Strategic Options : Aramex 's Main Strategic Issue Essay

While faced with competitive markets and globalization, companies are always looking for ways to improve their overall cost and pricing structure. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to maintain quality levels of service while providing good and services at rates where companies can remain profitable.

Table of Contents Situational Analysis Appendices External Analysis Appendix A: S.W.O.T. Analysis Appendix B: External Trend/Issue Analysis Appendix C: Environmental Trends/Issues Plot Appendix D: Stakeholder Map Appendix E: Service Area Profile Appendix F: Service Area Structural Analysis Appendix G: Service Area Competitor Analysis Appendix H: Critical Success Factor Analysis Appendix I: Mapping Competitors Appendix J: Synthesizing the Analysis Internal Analysis Appendix K: Financial Analysis Appendix L: Value Chain Strengths and Weaknesses Appendix M: Value Chain Competitive Advantages Relative to Strengths

The organization strategic plan consists of addressing clinical quality, growth, and becoming a larger part of the community, and providing long term value. The annual report states the following strategic goals (Bon Secours, 2012):

The strategic objectives for Qantas’ future intent are to mitigate potential risks. This can be

In today’s highly competitive market, the continuous changes that are occurring in the social, politic and economic environment create serious challenges in the corporate world. Corporations cannot afford to do business as usual if they want to remain in the game and be successful. In order to achieve their goals and objectives, they need to evolve, adapt, learn and apply different new strategies that will help them secure long-run success and performance. Among those strategies, we are going to discuss ten of them and their advantages in connection with corporation’s goals and objectives.

Service innovation. Customers are open to increasingly outsourcing supply chain and logistics activities to third parties. Flexible and innovative solutions are highly important to gain and retain profitable market share.

ASOS is an international fashion retailer, which offers an extensive line of products, varying from high street to

Tangible goods, or rather manufactured goods, have been the dominant medium of exchange for centuries. However, recent decades have proved that it is no longer the case as there has been a prevalence of being service oriented (Vargo and Lusch, 2004:1-2). Services, as defined by Vargo and Lusch (2004), are  “the application of specialized competences (knowledge and skills) through deeds, processes, and performances for the benefit of another entity or the entity itself (p.2).” Utilizing services gives businesses an edge, a competitive advantage, particularly in an evolving competitive market, something which Metalfrio is definitely part of (Vargo and Lusch, 2004:9).  Those businesses that learn to adapt tend to do well. In addition, Vargo and Lusch (2004) write this shift to services is also a shift from producer perspective to a customer perspective (p.2). Thus, it leads to more of a collaborative effort where co-creation leads to adding value to the service rather than a product having value (Vargo and Lusch, 2004:6). Also, customers rather develop relationships with those that can provide a range of related services over an extended period of time, thus allowing businesses retain their clients for the long term (Vargo and Lusch, 2004:13). Overall, service oriented marketing is a direction that businesses should be headed towards to ensure that they can remain relevant and competitive in the

Cambridge Behavioral Hospital currently uses a Change Theory. Strategy for most organizations is about change and focus. A firm strategy starts with knowing the external and internal forces that impact the organization’s ability to achieve its most important goals, and then steadily making the necessary changes to direct those forces. “A validation (or invalidation) of the strategic assumptions reinvigorates strategic thinking and provides a basis for investigating whether to change the strategy” (Swayne, Duncan & Ginter, 2008).

In April 1992, American Airlines launched "Value Pricing" -- a radical simplification of the complex pricing structure that had evolved over more than a decade following deregulation of the U.S. domestic airline industry. American expected that the new pricing structure would benefit consumers and restore profitability to both American and the industry as a whole. The critical issue raised is: Would American's bold initiative work?

Achieve a median composite eight-year product development cycle by 2010. Deliver two new molecular entity (NME) launches on average per year from 2010. In order to achieve the above objective, ensure that we have 10 or more NMEs in Phase III development by 2010. Development cycle times and quality for small molecules and biologics. Number of NME launches per year. Attrition rates. Number of development projects by phase. Number of in-licensing deals, alliances and acquisitions. R&D investment levels. Improving R&D quality and speed through leading-edge science, effective risk management and decision-making and overall business efficiency. Maximising the value of our biologics business and continuing to build a major presence in this fast-growing sector. Investing in external opportunities to enhance our internal innovation through in-licensing, alliances and acquisitions. 2008 target exceeded for small molecule development cycle times. NME and life-cycle management progressions

We will start the external analysis with the PESTEL analysis of the automotive sector followed by the Porter’s five forces analysis and we will end by having a look at the key competitors and competitor pricing.

1. Describe the organizational structures and devices 3M uses to encourage entrepreneurial activity. Why do they work?

The airlines do not focus on the combination of quality and good service at a fair price; its focus is instead only on providing ultra low cost. It also charges customers for value added features and services. Thus the pricing is value added pricing. When compared to the competitors of Spirit for operating costs per seat mile; it is lower compared to other major airlines. The important points like encouragement to demand stimulation and preference for its low-cost model makes it successful for its low-cost pricing strategy.

Although there are pros to ‘value pricing’, their are many cons as well. For American Airlines, the price sensitive customers will be highly discontented by the new ‘value pricing’ and they will be encouraged to switch to low cost airlines. American Airlines will no longer benefit from the business travelers that were typically price insensitive but time sensitive and so prepared to pay the higher costs. This will have effects on yield and profitability as the high fixed costs of airlines previously depended on business travelers to buy higher priced tickets. For air travel demand, which in turn creates the lack of customer brand loyalty to airlines, a 38% reduction in American Airline prices in theory would cause customers to switch to American Airlines. However, American Airlines has failed to consider competitors reaction in their value pricing, therefore competitor 's reactions will prevent American Airlines from reaching their estimated revenue for 1992. Lowering the prices to match American Airline prices to guarantee the consumer the lowest