MBA600 Capstone Strategy Report 2

MBA600 Capstone Strategy Report 2

Your task

Using the same organisation from the first assessment, individually, you are required to write a 2000-word business report in which you must apply learnings from the capstone topics to the organisation by undertaking additional research.

Assessment Description

The purpose of this assessment is to foster students ability to evaluate an organisation’s performance and develop recommendations to promote future performance improvements.

Assessment Instructions

Again, assuming the role of an organisational consultant, you are to write a report that clearly articulates the organisation’s strategy and business model and outlines a detailed approach to Competition Strategy (Week 3), how the chosen organisation’s performance is/can be measured against their strategies (Week 4). You will also be required to prepare a Balanced Scorecard for their chosen organisation (Week 7). Attention should be paid to the use of secondary research and insights (Week 8).

Areas covered should include:

• An executive summary.
• An introduction that summarises the purpose of the report.
• A summary of the organisation’s strategy.
• A specific outline of the organisation’s approach to competition strategy, performance measurement and the Balanced Scorecard.
• A summary of recommendations that identify areas of focus and opportunity to enhance the organisation’s performance in the future.
• A conclusion.
• Reference list.

You are encouraged to use a wide variety of information sources that include, where possible, primary research such as interviews with staff or executive members within their chosen organisation as well as the use of an appropriate mix of strategic and business analysis tools and references. These references should be presented as in-text citations and a reference list at the end of your business report.

Solution

Introduction

Within the organizational context, the incorporation of the most suitable strategies seeks much attention. This is because the organizational strategies help the companies to move forward in a planned manner respectively. According to the study, opined by Chung and Kuo (2018), it should be noteworthy that the organizational strategies are responsible for optimizing the company’s functionalities, followed by increasing the overall profitability margin and revenue as well. As per the MBA Assignment Expert, Consequently, to incorporate the strategies, the organizations need to implement a wide range of tools that help the companies to gain a competitive edge over their competitors respectively. On the other hand, as per the scholarly work, propagated by Danso et al. (2019), it has been noted that the application of competitive strategy within the organizational context assists the companies in order modify their needs based on the current trends of the market. In addition, the primary purpose of the present report or study reflects on the identification of the current competitive strategies within the organizational context of an Australian based retail company, such as JB Hi-Fi respectively. Furthermore, this study or report indulges in different types of critical approaches to get the best solution, followed by the development of a proper conclusion accordingly. 

A Summary of The Organization’s Strategy

It should be noteworthy that the present firm such as JB Hi Fi is represented as one of the renowned brands, responsible for the selling of a variety of electronic goods, including gaming consoles, laptops, security equipment, CD, mobiles, tech-savvy equipment and so on respectively. In order to deliver exceptional customer service along with great value, JB Hi Fi makes an alignment between the consumer value proposition and retailing philosophies accordingly. Apart from this, the management of JB Hi Fi is responsible for implementing a unique, low-cost model as well. Based on the scholarly work, propagated by Kharub et al. (2018), it should be noteworthy that the inclusion of a unique, low-cost model helps the companies to offer the lowest price deal, especially to the customer, followed by influencing their purchase decisions. Therefore, the application of this type of mentioned approach to gain detailed knowledge with respect to acquiring, consuming and disposing of the goods and /or services respectively.

In addition, it should be noteworthy that the management of JB Hi Fi has been responsible for continuing its business services through both offline and online presence. According to the scholarly work, opined by Laari et al. (2018), it has been noted that the presence of online and offline mediums within the organizational context helps the companies to get more customer engagement and customer satisfaction over their competitors in the market respectively. Following that, JB Hi Fi uses different types of tools like Billboards, flyers, and social media platforms to draw the attention of customers around the world. On the other hand, as per the research study, propagated by Gnizy (2019), it is known that the inclusion of an appropriate pricing strategy plays a crucial role as it helps the companies to develop a loyal customer base within the market. Like other companies, the management of JB Hi Fi applies a price penetration strategy, to deliver the products at a lower price than its competitors. This significant aspect assists the company to win market share with respect to discounted pricing approach. 

A Specific Outline of The Organization’s Approach To Competition Strategy

It should be noteworthy that the companies develop a wide range of strategies to shape their business and achieve success and growth over their competitors. According to the scholarly work, opined by Desyllas et al. (2018), it should be noted that profit is represented as the baseline for the companies to survive in the market. Hence, in order to achieve a competitive edge over the competitors, the organizations need to implement the most suitable strategies accordingly. On the other hand, as per the research study, propagated by Haseeb et al. (2019), it has been known that there is a presence of three types of competition strategy including Cost Leadership Strategy or Low-cost strategy. Differentiation strategy and lastly focus strategies. Following that, the low-cost strategy helps the business to achieve the organizational target goals through economies of scale. While applying this type of strategy, the organizations give more focus on the lowest possible production and /or distribution costs respectively. 

Whereas the other two competition strategies like differentiation strategy and focus strategies deal with the target quality and value-seeking customers and generate limited resources respectively (Mykhailichenko et al., 2021). However, to compete within the market, the management of the present firm such as JB Hi Fi has been responsible for applying a Low-cost strategy within its organizational context. Consequently, as per the research study, opined by Pratono (2021), it is known that the inclusion of a low-cost strategy strengthens the company’s power in terms of purchasing, manufacturing, and distribution respectively. 

The Inclusion of Porter’s Five Forces Framework

According to the scholarly work, opined by Khan et al. (2019), it has been noted that the inclusion of a Porter’s five forces framework plays a crucial role as it helps the organizations to gain a customer-centric approach respectively. This significant element, in turn, helps to enhance the product portfolio while targeting the value-seeking customers in the market. Hence, in this study, Porter’s five forces framework approach is applied within the organizational context of JB Hi Fi and discussed in the following section

Table 1: The application of Porter’s five framework 
Source: (Created by the learner)

Concerning the above table, it should be noteworthy that the management of the present firm such as JB HI FI has been responsible for developing its capabilities while serving its exceptional services in the market. Following that, these significant elements assist the company to decline the cost, especially below the marginal industry average. Hence, by applying the mentioned strategy, JB Hi Fi is responsible for targeting the value-seeking customers with penetration pricing, especially on basic products. 

The Inclusion of Performance Measurement

In order to analyze the performance of the present firm, the KPI method has been applied and discussed in the following section

Table 2: The application of KPI within the organizational context of JB Hi Fi
Source: (Created by the learner)

The Application of The Balanced Scorecard

The application of a balanced scorecard within the organizational context plays a significantly important role. This is because the presence of a balanced scorecard assists the companies to make proper improvements in terms of strategic planning that in turn, help the business to develop proper strategic approaches respectively. Therefore, the balanced scorecard within the organizational context of JB Hi Fi has been developed in the following section

Figure 1: The application of a balanced scorecard
Source: (Created by the learner)

Besides this, the present company also applies different types of tools while making coordination between traditional brick and mortar distribution networks along with online distribution networks. In addition, the management of JB Hi Fi is also achieving economies of scale over its competitors accordingly. In order to cope with this approach, the management applies lean production methods that in turn, aid the company to maintain a strong bargaining position, followed by setting a competitive advantage respectively. All these significant perspectives help the companies to gain financial advantage respectively. 

A Summary of Recommendations

Based on the above facts, it should be noted that the management of the present firm such as JB Hi Fi needs to include more logical and suitable approaches while competing with other brands in the market. Therefore, a few recommendations for the chosen firm has been developed and discussed in the following section 

Recommendation 1

As per the economic theory, propagated by Wu et al. (2020), it is known that the companies develop the most suitable pricings strategy concerning the balance between demand and supply. Therefore, apart from the low-cost strategy, the management of JB Hi Fi can apply a differentiation strategy within its organizational context. This is because the chosen approach will be helping the brand develop brand loyalty while offering premium products as well. Since JB Hi Fi is one of the established companies within the Australian retail sector and so the implementation of a differentiation strategy shall increase the durability and distinctive features of products, followed by increasing strong brand recognition respectively. 

Recommendation 2

Based on the price discrimination theory, followed by Wu et al. (2020), it has been noted that the organizations have applied different types of pricing strategies concerning the market trends. Hence, apart from the differentiation strategy, the management of the chosen firm such as JB Hi Fi can apply the competitive advantage model as well. The primary reason is that the inclusion of the competitive advantage model within the organizational context of the companies helps the business to develop effective marketing strategies based on the current market situation or trends. In addition, this type of strategy is also beneficial for the companies to evaluate their resources and capabilities through the use of distinctive competencies as well. Therefore, based on the above facts, it can be said that the application of the competitive advantage model will be aiding the present company by differentiation orientation respectively. 

Conclusion

This present study or report portrayed a transparent image of the current competitive strategies within the organizational context of an Australian based retail company, such as JB Hi-Fi respectively. JB Hi Fi had been represented as one of the renowned brands, responsible for the selling of a variety of electronic goods respectively. To compete within the market, the management of the present firm such as JB Hi Fi had been responsible for applying a Low-cost strategy within its organizational context. By applying the mentioned strategy, JB Hi Fi had been responsible for targeting the value-seeking customers with penetration pricing, especially on basic products. Since the present company applied both traditional brick and mortar distribution networks along with online distribution networks and hence, the management included lean production methods to maintain a strong bargaining position, followed by setting a competitive advantage respectively. 

Reference List

Australia: JB Hi-Fi limited total current assets 2021 | Statista (2022). Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1092605/australia-jb-hi-fi-limited-total-current-assets/ (Accessed: 28 May 2022).

Australia: JB Hi-Fi limited total equity 2021 | Statista (2022). Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1092846/australia-jb-hi-fi-limited-total-equity/ (Accessed: 28 May 2022).

Australia: JB Hi-Fi limited total liabilities 2021 | Statista (2022). Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1092839/australia-jb-hi-fi-limited-total-liabilities/ (Accessed: 28 May 2022).

Australia: sales revenue of JB Hi-Fi limited 2021 | Statista (2022). Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1092516/australia-sales-revenue-of-jb-hi-fi-limited/ (Accessed: 28 May 2022).

Chung, H.F. and Kuo, T., 2018. When and how managerial ties matter in international competitive strategy, export financial and strategic performance framework: a standardized or customized approach?. European Journal of Marketing.

Danso, A., Adomako, S., Amankwah‐Amoah, J., Owusu‐Agyei, S. and Konadu, R., 2019. Environmental sustainability orientation, competitive strategy and financial performance. Business Strategy and the Environment, 28(5), pp.885-895.

Desyllas, P., Miozzo, M., Lee, H.F. and Miles, I., 2018. Capturing value from innovation in knowledge‐intensive business service firms: the role of competitive strategy. British Journal of Management, 29(4), pp.769-795.

Gnizy, I., 2019. The role of inter-firm dispersion of international marketing capabilities in marketing strategy and business outcomes. Journal of Business Research, 105, pp.214-226.

Haseeb, M., Hussain, H.I., Kot, S., Androniceanu, A. and Jermsittiparsert, K., 2019. Role of social and technological challenges in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage and sustainable business performance. Sustainability, 11(14), p.3811.

Khan, E.A., Royhan, P., Rahman, M.A., Rahman, M.M. and Mostafa, A., 2019. The impact of enviropreneurial orientation on small firms’ business performance: The mediation of green marketing mix and eco-labeling strategies. Sustainability, 12(1), p.221.

Kharub, M., Mor, R.S. and Sharma, R., 2018. The relationship between cost leadership competitive strategy and firm performance: A mediating role of quality management. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management.

Laari, S., Töyli, J. and Ojala, L., 2018. The effect of a competitive strategy and green supply chain management on the financial and environmental performance of logistics service providers. Business Strategy and the Environment, 27(7), pp.872-883.

Mykhailichenko, M., Lozhachevska, O., Smagin, V., Krasnoshtan, O., Zos-Kior, M. and Hnatenko, I., 2021. Competitive strategies of personnel management in business processes of agricultural enterprises focused on digitalization. Management Theory and Studies for Rural Business and Infrastructure Development, 43(3), pp.403-414.

Pratono, A.H., 2021. The strategic innovation under information technological turbulence: the role of organisational resilience in competitive advantage. Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal.

Wu, C.H., Yan, Z., Tsai, S.B., Wang, W., Cao, B. and Li, X., 2020. An empirical study on sales performance effect and pricing strategy for E-commerce: from the perspective of mobile information. Mobile Information Systems, 2020.