Module 7: The Business Environment Learning objectives: Explain the importance for an organisation to understand its external environment

ment Discuss the relationship between an organisation and its context Analyse the competitive environment for a business Analyse the international competitiveness of industries

The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy Porter. The five forces provide a basis to analysis industry structure. The intensity of these five forces determines the profitability of an industry, analyse how the industry changes over time, and establish where their company would stand. Though analysing the company can remain competitive/gain competitive advantage; better cope with, anticipate and exploit industry changes (gain first mover advantage); and become more profitable by addressing points that constrain profitability and exploiting them and expanding their profit pool by working collaboratively with suppliers, creating partnerships, and discovering new buyers. The Role of Scenario Planning in Exploring the Environment in View of the Limitations of P.E.S.T and its derivatives Burt et al. P.E.S.T(.L.E.D) = Political Economics Social Technological (Legal Environmental Demographic). The PESTLED method of analysing the industrys environment is commended for its simplicity; however, it doesnt analyse interrelationships and interdependence between factors and doesnt provide an overview of drivers of change. Scenario planning recognises that there are interrelationships between the factors and that there are external factors which impact the environment. It also acknowledges that the future is unstable and impacted by a range of factors; therefore, we cannot solely rely on past events to project future expectations. Scenario planning bases how future events may unfold based on the current state of the organisation, the interpretation of current events and how these may affect the futures, and logic. TN The Environment Smith There are four perspectives which we can use to view the environment: 1. Adaptive Assumes organisations can adapt to changes and we can analyse the environment (using PESTLED). Organisations can and must adapt to changes in environments. The decisions made by management will influence the way the organisations deal with these changes. Resource Dependence Places emphasis on adaptation (similar to Adaptive) Organisations are viewed as resource-interdependent and recognises that resources are scarce and that organisations do not completely control their required resources. Cognitive Views environment as too complex to analyse as organisations have limited processing abilities This process aims to reduce equivocality (ambiguity): Ecological change Enactment Selection (of cause maps) Retention Learning Population Ecology Focussed on groups/populations of organisations Changes to the environment will affect all organisations similarly (organisations must have same geographic location or same product) and individual organisations are slow to respond to changes in the environment, therefore we group them.

2.

3.

4.

Module 8: The Customer Learning objectives: Justify why the study of customers is central to the study of marketing Use segmentation theory to identify potential target markets Identify pain points (key benefit/solution that product/service offers to customer)around which a business might build a customer solution Validate that there is a market for a business idea or solution (ensure that opportunity exists before spending time, money and effort on it

Overview of Marketing Grewal & Levy. Marketing is described as a way to create (Product), capture (Price), communicate (Promotion) and deliver (Place) value to customers which manages customer relationships in ways that benefit the organisation and its stakeholders. It concerns satisfying customer needs and wants. Value-based marketing involves deciding which products/services to provide for whom. It involves understanding what customers believe are the greatest benefits of the product and how to improve on these areas. Marketing is important as it creates long-lasting, mutually valuable relationships between the company and its stakeholders. What Business are you in? Levitt All industries are services industries; the only difference is the extent of which the service is provided. Goods are differentiated though the services which accompanies the transaction generic product can be identical but differentiated through services such as reliability, efficiency etc. Increases in technology resulted in the uniformity of trends globally and has also made it easier for companies to expand internationally. Market Customisation Harvard Business Review (1) Segmenting: Separating the market in to groups with common needs. This allows firms to tailor goods and services to meet the needs of the identified group(s), and focus market resources more efficiently. (2) Targeting: Identify and target segments which have greatest profit potential. Bases for targeting include # of customers, ability to reach customers, forecasted growth etc. (3) Positioning: Manage how product is perceived by potential customers by engaging the 4Ps (Price, Product, Place, Promotion). Highlight one or two characteristics that makes product stand out (e.g. effective slogan) Keep in mind that segmenting & targeting narrows the market, and position assumes that customers are only interested in one or two things (which is usually not the case).

Module 9: People at work Learning objectives: Apply ideas from organisational behaviour in managing people Employ the tools of Human Resource Management (HRM) to improve a business Evaluate the challenges of leadership and diversity

Introduction to HRM Macky Refers to all the processes and activities aimed at utilizing all employees to achieve organisational ends (meet organisational goals). Amethod to ensure that an organisation has the right mix of people with necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, competencies at an affordable cost. It also ensures that these people have the necessary motivation and commitment to achieve current and strategic needs of a firm Builds human capital of a firm through motivating employees to apply knowledge, skills, abilities in their jobs and retaining them. Employees should be seen as human capital which are invested in and developed to grow their value

Strategic HRM (SHRM)Boxall SHRMfocuses on the way which HRM is critical to an organisations survival and howcan underpin sustained competitive advantage. The primary strategic problem faced by managers is securing the firms viability (goals, resources, and capable people) in its industry. Perspectives on how SHRM is developed: (1) Best fit depend on stakeholder interests and other situational/contextual factors (2) Best practice senior management implement ideal practices NB: best fit is better as best practice doesnt consider real -world (situational/contextual) factors. The Resource-based viewexplains how firms can build a unique and exclusive form of HRM. Competitive advantage can come from building sets of resources or core competencies in a firm, which are superior to rivals. (NB resources can encompass all features of a firm with value creating opportunities, this includes tangibles and intangibles) The HR Architectural view looks athuman capital in two ways; the extent to which it is a valuable resource for the firm, and the extent to which it is unique to the firm Introduction to Management and OB Knights and Willmott OB helps us understand the behaviour of people working at all hierarchical levels. It recognises that people can accomplish more by working together than on their own, members of organisations have conflicting priorities and preferences, and willing co-operation depends on the sense of fairness presented by managers, and consequences. (1) The Entity view, looks at organisations as unified entities which are differentiated through how they achieve their goals and the different formal roles of their members (titles: manager, salesperson) (2) The Process viewlooks at organisations as processes of organising; these processes give rise to the activities which the entity view sees as tasks/roles/structures (3) The Concept viewsees organisation as a term used to distinguish from other forms of human interaction (like family and community). Indicates how members are active agents in organising within the organisation. [6 key concepts: insecurity,identity, power, inequality, knowledge, and freedom]

Module 10: Organisation Theory Learning objectives: Define organisation theory Outline the contribution by the major thinkers in organisational theory Debate the impact of organisations Propose appropriate organisational designs for a given business

What is organisation theory? Organisation theory: Modern, Symbolic, and Postmodern - Hatch Organisational theory is ambiguous; there are many theories which do not necessarily interrelate. There are multiple ways to view organisation theory (perspectives). These perspectives represent tools which can be used to develop ideas about organisations, and aim to make us more aware of the assumptions underlying our theories: * Abstraction (Webster) forming ideas through mental separation * Chunking relating bodies of knowledge to one another * Ontology is our assumptions about reality * Epistemology is our methods of forming knowledge. Modern Perspective (objective awareness). Ontology: Objective There is an external reality which is independent of our own. Things exist even though they are not experiences i.e. if a tree falls in the forest and no one saw or heard it, the event still happened. Epistemology: Positivism Knowledge gained through categorising, measuring, and developing hypotheses and propositions. Celebrates values of reason, truth and validity i.e. there is only one correct answer. Symbolic Interpretivism (subjective awareness) Ontology : Subjective Things only exist when we experience them and give them meaning i.e. if a tree falls in the forest and no one saw or heard it then it didnt happen. People experience realities in different ways as they have different beliefs and perceptions. Epistemology: Interpretivism Knowledge is created and understood in the perspective of the individual (not everyone views things in the same way). People react based on their experience of the situation, their expectations, and their past experiences. There are many different perspectives, and therefore, the correct answer will depend on the individual. Knowledge changes over time. Post-Modernism Ontology: Post-Modernism Things only exist if they are documented. Epistemology: Post-Modernism There is no solid facts; facts are based on how they are interpreted by individuals. There is no one correct answer.

Module 11: The Marketing Offer Learning objectives: Describe the marketing mix (the 4 Ps: Product, Price, Place, Promotion) Differentiate between product dominant and service dominant perspectives on the marketing offer. Link the concept of positioning to the development of the marketing offer. Distinguish between marketing transactions and marketing relationships.

Marketings responsibility for the value of the enterprise Lusch & Webster. Marketing is the link of strategy between customers and stakeholders. This link allows the co-creation of value. The managerial framework helps the firm achieve more effective operation in a network economy. There are 3 eras of marketing: 1. 2. 3. Era 1 views marketing as a machine that creates value through mass production and standardisation for average customers. Era 2 (Drucker) views marketing as an organisation that creates value through satisfying customers (4Ps Marketing Mix) Era 3 views marketing as a network that creates value through contractual relationships where knowledge integrates information and the definition of value is ever-changing.

Rethinking Marketing Rust, Moorman & Bhalla. Focuses more on the aforementioned Era 3 of marketing. As the world is changing, the way we view and conduct marketing must also change in order to cultivate (discovering and retaining) customers. The importance of satisfying the wants and needs have been elevated, and organisations are now more customer-centric. There is also an increased need for market research. CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) is replaced by CCO (Chief Customer Officer), and Product Managers are replaced with customer managers. This promotes the customer-centric culture and ensures the flow of customer information throughout the organisation.

Module 12: Strategic Thinking Learning objectives: Debate what is strategy and does it matter? Apply the tools and frameworks of strategic management to a business Assess the relationship between strategic thinking and the major topics of Business 101 and 102

Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management Teece