Strategic Policies and Recommendations What is a Strategic Policy- A Strategic Policy guides the Companys Mission-Vision statement and

turns them into sound business operations. Strategic policies should be mission driven rather in reaction to surprise events or undue pressure from change advocates. Basically, they should be used just and equitable governance. In Strategic Management there are key success factors, which the organization must fortify to gain competitive Advantage.

Competitive Advantage- an attribute that makes the company outperform others. Brand Loyalty, Strong Service and differentiated product all define what makes the company perform better than the rest. Five Generic Competitive Strategies Best-Cost Provider Strategy- Combination of low cost and differentiated products which seeks to give more value to customers by offering high quality products for less. To make this advantage one must be sure that others cannot copy the idea because it defeats the purpose itself. Overall Low Cost Provider Strategy- Not Necessarily the cheapest product offering but being efficient at making the product and selling at a price that most buyers will consume while edging out competition Focused Low Cost- aims to target a few consumers at the highest profit margin wherein they can put their price at the lowest.

Focused (Market Niche) Strategy- targets a narrow segment of buyers, which captures the special/luxury segment of products. Consumers buy the product not because of price but for exclusiveness. Ex. Gucci, Ferrari

Broad Differentiation focuses on a wide scale market, which offers this segment an array of products. The products can range from expensive to cheap and but the product must be unique from the others. This is the competitive advantage of the strategy, which is to build customer value proposition and get a fair amount of profit margin. Business Model- consists of high profit margin and customer value proposition. SWOTStrengths- Brandy Loyalty, Solid value chain, culpable workforce, reliable shareholders. Illustrates the companys competitive advantage and how it should be used against other organizations, which lack it. Weaknesses- Lack of well placed investments, undiversified portfolio.

Opportunities- Resources allow the company to venture to other industries in the market.

Threats- entry barriers are too low. Scenario- A Company reaches the Fortune 500 with a good product which is differentiated from other. Now that they have attracted attention they must hide their competitive advantage well because it can easily copied by others.

Mergers and Acquisitions Strategy

Integration Strategy- are techniques on how to improve the main strategy by supporting it and producing synergy rather than disruptiveness

Balanced Scorecard- the scorecard keeps check of the goals and failures of each of the strategic goals. As a model of performance, the balanced scorecard is effective in that "it expresses the links between leading inputs (human and physical), processes, and lagging outcomes and focuses on the importance of managing these components to achieve the organization's strategic priorities.

Six Sigma- consists of 5 steps (DMAIC). Six Sigma improves the efficiency of operating activities and processes. The Basic principle of Six Sigma is that all work, which is done, requires processes, and these processes have variability, which is corrected by the statistical database system used. 1.Define 2. Measure 3. Analyze 4. Improve 5. Control

Divestiture Strategy- Selling a part of an organization or division. Profit earned will be used to raise capital for strategic acquisitions or investments. Divestiture can be part of an overall retrenchment strategy to rid an organization of businesses that are unprofitable, that require too much capital, or that does not fit well with the firm's other activities.

Source: Dyson, Robert (2002), Strategic development and SWOT analysis at the University of Warwick,

University of Warwick http://www.executive.org/bibliography/policy.pdf http://www.pimaweb.org/conference/june2003/pdfs/Supply_Chain.pdf Gamble, Thompson & Peteraf (2009) Essentials of Strategic Management, McGrawhill International