BUS7B27 Implementing Strategy Assignment Sample

Strategic Plan Report

Introduction

Plastic related pollution has now become very common due to the increased use of plastic bags and other materials. For the rapid use of plastics, organisations concentrate on the strategic planning for the implementation of the plastic reduction strategies. The report based on the strategic plan evaluates the plastic reduction strategy for the famous UK supermarket company, Sainsbury’s. In this regard, the strategy proposition of the plastic reduction for the chosen company is developed along with the identification of strategic goals. Moreover, strategic statements for implementing the plastic reduction strategy are also described in this study. Besides these, strategic risks involved in the chosen organisation are investigated properly. Apart from these, organisational capabilities and necessary resources are discussed along with the implementation of the strategy. Finally, the summary of the study and some concluding remarks for implementing the plastic reduction strategy in the selected organisation are described.

Plastic Reduction Strategy Proposition

1.1 Plastic Reduction Strategy

The strategy for implementing the plastic reduction proposition is required for minimising the high amount of plastic-oriented pollution in the environment. The chosen company, Sainsbury’s is recommended to use alternative jute bags instead of plastics as an effective plastic reduction strategy. As per the view of Napper and Thompson (2019), biodegradable materials and bags can be relevant for reducing plastic pollution. For this reason, the new plastic reduction strategy of using biodegradable jute bags would ensure certain reduction related to plastic pollution. Through the proper utilisation of this recommended plastic reduction strategy, key people associated with the organisation can meet the actual requirement of minimising plastic related pollution. On the other hand, according to Fortunati et al. (2019), strategies and techniques of plastic reduction ensure less wastage of material along with the improvement of the overall sustainability limit. Due to this, the new plastic strategy for the chosen supermarket company would be relevant for maintaining the overall business reputation and brand image in the present competitive business environment. As per the company information regarding the new strategy of plastic pollution, it can be identified that key people associated with Sainsbury’s are focused on removing plastic packaging from their products like lightbulbs, batteries and others (about.sainsburys.co.uk, 2022). Moreover, it has also been noticed that the company has concentrated on saving more than 15 tonnes of plastics every year.

The new plastic reduction strategy will help the company to maintain the desired sustainability limit without facing environmental issues related to plastic pollution. Moreover, organisational performance can be increased with the sustainable achievement of strategic goals and SMART objectives for implementing the new plastic reduction strategy. Therefore, it can be said that the identified and discussed plastic reduction strategy for the chosen company would help in maintaining environmental standards without contributing to the plastic pollution.

1.2 Strategic Goals

Strategic goals for the new strategy of the chosen organisation would ensure satisfactory organisational performance. For this reason, SMART parameters and strategic goals of the new strategy are discussed in the context of Sainsbury’s as follows:

Table 1: Strategic goals through utilising SMART for the new strategy

(Source: Created by Author)

Key people who are directly connected with the internal business operations and activities of Sainsbury’s are the owners of the mentioned strategic goals. In this regard, organisational performance will be increased with the reduction of plastic pollution. Moreover, it would ensure the overall brand image and reputation of the supermarket in the competitive field. Strategic goals can be met properly with the delivery of necessary effort and dedication without facing external forces. Hence, it can be said that strategic goals can be achieved through the proper utilisation and implementation of the strategy.

1.3 Strategic Statements

Strategic mission, company objectives and vision of the chosen supermarket company are discussed in the following section as follows:

• Mission statement: The mission statement of the company is always focused on delivering quality products and services to customers through the determination of competitive pricing. Moreover, Sainsbury’s concentrates on the mission of reducing plastic packaging related pollution in the next 3 to 5 years (about.sainsburys.co.uk, 2022). The mission statement of the company does not create any change regarding their approach of utilising organisational strategy. Beside these, the use of alternative biodegradable bags such as jute bags and others would contribute positively on the achievement of the mentioned mission statement of the organisation.
• Company vision for the new strategy: The company’s vision is to become the most reliable and trusted supermarket retailers in the current competitive business environment. In this case, the vision for implementing the new plastic reduction strategy is directly interlinked with the existing vision statement of the company. Through reducing plastic pollution, the company can become a popular and trusted supermarket retailer (about.sainsburys.co.uk, 2022). For this reason, not any type of change in the organisational strategy approach is noticeable in the vision of the company.
• Objectives: Necessary objectives for utilising and implementing the new plastic reduction strategy are discussed as follows:
• To interpret the sustainable use of alternative biodegradable materials and bags without using plastic items for offering services and products from Sainsbury’s to all customers
• To encourage key people associated with the business for using alternative biodegradable bags without posing plastic pollutions
• To reduce or overcome plastic pollution through the effective use of biodegradable bags for packaging items
• To implement the new plastic reduction strategy for maintaining environmental sustainability

1.4 Strategic Risks

Existing uncertainty and risks

The chosen supermarket company, Sainsbury’s poses strategic risks in the form of uncertainty. In this regard, uncertainty can be observed in the area of packaging with biodegradable items (about.sainsburys.co.uk, 2022). The company may face difficulty in delivering items without using hard plastic packaging. On the other hand, strategic risks or uncertainty can be noticed for motivating customers regarding the use of biodegradable bags and other things. As per the view of Pasmore et al. (2019), people need enough time for the adaptation of new things or techniques initiated by any popular organisation. For this reason, the risk or uncertainty of motivating people with plastic pollution related awareness can hamper the internal business operations and activities.

Hence, impacts of these risks or uncertainty within the organisational are described as follows:

Impacts of risks: The uncertainty or difficulty in delivering items without using hard plastic packaging can create potential impacts for carrying heavy loaded items. For this reason, customers’ satisfaction related issues can be noticed in this area. Beside these, strategic risks or uncertainty for motivating customers regarding the use of biodegradable bags and other things can affect the motivation and satisfaction level. Going with the view of Salkin et al. (2018), motivation related issues can be noticed among customers due to noticing abrupt changes in the organisation. For this reason, it is needed to concentrate on the strategy of mitigating risks for avoiding such impacts.

Risk mitigation strategies: The strategy of creating plastic pollution related awareness can be effective in managing and improving customers’ satisfaction and motivation. On the other hand, the strategy of delivering quality training would be effective for minimising uncertainty and risks that are mentioned in the above section. As per the opinion of Dijkstra et al. (2021), customers and e employees both need proper knowledge and information regarding plastic pollution and its corresponding impacts in the environment. For this reason, they would be able to adapt the use of alternative biodegradation bags without facing customers’ satisfaction related problems or issues in the upcoming future. Apart from these, potential risks and uncertainty related to the implementation of the new plastic reduction strategy can be minimised and also avoided with the proper assessment and utilisation of these strategies. Therefore, it can be said that all these mentioned strategies are effective for managing and handling faced risks in the chosen organisation without facing major difficulties and complexities.

1.5 Organizational Resources and capabilities

Sainsbury, one of the leading brands of the UK has adopted the new strategy to use the jute bags in place of plastic packaging for the products. This company has the resources from the various jute delivery companies of the UK such as the Notcutts limited, S G Baker Limited and also from the Dexam international Limited (Sainsburys.co.uk, 2022). They are one of the most reputed suppliers of the country. The company Sainsbury aims to achieve sustainability through the implementation of new policies. Those new steps can be met by good collaboration with the suppliers of the necessary materials (Sari and Van Kalliecharan, 2018). Eco-friendly materials that the company needs for the new packaging can be gotten from the different jute suppliers and the natural print providing companies. Print and Packaging is another renowned company that prints jute bags and this company needs to collaborate with this company. The investors also need to be convinced by the new policy of the company. Vesa Eqlity, BlackRock, Schroders are the investors of the company Sainsbury and those investors must be informed properly about the new policy of the company to achieve4 the sustainability.

Implementing the Strategy

Table 2: Implementing the Strategy

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Summary

SainsBury, one of the leading brands of the UK, may achieve sustainability by adopting some new and effective strategies to reduce the pollution level of the environment. This company may use the jute bags for the packaging of their food products and non-food products in place of plastic packets. This company can reduce the toxic waste materials by using this biodegradable material. The UK government as well as the other agencies is concerned to mitigate the increasing risk caused by the use of plastic and this tendency may be satisfied by the new strategy of the company. There are several risk factors that the company may face at the time of implementing the new policy. The relevant stakeholder of the company needs to be informed properly to get the overall success of the project; several training sessions for the workers and some conferences with the investors are needed for the proper execution of the new project. The new suppliers of the jute and the other necessary materials need to be managed to achieve the proper supply of the necessary elements. The sustainability of the environment can be achieved by this new project and the pollution level caused by the plastic wastage may be reduced by the company’s innovative idea of using the jute bags.

Conclusion

The pollution caused by the use of plastic has become an alarming problem all over the world. The UK government is also concerned about reducing the harmful impact on the environment. The company SainsBury, aims to achieve sustainability by using the jute bags for the packaging of their product and they also aware the employees, investors, suppliers as well as the customers about the harmful impact of the plastic. The company has adopted some effective steps to mitigate the increasing the pollution level and decided to use the biodegradable as well as organic materials. The company may face several; difficulties by using the jute bags as some training sessions for the employee and also a new setup are needed to be arranged in the company’s factories for the new production. The necessary strategic goals are being set up by the company for the proper implementation of the new strategy. The specific time bound and the impact of the implementation also analysed in this study briefly. The several steps that are necessary for the implementation are also being discussed.

References

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