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Reflection Paper

This paper consists of reflections on three case studies--BJ's Bikes, Oz! toys, and ConstructWell construction--in terms of strategic planning. The paper discusses the challenges and analytic tools involved in environmental scanning, creating a strategic road map, and formulating a grand strategy for these three cases.

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Reflection Paper Thinking Strategically a The lessons learned in this scenario relative to the importanceand effectiveness of environmental scanning in relation to strategicthinking are that first of all environmental scanning is only as good asthe use that is made of the data and furthermore even excellent datacannot compensate for poor strategic thinking or a lack of organizationalcohesiveness The chairman and the CEO each have personal objectives that do not fittogether and neither of them seems to have based those objectivesspecifically on the

Strategy choice should be predicated on theparticulars of Oz!'s business-its place in the growth cycle, its niche inthe industry, or its relation to industry changes. Thinking Strategically a. Developing Grand Strategies a. The company's strengths are good food for strategicthinking, also, since they can be parlayed into excellent strategies thatare already halfway to becoming a success. In terms of concepts and analytic tools, in the case of Oz! Periodically reformulating strategy as the industry changes or companyposition in the marketplace changes is an essential key to maintainingOz!'s success in its market, and the question of which strategy to chooseis important if Oz! needs to address even though its currentstrategy is working fine within the present industry environment. One of the primary lessons learned in the ConstructWell scenariorelative to the importance and effectiveness of the formulation of actionplans and goals when creating a strategic road map is that the strategicroad map needs to include contingencies for success as well as failure.ConstructWell failed to plan ahead for success, and when the threat of atakeover bid arose, it had to scramble to try to keep from being takenover. Retrieved on January 25, 2 6 from: http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/porter.shtml Works CitedEnvironmental Scanning. A strategic road map should take the company from the very beginningall the way through to the end, with both success and failure contingenciesplanned for, as well as planning strategies for handling unforeseencontingencies quickly as they arise. At every phase of a company's growth, in every typeof market, and in every type of economy, strategy and planning areessential. in terms of its place inthe growth cycle. Their goals andobjectives are at cross purposes with each other, so neither one is likelyto achieve what is hoped for. Furthermore, it is notjust fluctuations in the business or the industry that can affect acompany's roadmap; all kinds of unforeseen influences can have asignificant impact. Oz! Forexample, "the 'grand strategy' approach is based upon industry/productrevenue growth rates" and is specific to a business unit with only onemajor industry and/or one major product focus; a business that has morethan one of either requires strategic planners to repeat the process foreach focus sector (Lemberg). The lessons learned in this scenario relative to the importanceand effectiveness of environmental scanning in relation to strategicthinking are that first of all, environmental scanning is only as good asthe use that is made of the data and furthermore, even excellent datacannot compensate for poor strategic thinking or a lack of organizationalcohesiveness. If it is a buyer's market, then it needs to tailorits offerings to suit what buyers want, or they will likely go elsewhere.If it is a supplier's market, they need to predicate their strategy on thestrength of supplier power. The chairman and the CEO each have personal objectives that do not fittogether, and neither of them seems to have based those objectivesspecifically on the environmental scanning data. is a successful toy manufacturer, but as with any company,it has to keep revisiting its strategy to keep it in line with the industryand its position within the industry at any given time. needs to move ahead of that change to protect its interests byreformulating its strategy to address it. Another lesson learned is that the strategic road map needs to beadjusted as conditions in the industry change or the company finds itselfin a new position it could not have planned for. This is notoptimum strategic thinking. Michael Porter's Five Forces-supplier power,buyer power, barriers to entry, threat of substitutes, and rivalry-can beused to help the strategist understand the industry context that thecompany operates in ("Porter's Five Forces"). Studying the lessons learned of other companies can suggestchanges in strategy, contingency strategies, problems lying ahead thatother companies encountered first and documented, and alternativeapproaches beyond the ones in the already existing strategic plan. Retrieved on January 26, 2 6 from:http://marketing.mcdar.net/6211.phpPorter's Five Forces. This means that strategists must first determine both the size and trendof the company's market share as well as its financial strength-probably interms of either cash flow from operations or access to capital-in order toarrive at its competitive strength within its sector (Lemberg). Any information, in fact, that can point the way toward upcomingchanges and developments that could impact the company's business are worthinvestigating, tracking, and documenting for strategic purposes. A strategic road map provides the precise type of directionthat a company needs in order to keep moving forward past obstacles. Retrieved on January 25, 2 6 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_scanningLemberg, P. Another challenge to strategic thinking is that although the companyhas obtained some useful data, it has not processed the data in ameaningful manner that could aid strategic thinking. Next, information that feeds strategic thinking needs tobe incorporated into the strategy sessions; this would be information oncompetitive strategies that apply to the particular opportunities availableto the company, as well as the niches that could be developed based oncustomer demographics. The purpose of environmental scanning is for the company to obtain a"sustainable competitive advantage" by watching for changes in the businessenvironment and adapting its strategies to take advantage of them when theyarise ("Environmental Scanning"). Such situations can occureven in the best of planning, as laws can change, news events can have animpact, and new discoveries can influence outcomes. One of the challenges facing strategic planners with regard tothe development of grand strategies is determining the individual factorsthat go together to make up the basis for that grand strategy. Among the concepts and analytic tools one can use in thedevelopment of a strategic plan with regard to creating a strategic roadmap are the lessons learned of similar businesses in the industry, as wellas those in related industries that have a similar business course orgrowth cycle. The environmental scanning data indicatesthat their customer base has expanded to include riders of all ages, yetneither one of them has a goal to capitalize on that fact. b. In this case, for example,before determining what their goals for the company are, the chairman andCEO should investigate the company's position relative to its power withbuyers and suppliers. Knowing that theclientele has expanded to include new age groups is good information, butwithout knowing what types of products sell in each age group, thestrategists cannot employ strategic thinking to make optimum use of thatinformation. The challenges in the ConstructWell scenario in terms of thestrategic planners creating a strategic road map include the difficulty offoreseeing future developments in the industry and the results ofsuccessfully building a business that dominates its niche in its region.Although every business should plan to succeed and should incorporate thestrategy into its strategic roadmap to address success, it is impossible topredict every outcome and fork in the road. c. Neither does it have statistics on the success of itsservicing, accessorizing, and advisory services. Thatreport is a warning that the industry environment is about to change, andOz! For O!z, a recentthreat was the flattening sales curve reported to be coming soon within thetoy industry, a threat that Oz! QuickMBA. Anotheranalytic tool useful in this endeavor is a gap analysis, which can showwhere the "holes" are in the current infrastructure and strategy so thatappropriate measures can be added to the strategic road map to handle them. c. Generic tools and concepts may or may not provide usefulinformation, whereas the Grand Strategy Clusters Matrix can be trusted toprovide useful information specific to Oz!'s industry position withreference to its growth phase. The concept of "planning until we'rea success" is shortsighted, as the ConstructWell scenario demonstrates;even after success is achieved, the strategic road map needs to guide thecompany past pitfalls. Barriers to entry, threat of substitutes, andrivalry all need to be factored into their strategy to produce a strategicplan that will leverage their strengths, sidestep threats and weaknesses,and help them successfully accomplish their goals. The more suchcontingencies a company can plan for, the better. Creating a Strategic Road Map a. Since the strategy for a mature companydiffers considerably from that of a new company just starting out, thisspecificity is much to be desired in formulating a specific, proactive,effective strategy for the company. Therefore, there is always a measure of challengein constructing an effective strategic road map. Secret of Strategy-Part 1. The lessons learned in this scenario relative to the importanceand effectiveness of strategy formulation and choice include the necessityfor matching the strategy to the company's phase in its growth path and theneed for a strategy that suggests an appropriate proactive strategicresponse. Furthermore, as Oz!'s businessprogresses through future phases of growth, the Grand Strategy ClustersMatrix should continue to be revisited to adjust and reformulate thestrategy commensurate with the changes relative to growth phase. Althoughthe preparation work for accomplishing these analyses may be a bittiresome, the results are worth it-an accurate analysis that leads to aneffective grand strategy which can provide maximum return on the company'splanning.3. Another useful tool is industry research, which can help strategistspinpoint more accurately the trends that the industry is likely to take,particularly with reference to the specific product or service the companyoffers. b. In this scenario, the challenges facing strategic planners withregard to thinking strategically include opposed and competing goals andobjectives that are not in sync with the industry context or theenvironmental panning results. The CEO and chairman failed to do this.A more successful strategy than either of theirs would be to expand theirproducts and services to service the new age groups in their customer baseand continue to attract new segments, rather than focusing on producinglower-cost bikes or being labeled the No. Using other businesses'lessons learned as an example can help to some degree, as can studying theindustry as a whole, but no one can definitively predict if or when ahostile takeover bid will occur unless the company making the bid lets itbe known ahead of time. c. A number of years ago on her television show, OprahWinfrey made a comment about eating beef that sent the entire beef industryinto a tailspin and prompted them to sue her for millions of dollars. For example, followingthe Katrina disaster, there was a dip for awhile in the cruise boatindustry due to people's developing a fear of water. Wikipedia. Theuncertainty of such occurrences will always be a challenging factor increating strategic roadmaps. With theadvent of the Internet, powerful search tools are available to facilitatesuch research, and the rewards of it are great in terms of good strategicroadmaps. Reflection Paper1. 1 specialty retailer. The analysis for arriving at an effectivegrand strategy is somewhat involved; it starts withdetermining the company's competitive strength within its sector (Lemberg). Strategic thinking demands anunderstanding of these factors so that they can be weighed into thecompany's strategy. In effect, it has goodstarter information but needs to augment it with details that make it moreuseful for strategizing.2. In this scenario, the concepts and analytic tools that can be usedto develop a strategic plan with regard to thinking strategically wouldinclude Michael Porter's Five Forces Analysis and an Industry Analysis("Porter's Five Forces"). is to develop strategies that continue to meet itsneeds in the future. The strength of the industry as a whole and its areas ofweakness are important information to combine with the five forcesaffecting the company to come up with a strategic plan that considers thepositives and negatives on every front. The first order of business for achievingan effective strategy is to employ the environmental panning results indeveloping the strategy, and then to agree on the goals and objectives tobe accomplished. By selecting strategiesthat specifically relate to Oz!'s situation, the company will achieveoptimum results from its strategy.b. An industry analysis can provide some of the same information, but indifferent terms. toys, theGrand Strategy Clusters Matrix was an effective analytic tool to usebecause it allowed the strategists to assess Oz!

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