TO: Wilford, Steve
FROM: Weir, Gaeun
DATE: 17 March 2022
SUBJECT: Feedback on Draft 10-year Strategy
Mr. Wilford,
Please see below to find my feedback on your draft 10-year strategy that
you shared with me on Friday. The following feedback is written with the
ideas of the five Ps that define strategy which I learned from my class. The
five Ps include position, perspective, plan, ploy, and pattern (University of
Maryland Global Campus, n.d., "Mastering Strategy: Art and Science, p. 7).
A. There is nothing wrong with the current strategy, but the following can
be considered for improvement.
The current strategy written is lack of "Position" perspective of strategy.
Strategy as the position involves both the firm and the competitors
(University of Maryland Global Campus, n.d., "Mastering Strategy: Art and
Science, p. 7) which shows where the company stands within the current
market. The current strategy can be written better by including the
company's current position among its competitors which can lead to
developing more detailed strategy that can put the company in a more
competitive position in the market.
Another aspect that could be added is "Perspective". As the owner of a
company, you may include your general perspective on new competitors,
along with how you would react to any changes in the market.
B: There are areas that are well-written with the ideas of the five Ps in
strategy.
First, "Plan" perspective of strategy. The current strategy does correctly
cover the core purpose of the company. The company exists to provide
tires and minor vehicle repairs to its customers which will continue unless
the business decides to make a major change to the core function of the
business. Therefore, it is good that the current strategy includes the plan for
the next 10 years of the company.
Next, the "Ploy" perspective of strategy means ways that a company can
use to disguise its competitors (University of Maryland Global Campus, n.d.,
"Mastering Strategy: Art and Science, p. 9). The current strategy is well-
written to show how the business is aware of its competitors, along with
the ways to compete in the market.
Lastly, with the perspective of "Pattern" in the current strategy, it is
assumable that the company is doing a sustainable job in selling tires and
doing minor vehicle repairs as they will stay in the current strategy for the
next ten years. This shows consistency as the company has been doing well
with the current operation/strategy and will be so in the next 10 years.
C: Based on the current strategy, the company's current competitive
advantage comes from lowest priced tires, vehicle repairs, exceptional
customer service, and the quality work that is being offered to customers.
The current strategy successfully reflects ways to achieve a competitive
advantage in a current market. Although, the sustainment of competitive
advantage will be heavily influenced by external environmental factors such
as new technologies or new market trends. For instance, if there is a
company with modern technology that can provide cheaper tires or saves
customers' time dramatically, the chances of Paul's Discounted Tires &
Repairs sustaining the competitive advantage would be considerably low. In
order to prevent such to happen, the strategy must be revisited often. It is
because continually reinventing competitive strategies can bring the
greatest potential for gaining long-term financial rewards (Goldsmith, 2013).
D. Current strategy can be improved with the articulated plan which refers
to “where” the company is heading to, and, “why” (Virtualstrategist, 2017,
1:20). The current strategy talks about how the company's current
operation concepts will continue in the next ten years. However, it is not
discussing about where the company will be heading to in the next ten
years, nor it talks about "why" it will be following the strategy in the next
ten years. The current strategy should include the mission - which is what
the company's end-goal is, along with how the company is planning to
achieve it. With the “where” and “why” concepts of articulated planning, the
strategy will provide more in-depth understanding of the business itself
along with much more detailed course of action in achieving its goals.
Thank you.
References
Goldsmith, D. (2013, July/August). Rethinking the Company's Competitive
Advantage. https://learn.umgc.edu/content/enforced/625295-001153-01-
2222-OL3-
7389/Rethinking%20the%20Company's%20Competitive%20Advantage.pdf
?_&d2lSessionVal=UwxWJ4wBaNcPVzqnL8aCejsCB
University of Maryland Global Campus. (n.d.). Mastering Strategy: Art and
Science, archived at
https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/dam/equellacontent/bmgt495/Chapt
er_1Mastering_Strategy.pdf
Virtualstrategist. (2017, September 08). What is Strategic Planning? How to
Develop a Process [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
gcNK-1IaiQ
