Strategic management defined as consisting of the analysis and decisions

Strategic management defined as consisting of the analysis and decisions INTRODUCTION Strategic management can be defined as consisting of the analysis, decisions and actions an organization undertakes in order to create and sustain competitive advantages. Key attributes of Strategic Management Directs the organization toward overall goals and objectives. Includes multiple stakeholders in decision making. Needs to incorporate short-term and long-term perspectives. Recognizes trade-offs between efficiency and effectiveness. Strategy can be developed at many levels in a multi-layered organisation there may be: Corporate level strategy Business level strategy Functional level strategy Corporate level strategy describes a corporations overall direction in terms of its general philosophy towards growth and the management of its various business units. Such strategies determine the type of a business a corporation wants to be in and what business units should acquired, modified and sold. This strategy addresses the question what business are we in? Devising a strategy for a multidivisional company like Sony involves at least four types of initiatives. Establishing investment priorities and steering corporate resources into the most attractive business units. Initiating actions to improve the combined performance of those business units that the corporation first got into. Finding ways to improve the synergy among related business units in order to increase performance. Decisions dealing with diversification. Business level strategy deals with decisions and actions pertaining to each business unit. The main objective of a business level strategy is to make the unit more competitive in market place. This level strategy addresses the question how do we compete? Although business level strategy is guided by upstream corporate level strategy business unit management must craft a strategy that is appropriate for its own operating situation. Miles and Snow(1984) identified four modes of strategic orientation: Defenders, Prospectors, Analysers and Reactors. These strategies can help explain why companies facing similar environmental threats or opportunities behave differently and why they continue to do so over a long period of time. In turn the different competitive or business strategies influence the down stream functional strategies. Functional level strategy pertains to the major functional operations within the business unit, including research and development, marketing, manufacturing, finance, and human resource productivity and addresses the question how do we support the business level competitive strategy? The three levels of strategy corporate, business and functional form a hierarchy of strategy within in a large multidivisional corporation. Different levels of strategy of Sony Sony Corporation was founded by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita in 1946, now having head quarters at Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Sony is one of the biggest electronics in the world with revenue 7.7 trillion yen. Sony are making products like Consumer professional electronic equipments, Communication information-related equipments, Semiconductor, Electronic devices components, Battery, Chemicals, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Music, PlayStation and Blu-Ray devices. Sony Corporation as a giant organization has divided its organization into five main business units as Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Ericsson, and Sony Financial. Sony Corporation has its own corporate strategy, and the each of its five business units having their own business strategy. Corporate Strategy Business level strategy Functional level strategy In Sony Group Corporate Strategy Update FY2008 FY2010 Sony has set out some goals and revealed about its corporate strategy. In particular, the company will focus on strengthening core businesses, enhancing network initiatives and leveraging international growth opportunities to build for the future and drive further growth and profits. Main considerations in the strategy of Sony are, Further strengthening the core business Network initiatives Capitalize on Growth in BRIC Countries and Other Emerging Markets Environmental Initiatives Financial Strategies for the Mid-Term A good strategy always leads an organization towards success and improvement, in the other way a bad or inefficient strategy always takes that organization into losses and bad reputation. As we know that Japanese are good at management and most of other countries are try to implement Japanese management techniques. The term is a Japanese word adopted into English referring to a philosophy or practices focusing on continuous improvement in manufacturing activities, business activities in general, and even life in general, depending on interpretation and usage. Sony Corporation was good at strategic plans by applying these management strategies. As we discussed earlier a bad or inefficient strategy leads the organization into bad reputation, in the case of Sony they are failed to implement an efficient strategy which Sonys net profit for the July-September quarter for 2006 falling 94% to 1.7 billion Yen, compared to 28.5 billion Yen for the same period last year. From there they are tr ying to implement better strategies and to regain their reputation and brand value and to regain their number one position in electronics industry. Portfolio approach to strategy Portfolio approach was one of the early approaches to chart strategy and allocate resources in multi-business organizations. As corporate strategists jumped on the diversification bandwagon they soon found a challenge in managing the resource needs diverse businesses and their strategic missions, particularly in times of limited resources. Responding to that challenge the Boston Consulting Group pioneered an approach called portfolio techniques that attempted to help managers balance the flow of cash resources among their various businesses while also identifying their basic strategic purpose within the overall portfolio. The top managers at larger farms need a method for spotting product lines that deserve more investment as well as lines that arent living up to expectations. So they conduct a portfolio analysis, in which they evaluate they evaluate their companys products and divisions to determine which are strongest and which are weakest. Much as securities analysts review their portfolios of stocks and bonds, deciding which to retain and which to discard. Strategic business unit (SBU) Strategic business units are the key business units within diversified firms. Each SBU has its own managers, resources, objectives, and competitors. A division, product line or a single product may define the boundaries of an SBU. Each SBU pursues its own distinct mission and often develops its own plans independently of other units in the organization. BCG matrix To evaluate each of their organizations SBUs, marketers need some type of portfolio performance framework. A widely used framework was developed by Boston Consulting Group. This market share/ market growth matrix places SBUs in a four quadrant chart that plots market share against market growth potential. The position of an SBU along the horizontal axis indicates its market share relative to those of competitors in the industry. Its position along the vertical axis indicates the annual growth rate of the market. After plotting all of a firms business units, planners divide them according to the matrixs four quadrants as shown in the figure. Stars represent High market share and High growth rate. These products or SBUs are high growth market leaders. Although they generate considerable income, they need inflows of even more cash to finance further growth. Cash cows command High market share in Low growth markets. Marketers for such an SBU want to maintain this status for as long as possible. The business produces string cash flows, but instead of investing heavily in the units own promotions and production capacity, the firm can use this cash to finance the growth of other SBUs with higher growth potentials. Question marks achieve Low market share in higher growth markets. Marketers must decide weather to continue supporting these products or SBUs, because question marks typically require considerably more cash than they generate. If a question mark cannot become a star, the firm should pull out of the market and target other markets with greater potential. Dogs manage only Low market share in Low growth markets. SBUs in this category promise poor future prospects, and marketers should withdraw from these businesses or SBUs as quickly as possible. In some cases these products can be sold to other firms where they are better fit.

Video Guide Questions NOVA: World in Balance “The People Paradox”

1. What will be the worldwide trend for population growth of industrialized countries of the world in the future? The world population of 7.2 billion in mid-2013 is projected to increase by almost one billion people within the next twelve years. It is projected to reach 8.1 billion in 2025, and to further increase to 9.6 billion in 2050 and 10.9 billion by 2100. This assumes a decline of fertility for countries where large families are still prevalent as well as a slight increase of fertility in several countries with fewer than two children per woman on average.2. What will be the future population growth trends for developing countries in the future? Almost all of the additional 3.7 billion people from now to 2100 will enlarge the population of developing countries, which is projected to rise from 5.9 billion in 2013 to 8.2 billion in 2050 and to 9.6 billion in 2100. Much of the overall increase between 2013 and 2050 is projected to take place in high-fertility countries, mainly in Africa, as well as countries with large populations such as India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United States of America.3. What are some of the societal/cultural reasons why Indian families often desire multiple male offspring? How do you think this influences population growth rate trends in India? Naturally society prefers the male child, as he is the ‘superior’ child. Economics plays a large part here. The son is expected to earn and ‘pay back’ by looking after the parents in old age. Usually he does. And in many parts of India the male child grows up and commands a large dowry. This influences population growth rate trends in India by having a greater male to female ratio.4. Describe India’s age structureThe age structure in India is 0 to 14 years 31.7% (male 173,869,856; female 164,003,915) 15 to 64 years 63.5% (male 349,785,804; female 326,289,402) 65 years and over 4.8% (male 25,885,725; female 25,235,905)5. How had the cultu ral practice of dowry endowment affected women’s rights and health in India? In certain communities in South Asia, the low status of girls has to be compensated for by the payment of a dowry by the parents of the girl to  the husband at the time of marriage. This has resulted in a number of dowry crimes, including mental and physical torture, starvation, rape, and even the burning alive of women by their husbands and/or in-laws in cases where dowry payments are not met.6. How have educational and vocational programs for Indian women influenced birth rate and infant mortality? How have India’s population growth trends influenced access water and food production? Several scholars have linked birthrate decline to female education. Educated women, they reason, generally prefer smaller families, allowing them to pursue their own interests while investing more resources and time in each child. As it turns out, the map of female literacy in India does exhibit striking simil arities with the map of fertility.7. Why is the â€Å"2 child rule† so important in terms of global population and its impacts? Using a 2-child rule, we will eventually, yet very slowly, reduce the population. By reducing the population we will have more access to benefits for the entire population.8. Describe some of the population growth characteristics of Japan There is a very low infant mortality rate, 2.8 in a thousand, and a relatively low birth rate as well, at 7.41 births in a thousand.However, the death rate, 9.83 deaths in a thousand, is higher than the birth rate, which means 2 more people are dying in a thousand than being born. Thousands of children are being born on a daily basis. 2.8 in a thousand and a relatively low birth rate as well, at 7.41 births in a thousand. However, the death rate, 9.83 deaths in a thousand, is higher than the birth rate, which means 2 more people are dying in a thousand than being born.9. What is a â€Å"parasite single†?  P arasite single is a single person who lives with their parents beyond their late twenties in order to enjoy a carefree and comfortable life. In Japanese culture, the term is especially used when negatively describing young unmarried women.10. How do you think the increase of education and employment opportunities for women have influenced reproductive patterns in Japan? The increase of education and employment opportunities for women has declined reproductive patterns in Japan. There is very low infant mortality rate, which may have  occurred as a result of the increase and education and employment opportunities in Japan.11. How has the relative proportion of older Japanese changed over the last 20 years? What implications might that have for elderly people in Japan?12. Describe the immigration and employment trends for the U.S. and Japan.13. Describe the birth rate of sub- Saharan Africa, and some of its implications.14. Describe how death rates and life expectancy has changed in Kenya over the last decade in particular.15. How does the use of birth control compare in the developed vs. developing countries? How would this affect HIV transmission?16. What is the concept of demographic transition?17. Given that we live in a an affluent country, do you think we have an ethical responsibility to help fund programs that will stabilize population growth in developing countries, and encourage sustainability of species and resources globally? Why or why not?

Analysis Of The Title On Being Brought From African...

The title, On Being Brought from Africa to America is nearly as blunt as I can get. This poem is clearly about the writer’s thoughts about being transported as a slave from Africa such as, Gambia or Senegal areas that were not considered to be Christian land by America’s standards. Phyllis makes use of metaphorical dialect within the poem, for example, she become converted from being a pagan to a Christian. The identification additionally makes known the concept of suggestion, or change. The title tells us about being moved from one area to another. One would have observed that the word brought is utilized and implemented, not words such as, kidnapped or stolen. There were no other phrases utilized or implemented to indicate the struggle that slaves persisted as they had been taken far away from their place of birth. Phyllis clearly uses a positive tone. â€Å"On Being Brought† is the passive form that Wheatley utilizes, in order to make a direct statement. She associates her coming to America as a worthy factor that brings her to the religion of Christianity and the belief in God. However, remember she is writing as a slave in America, and wishes to edit her language in a manner that would not be too argumentative. Before examining and evacuating, â€Å"On Being Brought from Africa to America†, it is important to look at Phyllis Wheatley’s life. Wheatley was a female African-American poet, who was born around 1753 in Senegal/Gambia, a part of the Africa. It is stated that, she wasShow MoreRelatedHow Birth Of A Nation Reinforced Antebellum Stereotypes About African Americans1564 Words   |  7 PagesHow Birth of a Nation reinforced Antebellum Stereotypes about African-Americans In the early 1900s, the movie industry in America developed the atmosphere filled with racial and political medium, which later became a propaganda tool for selling of brute caricature. Many will recognize the films titled Birth of a Nation by D.W. 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The Philosophy of Gattaca - 1383 Words

The Philosophy of GATTACA David Harris 21 August 2011 GATTACA is entertaining despite an immersion in technology and philosophy. Viewed strictly as entertainment, the film consistently delivers great characters, is well-written and has well-delivered dialogue, with a quick paced and fascinating plot. The philosophy of GATTACAs society is explored through examples of genetic essentialism/determinism, discrimination, and the exercise of free will through our characters early years, time as an invalid and later time as a valid. The film allows a glimpse into a world shaped by the technology of genetic engineering, that has artificially created a caste system of the valids verses the invalids, and how it can be overcome thru†¦show more content†¦After several years he manages to go to work as a janitor at GATTACA, and while he still watches the GATTACA staff thru the glass windows, he dares to dream. Okay, not just dream he acquires text books and starts to study. 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