Strategies of Various Industrial Sectors

By

Hitesh Solanki
MBA 2nd Semester
K.N.V. Institute of Business Management
Metoda, Rajkot-360 003
 

* Indian industries: strategies, trends and opportunities

Retail is India's largest industry, accounting for over 10 per cent of the country's GDP and around eight per cent of the employment. Retail industry in India is at the crossroads. It has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast paced industries with several players entering the market. But because of the heavy initial investments required, break even is difficult to achieve and many of these players have not tasted success so far. However, the future is promising; the market is growing, government policies are becoming more favorable and emerging technologies are facilitating operations.

Retailing in India is gradually inching its way toward becoming the next boom industry. The whole concept of shopping has altered in terms of format and consumer buying behavior, ushering in a revolution in shopping in India. Modern retail has entered India as seen in sprawling shopping centers, multi-storied malls and huge complexes offer shopping, entertainment and food all under one roof. The Indian retailing sector is at an inflexion point where the growth of organized retailing and growth in the consumption by the Indian population is going to take a higher growth trajectory. The Indian population is witnessing a significant change in its demographics. A large young working population with median age of 24 years, nuclear families in urban areas, along with increasing working-women population and emerging opportunities in the services sector are going to be the key growth drivers of the organized retail sector in India.

* WHAT IS "STRATEGY"?

* Consists of competitive moves & business approaches to produce successful performance
* Management's "game plan" for
  - Running the business
  - Strengthening firm's competitive position
  - Satisfying customers
  - Achieving performance targets

* THINKING STRATEGICALLY: THREE BIG STRATEGIC QUESTIONS

1. Where Are We Now?
2. Where Do We Want To Go?
* Business positions management wants to stake out
* Financial outcomes to achieve
* Strategic outcomes to achieve
3. How Will We Get There?

* FIVE TASKS OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

1. Defining business, stating a mission, & forming a strategic vision
2. Setting measurable objectives
3. Crafting a strategy to achieve objectives
4. Implementing & executing strategy
5. Evaluating performance, reviewing new developments, & initiating corrective adjustments

* DEVELOPING A VISION & MISSION

* Begins with thinking strategically
  - About firm's future makeup &
  - Forming vision of firm's future in 5-10 years
  - Task is to
    - Inject sense of purpose into firm's activities
    - Provide LONG-TERM DIRECTION
    - Decide "WHO we are, WHAT we do, & WHERE we are headed"

* Give firm STRONG ID SPECIFIC QUESTIONS THAT HELP FORM STRATEGIC VISIONS

* What business are we in now?
* What business do we want to be in?
* What will our customers want in future?
* What are expectations of our stakeholders?
* Who will be our future competitors? Suppliers? Partners?
* What should our competitive scope be?
* How will technology impact our industry?
* What environmental scenarios are possible? ENTITY

* WHY A SHARED VISION MATTERS

* A strategic vision widely shared among all employees functions similar to how a magnet aligns iron filings
* When all employees are committed to firm's long-term direction, optimum choices on business decisions are more likely
  - Individuals & teams know intent of firm's strategic vision
  - Daily execution of strategy is improved

* EXAMPLES: MISSION / VISION STATEMENTS

AVIS RENT-A-CAR

Our business is renting cars. Our mission is total customer satisfaction.

McCormick & COMPANY

The primary mission is to expand our worldwide leadership position in the spice, Seasoning, and flavoring markets.

SATURN DIVISION OF GM

To market vehicles developed and manufactured in the U.S. that are world leaders in quality, cost, and customer satisfaction through the integration of people, technology, and business systems and to transfer knowledge, technology, and experience throughout GM.

* Innovative strategies in Indian corporations for a dynamic economy

The current business environment in India is marked by staggering contrast. The country represents one of the world's largest market opportunities, yet it is also one of the most complex and demanding regarding management and execution. Achieving breakthrough business success in India requires overcoming a host of challenges— infrastructure, recruitment, bureaucracy—by deploying proven management strategies and leveraging the latest technological innovations in enterprising ways.

In this program, renowned professors from Stanford's Graduate School of Business and School of Engineering apply their latest research to the unique dynamics of Indian business. In addition, both Mr. Narayana Murthy (Chairman and Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies) and Mr. Mukesh Ambani (Chairman, Reliance Industries Limited) will deliver keynote addresses, and interactive panel discussions will showcase the opinions of multiple thought leaders regarding how the future of global competition and information technology will affect Indian business.

* Do talk on strangers; encouraging per formative ties to get competitive advantage.

Imagine the following situation: You are a consultant who has just been assigned to a new project at your firm, and your first major presentation is in a week. Unfortunately, your client's problem isn't something you have any expertise in. Chances are, according to research by Sheen S. Levine, a professor at Singapore Management University who earned his PhD from Wharton; you would pick up the phone and make a call. In a recent study, Levine has found that often, what gives firms competitive advantage isn't just their repository of knowledge, but their use of "per formative ties" -- those impromptu communications made by colleagues who are strangers in which critical knowledge is transferred with no expectation of a quid pro quo. Levine and others explain how per formative ties function in daily practice and -- more importantly -- how managers can go about encouraging them.

* Innovative retention strategies for Indian BPOs.

Retention of Key employees is critical to the long term health and success of any organization. It is a known fact that retaining your best employees ensures customer satisfaction, increased product sales, satisfied colleagues and reporting staff, effective succession planning and deeply imbedded organizational knowledge and learning.

Employee retention matters as organizational issues such as training time and investment; lost knowledge; insecure employees and a costly candidate search are involved. Hence failing to retain a key employee is a costly Proposition for an organization various estimates suggest that losing a middle   manager   in most    organizations costs up to five times of his salary.

The BPOs in India face an enormous challenge in reducing attrition rate and this being a nascent industry needs to Draw parallels, examples from other industry practices as well as develop innovative Employee Relation Initiatives As highlighted below. This has been classified into three groups:

1. The Corporate level
2. Managerial/supervisory levels
3. Employee Recognition Initiatives

* 10 Key Benefits of a Strategic Management System

Which of these benefits are still missing in your organization?

1. Taking an organization-wide, proactive approach to a changing global world
2. Building an executive team that serves as a model of cross-functional or horizontal teamwork
3. Having an intense executive development and strategic orientation process
4. Defining focused, quantifiable outcomes measures of success
5. Making intelligent budgeting decisions
6. Clarifying your competitive advantage
7. Reducing conflict; empowering the organization
8. Providing clear guidelines for day-to-day decision making
9. Creating a critical mass for change
10. "Singing from the same hymnal" throughout the organization

* ASSESSING OVERALL INDUSTRY ATTRACTIVENESS

* Industry's market size & growth potential
* Whether industry will be favorably or unfavorably impacted by driving forces
* Potential for entry/exit of major firms
* Stability/dependability of demand
* Will competitive forces become stronger or weaker
* Severity of problems facing industry
* Degree of risk & uncertainty in industry's future

* CONCLUSION:

To review overall situation & develop conclusions about relative attractiveness or unattractiveness of the industry, both near- and long-term a firm uniquely well-suited in an otherwise unattractive industry can, under certain circumstances, still earn unusually good profits.
 

Hitesh Solanki
MBA 2nd Semester
K.N.V. Institute of Business Management
Metoda, Rajkot-360 003
 

Source: E-mail March 20, 2008

Occasional Papers Main Page