Corporate Strategy Assignment Examining Competitive Strategies Of Businesses

Question

Task: In this corporate strategy assignment, you are tasked to answer the questions below.

Question 1
PepsiCo operates 45 plants, 490 distribution centers, warehouses and offices located globally, Australia, Chile, and Uzbekistan are being considered as a potential markets for PepsiCo top global brands and everyday nutrient products. As a senior executive for PepsiCo you and your team have decided to adopt the four strategies in the Ansoff matrix to expandand grow the business.

In this part of corporate strategy assignment, discuss each of the four matrix models when formulating your competitive strategies.

Answer this question in 400 words

Question 2
FourSeasonsHotelsisaToronto,Canada–basedmanagerofluxuryhotelproperties. They have 92propertieslocatedinmanyoftheworld’smostpopulartouristdestinationsandbusinesscenters. Identify and discuss which international strategy and which mode of entry could be used by Four Seasons when entering foreign markets.Explain the logic behind Four Seasons international strategy.

Answer this question in 400 words

Question 3

From humble beginnings in Gates’s family garage,Microsoft has grown to exceed $77.85 billion of revenuein2013. It offers aproductlineextendingfrom gamingand internetservices to mobile devices. It is continuously diversifing its product line yet again throughan aggressive acquisition strategy. Discuss how Microsoftcaneffectively manage the integration challenges when implementing the acquisition strategies

Answer this question in 400 words
Question 4
WhirlpoolCorporationhas 59manufacturingandtechnologycentersaroundtheworldand salesinsome170countries. Senior management hasavisionofWhirlpoolappliancesin“EveryHome...EverywherewithPride,Passion,andPerformance.” Discuss Whirlpool’s two reasons why they have formulated a diversification strategy. Analyse Whirlpool’s products and apply the BCG matrix .

Answer this question in 400 words

Question 5
KraftFoods,the90-year-olddarlingoftheconsumer packaged-goods industry, moved to improve itslong-term performance by restructuring the corporation. This has been one of the latest moves by CEO Irene Rosenfeld. She wasbrought in to turn around the company’s performance in 2012.Irene Rosenfeld was the CEO of Kraft Foods from 2012 to November 2017. She was considered a successful entrepreneur.

Discuss in detail the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur and indicate how CEO and entrepreneur Irene Rosenfeld demonstrates each characteristic. Note it is these characteristics which earned her the title of one of the 100 most powerful women in the world by Forbes.

Answer this question in 750 words
Question 6
W.L. Gore & Associates is best known for GORE-TEX brand. The brand is known for their commitment to supporting the passions that keep people moving since 1976. Using RBV (Resource Based View) model, identify both tangible and intangible resources of Gore & Associates. Apply the P.R.O.F.I.T. model and explain qualities among the identified resources and capabilities creates a sustainable competitive advantage which is considered valuable, rare, inimitable and non-subsitutable

Answer this question in 750 words

Answer

ANSWER 1:
Market penetration
Market penetration is one of the most crucial aspects in the growth of business in the business strategy of PepsiCo. This is one of the most crucial aspects for the company to focus on this. This stage is very risky because the company sells already existing products within the market. This will keep the parameters of the products very similar only (Tsatsoula, 2018, p. 93 (3)). PepsiCo might opt to reduce the prices of the products and offer to their customers. However, this might cost a huge loss in this beverage industry. This might increase the sales and market share of the company altogether (Christopher, 2016, p. 27).

Product development
PepsiCo has to bring up new products in the existing market. The customers will be highly benfitted through all of these products. This would actually attract more customers. They can introduce new types of products like low saturated fat beverages along with low calorie variants. This can attract the new segment of health conscious people as well (Rahman, 2016, p. 78). They have to implement the intensive strategy that would help them to address the already existing customes in the market. They can bring out fruit juices and coffee as well. This can be done if they partner with Starbucks and Unilever (Tsatsoula, 2018, p.102(1)).

Market development
Through this strategy of PepsiCo, existing products will be launched in the new markets. This will also help the new customers to get unique products that they have not found out before (Rahman, 2016). They have to focus on the developing regions aand expand their distribution networks over there also. This will help them to address the demands of their customers according to the regions they are serving (Christopher, 2016, p121(2)). They can offer their services through Pepsi Africa, pepsi Euro, Pepsi Middle east, Pepsi America and Pepsi Asia. All of these continental services will help them to gain more customers and launch their existing products also.

Diversification
PepsiCo has been using the diversification strategy for all the benefits they can get from the customers. This will allow the company to launch new products in the new markets. As they have not operated in these regions before, they will surely go through the customer survey of all these regions indeed (Tsatsoula, 2018, P89(2). Though they initially began as a beverage company, they have expanded their entity through food and snacks services also. New techniques for marketing will be implemented by the company for better results. Thus, PepsiCo will become one of the most highly revered beverage companies in the industry throughout the globe.<

ANSWER 2:
The company in discussion, Four Seasons Hotels has been implementing the multi-domestic internationalisation strategy in order to deal in the internationalisation of the company. The company has been maintaining a proper foreign direct investment in order to expand in to the international markets which in turn has been helpful for the expansion of the company across the international borders as well as helps in the increase of the revenue across the giobal markets. The company in discussion has been known fro catering to the various demands and the needs that are maintained by the clients across the global markets in accordance to the various cultural and social conditions maintained across those markets.

The internationalisation strategy that is maintained by Four Seasons Hotels refers to the multi-domestic strategy. The focus of the strategy implementation lies in the maintenance of the responsiveness towards the local requirements. The firms that have been implementing this strategy generally tend to lay major emphasis on the overall requirements that are maintained by the local clients as well as the local employees (Lakshman and Lakshman, 2017, p1778(3)). This in turn helps in the integration of the concern across the given local markets as well as helps in the overall development of the competitive positioning of the given company in the chosen global operational market location. Pardi (2019, p212(2)) argues that multidomestic internationalisation strategy helps in attracting a rather greater amount of clients towards a concern by customising the various products and services in accordance with the requirements of the local clients as well as helps in dealing with the acclimatization of the given company across the chosen global markets of operation. The company in discussion, four seasons hotels, has been known for employing local staff in order to deal with the various decision making activities which would help in attracting clients towards the organisation from the chosen operational location as well as help in introducing the various services that are provided to the international clients thereby assisting in the upliftment of the living standards maintained by the concerned clients. This would be helpful for generating better revenues for the company across the chosen markets (Chowdhury, 2018, p90(2)). The multidomestic strategy would help four seasons in maintaining a proper responsiveness towards the preferences of the clients as well as implement service standards that maintain accountancy across the various global operational markets thereby providing International clients with the similar experience across the various operational locations thereby helping in retaining loyal clients of the concern across the world.

ANSWER 3:
In today's environment, businesses turn to Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) for a variety of reasons, the most significant of which is to increase shareholder value through growth possibilities in new markets, company diversification, or product and service efficiency (Steigenberger, 2017, p419(3)). Microsoft has risen from humble beginnings in Bill Gates' family garage to a revenue of more than $77.85 billion in 2013. Through an aggressive acquisition strategy, it is constantly diversifying its product portfolio. However, the rapid speed of innovation and digital transformation makes it increasingly difficult for large businesses to enter new markets and/or technologies outside of their main business if they lack the skills to support such disruptive efforts (Steigenberger, 2017, p411(1)). It is critical to take the time to acquire information that will be useful post-merger in order to better analyse potential integration efforts so that when the time comes to make decisions, the facts are accessible to support the integration plan. When Microsoft knows all of the data and makes no assumptions, they have a significant advantage in automatically lowering the risks associated with the M&A IT integration process (Haddud et al, 2017, p18(4)).

Creating integration strategies necessitates balancing several elements, effects, and trade-offs. The integration strategy is critical for determining the direction of a desired operational model (Grover et al, 2018, p411(3)). An effective operational model should have eight essential components that are in sync with the acquisition and integration plan and are controlled centrally at the executive level. Even yet, it might take years for operational models to completely evolve and be implemented (Haddud et al, 2017, p22(3)). Acquirers are increasingly being entrusted with swiftly establishing a model at the beginning, but they must also be nimble and capable of adjusting the operational model during the integration. Microsoft must establish a well-defined M&A integration strategy that addresses each function and geography throughout the whole company (Grover et al, 2018, p391(1)). To be successful, the transaction strategy and total deal value must be carefully considered, especially as new forces continue to reshape M&A during and after the COVID-19 epidemic and recession. Establishing an integration management office and empowering a committed integration leader are critical success factors (Boon et al, 2018, p54(3)). Microsoft's integration leader should be someone who understands the company's business strategy, deal objectives, and present operations and operating methodology. A senior executive with transaction expertise may serve as the spearhead for comprehensive integration, managing all parties and conflicting agendas (Boon et al, 2018, p41(4)).

ANSWER 4:
Whirlpool is one of the most dominnat companies in the business industry of home appliances. Their main purpose is “Every Home… Everywhere with Pride, Passion and Performance”. They are always looking to implement different strategies that will be highly important for them to grow in different countries and satisfy the needs of their consumers. They understand that tastes and needs of buyers will always differ. This is the probable reason why they have implemented several products with a wide range of variations (Madsen, 2017. P. 32). Through the diversification strategy, they will look out for cheaper labor force as well as raw materials. This can always help them to focus on supply chain and logistics services of the company indeed. They can launch different types of cost effective products through this strategy. Secondly, they can gain economies of scale if they apply these strategies. Whirlpool has to manufacture more goods through this process and help the customers to satisfy their needs (Chin and Lin, 2019, p19(1)). The Operational Execellence process of the company has always contributed to the growth because they are present in all five cintinents and they have to use different types of marketing strategies all over there. They will be able to deliver their services through customer-focused approach. This will be the most important factor for their development (Gu, 2017, p17(2)).

Cash cows
The products of Whirlpool are always mature leaders in the market. This gives them the added advantage in the market completely. The return on investment for Whirlpool products are always higher than the products they actually consume. They earn good amount of revenue through this. They tend to use these revenues for the purposes of opetations(Madsen, 2017, p22(1)).

Stars
They have a high market share and their products are effectively in gaining a higher amount of revenues all the time. Their market investment is also high since they have a high amount of market growth (Gu, 2017, p 34(2)). If the growth rate decreases, it can be turned out into cash cows very effectively indeed. Thus it can create challenges for their rivals.

Question marks
All the products in this category of Whirlpool always grow quickly and this heightens their investment as well. The potential for growth of these products are relatively higher (Chin and Lin, 2019, p23(1)). They launched duet series of washing machines with front door that has claimed great returns on investment.

Dogs
All of these items in this category belong to lower market share along with lower growth. The dog items for Whirlpool mainly are the cooking appliances.

ANSWER 5:
A successful entrepreneur is known to have been maintaining certain specific characteristics that help them in gaining success in the various ventures that they partake in. The following section sheds major light on certain characteristics that help in improving the success rates maintained by entrepreneurs across the world and highlights the ways in which they are maintained by Irene Rosenfeld, CEO of Kraft Foods.

Passion
Entrepreneurs are generally observed to have been maintaining a greater amount of passion for the activity that they maintain. This, according to Laguía et al.(2019)p 83(2), helps in maintaining a clear focus on the job at hand thereby leading to a development in the revenues earned by the organisation as well as the productivity and performance of the same. In the given case study it is observed that Irene Rosenfeld maintains a great passion for the given business venture.

Motivation
Entrepreneurs should maintain motivation towards the achievement of the set organisational goals. In order to achieve the same, to maintain a dynamic nature by setting and achieving small goals during their initial days. Zulvia and Adrian (2018, p45(2)) states that it would help them in maintaining a confident and moral attitude towards the entrepreneurial venture thereby gaining success in the same. Irene Rosenfeld is also observed to maintain our motivation towards gaining success for the given business venture in discussion.

Knowledge on the service and product
It is highly important to maintain proper knowledge regarding the services and the products that are offered by the concerned entrepreneurial venture. This would help the concern on the way to gain access to the needs and demands of the target audience thereby helping in developing services and products in accordance to the same which in turn would be helpful for gaining success in the given fields (Bansa, 2018 p 113(2)).. In the case of Irene Rosenfeld it could be stated that the CEO maintains sound knowledge regarding the products and services offered by Kraft Foods thereby being capable of delivering clients with the services and products that are in accordance with the needs and desire of the clientele.

Management of the risks involved
Boldureanu et al.(2020, p75(1)) opines that entrepreneurs should be well prepared to deal with various risky situations during the operational conditions of the concerned entrepreneurial venture. Risk management would help the concerned entrepreneurs to gain a better position across the given markets thereby leading to improvement in the revenues earned by the organisation by maintaining successful performances and improved productivity across the globally situated operational markets. In the case of Irene Rosenfeld, it is observed that the concerned leader has been undertaking proper risk management skills by introducing measures like selling of certain brands and reducing the number of various management centres in order to gain profits for the organisation.

Maintaining a proper and achievable vision
Hameed and Irfan (2019, p 66 (2))opines that entrepreneurs should have clarity in terms of setting a proper goal alongside tangible milestones in order to achieve the aforementioned goal. The organisational vision is highly essential for defining the organisational identity alongside helping in motivating the organisational workforce towards achieving the set goals. Vision for the organisation helps in motivating employees towards working for the achievement of the set goals maintained by the organisation. In the case of Irene Rosenfeld it is observed that the CEO maintains a proper vision alongside certain tangible short term goals that could be achieved by the concerned employees. It could be stated that these short term goals would help the concerned employees in maintaining their motivation towards the achievement of the organisational vision as well.

Capability to undertake proper decisions
Decision making capabilities is one of the major criterias that need to be fulfilled by an entrepreneur in order to gain success for the concerned entrepreneurial venture. Business entrepreneurs are advised to maintain a better understanding of the situations presented to them during the operations of the concern organisation. The ability to analyse the situation from various viewpoints helps in understanding the ways in which the issues could be resolved within the concern thereby helping in improving the motivation maintained by the concerned employees toward the achievement of the set goals and vision of the concerned organisation. The given case study suggests the fact that Irene Rosenfeld, CEO of Kraft Foods, has been maintaining an ability to deal with situations that are presented during the operations of the concern. The various changes that are maintained by the CEO are observed to be in favour of the improvement in organisational performance thereby leading to an increase in the competitive positioning maintained by the concern across global markets.

ANSWER 6:
Resource Based View Model
The resource based view (RBV) is a worldview that underlines the worth of assets in working on corporate execution (Collins, 2021, p336(3)). At the point when an asset displays VRIO characteristics, it helps the association in accomplishing and keeping an upper hand. Defenders of RBV contend that it is altogether simpler to benefit from outer freedoms by repurposing existing assets than growing new abilities for every chance (Busby, 2019, p302(1)). The RBV model accentuates the meaning of assets in empowering firms to accomplish more elevated levels of authoritative execution. Assets are arranged into two sorts: unmistakable assets and immaterial assets. Unmistakable resources are actual items (Collins, 2021, p346(3)). Structures, land, gear, hardware, and capital are instances of unmistakable resources. Actual assets are effortlessly bought available, hence they give minimal long haul benefit to organizations since contenders may quickly gain similar resources. Elusive resources are resources that might not have an actual presence however may in any case be held by the organization. Brand notoriety, brand names, and protected innovation are instances of elusive resources (Busby, 2019, p305(1)). In contrast to actual assets, brand notoriety is worked through time and is something that different organizations can't accepting on the lookout (Collins, 2021, p351(3)). Immaterial assets are for the most part stayed with inside an and are the principle wellspring of long haul upper hand.

A portion of the tangible assets for GORE-TEX can be seen from the contextual analysis given. There are no commonplace hierarchical diagrams, leadership hierarchies, or preset correspondence courses. All things considered, they interface straightforwardly with each other and are considered responsible by different individuals from our multi-discipline groups. They advance involved development by including individuals who are generally acquainted with a venture in dynamic. Groups structure because of chances, and pioneers create. Representatives are asked to use 10% of their opportunity to explore different avenues regarding novel thoughts and to take on a drawn out way to deal with the thought's turn of events. Promising thoughts draw in more individuals who are anxious to chip away at them without being told to by superiors.Instead, self-overseeing associates working in self-created groups are just urged to investigate inventive Gore innovation utilizes until these applications are totally marketed or their guarantee has been depleted.

A portion of the intangible assets for GORE-TEX can be seen from the contextual analysis given. W. L. Gore and Associates is most popular for the waterproof, breathable texture GORE-TEX, which is generally valued by open air devotees. At the point when Gore fostered the center innovation that supports most of its in excess of 2,000 worldwide licenses, the organization's particular culture was basic in empowering Gore to seek after different end-market applications simultaneously, empowering fast development from a specialty business to a differentiated global enterprise. Blood has been perceived on Fortune magazine's rundown of the 100 best organizations to work for in the United States for the past 17 years. Blood is positioned correspondingly in different nations where it works, like Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden, and France.

PROFIT Model
Firms develop, foster, and pursue a reputation for technical innovation on a strategic level. Consumers reward costly and unpredictable R&D initiatives, as well as companies that consistently deliver innovation. As a theoretical implication, taking into account intangible inputs for reputation is a significant addition to a comprehensive understanding (Busby, 2019, p307(1)). From the above study, it is clear that vital strategic information for innovation and marketing operations, where both divisions must synchronise their efforts and investments, is required. Marketing components of quality-improvement programmes are as important but are frequently overlooked (Alexy et al, p1711(3)). Companies must guarantee that they are offering the benefits that their customers desire. Quality should be driven primarily by the consumer, not by technology, manufacturing, or rivals.Companies missed out on capitalising on this fundamental shift in customer sentiments by ignoring it (Busby, 2019, p305(1)). Managers may have detected and responded to patterns earlier if they had monitored the available information. As more consumers attempt to extend the life of their durable products, the perceived quality of customer service becomes a more essential component in the purchasing decision (Alexy et al, 2018, p1719(3)). GORE-TEX vows to stand behind its goods rather than hide behind its distribution networks. It has leveraged a reputation for providing excellent customer service into a distinct competitive advantage that maintains its image of excellence.

References
Alexy, O., West, J., Klapper, H. and Reitzig, M., (2018). Surrendering control to gain advantage: Reconciling openness and the resourcebased view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 39(6), pp.1704-1727. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2706
Banda, J., (2018). Personal characteristics of successful women entrepreneurs in Mexico: A conceptual exploratory study. Small Business Institute Journal, 14(1), pp.19-30. Available at https://sbij.org/index.php/SBIJ/article/viewFile/296/231
Boldureanu, G., Ionescu, A.M., Bercu, A.M., Bedrule-Grigoru, M.V. and Boldureanu, D., (2020). Entrepreneurship education through successful entrepreneurial models in higher education institutions. Sustainability, 12(3), p.1267.Availablke at https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/3/1267/pdf

Boon, C., Eckardt, R., Lepak, D.P. and Boselie, P., (2018). Integrating strategic human capital and strategic human resource management. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(1), pp.34-67. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2017.1380063

Busby, J.S., (2019). The co-evolution of competition and parasitism in the resource-based view: A risk model of product counterfeiting. European Journal of Operational Research, 276(1), pp.300-313. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2018.12.039

Chiu, C.C. and Lin, K.S., (2019), July. Rule-based BCG matrix for product portfolio analysis. In International Conference on Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Networking and Parallel/Distributed Computing (pp. 17-32). Springer, Cham.

Chowdhury, P.P., (2018). Internationalization and International Business Strategies: A Review of Literature. AIUB Journal of Business and Economics, 15(1), pp.83-119. Available at http://116.206.57.42/index.php/ajbe/article/download/46/47

Christopher, M., (2016). Marketing: an introductory text. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Collins, C.J., (2021). Expanding the resource based view model of strategic human resource management. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32(2), pp.331-358. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2019.1711442
Grover, V., Chiang, R.H., Liang, T.P. and Zhang, D., (2018). Creating strategic business value from big data analytics: A research framework. Corporate strategy assignmentJournal of Management Information Systems, 35(2), pp.388-423. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2018.1451951
Gu, A.J., (2017). The analysis of strategic alternatives using BCG matrix in a company. Quality-Access to Success, 18.
Haddud, A., DeSouza, A., Khare, A. and Lee, H., (2017). Examining potential benefits and challenges associated with the Internet of Things integration in supply chains. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-05-2017-0094
Hameed, I. and Irfan, Z., (2019). Entrepreneurship education: A review of challenges, characteristics and opportunities. Entrepreneurship Education, 2(3), pp.135-148. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dr-Irfan-Hameed/publication/337027650_Entrepreneurship_education_a_review_of_challenges_ characteristics_and_opportunities/links/5e3c2971299bf1cdb912d2aa/Entrepreneurship- education-a-review-of-challenges-characteristics-and-opportunities.pdf

Laguía, A., García-Ael, C., Wach, D. and Moriano, J.A., (2019). “Think entrepreneur-think male”: a task and relationship scale to measure gender stereotypes in entrepreneurship. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 15(3), pp.749-772.DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-018-0553-0 Lakshman, S. and Lakshman, C., (2017). The dynamic change in expatriate roles: strategy type and stage of internationalization. Management Decision, 55(8), pp.1770-1784. Available athttps://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lakshman-Chandrashekhar/publication/318766577_The_dynamic_change_in_expatriate_roles_strategy_ type_and_stage_of_internationalization/links/5cb0bae192851c8d22e68f8a/The-dynamic- change-in-expatriate-roles-strategy-type-and-stage-of-internationalization.pdf

Madsen, D.O., (2017). Not dead yet: the rise, fall and persistence of the BCG Matrix. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 15(1), pp.19-34.

Pardi, T., (2019). The role of multinational company strategies in structuring global supply chains in the automotive industry. ILO Research Department Working Paper, 44. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tommaso-Pardi-2/publication/335927594_The_role_of_multinational_company_strategies_in_structuring_global_ supply_chains_in_the_automotive_industry/links/5d847c9a92851ceb791b1860/The-role-of- multinational-company-strategies-in-structuring-global-supply-chains-in-the-automotive-industry.pdf Rahman, K.M., (2016). Strategic Planning and Marketing Models. In Strategic Marketing Management in Asia. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Steigenberger, N., (2017). The challenge of integration: A review of the M&A integration literature. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(4), pp.408-431. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12099 Tsatsoula, E., (2018). Application of Ansoff's Matrix-Methodology: Marketing Growth Strategies For Products.

Zulvia, Y. and Adrian, A., (2018, July). The Role of Core Value, Character and Entrepreneur Leadership towards Successful Entrepreneur. In First Padang International Conference On Economics Education, Economics, Business and Management, Accounting and Entrepreneurship (PICEEBA 2018) (pp. 676-683). Atlantis Press. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yolandafitri-Zulvia-2/publication/327898877_The_Role_of_Core_Value_Character_and_Entrepreneur_Leadership_ towards_Successful_Entrepreneur/links/5bd7e5604585150b2b90c411/The-Role-of-Core-Value- Character-and-Entrepreneur-Leadership-towards-Successful-Entrepreneur.pdf