BSG-Online Game: Managing Strategy, PESTEL Analysis
Writer needs to use BSG-online game.
Contents'page'
The report should be clearly structured and follow a logical format. A contents page should be included which should adequately set out the structure of the report in a systematic way.'
1.'Introduction''
State clearly what the report is about and the sequence of key tasks/events to follow.'
2.'Competitive'Strategy'
This section requires the description of the (Generic) Competitive Strategy your company has pursued in its attempt to gain real competitive advantage
3.'Industry'Overview'
This section requires the analysis of the Macro environment (through the PESTEL model); the analysis of the Industry (through the Five Forces of Competition framework); and the identification of the main opportunities and threats.
4.'Company'Overview'
This section requires a brief Background to the Company to provide a context for the report. You are expected to describe: the mission and vision of the company; the markets/regions it operates in; the number of firms competing in the industry; the company's competitive positioning (per product type) for respective geographic regions; and the main potential strengths and weaknesses of company.
5. Decisions Made
This section requires a detailed description of the KEY DECISIONS MADE each year (from Year 11 to Year 15 inclusive). For each year, you are expected to describe: What key decisions did your company make? Why did you make these decisions? What results were you hoping for? Where did the company place in the industry? Did demand increase; by how much; in which markets? Did market share increase; by how much; in which markets? Did retail coverage increase; by how much; in which markets? Did you meet investors' expectations? How did you perform in relation to competitors?
You need to provide evidence of the decisions taken and results achieved every year by including the screenshots from the game in Appendix.
6. Final Results
This section requires to provide an assessment of how your company performed overall. You are
expected to: discuss the retail coverage and market share for each of the markets you operated in;
discuss your overall competitive positioning in your industry;
7. Reflection
Discuss how well or how poorly you performed. Your reflections and selfSappraisal of either business
success or failure is the key aspect of this section. The actual success or failure in the game is not the
key issue: the most important aspect of this section of your ability to reflect and learn from the results achieved.
8. Underlying Strategic Principles
In this section you can provide some discussion and analysis on the need for strategic thinking,
strategic visioning and strategic management of the company. 9. Key Learning Points about Strategy
Provide some discussion/analysis which might include the following:
!Importance of assessing the macro:environment.
!Importance of assessing the industry and competitors.
!Complexities of running a company.
!Impo tance of having a clea and sha ed focus fo the company.
!Strategic(analysis(and(planning(required(for(maintaining(competitive(position.(
!Complexities(of(meeting(different(stakeholder(expectations.(
10. Conclusion
In(this(section(you(are(expected(to(reflect(on(the(main(issues(uncovered(and(lessons(learned(through(
the(simulation(exercise(as(they(relate(to:(the(actual(strategic(decision(making(process;(the(interaction(
among(team(members;(and(your(own(personal(performance(and(experience.(((
Reference List (Alphabetical(order(and(Harvard(style.(It(is(not(included(in(the(word(count)
Appendices((not(included(in(the(word(count)(
Management Strategy
Student’s Name
Date
Institution
Management Strategy
Table of Contents
TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc499127303 \h 3
Competitive Strategy PAGEREF _Toc499127304 \h 4
Industry Overview PAGEREF _Toc499127305 \h 4
PESTEL Analysis PAGEREF _Toc499127306 \h 5
Five Forces Model PAGEREF _Toc499127307 \h 7
Opportunities and Threats PAGEREF _Toc499127308 \h 8
Company Overview PAGEREF _Toc499127309 \h 9
Decisions Made PAGEREF _Toc499127310 \h 10
Final Results PAGEREF _Toc499127311 \h 13
Reflection PAGEREF _Toc499127312 \h 13
Underlying Strategic Principles PAGEREF _Toc499127313 \h 13
Key Learning Points about Strategy PAGEREF _Toc499127314 \h 14
Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc499127315 \h 14
References PAGEREF _Toc499127316 \h 15
Appendices PAGEREF _Toc499127317 \h 16
Appendix 1 PAGEREF _Toc499127318 \h 16
Appendix 2 PAGEREF _Toc499127319 \h 17
Appendix 3 PAGEREF _Toc499127320 \h 18
Introduction
Having an effective business strategy is essential in today’s competitive environment. Strategy includes the decisions, choices, and plans that a company makes in order to achieve success and profitability. In this regard, a weak strategy may lead to a failure of a company while a strong one can help in achieving success. For a company to formulate an effective strategy, it has to understand the nature of the business environment in terms of competitors and customers.[Kourdi, J. Business Strategy: A Guide to Taking Your Business Forward. Hoboken: Wiley, 2009. P3] [Camillus, C. Strategic Planning and Management Control: Systems for Survival and Success. Lexington Books: Lexington, 1986. P49]
This paper presents the case of E-company that operates in the footwear industry. The report will provide relevant information relating to the decisions that E-company took as it sought to achieve success in the competitive environment. The company is competing against seven others in the industry in four geographic regions: Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe Africa, and North America. E-company ships the footwears to all these geographical locations. In the current business environment that is characterised by technology, E-company sought to take this advantage and offer customers in the various regions the products through an online platform. This paper begins by reporting on the competitive strategy undertaken by the company. This will be followed by an overview of the industry and company, examination of the decisions made, results, reflection, and the underlying strategic principles. Finally, the report will conclude on the main issues and lessons learned through the simulation exercise.
Competitive Strategy
Competitive strategy is critical in any industry as it determines how a company performs in comparison with other players in the industry. It outlines the path that the organisation intends to follow in order to compete favourably with other firms. In this regards, the strategy undertaken by E-company to achieve competitive advantage involved was differentiation strategy and cost leadership strategies. These are among the three competitive strategies that a company can use to achieve a competitive advantage with the other one being focus s...