FUNCTIONAL STRATEGIES
EVERY BUSINESS UNIT DEVELOPS FUNCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR EACH MAJOR DEPARTMENT
• MARKETING STRATEGY
• FINANCIAL STRATEGY
• RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
• OPERATIONS STRATEGY
• PURCHASING STRATEGY
• LOGISTICS STRATEGY
• HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGY
• INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY
BASIC MARKET-PRODUCT STRATEGIES
THE CUSTOMER-PRODUCT DECISION
WHO IS OUR PRIMARY CUSTOMER?
WHAT KIND OF PRODUCT DO WE INTEND TO OFFER?
CUSTOMERS
EXISTING NEW
EXISTING - - - -
MARKET MARKET
PENETRATION DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCTS OR
- - - -SERVICES
PRODUCT DIVERSIFICATION
DEVELOPMENT INNOVATION
NEW - - - -
MARKETING STRATEGIES:
THE CUSTOMER-PRODUCT DECISION MARKET PENETRATION STRATEGY
(Stay in current markets with existing products)
INCREASE RATE OF PURCHASE/CONSUMPTION ATTRACT RIVAL’S CUSTOMERS
BUY OUT RIVALS
CONVERT NON-USERS INTO CURRENT USERS
MARKET DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (Find new markets for current products)
ENTER NEW GEOGRAPHICAL MARKETS FIND NEW USES FOR EXISTING PRODUCTS FIND NEW TARGET MARKETS
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
(Develop new products for existing markets)
IMPROVE FEATURES
IMPROVE QUALITY/RELIABILITY/DURABILITY ENHANCE AESTHETICS/STYLING
ADD MODELS
DIVERSIFICATION STRATEGY
(Develop new products for new markets)
THE 4 “P’S” OF MARKETING
• MARKETING MIX ISSUES – Product Strategy
Specifying the exact product or service to be offered
• New or existing product? …for new or existing customers?
– Promotion Strategy
How the product or service is to be communicated to customers
• “Push” - spend $$$ on promotions and discounts to push products
• “Pull” - spend $ to build brand awareness so consumers will ask for it by name
– Channel or “Place” Strategy
Selecting the method for distributing the product or service
• Distribute through dealer networks or through mass merchandisers?
• Sell directly to consumers through own stores or through internet?
– Price Strategy
Establishing a price for the product or service
• “Skim pricing” (high) when you are a pioneer
• “Penetration pricing” (low) builds market shares
• “Dynamic pricing” (prices vary frequently) based on demand/availability
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
CAPITAL ACQUISITIONS
– Debt Leverage, Stock Sales, & Gains from Operations
• Equity financing is preferred for related diversification
• Debt financing is preferred for unrelated diversification
• Leveraged buyouts (LBOs) make the acquired firm pay off the debt CAN WE GROW BY RELYING ON ONLY INTERNAL CASH FLOWS?
DO STOCK SALES DILUTE OWNERSHIP CONTROL?
DOES A LARGE DEBT RATIO CRIPPLE FUTURE GROWTH?
DOES STRONG LEVERAGE BOOST EARNINGS PER SHARE?
DOES HIGH DEBT DETER TAKEOVER ATTEMPTS?
DO MOST LBOs UNDERPERFORM 3-4 YEARS AFTER THE BUYOUT?
RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS
– Dividends, Stock Price, & Reinvestment
• Reinvest earnings in fast-growing companies
• Keeping the stockholders contented with consistent dividends
• Use of stock splits ( or reverses) to maintain high stock prices
• Tracking stock keeps interest in company, but doesn’t allow takeover
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES
• LEVEL OF INNOVATION
– Pioneer (Leader) v. Copy Cat (Follower)
• Technological leadership fits well with differentiation
• A “follower” strategy makes sense with cost-leader strategies
• Are we better at finding applications and customer adaptations than actually inventing something really new?
– Different types of R & D (basic, product, process)
• Where is the firm’s historic expertise / advantage?
• How competent are the R & D Personnel?
• ACQUISITION OF TECHNOLOGY
– Internally developed v. acquired from outside
• Technology “Scouts”
• Strategic Technology Alliances
• Acquire minority stake in promising high-tech ventures
OPERATIONS STRATEGIES
• MANUFACTURING LOCATION
– Internal Production v. Outsourcing
– Domestic Plants v. International Locations
• SYSTEM LAYOUT
– Product v. Process Layouts
• Job Shops v. Mass Production
• Job shop/small batch production fits well with a differentiation strategy
• Continuous production / dedicated transfer lines helps achieve cost leadership
• Use of robots and CAD/CAM v. Labor intense manufacturing
• Modular Manufacturing and just-in-time delivery of sub- assemblies
• Continuous improvement systems lower costs and increase
quality
PURCHASING STRATEGIES
• SOURCING COMPONENTS AND SUPPLIES
WHERE CAN THE HIGHEST QUALITY COMPONENTS BE FOUND?
– Outsourcing (our firm buys everything)
• Buying on the Open Market (Spot) (prices fluctuate)
• Long-Term Contracts with Multiple Suppliers (low bid)
• Sole Sourcing (only one supplier) improves quality
• Parallel Sourcing (two suppliers) provides protection
– Backward Integration (our firm has an ownership stake in the suppliers we use)
• Quasi-integration (minority ownership position in a supplier)
• Tapered (produce some of what we need, but not all)
• Full (produce all of our own needs)
– Use of Component Inventories v. Just-in-time supply delivery
LOGISTICS STRATEGIES
DO WE HAVE GOODS THAT MUST BE TRANSPORTED OR DELIVERED?
• TYPE OF MATERIALS TRANSPORTED (Bulky or Compact?)
– Raw Materials, Supplies, & Components – Finished Goods
• BEST MODE OF TRANSPORTATION
– AIR – RAIL – TRUCK – BARGE
DO WE WANT DEPENDABILITY, LOW COST, OR HIGH QUALITY SERVICE?
• OUTSOURCE TRANSPORTATION OR DO IT YOURSELF?
– CONTRACT WITH OTHERS
• Use Multiple Shippers v. Just One (UPS)?
• Consider batch deliveries v. Just-in-time arrangements?
– OWNERSHIP IN DISTRIBUTION CHAIN
• Quasi
• Tapered
• Full
HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGIES
• TALENT ACQUISITION
– Recruit from Outside v. Internal Development
– Require experienced, highly-skilled workers v. “we will train you”
– Offer “top dollar” wages & benefits v. mentoring and a career
• WORK ARRANGEMENTS
– Individual Jobs v. Team Positions
– Narrowly-defined jobs v. Positions with discretion and autonomy – On-premises Work v. Telecommuting Options
• MOTIVATION & APPRAISAL
– Extrinsic v. Intrinsic Reward Systems
– Assessment for development v. assessment for rewards
– Incentives for ideas & originality v. incentives for conformity?
INFORMATION SYSTEMS STRATEGIES
WORKER PRODUCTIVITY & CONNECTIVITY
– Employees can be networked together across the globe – Instant translation software for global firms
– “Follow the Sun Management”…pass projects on to the next team
SALES & INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
– Internet sales and development of customer databases – Instant sales reports allow immediate inventory reorders
SHIPPING & TRACKING GOODS
– FEDEX PowerShip software…stores addresses, prints labels, etc.
– Tracking the progress of package shipment…FEDEX & UPS
WHICH FUNCTIONS CAN WE OUTSOURCE?
• GLOBAL OUTSOURCING – INCREASES EFFICIENCY & QUALITY
– Averages 9% reduction in costs and 15% increase in capacity and quality – Up to 70% of Boeing planes are outsourced..built in just 4 mos v. 1 year
• AMA SURVEY -- 94% OUTSOURCE AT LEAST ONE ACTIVITY
– 78% General & Administrative activities – 77% Human Resources
– 66% Transportation & Distribution – 63% Information Systems
– 56% Manufacturing – 51% Marketing
– 18% Finance & Accounting
25% were disappointed in their outsourcing results 51% brought the outsourced activity back “in-house”
• MOST LIKELY ACTIVITIES TO OUTSOURCE
– Customer Service
– Bookkeeping/Financial/Clerical – Sales/Telemarketing
– Software Programming
OUTSOURCING DISADVANTAGES
• CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS & UNEXPECTED DELAYS
• LOCKED INTO LONG-TERM CONTRACTS THAT AREN’T COMPETITIVE
• THE FIRM DOESN’T LEARN NEW SKILLS & DEVELOP CORE COMPETENCIES
A SURVEY OF 129 OUTSOURCING FIRMS
Half of the projects undertaken failed to achieve the anticipated savings
Software produced in India had 10% more bugs than comparable US projects SEVEN MAJOR OUTSOURCING ERRORS
• Outsourcing activities that shouldn’t be outsourced
– Failed to keep core activities “in-house”
• Selecting the wrong vendor
– Picked a vendor that wasn’t trustworthy, or who lacks state-of-the art processes
• Writing a poor contract
– Balance of power favors the vendor…locked in over a long period of time
• Overlooking personnel issues… my area of expertise was outsourced!
• Losing Control over the Outsourced Activity… We’re at their mercy!
• Overlooking the hidden costs of outsourcing… Transaction fees?
• Failing to plan an exit strategy… How can we reverse out of this deal?
SUCCESSFUL OUTSOURCING
KEY TO SUCCESS :
ONLY OUTSOURCE ACTIVITIES THAT ARE NOT RELATED TO THE FIRM’S DISTINCTIVE COMPETENCIES
TOTAL VALUE-ADDED to Firm’s
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
LOW HIGH
HIGH - - - -
