Management

Please reword these paragraphs and do not use the same exact words that they have. Please use your own words do not copy from any websites or papers.

Strategic Management, Ch. 2

• 1-SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.  A SWOT analysis is the analyzation of a firm’s environment, both internal and external.  The strengths element looks at the factors that are doing good in and for the firm today and the weaknesses element looks at the factors that are doing badly in and for the firm today.  The opportunities element look at the factors that could do good or be good for the firm in the future and the threats element looks at the factors that could be bad for the firm in the future.  SWOT analysis can and are different for different firms because while they may be in the same industry with similar interests, each will have their own strengths and weaknesses to contend with.  As Dess, Eisner, Lumpkin, & McNamara (2014) point out, the basic idea for a SWOT analysis is so that a firm can build on its strengths, fix the weaknesses or find workarounds, exploit opportunities, and safeguard against threats. 

Reference

Dess, G., Eisner, A., Lumpkin, G.T., & McNamara, G. (2014). Strategic management: Creating competitive advantages (7th ed). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Strategic Management, Ch. 3

• 2-The SWOT analysis is a great tool for strategic analysis but it is not all inclusive and has its drawbacks and limitations so it should be used in conjunction with other tools.  As Dess, Eisner, Lumpkin, & McNamara (2014) tell us, “SWOT cannot show them [managers] how to achieve a competitive advantage” (p. 73).  Some points made about the limitations are that SWOT strengths do not always lead to an advantage, the focus of SWOT on the external environment is too narrow, SWOT is only a snapshot view of a firm’s current status, and SWOT causes the emphasis to focus on a single factor such as a strength or weakness.  The lesson learned is that SWOT should only be a starting point and should be used in conjunction with other tools to develop competitive advantages. 

Reference

Dess, G., Eisner, A., Lumpkin, G.T., & McNamara, G. (2014). Strategic management: Creating competitive advantages (7th ed). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

World-Class Supply Chain Management

• 3-I would have to agree with Shelly Stewart that it is very important to have a company’s supply chain strategy in place.  Both the company and the supply chain would want to mirror each other supply and demand process.  For example Shelly Stewart spoke about a global strategy and not to think local strategy. This whole process he spoke of would include the people, product, and process model.  For example the retail industry in the United States requires huge amounts of inventory that are new for each season of the year.  The business or company would make projections on the amount of inventory to purchase from the supply chain for the coming season.  Let’s take for example the summer season and the items would be summer clothing.  The company or retail outlet would make a purchase order for a certain amount of summer clothing from the supply company.  The retail manager must order from the supply chain in early fall for example to meet a certain date for delivery at the business.  The strategy involve like Shell Stewart explains is complex because now you have to project when the ship or shipping container arrives on the west coast or the east coast .  If the shipping container arrives on the west coast now you have to account for trucking cross country opposed to if the ship went to the east coast.  It involves a good sound strategy involving the supply chain and the company because a couple of weeks of being late for an order in early fall could mean a huge loss of retail sales in the summer clothing for example.

Extending the Supply Chain

4-One thing that a company could do to expand their role in a given supply chain to help their customers and increase their business at the same time is to provide customization and personalization.  Customers are looking for innovation and allowing them to customize or personalize their products is one way of giving them their own item that they create and therefore know they love.  Ensuring that the vendors are all in line with the processes to ensure quick turnaround times will be crucial.  By using technology, a company can allow the customer to add their input from a selection and production can occur almost immediately after the customer pays for their personalized product.  By integrating the newer technologies such as SAP to interconnect the suppliers with the company, the production and turnaround times can be reduced through supply chain efficiency to provide an exceptional product in less waiting time for the customer.  The company needs to understand the full supply chain to ensure that the needed supplies are always available and where to go if the main supplier cannot provide the needed supplies.  By integrating everyone involved in the supply chain, the customer will benefit from having the items they want when they want them and the suppliers and company will benefit from selling the right products at the right time.

I have to answer these posts like if I was having a conversation face to face.

• 5-I think SWOT would best be used in a group brainstorming session.  For example, if the marketing department of a company is releasing a new product, the different members of the team could address the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the product release while a member of the team boards them.  The areas that need to be addressed could be assigned to each member as a takeaway.  Any weaknesses, opportunities, or threats could be explored and resolved before the roll out of the product.

• 6-I am a firm believer that people, product and process is the key component and the lifeblood of any organization.  The new company management should have conducted an internal Swot and held a meeting with the current employees of the organization to hear their concerns.  The most important part of any business is the people and as you explained the process the deals made in three years started on day one.  The management should have held meet and greet and would of had sound words for judgment sooner because of you.  The experience and knowledge as a Program Manager will be the direct influence to have the ability to bring your group to your way of thinking as the Associate Director.

• 7-How have you seen this implemented successfully in your experience? How can this kind of image-enhancing supply chain be a key part of company’s strategy?

• 8-I definitely agree with Shelley about the importance of a company supply chain strategy matching its company strategy. The alignment of both strategies to achieve company goal is very essential to ensure a high degree of effectiveness in performance. Effective supply chain strategy from the production floor to the customers put the company in a stronger position to meet customers demand on time and business objectives.

 

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