Strategic Management

1. Assignment on Strategic
Management
Submitted By:-
AMIT KUMAR
Roll no – 1853362

2. SECTION - A
Q1
Answer –
Key Success Factors
Key success factors are those key elements which are required for an
organisation to accomplish or exceed their desired goals. It is imperative that
these factors be given proper attention and are adhered so as to attain the
desired objective. Any lax in these factors may lead the organisation other way
i.e. the organisation will not attain their desired goals. The definition of key
success factors does not only restrict to organisations but may encompass
personal attainment of goals as well i.e. they can be viewed from an individual
perspective as well.
The key success factors may vary from an organisation to organisation.
Though the above success factors given are generic and must be taken care by
any organisation, there are several other success factors which the company
must give its resources to in order to ensure their success. An example would
be that of IT industry where people constitute of the employees and
customers. There are several processes which take place in an IT company
which need to be optimized in order to attain maximum profit. Resources
constitute of electricity, hardware etc. The goals differ from an organisation to
organisation.
Competitive Advantage
In business, a competitive advantage is the attribute that allows an
organization to outperform its competitors. A competitive advantage may
include access to natural resources, such as high-grade ores or a low-cost
power source, highly skilled labor, geographic location, high entry barriers,
and access to new technology.

3. Competitive advantage is the leverage a business has over its competitors.
This can be gained by offering clients better and greater value. Advertising
products or services with lower prices or higher quality piques the interest of
consumers. Target markets recognize these unique products or services. This
is the reason behind brand loyalty, or why customers prefer one particular
product or service over another.
Value proposition is important when understanding competitive advantage. If
the value proposition is effective, that is, if the value proposition offers clients
better and greater value, it can produce a competitive advantage in either the
product or service. The value proposition can increase customer expectations
and choices.
Core competency
A core competency is a concept in management theory introduced by C. K.
Prahalad and Gary Hamel It can be defined as "a harmonized combination of
multiple resources and skills that distinguish a firm in the marketplace" and
therefore are the foundation of companies' competitiveness.
Core competencies fulfill three criteria:
1. Provides potential access to a wide variety of markets.
2. Should make a significant contribution to the perceived customer
benefits of the end product.
3. Difficult to imitate by competitors.
For example, a company's core competencies may include precision mechanics,
fine optics, and micro-electronics. These help it build cameras, but may also
be useful in making other products that require these competencies.
A core competency results from a specific set of skills or production
techniques that deliver additional value to the customer. These enable an
organization to access a wide variety of markets.
Profit margin

4. Profit margin is calculated with selling price (or revenue) taken as base times
100. It is the percentage of selling price that is turned into profit, whereas
"profit percentage" or "markup" is the percentage of cost price that one gets
as profit on top of cost price. While selling something one should know what
percentage of profit one will get on a particular investment, so companies
calculate profit percentage to find the ratio of profit to cost.
Leadership
Leadership is both a research area and a practical skill encompassing the
ability of an individual or organization to "lead" or guide other
individuals, teams, or entire organizations. Specialist literature debates various
viewpoints, contrasting Eastern and Western approaches to leadership, and
also (within the West) United States versus European approaches. U.S.
academic environments define leadership as "a process of social influence in
which a person can enlist the aid and support of others in the
accomplishment of a common task"
Leadership is a matter of intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage,
and discipline ... Reliance on intelligence alone results in rebelliousness.
Exercise of humaneness alone results in weakness. Fixation on trust results in
folly. Dependence on the strength of courage results in violence. Excessive
discipline and sternness in command result in cruelty.

5. Q2
Answer –
Expert Power
Expert power is power based upon employees' perception that a manager or
some other member of an organization has a high level of knowledge or a
specialized set of skills that other employees or members of the organization
do not possess. Expert power can actually turn power dynamics upside down
because its use is not limited to the formal leaders of an organization. Any
member of an organization who has a high level of knowledge or a set of
specialized skills that others in the organization do not possess may exert
expert power.
Positional Power
The most commonly recognized form of power that a manager has is
positional power. Positional power is a result of a manager's position within
the organization. The three main bases of positional power include legitimate
power, reward power and coercive power.
Reward power
Reward power is simply the power of a manager to give some type of reward
to an employee as a means to influence the employee to act.
Rewards can be tangible or intangible. The key distinction between a tangible
reward and an intangible reward is that tangible rewards are physical things,
while intangible rewards are not. Examples of tangible rewards include

6. monetary awards, wage or salary increases, bonuses, plaques, certificates, and
gifts.
Coercive Power
Coercive power is the ability of a manager to force an employee to follow an
order by threatening the employee with punishment if the employee does not
comply with the order.
The most important concept to understand about coercive power is that it
uses the application of force. It seeks to force or compel behavior rather than
to influence behavior through persuasion. Examples of coercive power include
threats of write-ups, demotions, pay cuts, layoffs, and terminations if
employees don't follow orders. In order to be effective, the manager must be
able to follow through on the threat. If failure to comply doesn't result in
punishment, threat of punishment becomes meaningless and even
counterproductive because employees may cease to respect the legitimacy of
the manager's authority.
Personal power
personal power comes from being someone worth following and looking to for
direction. Authentic leaders or personal leaders operate far beyond the formal
responsibilities of their position. Those who operate with a personal
leadership mindset are more focused on organisational and business growth,
motivation of those around them, and the overall engagement of the entire
team.
While personal leadership also can involve positional leadership in times of
trial, stress or necessity, it is not used as the defining factor for influencing
others. Rather, a strong personal leader will be highly respected because of
their ability to juggle responsibility, while also being able to be relied on by
those around them.
Q3
Answer –

7. cost efficiency Relationship between monetary inputs and the desired
outcome, such as between the expenditure on an advertising campaign and
increase in sales revenue. ... You should always strive to have
your business being able to run with the most cost effectiveness it can to save
you money.
How to achieve “Cost Efficiency” for Easy Day store
 Have an in-depth knowledge of the customer needs and preferences:
The highly competitive supermarket sector of retail industry provides
slow growth opportunities and the stores vie fiercely for the market
share. In order to succeed in such an industry, tracking customer needs
and relationship building is essential to enhance their satisfaction and
improve the reputation of the business.
 Adopt the most suitable inventory management technique
Low inventory turnover and unhealthy current ratios are detrimental to
the supermarket’s performance and financial health. Whereas, high
inventory turnover might lead to insufficient inventory for sales. In
order to strike a balance between spoilage cost and shelf placement of
products, the supermarkets have to adopt a suitable inventory
management technique. This results in improved sales and lower cost of
inventory. Various inventory management techniques that might be
suitable for the business would include ABC analysis, Just in Time
method, Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) model, VED analysis,
Minimum safety stocks and Fast, Slow and Non-moving (FSN) method.
 Opt for the best storage techniques
Supermarket businesses should incorporate storage techniques for
optimal warehouse efficiency. Keeping inventory organized leads to
reduction in bottlenecks and spoilage costs. The warehouse should
implement the suitable stacking method depending upon the inventory

8. types. The layout of the warehouse should be rearranged followed by
routine clean-ups and stock counts.
 Day-level forecasting and forecast-driven automatic replenishment
Striking a balance between fulfillment of customer demands and
minimizing out-of-stocks is crucial for the supermarket business.
Forecast accuracy and automatic replenishment are the solutions for
responding to the demand signals more quickly and accurately. Walmart
(largest retailer in the world) had effectively collaborated with some of
its largest suppliers so that the inventory balances were monitored and
replenished on regular intervals. The stores should use the forecast-
driven store replenishment based on min-max and re-order points.
 Promotions, coupons and discounts
Supermarket business can attract customers through promotions and
discounts on its products. The policies on discounts should be adjusted
so that the store does not lose its major share of profit. Moreover, the
stores should also keep a check on the re-order levels when offering
promotions to the customers. In order to avoid spoilage of products, the
slow-moving items should be included in the promotional deals and
discounts.
 Scheduling of workforce for supermarket business
Long lines in the supermarkets and unavailability of support staff for
guidance leads to loss of customers and reputation of the business.
During the key business hours, more employees should be scheduled for
assistance in the aisles and at the cash counters. A reliable workforce
increases the smooth operations of a business and enhances
profitability. Sign up for Newsletters Check out our popular newsletters
and subscribe
 Advancements in technology
Nowadays, convenience has become one of the foremost priority for the
customers in addition to the availability of fresh products. Technological
advancement has paved the way for new shopping styles including
online shopping. In order to meet with these advancements,
supermarkets have to integrate information technologies and link them
to the inventory system of the store. In the highly competitive retail
industry with slow growth prospects, successful retailers have to focus

9. on the food safety, inventory management, reduction of spoilage costs,
effective storage techniques as well as on sustainability of the business
in order to capture a sufficient share of the supermarket sector. The
business should also focus on adopting effective strategies and making
smart business decisions for the benefit of their customers.
Q4
Answer –
1. Diversify and Redefine Your Job Requirements
2. Employ a New Approach to Discovering Talent
3. Streamline Your Background Check Strategy
4. Start Hiring for Attitude and Training for Skills
5. Use Tools to Eliminate Bias and Boost Efficiency
6. Collect and Analyse Feedback from Candidates
7. Keep Optimizing Your On boarding Program
Selection Policy is facing a shortage of talented manpower
Selection is the process of choosing the most suitable candidates from those
who apply for the job. It is a process of offering jobs to desired candidates.
Once the potential applicants are identified, the next step is to evaluate their
qualification, qualities, experience, capabilities, etc. & make the selection.

10. Q5
Answer –
 BANKS - "Cost Plus" Pricing or Mark-up Pricing
 Retailers - Pricing slightly higher than the price leaders
 Manufacturers - Pricing slightly lower than the price leaders
 Electronic Gadgets Company like Apple - Pricing in line with similar
products already in the market