OROMIA STATE UNIVERSITY

SHOOL OF LEADERSHIP AND GOVER

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

M.A PROGRAME/COURE LCM 531

Title: -Strategic management individual assignment II Different questions

Submitted by: - Beyene Gizaw Bedane ID.PG /LCM /R/13 /0103

Submitted to: - Abdissa Desalegn Gudeta (Asst.professor)

Email: abdissa.de@gmail.com

Date: October 2021

Batu Ethiopia
1. How do the levels of strategy differ between organizations?
The Levels of strategies differs between organizations in that, corporate strategy applies to large
organizations/companies which are divided into a number of discrete and fairly autonomous unit.
Holding companies are typical of this type of organization in which a number of companies are
grouped together, usually for financial reasons such as the efficient allocation of capital and
investment. Corporate level strategies are concerned with the direction of the firm and with the
management of its product lines and business units. Business level strategy applicable in those
organizations, which have different business and each business, is treated as strategic business
unit. Business level strategy it focuses on improving the competitive position of a company’s
business units’ product or service within the specific industry or market segments that the
company services. Functional or oppressional strategy which focuses on functional departments
or divisions of organizations. Most organizations have some elements of a functional or
divisional structure in which people focus on a particular specialization such as finance,
marketing, manufacturing, quality assurance, information systems and etc. Functional level
strategy is the approach a functional area takes to achieve corporate and business unit objects and
strategies by maximizing resource productivity. It is concentrated with developing and nurturing
a distinctive competence to provide accompany or business unit with a competitive advantage.
2. Explain the relationship between strategic management and competitive advantage for
firms. How can firm achieve sustained competitive advantage?
The relation between strategic management and competitive advantage is that: -
The strategic management is a planning for both predictable as well as unfeasible contingencies.
It is applicable to both small as well as large organizations as even the smallest organization face
competition and, by formulating and implementing appropriate strategies; they can perform or
attain sustainable competitive advantages. It is also about identification and description of the
strategy that managers can carry so as to achieve better performance and a competitive advantage
for the organization while competitive advantage is its profitability is higher or greater than the
advantage profitability for all companies in its industries. The firm achieves sustained
competitive advantage when it became strong competitive advantages are related to the ability of
each company to: -

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  Focus on customers’ needs
 Enhance business success
 Be durable, lasting and inimitable by competitors
 Be based on company’s core competencies
 Promote a continuous improvement environment
 Guarantee direction and inspiration to the whole organization
Strategic management is not a form of competitive advantage but it can help create a competitive
advantage. strategic management allows a firm to develop un rivaled competencies such as
marketing, design and manufacturing. These competencies can allow a firm to create competitive
advantage. For example, a firm with the competence of marketing can use it to gain the
competitive advantage of superior reputation. Strategic management is all about gaining and
maintaining competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is a company’s ability to attract a
new customer at a faster rate than its competitors are able to because its products or services are
viewed by customers as being superior. An advantage is referred to as sustainable if the company
can maintain the advantage over time. A firm to achieve competitive advantage, firms need to
constantly focus on the identification of differential product strategies, building or reshaping core
competencies, acquiring unique technologies, and accumulation of intellectual property, all of
which can all be harnessed to make the company successful in a highly competitive marketplace.
A flair for Innovation: -some firms are adept at innovating bringing new products or services to
market that are an improvement over what has been available in the past in terms of meeting
customer needs. Successful innovation allows the company to attract new customers and also
retain existing ones because they continue to be completely satisfied with the solution to their
needs the company is offering. To foster innovation, a manager or CEO should encourage
employees to express their ideas about improving any aspect of the business’s operations. These
good ideas can evolve into innovations that ensure the company’s continued success
Superior customer service: -providing consistently excellent customer service helps you sustain
your competitive advantage, because this leads to higher customer satisfaction. Customers who
are totally satisfied have little reason to consider doing business with competitors. In evaluating

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-which company to do business with, customers look beyond price and product features to also
measure how much the company demonstrates that it cares about them as individuals with
individual needs. a loyal customer base is extremely valuable, because it represents an ongoing
revenue stream.
Lower cost: -if a firm can produce and market goods for a lower unit cost than his competitors, a
firm can build an advantage over time, because a firm will be able to charge a lower price and
still maintain high profit margin.
Proprietary Features: -A company with a patent on a technology may be able to sustain its
competitive advantage because rival firms cannot duplicate the product or service the company
offers.
Brand Equity: -company’s brand strength can be a powerful tool to sustain company’s
competitive advantages.
3. Take practically your organization and the organization you well know. By discussing
with employees of the organization list three external opportunities, three external threats,
three internal strength, three internal weakness observed in organization?
To answer above raised question I communicate and discussed with some of Batu town
educational office workers. Our discussion was focused on the issue of organization’s especially
regarding to how they are planning, implementing and how they are evaluating the strategy of
the organization. Depending on the discussion I try to identify some external opportunities, some
external threats, some internal strength and some internal weaknesses of the organization.
Identified external opportunities
 Government and political leaders were giving more attention for educational issues by
evaluating every week about peace in the school, drop out of the students, migration of
girls and how is the work involved
 Having well developed and interesting educational policy
 The schools are treated by different committee like PTA and school boards
Identified external threats
 When rising price of things, the students may have no ability to survive it. Like uniform,
exercise book, pen pencil etc.

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  Those who have different political ideology might be trying to hold their ideology on
students
 Fear of Covid 19 case may be spread more.
Identified internal Strengths
 Evaluation of the work done monthly and quarterly
 Minimizing the dropout rate of the students
 Awarding those outstanding and having good performance teachers
Identified internal weaknesses
 Lack of decision and action to solve the problems budget and logistics
 Focusing on day to day (routine)activity rather than focusing on strategic issues
 Lack of well educational facility among schools
4. What is the fundamental difference between business strategy and military strategy in
terms of basic assumptions? Compare and contrast them.
Fundamental difference between military and business strategy is that business strategy is
formulated, implemented, and evaluated with an assumption of competition; whereas military
strategy is based on an assumption of conflict. Strategy in a military situation is either a win or
a loss. The strategy aims at achieving military objectives by employing the least effort. The
ultimate goal is to paralyze the opponents will continue the conflict and end t war. However, in
business strategy is a means to achieve business objectives not stopping a competitor’s business
continuity. With military planning and doctrine centers on one enemy and the purpose is to
design the best approach that bring the enemy down.  The result in business strategy may be win-
win or win-lose. A business objective concerns our means of achieving goals but not on another
party’s objectives. Whereas with business, we have financial survival in the military we have
physical survival. Finally, the key aim of both business strategy and military strategies are to
gain competitive advantages. Their differences by the way or by the means of how formulating,
implementing and evaluating their strategy depending on their organizational rules and
regulations

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5. Explain how the internet is changing business around the world? The internet might be
change business around the world in different ways.
The internet is changing business around the world since the industrial revolution the
introduction of the assembly line has business under go such rapid change as it has since the
birth of the internet. The technological revolution of the last 20 years has fundamentally changed
the ways that the business does business with each other. Their costumers, their suppliers and
business partners. How costumer’s discoverer a business’s products goods and service is no
longer bounded by geography. People can shop the globe for goods and service that meet their
needs at a price they are willing to pay we can classify the technology used in business in to
several broad categories. Like computer, software, networking, telephone system, accounting
system and computer aided manufacturing system. After the development of internet or World
Wide Web the business is no longer dependent on its local customer base for survival; it now has
access to a worldwide audience for its products and services.
The internet has made the business faster: - Before the internet era, business had to wait for a
major business document to be delivered through post office, and meetings always meant going
for a face-to-face date with a prospect. Today, it only takes less than a second to send and receive
an email and meetings can be done through Skype regardless of the physical location of business
prospect. What’s more, automated tasking systems have cut down on organizational bureaucracy,
streamlining operations and adding responsiveness to interactions.
The internet has changed the way the businesses advertise: -when the way customer buys product
or service changed, advertising techniques also changed accordingly. Even when customers are
in a store, they still go on line to compare the different products available, businesses have
adopted on line marketing strategies to ensure that they provide all the information needed by
consumers. An increasing number of companies are gaining competitive advantage by using the
internet for direct selling, for communication with suppliers, customers, creditors, partners, stake
holders, clients and competitors who may be dispersed globally, for example E-commerce allow
firms to sell products, advertise, purchase supplies by pass intermediaries, track inventory,
eliminate paper work and share information.

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In total E-commerce is minimizing the expense and cumbersomeness of time, distance and space
in doing business thus yielding better customer
service, greater efficiency, improved product and high profitability. With the advent of internet
marketing, business must stay abreast of the needs of its customers. Competition is no longer
localized a business now has competition all over the world. It is imperative that a business know
what its customers want and deliver it. Businesses use the internet to research new product ideas,
new methods of creating products and pricing information, a business can also research the
competition to see what products and services are offered. if a business is looking to expand in to
a particular location, the internet can be used to research the population, its needs and what
products and services would sell best in that area which leads to some change on those
businesses.
6. What is strategic management and list at least seven advantages of strategic
management?
Strategic management is a set of managerial decision and actions that decide the long-term
performance of firms. It consists of the decisions and actions used to formulate and implement
strategies that will provide a competitively superior fit between the organization and its
environment, to enable it to achieve organizational objectives. It can also be described as the
process of management needed to enable an organization to move from where it is now to where
it wants to be in the future. It is about a sense of direction and aligning this with an
organization’s aims.
Strategic management can be described as providing an organization with a sense of purpose a
mapping out of the future direction to be taken, and developing policies and actions in order to
put the purpose into practice. Also, strategic management is organized approach to manage
strategic change which consists of: -
 Positioning of the firm through strategy and capability planning
 Real time strategic response through issue management
 Systematic management of resistance during strategic implementation.
Strategic management comprises of strategic intent, environmental scanning both internal and
external and strategy formulation (strategic planning) strategy implementation, evaluation and
control
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Advantages of strategic management
 Increasing market share and profitability
 Identifying strategic directions and discharges responsibility
 Avoiding competitive convergence
 Business longevity
 Creating better future
 Financial benefit
 Non-financial benefit
 Facilitates to make wise business decisions
 Ensures allocation of resource.
7. It was observed that some of the organizations will not have strategic planning
document. Visit such organization and list why they do not have strategic planning? If you
do not come across organizations who do not have strategic planning describe with
example how an organization having strategic planning uses the plan?
As we know some number of organizations have not strategic planning document due to
different reasons. Religious bodies have no strategic planning document. For example, as I try to
communicate or interview Orthodox Church the administer of St. Sillasie North Shoa Jidda
woreda they have no strategic planning document. They are especially belief in God and they are
thinking all things are done by the God, if there is a God no cheating, no corruption and all
things are alimentally involved by the God permission.
 Viewing strategic planning is not needed for the church since they are not seeking the
profit it is needed for the world as they think
 Thinking as strategic planning is not needed for religious place
 Lack of awareness and experience concerning to strategic planning
 Lack of technical support from governmental concerned bodies
 Inability to think strategic planning as way of success
 Lack of coherence and control in organizational process
8. Describe why a mission statement is so important in the strategic management process?
In strategic management process a mission statement is very necessary. Because since strategic

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management process is described as an objective, logical and systematic approach for making
major decisions in an organization, mission statement serve as a guide for all organization’s
decision making and also it is the primary guidance in creating plans, strategies or making daily
decisions. Moreover, mission statement is an important communication tool that conveys
information about organization’s products, services, targeted customers, geographic markets,
philosophies, values and plans for future growth to all of its stake holders. In other words, every
major reason why organization exists reflected in its mission, so any employee, supplier,
customer or community would understand the driving force behind organization’s operations.
Generally, a mission statement is so important in strategic management process in such a way
that: -
 provide general direction, clear purpose and serve as an organizational goal or agenda
 informs organization’s stake holders about its plans and goals
 serves as an effective public relations tool
 provides basis for allocating resources
 unifies employees’ efforts in pursuing company goals
 guides strategic or daily decision making
 provide motivation
 It should help workers within the organization know what decisions and tasks best align
with the mission of an organization.

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