Strategic Management Essay

General Comments
This work reviews two theories. The overall structure is clear but the content is too descriptive. The integration between theory and practice is poor. Quite a few assertions that have no evidence. In text references are missing. Areas for improvement You need to source more of your information within the text and within the references. You need to be more critical in your analysis.

Students please note that this assignment was graded in the range 40 to
49%.

Corporate Strategy
UGB319

Comparison of Two
Models

2

CONTENTS

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..3

Overview and Critique of Theory 1
Overall Cost Leadership…………………………………………………………… 47
Differentiation……………………………………………………………………….. 79
Focus…………………………………………………………………………………....9

Overview and Critique of Theory 2
Market Penetration………………………………………………………………….. 10
Market Development………………………………………………………………… 11
Product Development………………………………………………………………...11
Diversification……………………………………………………………………..11, 12

The Stronger Strategy................................................................................12, 13

Recommendation and Conclusion……………………………………………… 13

References…………………………………………………………………………. ..14

3

Introduction

What makes a business successful? Some may say that it is the culture or belief which is incorporated within a company, others would argue to say that it is customer service or effective marketing. However, everyone would accept one factor which makes every organisation successful and that is strategy. Strategy has many definitions. Strategy can be meant as a plan or a ploy against opponents or competitors. Johnson and Scholes (Exploring Corporate Strategy,
2008) defines strategy as; "the direction and scope of an organisation over the longterm: which achieves advantage for the organisation through its configuration of resources within a challenging environment, to meet the needs of markets and to fulfil stakeholder expectations". The definition given in this text contains five major elements. First it mentions about the aim of the organisation in the longterm. Secondly, the definition refers to what external factors affect the ability of the business to compete. Third, it goes on to say the markets which the business should compete in and how can it gain competitive advantage. Fourth point is concerned about the resources that are required in order to compete.
And lastly it takes the expectations of the stakeholders into account and how to satisfy those expectations. When strategy is involved in the business environment and includes analysing long term courses of action and then deciding on which strategy to employ, that becomes strategic management.
Many business strategies have emerged through time that all claim to guarantee some form of success. Therefore the purpose of this assignment is to compare and contrast two popular strategic theories, give a critical overview of each and discover which theory is appropriate and more likely to ensure success for an organisation. This paper will take a qualitative approach, gathering information from academic texts and journals. The two strategic theories that will be compared against each other are Porter’s generic strategies and Ansoff’s Matrix.

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Overview and Critique of Theory 1
The first strategic theory that will be looked at is Porter’s generic strategies. The whole purpose of Porter’s generic strategies is to help organisation’s achieve competitive advantage.

Figure 1.1

Porter’s generic strategies framework comprises of three main elements. Overall cost leadership, differentiation and focus. Each of these three elements is now going to be looked at in more detail.
Overall Cost Leadership
Overall cost leadership is about reducing costs in products and services and

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