The context of
this Assignment is a business organisation called Impossible Food (IF) and
their interest in entering the Australia market.
There are 3 specific task sets that you’re required to perform
in Assignment 2. Produce a report that reflects your research, analytical, and
application skills by presenting the following:
Critical analysis of IF’s current generic strategy
Proposal for a 3-year strategy to compete in Australia
Justification of your
proposed strategy
1)
Critical analysis of IF’s current generic strategy (circa 600 words)
Brief introduction (3 to 4
short sentences) that says what this section is going to address and its
purpose. Important to say that IF’s current generic strategy should be examined
in its domestic domain and international domain because their activities in
these two domains are different. Give some examples of different actions taken,
e.g., significant marketing effort in US, but relatively low publicity or
marketing communications internationally, etc. Very important to make this
point very clear.
1.1 Domestic Strategy (US
Market)
Brief introductory statement to
say that the Domestic Strategy will be determined using elements of strategy
statement, vision statement, mission statement (does not have to be all of
these, whatever you can find) and an analysis of its value chain.
Present the pertinent elements
of strategy, mission, or vision statements, e.g., interview in which an
executive says they are trying to convert meat eaters. That can be interpreted
as the “objective” in a strategy statement.
Explain that evidence of the
firm’s distinctive capabilities and weaknesses will point to its current
strategy. Such distinctive capabilities (strengths) and weaknesses can be
determined through value chain analysis. Then present the value chain diagram
with different shapes and/or colours for strengths (distinctive capabilities)
and weaknesses. Briefly explain them after presenting the diagram.
Gather the findings in
strategy, mission, and vision statements, and VCA, pointing out the common
elements that suggest differentiation, low-cost or a both. Then state that all
these evidence indicates xxx strategy as described in Porter’s Generic Strategy
model. Briefly explain how this is so by simply explaining that part of
Porter’s..
1.2 International Market
The discussions here involve
mostly about presenting evidence of its international strategy effort. Firstly,
describe the international markets that it is already serving. Then describe
its plans to enter the Australian and any other international markets. In these
discussions, you must present specifically the products (e.g., minced meat,
burgers, etc) that are being offered, how
they’ve entered the market (e.g., export, joint venture, etc), and how are they
serving the market (e.g., through supermarkets, Burger King, etc).
Then, go on to say that all
these evidence point to the fact that IF is looking for new markets beyond
their US domestic market. Thus, M&S xxx strategy is an apt description,
Briefly explain why this is so by simply explaining that component of M&S’s
typology.
Summarise by saying that the
firm’s domestic market is based on Porter’s xxx strategy, and that its
international aspect is based on M&S xxx strategy. You can also point that
if the domestic and international components are considered together, it is
possible to posit that the firm’s overall current generic strategy is based on
M&S Analyser strategy. Briefly explain.
1.3 Strategic Alignment of
Current Generic Strategy to SWOT
Brief discussions of the
opportunities and threats found in your A1 report. Refer to A1 report but also
continue to cite the original references as much as possible. (Please refer to uploaded document Assignment
1)
Refer to the VCA that you’ve
conducted in the earlier part of this section (in 1.1 above), specifically to
the distinctive capabilities (strengths) and weaknesses that you’ve identified
in there. You can then summarise by saying that the SWOT elements pertaining to
IF has now been identified. You can present a SWOT table if you want.
Refer to the SAFe framework and
state that the Suitability criterion will be effective in assessing how well
the current generic strategy (or you can justify the domestic and international
separately or jointly) aligns with the SWOT elements.
There is no need to seek perfect fit for all the SWOT
elements. Your conclusion of alignment need NOT be strictly bi-polar, meaning
it aligns perfectly or not at all. It can be in shades of suitability. For
example, it can be suitable for some opportunities but not so suited in terms
of strengths or weaknesses. At the same time, it can be effective in responding
to threats while making use of some strengths. Thus, in conclusion it is quite
well aligned. So, depending on what SWOT elements you have, you may conclude
with comments like “strongly, highly, or closely aligned”, “quite well
aligned”, “moderately aligned”, etc.
2) Proposal for a 3-year strategy to compete in Australia (circa
1000 words)
a) State that it is an international strategy that is being
proposed, because it is about a US-based company entering a foreign market of
Australia. Your proposal will therefore address the three two areas of the market
entry strategy, strategy method, and competitive strategy.
b) Discuss each in detail:
Explain and use TOWS matrix to generate ideas for market entry
strategy and strategy method, and the competitive strategy.
Market Entry Strategy – continue with existing plan, modify
the plan, or completely new plan. Explain the pros and cons of your suggestion.
Very briefly, use CAGE framework to explain how Australia is different from
Singapore and Hong Kong. Possibility of shifting from an export strategy to
franchise, strategic alliance, or wholly owned subsidiary by the 3rd year.
Discuss the intended strategic alliance with Australian
contractor to manufacture its products. Discuss the pros and cons of strategic
alliances. Suggest any important requirements that you believe should be
included in the partnership – proprietary information and scaling ability or
recommend an alternative strategy method. Possible to transition to a global or
transnational strategy.
Competitive Strategy – Use Value Chain Analysis (can build
from the VCA in task 1a) to propose a competitive strategy. Address the
global-local dilemma problem. Use any of the following models to provide
theoretical support – Porter’s Generic Strategy, Strategy Clock, or Miles &
Snow’s Typology. It is possible for your proposed competitive strategy to be
supported by more than one model.
3)
Justification of your proposed strategy (circa 700 words)
a)
Explain briefly what is strategy justification/evaluation and why it is
necessary.
b)
Brief explanation of the frameworks available – SAFe and Rumelt’s Criteria.
Identify overlapping components.
c) Detailed analysis of your
proposed market entry, strategy method, and competitive strategy in terms of
SAFe and Rumelt’s. Note the overlap between SAFe and Rumelt’s. Do not repeat
similar components.
A Final Note – Thrust and
Tone of the Report
a)
The tone of your report must be that of an external consultant providing
findings of the analysis to the firm, who is your client, or that of a senior
manager in the firm reporting to the Board of Directors. However,
grammatically, you should avoid writing from a first person, so that the report
comes across as objective and professional.
b) You don’t want to annoy your
client or bosses by presenting a report that is hard to read. So, use
appropriate font and font size (e.g., Time New Roman, size 12) and one and
half-line spacing. Include a brief introduction and conclusion and a table of
contents. Make sure the document is neat and appear professionally prepared.
Your report must include an executive summary of no more than
300 words (not included in word count) and as per report guidelines must
include a table of contents, introduction and conclusion.
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