issue for companies. To reduce the pollution associated with Coca-Cola, the company should emphasize investment in support of recycling initiatives, as well as engagement in partnerships that bring about responsible waste management. Wang et al. (2021) have indicated that there is a relationship between the reputation of an entity and its efforts toward environmental degradation. Coca-Cola can practice mitigating such issues and hence deal with the reputational risk that results from the same and align itself with evolving consumer values.

Greatest Opportunity

The biggest opportunity for Coca-Cola is the expansion into the regions that have middle-class and that which have increasing disposable incomes and which issue is a representation of significant growth opportunity for Coca-Cola. The new markets and the untapped areas of the world bring with them a great opportunity to be a vast consumer base ready to take on global brands like Coca-Cola. The best way in which Coca-Cola can deal with this is by having strategies that resonate well with the cultural preferences of the said markets. Customizing its products to different regions, it will be possible to establish stronger connections with customers and hence unlock new frontiers in revenue potential. This will be a strategy of product differentiation as per the needs of the customers of different regions.

Strengths

The biggest strength of Coca-Cola is its strong brand recognition in the market, extensive distribution networks, and global market presence. Zahair(2022)has reported that Coca-Cola is the strongest brand in the US, with a brand strength of 93.3. The launch of coca zero and Sugar Zero caffeine drinks have even put them higher as compared to other brands and making it stand out in the market. The best way to maximize these strengths is by investing in innovative marketing to reinforce the brand identity of Coca-Cola. It can take advantage of its distribution channel stability and ensuring consistency in the distribution of its goods. A focus on its global footprint would allow it to cater to diverse tastes and preferences over the world. Another is a cultural adaptation, whose global presence presents the opportunity to tailor products to individual preferences. Localized product adaptation would enable it to maximize this strength.

Weaknesses

The major weakness of Coca-Cola is the concern about the safety of many of its products (Flynn & Okuonzi, 2016). The company also has its weaknesses. The first is the overreliance on sugary beverages and the associated weaknesses needing strategic mitigation. They need to address a healthier product portfolio in which they should expand and provide more healthier choices for their portfolio. The introduction and marketing of these products would help in the diversification of its offerings as well as bring about health-conscious consumers. The next is education campaigns, where they need to collaborate with research nutrition and other relevant organizations to address the health issues in its products (Flynn & Okuonzi, 2016). Research is key to being aware of how their product affects lifestyles and how to improve them. It is also important to finance innovations in sugar reduction. That is to invest in sugar reduction without compromising on the quality of the product they are offering. They need to maintain the same flavors but reduce the sugar levels to keep the product appealing and have value for money.

Sources

1. Michael A. Hitt. 2020. Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases: Competitiveness and Globalization. 13th ed. Cengage Learning.

2. Bruijl, D. G. H. T. (2018). The relevance of Porter's five forces in today's innovative and changing business environment. Available at SSRN 3192207.

3. Wang, M., Liao, G., & Li, Y. (2021). The relationship between environmental regulation, pollution and corporate environmental responsibility. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(15), 8018.

4. Flynn, A., & Okuonzi, S. A. (2016). Coca-Cola's multifaceted threat to global public health. The Lancet, 387(10013), 25.

5. Zahair, A. (2022, June 24). Coca-Cola is the Strongest Brand in the US, With a Brand Strength of 93.3. New World Report. https://www.thenewworldreport.com/coca-cola-is-the-strongest-brand-in-the-us-with-a-brand-strength-of-93-3/

6. Russ, H. (2022, February 15). Coca-Cola, criticized for plastic pollution, pledges 25% reusable packaging. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/coca-cola-criticized-plastic-pollution-pledges-25-reusable-packaging-2022-02-10/ m

7. K C, Aashish. (2023). Report - Marketing research and competitive analysis. 4000 words. 10.

8. Guo, X., & Wen, M. (2021, December). Research on Competitive Strategy of Coca-Cola Company. In 2021 3rd International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry (ICEMCI 2021) (pp. 2879-2885). Atlantis Press.

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