Strategic Evaluation and Recommendations 1 Agenda Introduction Business Level Strategies Corporate Level Strategies Global Level Strategies Selected Strategies for Implementation References 2 Introduction First Week: Environmental Scan Second Week: Internal Environmental Analysis Third Week (current): Strategic Evaluation and Recommendations (Red Lobster, 2017) The breakdown is by order of group projects – Not the actual class weeks. (First week correlates to Week 2, Second Week to Week 3, etc.) Environmental Scan Give Brief Overview Internal Environmental Analysis Give Brief Overview Strategic Evaluation and Recommendations We will be discussing the different levels of evaluations and provide our recommendations. (Next Slide) Strategic Evaluation and Recommendations 3 Business Level Strategies Cost Leadership Strategy Differentiation Strategy Focused Cost Leadership Focused Differentiation Integrated Cost Leadership / Differentiation Strategy (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 111) Cost Leadership Strategy “The cost leadership strategy is an integrated set of actions taken to produce goods or services with features that are acceptable to customers at the lowest cost, relative to that of competitors.” (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 113) Differentiation Strategy “The differentiation strategy is an integrated set of actions taken to produce goods or services (at an acceptable cost) that customers perceive as being different in ways that are important to them.” (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 117) Focus Strategy “The focus strategy is an integrated set of actions taken to produce goods or services that serve the needs of a particular competitive segment.” (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 122) Integrated Cost Leadership / Differentiation Strategy “The integrated cost leadership/differentiation strategy involves engaging in primary value chain activities and support functions that allow a firm to simultaneously pursue low cost and differentiation.” (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 124) 4 Business Level Strategy: Cost Leadership Rivalry with Existing Competitors Bargaining Power of Buyers (Customers) Bargaining Power of Suppliers Potential Entrants Product Substitutes Competitive Risks (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 114) 5 Business Level Strategy: Differentiation Rivalry with Existing Competitors Bargaining Power of Buyers (Customers) Bargaining Power of Suppliers Potential Entrants Product Substitutes Competitive Risks (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 118) 6 Business Level Strategy: Focused Strategies Focused Cost Leadership Focused Differentiation Competitive Risks of Focus Strategies 7 Business Level Strategy: Integrated Cost Leadership/Differentiation Flexible Manufacturing Systems Information Networks Total Quality Management Systems Competitive Risks of the Integrated Cost Leadership/Differentiation Strategy 8 Corporate Level Strategies Diversification Val.

1. Strategic Evaluation and Recommendations
1
Agenda
Introduction
Business Level Strategies
Corporate Level Strategies
Global Level Strategies
Selected Strategies for Implementation
References
2
Introduction
First Week: Environmental Scan
Second Week: Internal Environmental Analysis
Third Week (current): Strategic Evaluation and
Recommendations
(Red Lobster, 2017)
The breakdown is by order of group projects – Not the actual
class weeks. (First week correlates to Week 2, Second Week to
Week 3, etc.)

2. Environmental Scan
Give Brief Overview
Internal Environmental Analysis
Give Brief Overview
Strategic Evaluation and Recommendations
We will be discussing the different levels of evaluations and
provide our recommendations.
(Next Slide) Strategic Evaluation and Recommendations
3
Business Level Strategies
Cost Leadership Strategy
Differentiation Strategy
Focused Cost Leadership
Focused Differentiation
Integrated Cost Leadership / Differentiation Strategy
(Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 111)
Cost Leadership Strategy
“The cost leadership strategy is an integrated set of actions
taken to produce goods or services with features that are
acceptable to customers at the lowest cost, relative to that of
competitors.” (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 113)
Differentiation Strategy
“The differentiation strategy is an integrated set of actions
taken to produce goods or services (at an acceptable cost) that
customers perceive as being different in ways that are important
to them.” (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 117)

3. Focus Strategy
“The focus strategy is an integrated set of actions taken to
produce goods or services that serve the needs of a particular
competitive segment.” (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p.
122)
Integrated Cost Leadership / Differentiation Strategy
“The integrated cost leadership/differentiation strategy involves
engaging in primary value chain activities and support functions
that allow a firm to simultaneously pursue low cost and
differentiation.” (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 124)
4
Business Level Strategy:
Cost Leadership
Rivalry with Existing Competitors
Bargaining Power of Buyers (Customers)
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Potential Entrants
Product Substitutes
Competitive Risks
(Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 114)
5
Business Level Strategy:
Differentiation
Rivalry with Existing Competitors
Bargaining Power of Buyers (Customers)
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Potential Entrants
Product Substitutes

4. Competitive Risks
(Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 118)
6
Business Level Strategy:
Focused Strategies
Focused Cost Leadership
Focused Differentiation
Competitive Risks of Focus Strategies
7
Business Level Strategy:
Integrated Cost Leadership/Differentiation
Flexible Manufacturing Systems
Information Networks
Total Quality Management Systems
Competitive Risks of the Integrated Cost
Leadership/Differentiation Strategy
8
Corporate Level Strategies
Diversification
Value-Creating Diversification
Value-Neutral Diversification

5. Value-Reducing Diversification
(Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 167)
“A corporate-level strategy specifies actions a firm takes to gain
a competitive advantage by selecting and managing a group of
different businesses competing in different product markets.”
(Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 166)
9
Corporate Level Strategy:
Value-Creating Diversification
Related Constrained and Related Linked Diversification
Operational Relatedness: Sharing Activities
Corporate Relatedness: Transferring of Core Competencies
Market Power
Simultaneous Operational Relatedness and Corporate
Relatedness
Corporate Level Strategy:
Value-Creating Diversification, cont.
Unrelated Diversification
Efficient Internal Capital Market Allocation
Restructuring of Assets
Corporate Level Strategy:
Value-Neutral Diversification

6. Incentives and Resources
Incentives to Diversify
Antitrust Regulation and Tax Laws
Low Performance
Uncertain Future Cash Flows
Synergy and Firm Risk Reduction
Resources and Diversification
Corporate Level Strategy:
Value-Reducing Diversification
Managerial Motives to Diversify
Diversify employment risk of top-level executives
Control mechanisms to limit overdiversify
Some governing mechanisms may not be strong
(Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 184)
13
Global Level Strategies
(Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p. 229)
14
Global Level Strategies
“A global strategy is an international strategy in which a firm’s

7. home office determines the strategies business units are to use
in each country or region.” (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p.
237)
“A global strategy is an international strategy in which a firm’s
home office determines the strategies business units are to use
in each country or region.” (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015, p.
237)
15
Global Strategy:
Selected Strategies for Implementation
Business Strategy – Focus Differentiation
Corporate Strategy – Value-Creating Diversification
16
References
Aaker, D. A., & Adler, D. A. (2004). Developing business
strategies (Vol. 200, No. 1). New York: Wiley
Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D., & Hoskisson, R.E. (2015). Strategic
management: Competitiveness and globalization (11th ed).
Stamford, CT: Cengage.
Red Lobster. (2017). Red Lobster Seafood
Restaurants. Redlobster.com. Retrieved 3 July 2017, from
https://www.redlobster.com/
17

8. Strategic Plan, Part 2: Internal Environmental Analysis
Red Lobsters Company- Internal Environment Analysis
The red lobster is one of the biggest seafood restaurants in the
United States.
The company has its headquarters in Orlando, Florida where it
began as a small family restaurant.
They now have over 700 locations in the US and seven other
countries.
The company now allows people to access high quality and
fresh seafood regardless of the distance from the sea (Red
Lobster 2017).
The company’s culture is aimed at cultivating an attractive
environment for all the workers.
This they hope will serve as a way of retaining their best
members of staff.
They have a staff of over 1400 people working in administrative
positions who assist the restaurant staff.
They have attractive master’s internship programs and
competitive salaries.
The company takes pride in selling the highest quality seafood
available in the country. They source their product only from
suppliers that meet the highest quality standards. This makes
the company become an attractive place for customers because
the company hopes to deliver quality in the market.
2
Red Lobsters Company- Strengths and Weaknesses

9. Strengths
The company’s biggest strength is the ability to attract and
retain customers. T
he company’s management team have developed a customer
satisfaction strategy, which increases the loyalty of the
consumer.
This reduces the amount of money that the company uses on
advertising. In the restaurant industry, customer acquisition
costs are very high.
The red lobster spends very little compared to the competition
because of the consumer loyalty levels (Parmigiani& Holloway
2011).
Red Lobster has managed to offer quality seafood at fair a
price. The company’s quality to cost ratio is one of the best in
the industry. This means that consumers do not pay a very high
premium for quality seafood. Their food is also quality and
great tasting which is good value for their customers.
3
Red Lobsters Company- Strengths and Weaknesses
Weakness
The main problem facing the company today is having a poor
customer service.
There have been numerous complaints raised by the customers
that the red lobster's customer service needs to improve.
This is a major problem for the company because the new crop
of customers prioritizes the experience of the product quality.
This means that despite the company’s high-quality vow, they
might lose a large number of their customers unless the quality
is improved (Aaker& Adler 2004).
Secondly, the seafood market is a niche market.
Not everyone likes seafood.

10. Only a small majority of people consume seafood.
Within the small population of people that love seafood, the
majority of them do it occasionally.
This means that the company is not guaranteed a large number
of customers all year round.
The company has not been able to fully break into international
markets because the majority of its sales are in the US.
The products sold in the red lobster are expensive for ordinary
Americans. Seafood is a premium product and very few
Americans can afford to consume the product. The red lobster
also targets high-end customers meaning there is a small
minority of people that can afford their products. This reduces
the attractiveness of the hotels.
4
Red Lobsters Company- Resources
The company’s biggest resource is the power of their brand.
Red Lobster has become a popular brand worldwide, which
helps the company to attract and retain its customers.
The power of the brand increases the company’s appeal to the
customers.
The size of the red lobsters is a valuable resource.
They base their competitive ability on differentiation.
The company controls the costs by buying in bulk.
The over 700 branches allow the company source all their
products in large volumes.
They, therefore, enjoy economies of scale due to the large-scale
operations.
The company’s size also means that they have adequate
resources to cover for the introduction of new products to their
restaurants.

11. Red Lobster is owned by Golden Gate Capital, which purchased
the firm from the previous owners Darden Restaurants. The
previous owners were limited on resources, but their current
owners have financial muscle. They also have other similar
food-based subsidiaries that have existing logistics and storage
services (Red Lobster 2017).
5
Red Lobsters Company- External Analysis
Environmental factors
Global warming is becoming a danger to the operations of Red
Lobster.
Today, the coral reef is dying because of the increasing
temperatures.
Most sea animals depend on the reef for survival. If the coral
continues to die, the availability of seafood will be affected.
The company is therefore dependent on the actions of other
large organizations and governments on ensuring they reduce
global warming.
The second problem facing the company is the survival of
endangered sea species.
Today Red Lobster has removed all endangered species from
their menu.
They have begun complementing the wild catch with products
from fish firms to reduce the risk of extinction of important
species (Red Lobster 2017).
6
Red Lobsters Company- Competitor Analysis
The main competition for the red lobster is Apple bees, Brinker
International and Jose Crabs Shack.

12. Apple bees is the largest competitor with over 2000 restaurants
in more than 20 countries.
They have the highest market share. Brinker International that
has about 1600 restaurants follows them.
The company serves about a million customers daily.
Because of the competitor’s size of operations, they are more
profitable than Red Lobster.
They only have the edge over Joes Crabs shacks, which only has
120 branches.
The competitors are very aggressive especially in marketing
because they have bigger budgets than Red Lobster. Overall,
Red Lobsters competition is very strong (Aaker& Adler 2004).
7
Red Lobsters Company- Structure and Performance
The Red Lobster has divided its structure in two ways.
First, there is the administrative staff.
These individuals work in the finance, marketing, and
administration teams.
These individuals are hired from a pool of highly qualified
individuals, and their role is to ensure that the company’s
operations function effectively.
The company also has staff in their locations who work under
the branch manager.
These managers control all the day-to-day operations of the
outlets.
However, the company modifies its workforce to ensure that it
serves the company’s needs.
8
Red Lobsters Company- Competitive Position and the
Possibilities

13. The red lobsters focus on quality over quantity has helped the
chain remain competitive despite the existence of large
competitors.
They pride themselves on providing the highest quality food and
the best tasting in the market.
The company’s brand is also very strong as the have existed for
the last 30 years.
The Red Lobster is, therefore, the leading premium service in
the market, which is attractive to high-end consumers
(Parmigiani& Holloway 2011).
Because of the company’s competitive position, it provides the
Red Lobster with a chance to sell premium services that
differentiate them from the competition. The company,
therefore, has a chance of opening high-end outlets in other
countries regardless of whether the main competitors have an
outlet or not. This means that the company can grow ever
further in the future towards matching the competitions size.
9
References
Aaker, D. A., & Adler, D. A. (2004). Developing business
strategies (Vol. 200, No. 1). New York: Wiley
Parmigiani, A., & Holloway, S. S. (2011). Actions speak louder
than modes: antecedents and implications of parent
implementation capabilities on business unit
performance. Strategic Management Journal, 32(5), 457-485.
Red Lobster. (2017). Seafood with Standards | Red Lobster
Seafood Restaurants. Redlobster.com. Retrieved 3 July 2017,
from https://www.redlobster.com/seafood-with-standards

14. Final Strategic Plan Grading Guide
STR/581 Version 11
3
Final Strategic Plan Grading Guide
STR/581 Version 11
Strategic Planning and Implementation
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.
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trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
companies. Use of these marks is not intended to imply
endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation.
Edited in accordance with University of Phoenix® editorial
standards and practices.
Individual Assignment: Final Strategic PlanPurpose of
Assignment
The Strategic Plan is composed of four parts that the student
worked on during this course. This provides students the
opportunity to research and create strategies for a company
based on real scenarios and bring together all the concepts they
learned throughout the course and MBA program. The objective
is to create and sell the strategic plan to investors or the Board

15. of Directors.
Resources Required
Strategic Plan, Parts 1-4Grading Guide
Content
Met
Partially Met
Not Met
Comments:
The final project includes all the elements of the previous parts
of the strategic plan assignments.
The final project includes the following elements:
· Table of Contents
· Executive Summary (350- to 700-words)
· Company Background
· Mission Statement
· Vision Statement
· Value Statement
· Environmental Scan
· Internal and External Environmental Analysis
· Strategic Recommendation
· Implementation Plan

16. · Organizational Change Management Strategies
· Risk Management Plan
· Conclusion
· References
The presentation includes all elements of Parts 1-4 of the
strategic plan.
The presentation is 25-35 slides with speakers’ notes and
includes appropriate images and graphics.
Total Available
Total Earned
7
#/7
Writing Guidelines
Met

17. Partially Met
Not Met
Comments:
The paper and presentation—including tables and graphs,
headings, title page, citations, and reference page—are
consistent with APA formatting guidelines and meets course-
level requirements.
The paper and presentation include properly cited intellectual
property using APA style in-text citations and a reference slide
or page.
The paper and presentation include major points that are stated
clearly, organized logically, and supported by specific details,
examples, or analysis.
The paper and presentation include sentences that are complete,
clear, and concise.
The paper and presentation follow proper rules of grammar and
usage including spelling and punctuation.

18. Total Available
Total Earned
3
#/3
Assignment Total
#
10
#/10
Additional comments:
Copyright © 2017 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.