Strategic Management Essays

University of Phoenix
Strategic Choice and Evaluation
Dennis Duran
STR/581
October 4, 2013
Allen Sutton

Strategic Choice and Evaluation

The nature and complexity of competition in the global market compels an organization to emphasize structure and strong leadership. Home Depot’s focused approach to great customer service and entrepreneurial spirit are key elements in their tactical approach towards long-range growth and stability. Home Depot’s growth strategy can be identified as part of an organizational framework built around the company’s vision and core values. Several alternatives are available to an organization looking to maximize growth potential. This report will evaluate those alternatives and provide recommendations for establishing long-term and short-term objectives.
Home Depot’s balanced approach to strategic management provides managers with four tangible methods for translating organizational strategies into operational processes. Financial performance, customer knowledge, internal business processes, and learning and growth initiatives are the four pillars of the performance management system. Managers apply these criteria when they identify goals, define objectives, set targets, and measure performance. Home Depot’s management system mitigates the affect of global competition and serves as the instrument for achieving strategic priorities.
Generic Strategies
Low-cost Leadership The competitive advantages that derive from low-cost strategies enhance a company's ability to dominate the market. The low-cost tactical scheme is designed to increase an organization’s overall performance. Organizations have the ability to take advantage of low-cost strategies when they are dominant in the market and hold excessive quantities of capital. Cost reduction strategies and operational efficiencies slowly leverage on organization’s ability to progressively dominate the market. The long-range strategy shifts profit margins to the right by implementing organizational competencies. These competencies include: economies of scale, sales volume techniques, overhead cost reduction, and cutting-edge technology.
Focus
Focus based strategies target specific market segments with the intention of dominating a particular market segment. Market segments are generally categorized according to the descriptive characteristics and behavioral considerations of specific consumer markets. Selecting a target market in a broad and diverse market can be a difficult task for any marketing manager. The key to success for any marketing plan is to identify the unique characteristics of market segments and target their specific needs and wants.
Value Disciplines Operational Excellence Developing a reliable operational excellence system can be difficult. However, total quality management concepts and principles are no secret. Empirical evidence suggests operational excellence systems are necessary for developing process controls and long-term strategic objectives. Every organization is unique with its own set of challenges. The objective is to find a system that fits your organization. Regression analysis, time series analysis, and forecasting models provide the basis for a myriad of growth possibilities for any organization. Operational excellence is a distinctive approach that focuses on efficiency and reliability. Customer Intimacy Organizations that utilize customer intimacy strategies systematically modify their operational processes to meet the needs of a diverse and complicated customer base. This strategy is designed to build customer loyalty through service and convenience. Organizations who utilize this strategy understand the importance of identifying customer’s needs and building service systems around those needs. Several benefits are derived by employing customer intimacy strategies they include, customer loyalty, efficient service segments, and

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