Developing Strategic Alternatives, Essay Example

Define Expansion of Scope, Reduction of Scope and Maintenance of Scope:

Expansion of scope, reduction of scope, and the maintenance of scope are adaptive strategies, focusing on different environmental challenges and situations. The main importance of adaptive strategies is to determine the organization’s scope, and expand, reduce, or maintain the scope (Swayne et al.). As an example, an organization could decide to expand through market development. For this, it can find new markets on geographic dimensions, a new market segment, or a market driven center to deliver services. Adaptive strategies are the second step of the ends-means decision chain, and are influenced by directional strategies (organizational level). They lead to the development of market entry strategies that help creating competitive strategies, and lead to strategy implementation. Simply put, adaptive strategies help implement directional strategies.

What are the strategies that fall into each category (just name them, don’t define them) and identify which are corporate level and which are division level.:

The expansion of scope entails diversification, vertical integration, market development, penetration, and product development. The reduction of scope is based on divestiture, liquidation, harvesting, and retrenchment. The maintenance of scope strategy focuses on enhancement and status quo.

Diversification can be completed on the corporate level, as it needs to be aligned with the vision and mission of the organization. Vertical integration is also a corporate level strategy. Market development affects the entire organization, however, product development needs to be carried out on the division level. Penetration is based on the business’ vision and mission, therefore, it is a corporate level adaptive strategy. In the Reduction of Scope category, Divestiture, Liquidation, Harvesting, and retrenchment. are carried out on the corporate level. Maintenance of scope strategies (enhancement and status quo) are based on division level strategies, however, they are also influenced by divisional decisions.

Works Cited

Swayne, Linda E., W. Jack Duncan, and Peter M. Ginter. Strategic management of health care organizations. John Wiley & Sons, 2012.