MGT 300 1st Edition Lecture 7 Outline of Current Lecture II Strategy III Positioning IV SWOT V Porter Current Lecture BASICS Strategy o large scale action plan that sets the direction for an organization Strategic management o process that involves managers from all parts of the organization in the formulation and the implementation of strategies and strategic goals Positioning attempts to achieve sustainable competitive advantage by preserving what is distinctive about a company performing different activities from rivals or performing similar activities in different ways Few needs many customers Broad needs few customers Broad needs many customers Growth strategy o involves expansion as in sales revenues market share number of employees or number of customers Stability o involves little or no significant change Defensive o involves reduction in the organization s efforts o retrenchment SWOT These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Environmental scanning o carefully monitoring of an organization s internal and external environments to detect early signs of opportunities and threats that may influence the firm s plans o Organizational strengths skills and capabilities that give the organization special competencies and competitive advantages in executing strategies o Organizational weaknesses drawbacks that hinder an organization in executing strategies in pursuit of its mission Examples culture IT infrastructure company image o Organizational opportunities environmental factors that the organization may exploit for competitive advantage o Organizational threats environmental factors that hinder an organization s achieving a competitive Examples technological change government intervention Porters 5 forces Threat of new entrants Bargaining power of suppliers o easy supplier switching Bargaining power of buyers o bigger customers get better deals Threat of substitute products or services Rivalry among competitors o level of competition