• Posted on January 17, 2024
• Vikas Chelani

BSS050-6 Strategic Management Assignment Sample

BSS050-6 Strategic Management Assignment Sample

Introduction

Strategic management is defined as the process of establishing business goals, objectives and procedures to make the business more competitive and profitable with the help of available resources and strategies to achieve the business goal. In this report, D&G Short will be considered as the business organization to evaluate the importance of strategic management through several types of strategic management tools. This company has been one of the top branded hardware industries with Security and Locksmith expertise since 1926 and at the current time, this company can generate 7.1 billion in revenue in 2021 (D&G Short, 2023).

In this report, the strategic management tool similar to the Ansoff matrix, BCG matrix, Bowman strategy clock, McKinney Matrix, Generic Strategy, and Safe and Roger model will be described to relate to the external and internal environmental challenges faced by the company. The importance of the strategic management tool is to help in the strategic management practices for the formulation of the strategy that may create a better future for the business by achieving the business goals (Jensen et al., 2023).

Addressing the possible strategies with clear justification

D&G Short is a family-owned Small and Medium Size enterprise (SME) business run for 35 years operating in the Locksmith industry which has faced low market share due to high market competition. The competitors are Anytime Locksmiths, Wallingford Locksmith Services and South Benfleet Locksmiths who compete with D&G Short and raise questions about the presence of the company for the long term (Zoominfo.com, 2023). Therefore, the possible strategies that this brand has to follow are product differentiation and innovation through which this brand competes with competitors. To boost the market share through product differentiation, the business needs to improve its training strategy for improving the technical innovation that supports the engineers to engage in the rapid innovation of the products (Cozzarin and Percival, 2023). Apart from that, the company has to invest more in the advertisement strategy as the possible strategy as this business is SME, therefore, most of the customers do not even know about the products or services that the company provides. Through advertising strategy, D&G Short has got the opportunity to promote the brand by offering high security and quality products which also help the brand to enhance its market share. Research demonstrated that advertising strategy has conveyed a persuasive and effective message to the customers regarding the brand that attracts the customers’ attention (Saputra et al., 2023).

Analysis of the scenarios by applying the models

Ansoff Matrix

Ansoff Matrix is to be considered a strategic management tool defined by H. Igor Ansoff in 1957 that provided a brief idea to marketers the ways to deal with the critical situation through market development, diversification, market penetration and product development. This denotes the panning technique applied for the firm’s growth through network and product market expansion as well as this matrix utilizing two dimensions similar to market and product dimensions (Amir and Mohammad, 2023).

To increase the market share scenario in this industry, D&G Short has to follow the market penetration strategy as the safest option for the company to expand its sales in the existing market. In 2016, D&G Short celebrated its 90 years of operations in this sector which describes its immense support required from the customers as a local family business, therefore, the business leaders of this organization already know about the customer preferences of the UK.  By knowing the customers’ preferences, the company has to follow the innovation of the products and services that this brand provides to the customers for increasing the market share.

Market development is also a favourable strategy of this company through which D&G Short may enter the foreign market with existing products such as External door Grills, Retractable grills and Roller Shutters. For instance, this company is planning to enter the US market by exporting the existing products scenario similar to Shutters and Grills, then it helps D&G Short to boost its market share and this is taken as an example. These three existing products are chosen by the company as the company may provide a facility to their customers to customize their preferences, design and colours that support the customers’ satisfaction in the foreign market. On the other hand, there are several difficulties regarding this strategy which may include low brand recognition in the foreign market due to SMEs and local family businesses. Therefore, the company also has to engage in a demographic review as a part of market development to understand the current target group and as per their preferences the existing products need to be selected (Dawes, 2018).

Although Product development and diversification strategy scenarios both are risks for this company due to low recognition for local businesses, still this business has concentrated more on the Pet tag engraving for security purposes of the pets. Product development is a slightly risky strategy because it deals with new products in an existing market rather than diversification which deals with new products in new markets. In the case of product development, the company already knows about the market analysis, and customer preferences, however, in diversification, the company does not know about the customers’ ideas or their points of view regarding the new products. Therefore, product diversification by introducing new products in a new market has a huge risk to increasing the market share of the brand.

Generic strategy

Porter’s generic strategy is another strategic management tool used by the company to overcome the risks the business faces by using the strategy formulation based on the scenario with the help of effective management decisions. Michael Porter introduced this model for the mandatory choosing of this tool by all businesses to compete with competitors based on either differentiation, cost leadership or focus to perform effectively in the market. Because of the internationalization of firms, and the global market, the uncertainty of the businesses is gradually much more, therefore, the business needs to adopt Porter’s generic strategy to boost the firms’ performances through differentiation, cost and focus strategies (Islami et al., 2020).

Based on the current scenario of low market share, D&G Short has to adopt the cost leadership strategy which provides a broad scope of competition to the company by selling a high volume of products or services to the existing customers. D&G Short follows a lower pricing strategy to compete with competitors and that boosts the sales of the company by enhancing the assets utilization such as engineers as the human resources and technological resources for customer services. Additionally, with the help of engineers, this company offers access control products similar to Magnetic card swipe systems, Video entry and audio entry systems at affordable prices to existing customers that increase economies of scale. By maintaining Product Quality, the business accelerates its performance through a cost leadership competitive strategy which supports the company to compete with competitors and occupy high market share positions (Kharub et al., 2019).

A differentiation strategy also needs to be developed to increase the market share an issue by effective brand building through which the company has to convince their customers regarding the importance of the products or services’ features more than the customers need. The research highlighted that business sustainability is related to Porter’s generic strategy through product differentiation with sustainable raw materials to boost the company’s economic growth significantly (Cavaleri and Shabana, 2018). For example, D&G Short has focused on perimeter security services as a scenario involving high-security steel gates and doors for domestic property and business park security along with the CCTV system. This service provides high quality and offers broad competitive scope through which this brand convinces the customers by promoting the brand with the product specification that attracts more customers.

In the context of Porter’s generic strategy, focus strategy has two variants similar to cost and differentiation focus in which the company has differentiation focus by offering emergency opening services and Master key systems as members of The Master Locksmiths Association. Porter stated that this competitive generic strategy may lead to a stronger and more influential competitive advantage in the terms of differentiation focus strategy rather than cost focus strategy which may directly impact the higher market share (Ali and Anwar, 2021). This differentiation focus strategy as the scenario may prove effective if the company has lowered the cost focus strategy which is also not possible especially after the Covid-19 as differentiation focus needs high investment that does not match with the lowering cost focus scenario. Lowing cost focus strategy and higher differentiation focus create highly competitive advantages that provide scope for D&G Short to expand its business and enhance its market share.

More specifically, if the company invests more in the differentiation focus strategy in the terms of delivery of the emergency opening services and Master key systems services then the company gets the opportunity of highly competitive advantages. However, if the company has to adopt the cost focus strategy to reduce the operational costs of the company then it also has a narrow competitive advantage and scope. Therefore, D&G Short has to adopt either a cost focus or differentiation focus strategy at a time, however, to enhance the market share, the company needs a differentiation focus strategy rather than a cost focus strategy.

Bowman strategy clock

Bowman strategy clock is another strategic management tool that offers a position within the marketplace depending on the perceived value and price of the products and services offered by the company. In other words, it may be stated that this tool acts in the conjunction with Ansoff Matrix and an alternative form of Porter’s generic strategy which has eight positions along with different strategies within the marketplace. This strategic management tool plays a vital role to explain in a better way the reality experienced by the firms by proposing 8 positions and grouping them into 4 groups (Villagrasa et al., 2022).

Figure 3: Bowman strategy clock

(Source: Villagrasa et al., 2022)

The application of the Bowman strategy clock understands that D&G Short has occupied the hybrid position which signifies that the products or services are at a moderate price with a high perceived value to the customers. The combination of high quality and value at a reasonable price is considered as a scenario after the pandemic due to the low purchasing power of the customers builds the customers’ loyalty to increase the market share. Another scenario development is that this brand considers differentiation of their services from security to locksmith services with the help of significant management through which not only the domestic property has benefited, however, the business parks also facilitate. Bowman’s strategy clock demonstrates an analytical model by creating competitive advantages of two strategies that correlate with a company’s competitive advantages with customer perceived value (Echchakoui, 2018).

The possibilities of risk are positioning in the service of access control as technological development as the scenario is needed to offer this type of service which also requires the implementation of the risk assessment framework. Low price and low added value are not preferred by the companies as it denotes the low perceived value of the customers which does not support the increasing market share or sales (Matrix and Ansoff, 2021). The low-price position has not been accepted by the firm although this position provides scope for the customers to get the products at a low price, on the other hand, the company is not able to offer differentiation of the products at low prices. The monopoly pricing strategy has a high price and low perceived value, therefore, D&G short may not follow this position due to the presence of high market competition. Therefore, considering the above position, the last three strategies of this tool such as risk margin, monopoly pricing and market share loss are not relevant enough for the business to increase sales and high market position.

McKinsey Matrix

The strategic tool of McKinsey was developed to perform operations involved in portfolio management by McKinsey and a company that further helps to improve the growing share of the companies (Purwaningsih et al., 2022) McKinsey Matrix has been one of the most important strategic tools that provide proper guidance to the companies related to any further investment improving the internal structure of the companies through the improvement of products, services and capabilities in operations. Apart from that the companies may get further opportunities to sustain in the competitive market after utilizing the McKinsey Matrix that will improve the organizational performance of the company. Multiple business strategies through the implication of strategic management may help the company to save a lot of operational expenses after using the strategic tool of the Mckinsey Matrix which will further help to manage the portfolios through observation of areas of investment, protection, harvest and digestion (Kuc et al., 2021)

The security and locksmith company of D&G short has a low market share in the competitive market of the UK, apart from that the company faced further challenges in maintaining its operations. Observation of the areas competitive advantage and market attractiveness of the security and Locksmith Company of D&G provide further analysis where the company, due to low market share, reduces the advantages of being competitive in the market; however, the company has been able to provide services with the local authorities of the UK.  It may be argued that the family business of D&G shorts having a work experience of 35 years has created a network of loyal customers through its locksmith services where the company has been available 24 hrs in a day.  On a broader note, it has been stated that D&G shorts may improve its market share after providing the customers with more automated locks and advanced technologies need to be implemented on those locks, from where the customers will easily rely on those products without having any fear of theft in the house.   The locksmith company of D&G shorts needs to adopt further strategies to develop plans regarding any improvement of the door locks and automated locks from where the company will be able to sustain itself in the market (Anh and Tien, 2021).  Furthermore, the security and locksmith company of D&G shorts may adopt the Grow strategy of Mckinsey Matrix to improve its market position into a highly competitive position through the allocation of resources, which will further help to improve the customer base after observing the market.

BCG matrix

The companies after utilizing the strategic tool of BCG matrix will be able to get a graphical representation of the company’s international structure from where it will be easy for the company to come to quick changes related to increment or decrement of products, infrastructures and resources. Effective implementation of the BCG matrix will improve the efficiency of the business organizations after getting further solutions which will also improve the market scenario of the organizations (Tien et al., 2022). On a broader note it has been stated that the elements of dogs, cash cows, stars and questions of the BCG matrix will reduce the confusion of the companies regarding the changes and the company will be able to develop business strategies gaining access over the competitive market.

The locksmith company of D&G Shots has been claimed as Dog in BCG matrix as the company has a lower market share in the competitive market and due to limited market expansion the company has no access to emerging markets, apart from that the company has a lower capability in generating sales and revenue.   On a broader note, it has been contributed that the company having a large number of loyal customers in the limited market may focus on implementing strategies to develop solutions to satisfy the loyal customers.  The company having  a long business history may focus on observing the demands and preferences of the existing loyal customers through the introduction of innovative door locks and automated systems which will create more income generation for the company through these existing customers Furthermore D&G shorts will be able to change the current market scenarios of  the company through increment of sales and revenue of the company after getting knowledge of best possible strategy needs to be used in BCG matrix (Yahya et al., 2020)

However, the company of D&G shorts having a limited market share in the competitive market may expand its market share in emerging countries where the company will get further opportunities through the creation of newly launched start-ups. D&G shorts while creating start-ups in the new markets may face further challenges due to limited market expansion and it will be considered as question marks, apart from that the company may develop further strategies to increase its market share in emerging countries. The company through the creation of door locks and automated security systems may enter the market of other home accessories such as smart LED lights, doorbells and on the other hand, the company may also introduce CCTV cameras for better security to the customers which will improve the organizational efficiency of D&G.

SFA Matrix

The strategic tool of the SFA matrix has been created by the notable persons of Gerry Johnson and Johnson to perform business operations efficiently after focusing on the 3 factors of suitability, feasibility and acceptability providing further opportunities to the businesses for adopting strategies (Zolfani et al., 2021) On a broader note it has been stated that the companies will be able to observe and justify whether the strategy will provide flying colours to the company or not after utilising the strategic tool of SFA matrix. Further competitive strength may be achieved by the companies after choosing the best options from the strategic tool of the SFA matrix

Suitability

The security and locksmith company of D&G Short after utilising the strategic model of the SFA matrix will be able to observe the business opportunities and threats of the internal and external environment. D&G Short may further improve the market share of the business after providing flexibility in the financial structure of the company which will also be able to provide more investments to the company regarding business expansion. On a broader note it has been stated that the company observing the market scenarios may focus on a product development strategy to provide innovative and useful products to the customers, apart from that market development strategy will also be a good option.

Feasibility

The locksmith company of D&G focusing on the feasibility of the SFA matrix has been able to observe that the company does not have enough funds to perform the business strategy. Apart from that the company needs to adopt more skilled and expert candidates to improve the market share and the company having limited funds may not be able to provide salaries and wages to the newly joined employees. It may be argued that the company of D&G Short may further take financial help from any financial institution to collect funds or may sell the unnecessary assets of the company to collect more funds which will be able to perform the strategy effectively (Hashemkhani et al., 2022)

Acceptability

Focusing on the factors of acceptability in the SFA matrix D&G Short may observe that the company having a lower market share may satisfy its existing loyal customers through product development and providing new products to the customers. Apart from that the company will be able to improve the overall performance of the organisational structure after following the cost leadership model which improves the market share of D&G Short.

Roger model

The strategic tool of the Roger model clearly defines focusing on the environmental changes and circumstances of the markets, companies usually innovate rapidly or take some time to innovate focusing on the adaptability of changing circumstances.  On a broader note, the adaptability of companies and business firms in the changing circumstances has been categorised into five types which are Innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and lizards. It may be argued that companies usually tend to be innovators after following the business model innovation that further improves the organisational efficiency of the company through networking (Anwar and Ali Shah, 2020).  Apart from that, companies may be early adopters to adapt to the changing circumstances after carefully observing and predicting the strategies needed to be used in the market scenarios on the other hand the companies focus on getting further solutions for the challenges while being an early majority.  The companies and business firms tend to be safe while being late majority as the companies depending on the market strategies of other companies take further decisions reducing the risks of bearing the losses.  While being a lizard the company tends to use traditional techniques and strategies to adapt to the changing circumstances without using any innovative strategies.

The security and locksmith company of D&G Short focusing on the changing market situations may tend to be quick innovators in the roger model which will further help the company to expand its market share improving the internal structure of the company. D&G Short will be able to perform further market research on the existing market observing the choices of individual customers after utilising digital technologies that will provide digital data to the company (Cluley et al., 2020). On a contradictory note it has been stated that updates of the existing products such as door locks and gate locks need to be done by performing product development approaches to provide safety to the customers.   D&G Short having a market share in the locksmith industry may provide advanced security to the customers through the utilisation of advanced technologies in the door locks and gates such as Digital lock systems, fingerprint sensors, electromagnetic locks and many other devices. Furthermore, utilisation of 3d technologies and prototypes needs to be used by the company for better creation and understanding of the designs of the newly launched door lock systems which will further help the locksmith company of D&G to achieve higher amounts of sales and profit in the market (Barzaeva and Ilyasov, 2022).

References

Ali, B.J. and Anwar, G., 2021. Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies and its influence on the Competitive Advantage. Ali, BJ, & Anwar, G.(2021). Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies and its influence on the Competitive Advantage. International Journal of Advanced Engineering, Management and Science, 7(6), pp.42-51.

Amir, J. and Mohammad, W., 2023. ANTHOLOGY OF MARKETING MANAGEMENT: Business Scientific Thoughts.

Anh, D.B.H. and Tien, N.H., 2021. Using Hoffer matrix in strategic business analysis for Nguyen Hoang Group in Vietnam. International journal multidisciplinary research and growth evaluation, 2(4), pp.61-66.

Anwar, M. and Ali Shah, S.Z., 2020. Managerial networking and business model innovation: Empirical study of new ventures in an emerging economy. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 32(3), pp.265-286.

Barzaeva, M. and Ilyasov, R., 2022. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GLOBAL LABOR MARKET IN THE CONTEXT OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY. Reliability: Theory & Applications, 17(SI 4 (70)), pp.476-484.

Cavaleri, S. and Shabana, K., 2018. Rethinking sustainability strategies. Journal of Strategy and Management, 11(1), pp.2-17.

Cluley, R., Green, W. and Owen, R., 2020. The changing role of the marketing researcher in the age of digital technology: Practitioner perspectives on the digitization of marketing research. International Journal of Market Research, 62(1), pp.27-42.

Cozzarin, B.P. and Percival, J.C., 2023. Differential effects of training on innovation. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 32(1), pp.53-68.

D&G Short, 2023. D&G Short. Available at: http://www.dandgshort.com/about (Accessed: March 3, 2023).

Dawes, J., 2018. The Ansoff matrix: A legendary tool, but with two logical problems. But with Two Logical Problems (February 27, 2018).

Echchakoui, S., 2018. An analytical model that links customer-perceived value and competitive strategies. Journal of Marketing Analytics, 6, pp.138-149.

Hashemkhani Zolfani, S., Bazrafshan, R., Ecer, F. and Karamaşa, Ç., 2022. The suitability-feasibility-acceptability strategy integrated with Bayesian BWM-MARCOS methods to determine the optimal lithium battery plant located in South America. Mathematics, 10(14), p.2401.

Islami, X., Mustafa, N. and Topuzovska Latkovikj, M., 2020. Linking Porter’s generic strategies to firm performance. Future Business Journal, 6, pp.1-15.

Jensen, R.J., Bryce, D.J., Godfrey, P.C. and Dyer, J.H., 2023. Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases. John Wiley & Sons.

Kharub, M., Mor, R.S. and Sharma, R., 2019. The relationship between cost leadership competitive strategy and firm performance: A mediating role of quality management. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 30(6), pp.920-936.

Kuc, B.R., Nguyen, H.T. and Santarek, K., Hung Hau corporate business strategy: An analysis using McKinsey matrix.

Matrix, A. and Ansoff, I., 2021. Tools for Generating Strategic.

Purwaningsih, R., Prastawa, H., Azzahra, F., Maypemi, N.P. and Ulkhaq, M.M., 2022. A Resource Allocation Model for Higher Education Based on The Combination of Efficiency Measurement and Market Position Mapping.

Saputra, R., Sultani, R. and Harahap, S.F., 2023. Analysis Of Promotion And Marketing Strategies In The Global Market. Settings International Journal of Economic Research and Financial Accounting (IJERFA), 1(2).

Tien, N.H., 2022. Business analysis for Dat Xanh real estate group based on BCG matrix.

Villagrasa, J., Sánchez, F. and Donaldson, C., 2022. HOW TO TEACH THE STRATEGIC CLOCK WITH A NUMERICAL METHODOLOGY: MAKE IT REAL, MAKE IT HAPPEN. In INTED2022 Proceedings (pp. 35-44). IATED.

Yahya, I., Khatami, G. and Al Khansa, T., 2020, May. Development Strategy Analysis of Fertilizer Company Using BCG Matriks Method. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 851, No. 1, p. 012015). IOP Publishing.

Zoominfo.com, 2023. D&G Short – Overview, News & competitors | Zoominfo.com (no date). Available at: https://www.zoominfo.com/c/d-g-short-ltd/451260604 (Accessed: March 3, 2023). Zolfani, S.H., Bazrafshan, R., Akaberi, P., Yazdani, M. and Ecer, F., 2021. Combining the suitability-feasibility-acceptability (SFA) strategy with the MCDM approach. Facta Universitatis, Series: Mechanical Engineering, 19(3), pp.579-600.

Appendix

Summary

In the above research a brief overview of the locksmith company of D&G Short had been provided where having a   business history of 35 years has been able to generate a total revenue of 7.1 billion USD during the year of 2021. However the company having a lower market share in the competitive market of the UK faced operational challenges as well as the company faced tough competition with the market players of the locksmith industry. Some strategies and models had been used to observe the current market scenario of the locksmith company of D&G Short through which the company needs to adopt strategies to improve the share and to provide satisfaction to the desired customers’ through  innovation. Apart from that D&G Short following the cost leadership model had a stable financial situation to provide further investments or took financial support from any other financial institution. The company after increment of resources tended to be innovators to come to quick changes in the changing circumstances after improving the financial condition and increased the manpower through recruitment of skilled and talented candidates which further improved the organizational structure of the company and D&G had been able to sustain in the competitive market.

Recommendations

Recommendations have been provided to the security and Locksmith Company of D&G Short to improve the market share and to achieve organisational goals and success through utilisation of strategic management tools that will further provide competitive advantage to D&G Short. In the market penetration strategy of Ansoff matrix the company needs to focus on the demand and preferences of the existing customers in the existing market to provide innovative and useful products to the customers. Apart from that the company while entering a new market base needs to focus on the market development strategy to enter the markets of the USA and a research of the US market needs to be done to observe the similar preferences of the customers which will further help to export similar products to the market. On a broader note it has been stated that D&G following the generic strategy tool needs to adopt the pricing strategies to lower the prices of the products which will help to improve the internal resources of the company improving the sales and profit of the company.  The low price position in Bowman strategy clock may provide satisfaction to the customers to some extent, apart from that the company of D&G shorts needs to provide further services to the loyal customers through improvement in the McKinsey Matrix.

The strategic tools of BCG matrix, SFA matrix and roger model also play an important role to provide suggestions regarding the favourable output of the company where D&G Short needs to focus on the existing loyal customers of the market to provide advanced and unique technological products.  On  a contradictory note it has been stated that the company following the cost leadership needs to improve flexibility in the financial structure and on the other hand D&G Short needs to be quick innovators to be more active in the changing circumstances which will further provide competitive advantage to the company.

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