Strategic management and business policy module

Strategic management and business policy mental faculty1 thither were a number of con real changes in the VSM convocation in the period 1997-2003, is the VSM Group still the same association?No the company has changed a lot with the arrival of the naked as a jaybird chief operating officer, refreshed things has been introduced as More people were embarrassd in strategical sessions New commission statement Companion schema High involvement of employees on divers(prenominal) aim Purchase of competitors issueed intersection capacity to the firm Processes make water been say towards long suitening the linkages between functional atomic number 18as in the value chain. The physical relocation of the RD and commercialiseing departments to the same building New programs for educating the retailers and nodes on sewing and utilise the gondolas. Integrating technology (mainly on line) with the innovation of the immature machines.2 How would you retrace the strategic c apability of Viking Sewing Machines in 1997? In 2003?In 1997 The fri peculiarityship brought their managers of their study national sales companies as well as the merchandise vice president into the top management also thither were changes in their operating systems New mission and documents brought diametrical level together which added a bounteouser sight Bringing the technical foul expertise and marketers together to come up with young innovations that meet customers contains.In 2003 New and scoop dealers had been added. Two soused suckers, Pfaff as a high musical note brand, and Husqvarna as the family and innovative brand. Brno added add capacity of re deal to the company, which was comprise efficient and added capacity to the production. They afford expertise in the product bringment of the sewing machines sedulousness 3 be the core competences in 2003 more(prenominal) robust than in 1997?Definitely yes at that place were more concentrate in the strate gy and direction in 2003 They have better product development capabilities. Two strong brands. An IT company to develop their own technology work, thus controlling the embroidery market. Building linkages indoors the value chain.4 What are the important factors in the macro-environment that influence VSM and its industry?PoliticalThe political situation might be influenced by the exchange agreement between the States and the European origin products. Also, manufacturing in the furthermost easterly might have some regularisations and extra taxations since these markets are flooding the human universe with lower priced products.EconomicThe economic situation is affected by the fight in currency of the different origin or production and consumer markets. To turn on quality they might need to shift the factors from Far East to other location with higher pays. Also, Sales of low priced simple machines have increased, age more advanced machines showed steady sales.SocialClothes became cheaper so no need for sewing at home. More social activities emerged and resulted in little time afforded to sewing hobbiesTechnologicalThis had the major contribution here over overdue to The high development of the internet usages and its spread The power and acquire of the rude(a) software. Enhancement of the senses and computerized motors to give better functionality to the machines. People (Customers) are more technologicall(a)(a)y driven and are up to date with innovations thus request the new and complicated models.EnvironmentalNatural crisis as Tsunamis are threatening the Far East which might result in a extirpation of production and disturbance to the manufacturing asc abolish. Legal It will guess on new regulation for this industry or in the industrial market as a whole 5 What are the forces of competition in the sewing machine industry?Five Forces analysisCompetitive rivalry Moderate since there are moderate product innovation, and no real competition in the market through prices and addressing resellers. Low number of competitors book binding the same ingredient There are some product differentiations in the complete products that depend on innovationEntry barrierLow, with some concern regarding the image to the distribution channels that work exclusively with the other companies. There are some capital investment and know-how but its not a major champion.Buyer powerBuyers have high bar procureing power due to low shifting costs between brands since the industry is mature and there arent a lot of product differentiations for the general products.Supplier PowerThere arent any concentration in the supplier side , and the raw physical are mainly general materials and the production and the RD at the VMS are covering the other parts , thus we see this as weak Substitutes broadly this market have mature quality machines and a lower cost ones from east Asia , thus they differ in price and quality , and switching cost is low , thu s it will increase the threats for the normal machines , season complex computerized machines are limited in the market.From the above we dont see the market as attractive for new entrant since people tent more to debauch cloths away(p) and have very attractive and affordable prices of frock rather than creating their own.6 What are the next strategic issues Viking will have to address? What strategic options might be considered?They need to maintain their technical leadership and managing the value chain. Also they need to manage their brands and their recent encyclopedisms. As for their next steps it should be to protect and build on their current successful position.They should work on increasing their customer orientation, RD, production, marketing, distribution in all parts of their value chain. Where the retailers have a major spot in reaching their customer, which needs concentration and follow up on their training and supporting them , this will also place a soundly p art of the attention on marketing and customers relationship management and VSM has alter with the help of the new CEO from a product orientated company to a market oriented one. They also started to focus on selected customer segment to cover their needs this is shown with the different targeting technique from their VMS and Pfaff line of machines, were they need to work on the innovation of products and services.The company has good attention to the acquisition of Emnet and software engineers computing companies. Where they need to build on their traditional strength and benefit from their product development, and the use of the new technology to add an advance for them in this industry m where the production have to be met with an competitive and smart sales force .7 How does the strategy of the VSM Group change course its strategic capability with its environment? How did it change from 1997 to 2003?They need to concentrate on their existing resource positions and building o n their new resources to capture a position on their selected market.VSM had many important recourses and competences that help them with their initial strategy building on their RD process and innovative production which have highlighted their brand , here they missed the importance of marketing and its power to play with the environmental factors to bring more success to the firm . And since the market was declining the way to delay was to concentrate on differentiation products that are high computerized. And mainly focus differentiation and top of the line models ,which needed to reach the customer with exclusive retailers and at prime locations , and took keep the flow of the experience they had trained the retailers to a level that represent them and keep a good relationship with the customers . hither they also created training programs for their end users of the machines and train them on professional slipway and patterns of using these machines.Problem with their earlier value chain and not being able to have the benefit reach their clients due to the lack of the marketing control over retailers thus the new strategy was to fix this cut in the link in the value chain, another issue they were confront is the lack of communication between their RN and their marketing department, which the new CEO brought these department physical near each other to enhance this channels. Their new acquisition of their competitor Pfaff added new resources and a strong high end brand to the group, the thing now is how to manage their two brands since they compete in the same markets knowing that the perceived value and prices are not the restore player in the market, here they benefited from their technological edge and their high quality products in a clear market communication process to reach their desired customers segments each one by its own without affecting the flow and the strategy of the other brand.8 The case starts with the arrival of the new CEO. What su bprogram did Mr. Runnquist play in the transformation of the company? How important is he for the succeeding(a) of the company?The New CEO defiantly added a lot to the physical composition and did a paradigm shift to their working culture, such as collaboration of a bigger audience in major decisions of the organization, educating employees, retailers and end users . He was under press since the company was newly sold to a new owner that expected revenues to jump , which made him shift the organization from production oriented to market oriented one to capture all aspects and fight down on them .Here the need for a new mission, vision and strategic document of the organization emerged , where he have going the forces from different departments to introduce and build them , this of course included different levels of the organization to jump in these activity which have added some sense of committal and ownership among all levels . Another major issue he worked on is the harmony and good level of communication in their value chain, working from the RD, production, marketing, Sales, retailer to the end customers. This helped in having all these level at the same level of professionalism and updated association to better understand the products to be able to sell or buy them.He is very important for the continuity and the future challenges that will vitrine VMS, he need to continually have an eye open for new channels and treats and benefit from this firms resources and capabilities building on their experiences to capture opportunity and turn around weakness and treats to bring more success to the firm, this of course implies that he might have another paradigm shift if it is needed.9 At two points in time, the CEO of the VSM Group opens up a broad discussion on the strategic issues. What issues are discussed and why does he involve a larger group of the management on these issues?The first one was in 1997, when he joined the organization and need all lev el to be part of the new paradigm shift and mind pay back of the firm and be a part in creating their new mission.The consequence one was in 2000, after the acquisition of other firms team from outside the higher management was brought again to discuss the future of the firm and to gain legitimacy for the strategy ahead. The importance of this part was also to set all minds to a focused set of actions to deal with the two competing rand so as not to confuse the market and employees so and not to lose their bodily identity.It is important to participate a good audience to create commitment to the new strategic moves and create some sense of ownership among different level in the firm and push hard for the future and targets.