Strategic Management

Q1 ans
Introduction
Strategic management is no longer viewed as a fancy word that leaders use in
their job descriptions or roles and responsibilities. It has become the job of
every person who is a part of the organization. If you were to undertake
a strategic management certificate course, it will share how your role, big or
small, has the potential to impact the organization’s overall performance in a
strategic manner.
Strategic management actually means discovering and then creating new
strategies that will define the way the organization looks. These strategies
involve people, processes, internal and external stakeholders, programs,
policies, vendors and every possible element that forms an organization. Let us
see how this concept has some core principles.
The role of strategic management is to help a company identify its strengths
and leverage those. The concept involves knowing what makes the company
has its own unique character and depth. It also means using that uniqueness to
manage the business strategy to realize its overall goals.
Concepts and applications
Nokia is a mobile telecommunications enterprise which not only offers mobile
phones but also provides people with every day solutions. They assist
businesses by providing network solutions which helps them to communicate
and establish a good connection.
Nokia is the one of the oldest mobile brand. Initially it was a paper mill
company in South West Finland. They also manufactured car tyres, electricity
and televisions, boots, some other rubber products. It then transformed in to a
leading global telecommunications company connecting more than 1.3 billion
people. They also manufactured electricity and televisions.
Recently Nokia underwent some changes in its organizational restructure. This
has lead to the changes in its Mission, strategies, revising of its goals and
setting up of clear objectives. Official website of Nokia states “Our goal is to be
a good corporate citizen where ever we operate, as a responsible and
contributing member of society”. Nokia aids youngsters in setting long term
projects which would help them achieve their goals. Nokia aims to fulfill its
goals and mission by bringing in different strategies like “Expand mobile voice,
drive consumer multimedia and bring extended mobility to enterprises”.
In this project, we have discussed the history of Nokia. We have explained the
various employee related issues that took place at different units of Nokia in
India. Finally we have recommended what they could have followed to solve
these issues.

The mobile handsets revolution has changed the lifestyle of consumers by

giving them a faster way to reach their near and dear ones, by making their life
easier in more ways than one. The growth drivers for mobile handsets can be
attributed to the telecom service providers and off late, it is also the mobile
phone applications that are fuelling the increasing adoption of mobile phones
as they give the consumers a whole range of new services he/she can avail by
using a mobile phone.

Mobile phones in India are fast changing into a commodity with the entry of
numerous players in the market and similarity of offerings by the existing
competition. Exhibit 7 shows the change in consumer decision making that has
occurred over the years in the Indian mobile handsets market. It has changed
from a High Involvement-Low Experience product to a Low Involvement-High
Experience product.

Mobile phones are mainly divided into 4 categories in the handsets industry in
India:

Smart Phones: These are essentially the high end phones which have many
features and have the internet accessibility capabilities and Wi-Fi technology.
This space is mainly dominated by the multinational brands like Nokia,
Samsung, Blackberry, and Sony Ericsson.

Conclusion
The strategic management process also involves tracking the strategies that
have been defined, to understand if they are continuing to remain effective or
there is some course correction needed. This is key for understanding the
overall impact of the strategies and the gap from what was defined or
expected, to what was finally achieved.

Overall strategic management is not just about planning on paper, but also
overseeing the implementation of the strategy and then monitoring its
effectiveness. That is then followed by incorporating the feedback into the next
round of re-strategizing so that the expected results can be achieved.
As far as Nokia is concerned it is a company belonging to the Mobile Industry.
It is a known fact to everyone that the mobile industry is growing at a rapid
pace. In order to withstand the cut throat competition in the mobile industry
the HR manager of Nokia should not be afraid to make legal and ethical
decisions.

Q2 ans
Introduction
Our commitment to Corporate Parenting is underpinned by our belief that:

• the family (birth or extended) is usually the best place for bringing up
children and young people and early help is better for children and
young people
• services we offer must be safe and effective and focus on outcomes
• our young people need and deserve support from trusted adults
• the role of the Corporate Parent is to act as the best possible parent for
each child in care and care leaver to advocate on their behalf to secure
positive outcomes
• we need to provide strong professional development and support to our
children’s workforce, including foster carers and partners to enable
them to be effective
• all our children and young people deserve respect and the promotion of
equality of opportunity

Concepts and applications

The responsibility of local authorities to improve outcomes and actively
promote the life chances of their children in care and care leavers is referred to
as ‘Corporate Parenting’. This is because it must be shared by the whole
authority in partnership with relevant agencies and parents. The role of the
‘Corporate Parent’ is to act as the best possible parent for each child, to speak
out on her/his behalf, arrange for appropriate services to meet their needs,
stand up for them and represent them as needed to ensure they grow up to
achieve the best possible outcomes.
Children can be in care in a range of different settings, with the authority
acting as corporate parent to all of them. This includes foster care, children’s
homes, secure children’s homes, young offender institutions, secure training
centres and kinship care. Every councillor and officer within a council has a
responsibility to act for those children and young people as a parent would for
their own child.
Elected members and senior managers will provide the political and
professional leadership of our corporate parenting commitment set out in our
pledges and for setting the culture of the Council as a conscious and dedicated
Corporate Parent.
1. Flexibility

Depending on the scope of work, offering flexibility to working

parents goes a long way and establishes a children-come-first approach.
Allowing working parents to manage their work during a time of
need can create a sense of loyalty and trust for working parents.

2. Convenience

Providing convenient services or resources can be a plus for working

parents to get life necessities taken care of at the workplace. On-site
amenities can vary from big-ticket items like childcare and fitness
centers to delivery services, take-home dinners, onsite car washes or oil
changes. These types of services help free up personal time so working
parents can have a more fulfilling experience with their family.

3. Child Care Benefits

This benefit can be a considerable asset for employee retention and is

offered in a variety of ways including different programs such as
discounted child care, on-site or nearby child care services. These
offerings can help working parents decrease stress levels, provide
shorter commutes and give them the ability to spend more time with
their children.

4. Flex and Dependent Care Assistance Programs

Offering a flex and dependent care assistance program is a huge asset

for working parents to help pay for a portion of healthcare or child care
services on a pre-tax basis. Many employers already offer this benefit,
but in many cases, it’s underutilized because of the lack of
understanding. Providing resources to promote or introduce this benefit
to employees will help working parents save money but also give them a
better understanding of how the entire benefits package fits into their
needs.
 5. Real Maternity and Paternity Leave

Whether for one week, six weeks, twelve weeks or more, this offering
can help working parents tremendously through this significant life
event. Exhibiting support for the employee as they navigate the
parenthood experience conveys that the work relationship is meant for
the long-term. Employees will be grateful for the opportunity to spend
time with their child and be more energized and ready to return to work.

6. Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Services

Reminding employees of their EAP offering or providing a stand-alone

benefit can help employees with a wide range of resources, referrals and
education. From mental health support for all stages of parenting to
services and activities like college coaching, financial counseling,
qualified childcare services and support to all family members.

7. Family Friendly Discounts

These offerings provide value by encouraging employees and working

parents to have fun outside the office with their families. Giving
discounted tickets to movies, amusement parks programs for children
and coupons for family-friendly restaurants can help establish family
outing traditions. Typically, this type of offering would require minimal
investment for any organization, but the benefit will go a long way for
employees and their children.

Conclusion
A parent company is a company that owns more than 50% of the outstanding
voting shares of another company. Therefore, it controls the other company or
companies and can directly influence the business’ operations or take a more
hands-off approach on ownership.
A parent company typically actively manages its own ventures and makes
purchases to aid in its overall operations with its other subsidiaries. Parent
companies are most commonly created by mergers and acquisitions or
through spin-offs. The subsidiaries can be vertically or horizontally integrated
to help improve the parent company’s structure.
3a ans
Introduction
The capability of utilizing the resources in a harmonized way for attaining
definite objectives is known as competence. Moreover, competence is
associated with the processes and relations existing between the resources of
an organisation, usually rooted in the definite organisational units, namely
marketing sales production logistics, etc. Competency is a firm's ability to
perform an activity in a better way. Competencies are developed by farm over
time with practice and learning new experiences. It is important to note here,
that the good performance of the firm cannot be attributed mainly to the
assets as anyone can copy or buy them but the real secret lies in the way the
resources are organized in order to create business competence.
For example, until the person is allowed to utilize his knowledge for the
betterment of the organisational performance, his knowledge will not prove to
be useful for the organisation Though a basic level of competence is desirable
in all spheres of activities and procedures of the organisation, very few can
become the core competencies of the organisation.
Concepts and applications
Core Competencies

The core competences are the abilities which help the business to attain the
competitive edge over the rival firms. Firms in today's market scenario
compete with each other to possess a specific capability in the same way a
company tries to acquire market position and power. Since it is not possible for
the top management to oversee every business activity and their related
competencies, the top management should therefore concentrate on the
competencies which would provide a competitive edge to the organisation.
Effects of synergy are represented in terms of competencies. Core
competencies should not be static in nature; rather they should be somewhat
dynamic and adaptable according to the changing environment and growing
opportunities of the business. These competencies develop and emerge with
the passage of time. Therefore, competencies should be flexible so that they
can be modified as per the changing circumstances.
A distinctive competence can be regarded as the exclusive gathering of the
capabilities and rigidity acquired by an organisation over the years, which
represents unique characteristic of the organisation. These competencies are
developed by continuously accepting the commitments while adjusting the
organisational policies as per the internal and external demands. These
adjustments affect the organisations capability to formulate and implement
preferred policies that too at a broad level. A distinctive competence cannot be
regarded merely as a technique for achieving success, but also as a base for
achieving company goodwill, staff loyalty, value. and reason for existence.

Distinctive competence can be defined as a competitive ability of a company to

accomplish itself as an assorted entity among the competitors. Having a
distinctive competence signifies that the organisation possesses superior and
rare resources as compared to the competitors. At times, the firm may
outperform in an activity which could become core competence. But only if the
firm has the ability to perform a particular activity far better than the rivals in
the industry, then only that ability can be termed as a distinctive competence.
Therefore, it can be concluded that a distinctive competence represents a
competitively superior source of strength.
Conclusion
The organisations can have core competencies which would be difficult for the
competitors to imitate, These competencies may exist in different spheres of
business such as technology, production, engineering proficiency, etc. Usually
the technological competence helps the organisation to win the heart of their
customers by providing them a number of superior products and services. A
single core competence of the organisation can help it to come up with many
new products and new growth avenues.
The chain expertise decides the production and distribution of goods, i.e.,
proficiency in supply of raw materials, transformation of raw material into
finished products, distribution of the final good, and finally the waste disposal.
The organisation can acquire expertise in the combination of some of the areas
such as research and development, design, distribution, production, retailing,
after-sale services, waste management, etc.
Q3b ans
Introduction
Many Business firms and Entrepreneurs Hustle to grow their business and
strive to be more competitive in the marketplace.
Those firms adopt various tools, and frameworks like VRIO Framework as a
part of their strategic scheme.
If your company plans to execute these tools for development strategy, then
you should start with a Vision statement. And continue with objectives,
internal and external analysis of the organization.
VRIO framework is a strategic tool used to analyze the firm’s resources and
capabilities to achieve a competitive advantage.
Concepts and applications
The VRIO framework is a strategic analytical tool that assists firms in
identifying and protecting the abilities and knowledge that use them as a long-
term competitive edge. So if you have a business that has one or several long-
term comparative edges, a VRIO study can assist every manager and owner in
identifying and using it as a part of your strategy.
Valuable

To begin with, things must be valued. Whenever a company’s resources allow

it to attain long-term competitive advantage are they useful. Resources must
be used to facilitate objectives, act on opportunities, or minimize dangers.
They also should enhance effectiveness. The VRIO analysis example may utilize
to help the quantitative value of the output and even if none of an
organization’s assets are deemed helpful, it is at a disadvantage in comparison.

Rare

The resources have to be rare. If just a few firms can obtain a commodity, that
source of information is termed uncommon. If multiple participants in a
market possess accessibility to a precious commodity, then each of them can
use this in the same ways. So none of the players benefit from that resource in
creating a competitive advantage. The rareness from the vrio framework
example is referred to as competitiveness or competitive fairness. If a
corporation has access to a lot of valuable and rare things, it is possible to
benefit from a short competitive edge.

Inimitable

Valuable information resources enable organizations to present to find that

other businesses cannot. Unfortunately, this is no assurance of a lengthy
competitive edge. Such assets may provide a corporation with a first-mover
advantage, but rivals are likely to want to replicate them. According to vrio
analysis under the inimitable, resources that really are difficult and costly to
replicate or replace are much more valued.
Organization

Without a strong organization, every business cannot obtain, utilize, or

manage its resources effectively. his is true even for businesses with valuable,
rare, and imitable materials. An organizational asset cannot be used to
maintain its competitiveness if it lacks organization. Once all four resource
traits are present, a firm possesses a particular competency that may be
exploited to create a long-term market edge.

Conclusion
VRIO framework is just an abbreviation that stands for a four-question that
focuses on value, rarity, imitability, and organization. This framework is a
strategy tool that assists organizations in identifying the resources and skills
that will provide them with a long-term competitive edge. Companies often
have a range of resources and competencies. Such resources might be
economic, personal, organizational, material, or technical in origin, for
instance. External analysis is defined as the process that aids in determining
the quality and usefulness of a company’s resources and skills.
END