Strategic Recommendations

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Final Portfolio- Week -14

Dubai Refreshments Company White Paper

Husam Mohammed Alarawi

ID# 130045891

MGT-510-21801-201420: MGT-510: Strategy Planning 21801

Saudi Electronic University

Dr. Bari Courts

May 15, 2015

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Table of Contents

Dubai Refreshments Company White Paper .................................................................................. 3

Module 1: Concepts of Strategy ..................................................................................................... 4

Module 2 and 3: Industry Analysis and Strategy ............................................................................ 4

Module 4 and 5: Organizational Analysis and Strategy ................................................................. 4

Module 6: Nature of the Competitive Advantage: Innovation and Global Reach .......................... 5

Module 7 and 8: Business Strategies and Corporate Strategies ...................................................... 5

Module 9 and 10: Realizing Strategy.............................................................................................. 5

Module 11 and 12: Trends in Strategic Management ..................................................................... 5

Figure: Strategy Planning Process .................................................................................................. 5

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................... 6

APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................................. 7

APPENDIX B ................................................................................................................................. 8

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Dubai Refreshments Company White Paper

The strategy planning process of the company has to be undertaken in accordance to the

company’s parameters (Cummings & Woley, 2009). The size and value of the company have to

be considered in determination of the various strategies to be approached. Other issues to be

considered when developing a strategic plan for the company is the industry and market trends

(Cummings & Woley, 2009). These are important issues since they affect the company directly

in its operational activities. Other things to be considered when developing a strategy for the

company may include the ethical perspectives (Rothaermel, 2012). The management has to

consider how the strategy is going to affect the other stakeholders of the company, including

employees and competitors.

An important tool for strategic planning is change (Fung, 2014; Spee, 2006). A plan

cannot be undertaken if there is no change involved in the organization. Managers have to

understand on what changes would affect the organization, and how the changes would be

handled. The changes affecting an organization are mostly encountered with many barriers. The

management has to analyze the context of the change in the organization, determine the people

who are going to be affected and how they will be affected (Spee, 2006). Change management is

integral in the success of the company’s strategic plan. The management has to devise ways in

which they can prevent or deal with the barriers to the change at any point of the implementation

of the strategic plan.

Strategic planning in any organization requires utmost control. The organizational leaders

have to take control of the strategic plan to ensure its success. Control means active involvement

in every stage and activity of the strategic planning process (Alexander, 2013). Managers have to

ensure that the employees are doing the right things at the rights time, and that the objectives of

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the strategy are being achieved (Mintzberg & Lampel, 1999). Leaders can achieve control in

various ways including rewarding or punishing of the employees in many ways.

Strategic planning requires clear setting of objectives and goals. The management of the

organization has to ensure that short term and long term goals have been clearly determined

(Wolf & Floyd, 2013). These goals have to be aligned in that the short term goals are achieved

first, then they offer a stepping stone to the long term goals (Bryson, 2011). Short and long term

goals set by the organization are not supposed to be independent. Achievement of the goals in

strategic planning has to be monitored and recorded in terms of values (Bryson, 2011). The

values give clear information on level to which these goals have been achieved.

Module 1: Concepts of Strategy

The activity that is relevant in this context is ‘Setting the organizational goals and

objectives’. This process entails setting goals that are achievable and attainable.

Module 2 and 3: Industry Analysis and Strategy

The activity relevant in this context is ‘Analysis of the competition in the industry’. The

competitors are analyzed and their strengths and weaknesses determined.

Module 4 and 5: Organizational Analysis and Strategy

The relevant activity in this context is ‘Determination of the company’s strengths and

weaknesses’. This activity will entail analysis of the company’s internal and external

environment.

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Module 6: Nature of the Competitive Advantage: Innovation and Global Reach

Relevant activity in this context is ‘Market and production techniques analyses’. This

activity will involve analysis of the market reach of the company and production techniques.

Module 7 and 8: Business Strategies and Corporate Strategies

The relevant activity in this context is ‘Determination of the capital structure’. The best

capital structure for the company will be determined in this activity.

Module 9 and 10: Realizing Strategy

The relevant activity in this context is ‘Change management planning’. This activity will

entail the planning on how to undertake the strategy and manage the changes successfully.

Module 11 and 12: Trends in Strategic Management

The relevant activity in this context would entail ‘Analysis of the current issues’. The

current trends adopted by organizations will be determined in this activity.

Figure: Strategy Planning Process

ANALYZE

Current Mission and Vision

Industry and Market

Customer and Demand

Competitors SWOT

Capital Structures

Stakeholders

Company SWOT

REVIEW

Expected Competitor Reaction

Employee Reaction

Other Stakeholder Reaction

Strengths of the Strategy

Weaknesses of the Strategy

Financial Sensitivity

Chances of Success.

DEFINE STRATEGY

Financial Strategy

Marketing Strategy

Supply Chain Strategy

Production Strategy

Adoption of Technology

Labor Structure

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REFERENCES

Alexander, K. (2013). Facilities Management: Theory and Practice. Routledge

Bryson, J.M. (2011). Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: A Guide to

Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement. John Wiley & Sons

Cummings, T.G. & Worley, C.G. (2009). Organization Development & Change. Cengage

Learning

Fung, A. (2014). International Business Strategies: A Review and Extension of Theories.

Chinese Economy, 47(5), 116-130

Mintzberg, H. & Lampel, J. (1999). Reflecting on the Strategy Process. Management Review

Rothaermel, F. (2012). Strategic Management. McGraw Hill

Spee, A.P. (2006). Strategic planning as communicative process. Organizational Studies, 32(9),

1217-1245

Wolf, C. & Floyd, S.W. (2013). Strategic Planning Research: Toward a Theory-Driven Agenda.

Journal of Management

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APPENDIX A

Hypothetical Organization Parameters

Industry: Refreshments

Organization Type: Publicly traded for profit

Organization Size/Reach: Large as defined by geographical reach.

Other Parameters: The Company has been in operation for 56 years.

Produces over 15 different products

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APPENDIX B

Module 1: Concepts of Strategy

The activity that is relevant in this context is ‘Setting the organizational goals and

objectives’. The organizational goals set have to be ‘SMART’. For an organization to be

successful in its strategy planning process, the goals have to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable

and Timely. The goals set in this activity will be specified on the target needed and when they

are supposed to be achieved. The benefit of this activity is that it will give the strategy a clear

and distinct direction to follow.

Module 2 and 3: Industry Analysis and Strategy

The activity relevant in this context is ‘Analysis of the competition in the industry’. This

activity will entail undertaking a SWOT analysis of the competitor. A good SWOT analysis

gives the organization a view of what the competitors are doing well, and the areas that the

organization can capitalize on to achieve a competitive advantage. The benefit of this activity is

that it will help the management in the decision of the goals and objectives of the strategy.

Module 4 and 5: Organizational Analysis and Strategy

The relevant activity in this context is ‘Determination of the company’s strengths and

weaknesses’. The activity will entail undertaking of the company’s SWOT analysis. The internal

and external environments of the company will be assessed so as to know the weaknesses and the

strengths of the company. The strengths will then be used in the achievement of the strategic

plan. Every strength will be used in ensuring that the plan is overly successful and the objectives

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have been met. The benefit of this activity is that it will provide the management with the

knowledge on the available resources to be used in the strategy and the factors that may affect

the strategy negatively.

Module 6: Nature of the Competitive Advantage: Innovation and Global Reach

Relevant activity in this context is ‘Market and production techniques analyses’. This

activity will involve analysis of the market that the company operates in, and the international

markets. The level to which the international market is open and conducive for the company will

be ascertained thus ensuring that the strategy takes advantage of all the opportunities available.

The production techniques applied by the company will be compared to those applied by other

global firms so as to know the current position in terms of use of state of the art technologies.

The benefit of this activity is that it will help in the decision of the best production techniques to

meet the company’s goals and objectives.

Module 7 and 8: Business Strategies and Corporate Strategies

The relevant activity in this context is ‘Determination of the capital structure’. The best

capital structure for the company will be determined in this activity.The decision on whether to

use an all debt, all equity or varied proportions of debt and equity in the organization will be

determined. The benefit of this activity is that it will ensure maximum utility of the capital

available in the achievement of the strategy objectives.

Module 9 and 10: Realizing Strategy

The relevant activity in this context is ‘Change management planning’. This activity will

entail the planning on how to undertake the strategy and manage the changes successfully. The

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strategies to be used in dealing with any barriers to change will be determined in this stage. The

benefits of this activity is that it will prepare the management for any barriers, thus ensure the

change process is smooth.

Module 11 and 12: Trends in Strategic Management

The relevant activity in this context would entail ‘Analysis of the current issues’. The current

trends adopted by organizations worldwide will be ascertained in this activity. The approaches

that successful companies use in strategy planning and undertaking of the strategy will be

analyzed and put in the context of the organization. The benefit of this activity is that it will

enable the management to adopt a strategy that has been proved to be successful for other

organizations of the same stature.