Crafting & Executing Strategy, Essay Example

During the course, I learned to analyze and create strategies, using knowledge gained in class, and from the readings. I found learning to use the “Five Forces” analysis, extremely useful, as well as the internal analysis, and multiple strategy analysis.  While taking the course, I became interested in many cases, like coach, Costco, Netflix, Seven-eleven, and many others. Through these cases, I gained a better understanding why a business can be successful, and how can managers apply the same strategies in their own roles. As I have chosen my business major as corporate strategies, it is important for me to learn about different operational aspects of an organization,  since my career goal is to set up a business and manage my own company. I am aware of the fact that most new business fail, thus, in order to build a strong foundation, I will develop my strategy in a way that individual actions taken, such as market entry, internal and external analysis, and creating a competitive advantage will lead towards a successful execution and success.

I am interested in the “Five Forces” model in particular, as – through the cases – it has been proven to help managers to determine the future strategy, based on internal and external market forces and conditions. Has the strategy includes the analysis of buyers, suppliers, substitutes, new entrants and rivalry, it can create a simple framework for becoming or remaining competitive in a marketplace. When I wrote my first class assignment, I was confused about the meaning of new entrants and rivalry, but after taking this class, I know that what exactly how they help managers determine executive strategy. Companies could be buyers and sometimes they will become suppliers. So the most important thing in “five forces” analysis is focus on the future market positioning, too. It is extremely important to understand the forces of the local market.

I learned that strategy is about trade-off. We have to give up something to gain something else. We should remember that it is impossible to focus on all areas of business at the same time. Creating priorities for the business, making sure that we have a clear understanding about the internal and external forces is important. Managers should focus on their target market position, then decide which actions will take them there.

I found the case of the Disney Company the most interesting. The company has diversity unit to operate different businesses. It is indeed a successful business model. Other clear idea featured in the cases is that operation effectiveness affects strategy. It’s about how to figure out doing things better and more effectively.

VRI analysis was also a new approach for me. I liked the clear explanation and example of the bottle glasses the professor gave us in class, so we could understand how to analyze a case, and which factors should be considered. This part was very interesting for me. I now understand the importance of considering the company’s resources and capabilities while analyzing a company’s competitive advantage. Only when the company’s resources meet all three requirements it can become the company’s competitive advantage.

In the global marketplace, we will find so many differences among different countries, but there are some similarities among them. When the difference becomes a challenge, a global company can overcome the difficulties by adaptation. Exploiting on similarities, a global company can take this opportunity to create a common ground by aggregation; if a global company wants to take advantage of diversity, it is arbitraging.

I liked the examples about Starbucks, Coke, Apple products, when professor talked about these specific cases in class. The opening questions, like why people like to buy Starbucks or Coke, and not other brands made me think. I now understand how brands can connect with their customers and influence their buying decisions. This understanding will help me make decisions in the future about communication and creating competitive advantage. I understand that the forces of the company’s performance are the customer, internal business, innovation and learning perspectives. That makes me think about the importance of human capital and culture, too.

Business ethics is also an important topic. I like the professor’s circle about business, society and environment so much! That’s totally a new way for me to think about the relationship between them. I did not know that business ethics influenced so many aspects of an organization, such as performance, human resources, reputation, and even profitability. I will certainly study this area in the future more. Application of strategic planning is also very important. To be a good manager who can execute strategies, we should get involved in decisions and implementation of projects. We can all improve our decision making and analytical skills by completing case studies, listening to industry news, or using simulation exercises. Reading business newspapers and magazines daily is a habit that reinforces knowledge learned in the classroom. Managers are hired for our analytical capabilities, so we should take time and effort to get ready for the challenge.

The two most important concepts I learned in class and I was not clear about previously are related to mission and vision. For a company’s vision, it’s about future; for a company’s mission, it’s about the present. I now understand that I need to focus on the large goals in my professional life. This means that instead of considering immediate impact of my actions, I will also need to keep in mind the long term career goals. I am looking to create a personal mission statement in the future, to reinforce my goals, and stay motivated to learn more about business strategies.