Reference no: EM132154011

Assignment

Part 1

1) Define Strategy as it applies to what you understand and what you learned in your reading.

The five P's of strategy are plan, ploy, pattern, position and perspective(). In other words, strategy has a complex definition that is not easy to define but to me it simply means they way you handle a business.

2) Research and consider an organization which employs the 5 P's as strategy. Name and describe the organization. Define and identify an example of each of the 5 Ps of strategy for an organization other than the examples offered in the course material of Chapter one.

You may research an organization via the Internet or use the course material to gain additional perspective on an organization you are familiar with. Be specific and detailed as you address the 5 P's: Plan, Ploy, Pattern, Position, Perspective. Be sure to cite any references used.

I chose Coca-Cola to research as they are a local company to me and I have many friends who have worked for Coca-Cola Bottling. Coca Cola is the world's largest beverage company despite that they don't make or sale beverages, but instead sale the rights to make and sale their products.

Plan - Coca-Cola's plan is to focus on the market, they give their customers what they are looking for and buy out the competition.

Ploy - Remove responsibility from their selves by selling the rights to make, bottle and sale their products to other companies.

Pattern - Advertise, advertise, advertise. Coke is on everything and is also what the majority of their spending is on. They advertise at every chance they get but it seems to work.

Position - Coke is offered almost everywhere and is sold in over 200 countries. Their position is availability.

Perspective - All industries change, even the beverage industry. Instead of just selling their flagship product Coke, they offer everything from diet drinks, water, sports drinks, teas, juices or anything else anyone would like to drink. If you are thirsty Coca-Cola wants yo satisfy your thirst.

Part 2

1) Based on Chapter 2, review either UMUC's website or research an organization of interest to you via Internet or one you are familiar with , take note of the mission and vision of the university and/or organization and answer the following questions:

a) Describe the mission and vision

Unless I am blind, I could not locate UMUC's vision statement but did find their mission statement which says :

The mission of University of Maryland University College is improving the lives of adult learners. We will accomplish this by:

• Operating as Maryland's open university, serving working adults, military servicemen and servicewomen and their families, and veterans who reside in Maryland, across the United States, and around the world;

• Providing our students with affordable, open access to valued, quality higher education; and

• Serving as a recognized leader in career-relevant education, embracing innovation and change aligned with our purpose, and sharing our perspectives and expertise.

b) Does the organization meet this mission and vision statement posted? How? Why? or Why Not? Explain in thorough detail using appropriate paragraphs, sentence structure, references, etc.

UMUC is meeting their mission statement for the most part. From my experience most students are working adults, it has online classes which can be accessed via the internet from anywhere in the world.

The second statement of being affordable is questionable. UMUC is more expensive than some other schools but what school is really affordable to the average middle class adult. The third statement is unclear, who is UMUC recognized by as being a leader by. I would agree with innovation as not all schools offer a online program in so many degrees.

Part 3

Strategy is the use of planning and execution to accomplish a goal in the most successful and least resistant way available. Strategy is used during business, military operations, relationships, sports, learning, and almost every aspect of a person's life. We all use strategy on a daily basis, whether we acknowledge it or not, to reach our goals or to outsmart or "outplay" another person.

An example often used when discussing strategy is the game of chess because of the planning, foresight, and tactfulness that players must use in order to beat the other person. Being strategic is often a result of a well thought-out process. Strategy is using previous experiences, knowledge, and research to find a tactful solution to a problem.

This demands an understanding of the goal and actions that can be taken to make the goal successful. The reading breaks down strategy into different categories: intended, emergent, and realized. These categories outline different scenarios in which strategy and strategic thinking is utilized.

2) Apple is a company that has truly risen to the top in recent years which is without doubt due to their business strategy. Apple is a company that produces cellular phones, laptops, Apple Watches, iPods, iPads, etc. Also, Apple is responsible for an operating system, Apple Music, and more (Apple, n.d.).

It is a huge company that is dominating the electronics and media markets. The reason that Apple has been able to dominate the market is due to their strategic plan.

A strategic plan is the decisions and actions a company takes to ensure its success (Mastering Strategic Management, 2016). Apple had a plan to create an easy-to-use user interface and trusted software. The company focused on an elegantly designed product that was also easy to use. Apple creators looks steps to ensure this happened (Bajarin, 2017).

Second, the company also had a ploy. A ploy is a part of the strategy where the company attempts to maneuver to outsmart any competitors (Mastering Strategic Management, 2016). Apple's strategy was to create a product that was different than competitors while maintaining functionality. The advanced features that Apple created for its products gave the company a competitive advantage over competitors.

Apple created devices that could be synced with other Apple devices, but not competitor's products, creating a ploy in which customers were behooved to buy only Apple products (Dudovskiy, 2018). This was a smart move on behalf of Apple's business strategy.

Next, a company uses patterns in a business strategy to obtain success. This means that the company maintained consistency over time (Mastering Strategic Management, 2016). Apple has managed to keep the same interface spanning across virtually all of their products.

Although the products have advanced, their functionality has remained consistent. Users do not have to relearn the use of Apple products because, though products are constantly being updated and advanced, the interface has remained constant which is something customers pay for (Browne, 2015). The standardization has helped tremendously in Apple's success.

In a business strategy, position is a factor. Position means the relevance of the company in its market compared to its competitors (Mastering Strategic Management, 2016).

This means a company can claim to be the cheapest, best quality, most convenient, etc. Apple has managed to position itself well within its market. The company targets 22 to 50-year-old medium to high income customers.

The company advertises a "less is better" marketing scheme that focuses on design and quality (Positioning of Apple, 2018). Because Apple has positioned itself with a reputation of their products being innovative, high-quality, and easy to use, the company is able to charge premium prices.

Lastly, a company's strategy includes perspective. Perspective refers to how leaders of the company view the market, the competition, and the company (Mastering Strategic Management, 2016). Many attribute the success of Apple to Steve Jobs, the CEO of the company, because of his perspective.

Steve Jobs assessed Apple's competitors and what they brought to the table while ensuring Apple stayed one step ahead. An example of this is the once-popular Blackberry phone that included a keyboard and stylus.

Steve Jobs approached this differently but designing a smartphone. Because of this perspective and insight, Apple became the leader in the mobile technology market (Umoh, 2018). Not long after the release of the smartphone the Blackberry became a thing of the past. Apple's leaders used strategy in the form of perspective to maintain an innovative approach for the company while knocking out competitors.
Apple. (n.d.)

Part 4

One of my personal favorite companies is Patagonia and I am a lifelong customer. This company's mission statement is "build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis" (Patagonia, n.d.).

In translation, this company's mission is to create a quality product without harming the environment as well as contributing to the causes of the helping the environment.

The company takes pride in making products for customers that enjoy the outdoors and the environment. Luckily, the target market that Patagonia has also holds these values dear and therefore buy Patagonia products.

First off, there is great importance in a company having a mission and sticking to it. This is because it gives the company an identity apart from its competitors (Mastering Strategic Management, 2016). For example, Patagonia started out as a small company of minimalists, climbers, and surfers dedicated to making tools for companies that grew into making clothes for a magnitude of outdoors activities (Patagonia, n.d.). A mission statement should outline the values of the stakeholders (Mastering Strategic Management, 2016).

Therefore, the values of these business-starters maintain Patagonia's values (Patagonia, n.d.).

Additionally, Patatgonia refrains from using dyes and other products that are harmful to the environment and create pollution in their products. The company uses polyester that is recycled in their clothing as well as only organic cotton (Patagonia, n.d.). Using these pesticide-free and non-harmful products helps to uphold the mission statement that the company has set forth stating they will "cause no unnecessary harm" (Patagonia, n.d.).

Patagonia also has a vison to combat the decline of the environment. A company's vision is more long-term and represents future ideals for the company. The vision is in place to inspire employees and improve the performance of the company (Mastering Strategic

Management, 2016). In an effort to support this vision, the company donates a percentage of its profits to a magnitude of environmental groups. (Patagonia, n.d.). Staying true to the company's values, mission statement, and vision is extremely important to Patagonia and is also a reason that they have maintained their identity in the industry and become a successful clothing company.

Mastering Strategic Management. (2016). Mastering strategy. Washington, D.C.: The Saylor Foundation