Strategic Management Assignment Sample

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Introduction

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Strategic management is useful for establishing the general course of action by formulating goals and policies and assigning resources to carry them out. The main goal of strategic management is to provide organizations an advantage over their rivals in the market(Fuertes et al., 2020). Internal and external factors combine to make strategic management critical for every business. Having a long-term strategic vision is helpful in accomplishing corporate goals. Every business must have a backup plan in case of an emergency. The management of Ooni Company is significantly responsible for the company's success. A competitive company climate necessitates a set of strategic recommendations for management to implement. Product diversification and blue-water strategies are among them.

 If a corporation needs to be able to provide its goods and services at a fair price, it uses a cost-leadership strategy (Barney and Mackey, 2018). The company's inventive spirit and operational effectiveness are aided by this approach. In order to counteract the danger of competition, a product diversification strategy entails the identification of untapped markets. Finally, the blue ocean approach is related to differentiation in that it involves developing a new market sector and attracting new customers. However, the company's structure and culture must be taken into account while implementing these strategic recommendations. The strategic management programme has given me a wealth of information and skills. It's been an incredible experience.

Part 1: Strategic Recommendations

Ooni makes things simpler for families to cook outside by delivering affordable portable pizza ovens. To date, Ooni has produced some of the best pizza ovens both for UK and the rest of the globe. Pizza ovens, as opposed to other types of household ovens, have made meal preparation simpler and quicker. The name Ooni and its market share have grown rapidly in the last several years. Due to the obvious company's belief that "everyone deserves a wonderful pizza," Ooni's business has grown and expanded significantly. However, in order to maintain its image and competitiveness in the market, Ooni needs take efforts to ensure its existence. Ooni Company's leadership and domination in the market and the whole industry are discussed in this research, which offers strategic advice to help Ooni Company stay that way.

Cost Leadership

In order to maintain competitive pricing for its goods and services, a business may be using the Kharub, Mor, and Sharma, (2018) concept of "cost leadership" to describe a technique it wants to reduce its production costs. Customers are more likely to buy high-quality items at subsidised costs if the company's products are also of high quality and reasonably priced. Even if the firm sells its products at a lower price than its rivals, it may still benefit from a low-cost foundation. The low-cost strategy's success depends on a corporation that is always looking for ways to improve operational efficiency (Yusuf,  Rasyid, and Rura, 2020).

Ooni Pizza Company should, therefore, expand its product portfolio and look at the probability of various sections of the industry. According to NYOKABI  (2019), a company can derive cost advantage from various sources such as unique technology, economies of scale and access to raw materials, and so forth. Since its establishment, Ooni Company has managed to maintain its vision of offering great pizza. A low-cost leadership approach aligns with the company’s vision of providing a portable pizza oven at a reasonable price (Rahim, 2021). It also aligns with the values of the company, such as innovation, compassion and consistency. In its pursuit of making Ooni a trademark, the organization should ensure that the products are accessible to a large demographic. Ooni is one of the companies that maintain a b relationship with its suppliers. In this case, the company can take advantage of such a b correlation to minimize operational costs. Ooni’s strategic position is founded on profit maximization.

Product diversification

Ooni Company could venture into new areas in the outdoor cooking industry. This may assist the company in strengthening its market leadership position and increase its returns. The concept of diversification includes identifying a new market. Some of the examples include developing a complementary product, creating an entirely different product from the existing ones, and expansion of the supply chain (Kanodia, 2020). Ooni Company can also invest in other outdoor food products to improve its product portfolio. Some of the substitute products to the pizza oven entail barbecues and fire pits. The company has already established its reputation in the pizza oven business and, therefore, stands in a better position of leveraging its brand name to market its products.

Furthermore, Ooni prides itself on its b brand identity in the pizza oven industry. With a diversification strategy, the company can extend its market dominance. In addition, diversification is also a growth strategy that would enable Ooni to increase its sales and profits considerably. Based on an industrial assessment, Ooni Company has an opportunity of expanding into other markets. As affirmed by Lindi?, Bavdaž, and Kova?i? (2012), product diversification is another major approach that Ooni can use to increase its revenues and market share. With product diversification approach in play, a company is capable of spreading its risks across its large assortment of products.

The Blue Ocean Strategy

The blue ocean approach entails creating demand for the company and eliminating the level of competition. Dvorak and Razova,  (2018) claim that the blue strategy is founded on the concept that market limits and industry structure are indefinite. Therefore, industry actors are capable of restructuring them. In most cases, competitors rarely venture into an investment they rarely understand or have little knowledge about. If Ooni is to deploy this strategy, it will have to invest in business with few competitors.

Nevertheless, Ooni’s scenario is different because it already has an established market.

Therefore, the company does not need to create an entirely new product but rather needs to upgrade its existing pizza oven product (Vieira and Ferreira, 2018). As aforementioned, Ooni has already established its reputation as the first company to produce inimitable portable pizza ovens. Besides, Ooni has managed to differentiate itself from the competitors by offering highly efficient products. Before the creation of Ooni Company, portable pizza ovens business was an unexplored market. When the company began producing the portable pizza oven, other players joined the market. Consequent, to reduce the competition, Ooni needs to invest in research and development. The company also faces the likely threats of substitute products and should, therefore, leverage its technology to oust any potential competitors (?AKAR  and SÜRÜCÜ,  2018).

In essence, the success of Ooni Company in the pizza oven business depends on the strategic paths it pursues. Currently, the company retains the topmost position in the market. For Ooni Company to maintain that position, the management needs to incorporate the following recommendations. First, Ooni Company needs to diversify its product base. That said, numerous entrants are already trying to imitate Ooni, and the market will eventually saturate with substitute and complementary products. Indeed, the company is already facing off some competition. Ooni should oust any potential threats from the new competitors by expanding its product assortment. For example, barbecue and fire pit ovens are some of the products that can bring product diversification for Ooni Company. Ooni should also adopt cost-leadership strategy as an approach to eliminate the competition. If the company manages to lower the cost of production, it can offset the competition by selling its products at a slightly reduced price than the competitors. Finally, Ooni should adopt the blue ocean strategy. If the company can restructure the market boundaries by investing in unexplored markets or products, it can offset competition (Agnihotri, 2016).

Part 2: Implementation Issues

Ooni seems to have been a leader in the development of portable pizza ovens since its inception. The company was formed by Kristian Tapaninaho to fill a unique market need. This firm has a competitive edge, but it must recognise that it is operating in a highly competitive industry. Ooni Company's strategy options comprise cost leadership, product diversification, and blue ocean initiatives. Increased revenues and market share may be achieved via Ooni's product diversification approach.

As discussed in Part 1, Ooni should invest in producing substitute products like barbecues and fire pits. Since the substitute products are all grouped under outside cooking sector, the company should take advantage of its b brand name to lure the customers. Regarding the cost leadership approach, Ooni has an advantage of staying ahead of its rivals (Dutse and Aliyu, 2018). It is probably one of the companies that enjoy a b correlation with the suppliers, and this constantly increases the number of sales every year. The company should take advantage of the economies of scale as well as offer their products at a much lower price compared with the new entrants in the market. Finally, with a blue ocean strategy, Ooni will be capable of eliminating its competitors in the pizza oven business. The company also enjoys a large market share. Nevertheless, any kind of product improvements that a company performs is to redefine the market limits and market structure (Agnihotri, 2016). Ooni should, therefore, invest in R&D to develop exceptional products compared with what the competitors offer. Lastly, with a blue ocean strategy, Ooni can determine the appropriate price of the product. Therefore, to implement these three strategies, Ooni Company should address some key issues, such as organizational culture/behavior, organizational structure, and management practices.

Organizational Culture

A company that needs to implement or integrate a new strategy into the existing system should be mindful of organizational culture. According to Paais and Pattiruhu, (2020), the implementation of a strategy depends on a different set of factors, including the internal and external aspects. A business environment comprises of different factors, and culture is one of them. Organizational culture can support or destabilize the implementation of a strategy.

Therefore, the company should ensure coherence between strategy and culture. Indeed, implementation is a process that requires restructuring of the organizational culture, structure, and systems (Longman et al., 2018). Some of the values maintained by Ooni Company include determination, consistency, compassion, and desire. If the company is to successfully implement the three strategies, it will need to restructure its culture. For example, the implementation of a cost leadership strategy requires the company to promote a culture of prudence and carefulness.

Organizational Structure

Organizational structure determines how a company operates and the communication efficiency in the organization. A company can be defined using either a hierarchical or flat structure (MacQueen, 2020). Furthermore, Szczepa?ska-Woszczyna (2018) affirms that a company may require structural factors to execute or implement a new strategy. Kavale (2012) asserts that strategy and structure are interconnected. A strategy can be defined by people, processes, position, and procedures. In illustrating the link between innovation and business structure, a study conducted in 2017 by Forbes revealed that over 60% of organizations had engaged innovation officers. Equally, most businesses have deployed novel technologies to facilitate the execution of the innovation process. Ooni operates using a hierarchical structure, as revealed by Azeem et al., (2021), whereby everyone reports to the CEO. In such cases, communication breakdown becomes a common problem, particularly because of the bureaucracies involved.

Therefore, the implementation of a cost leadership strategy becomes a major problem. Ooni Company should deploy a flat organizational structure to guarantee effective communication and coherence between different departments. With a successful implementation of the cost leadership strategy, the managers and subordinate staff will have a close relationship, which is good for the company. Effective communication ascertains that employee acquire acceptable behavior and attitude for a successful implementation of the new strategy. Furthermore, efficient communication ascertains that all the organizational processes in different departments focus on achieving a common objective.

Resistance to Organizational changes

Resistance to changes is a major challenge that numerous organizations experience in the business environment. In some cases, employees in the organization can be unwilling to accept changes, especially when they feel endangered. In the case of Ooni, the employees and stakeholders might be unwilling to accept any changes considering that the company is at the verge of expanding. Consequently, the employees might not identify the need to embrace the changes. They might consider the existing strategies as working impeccably.

 The study conducted by Schweiger, Stouten, and Bleijenbergh, (2018) considers the resistance to changes as a major barrier in implementing any new strategy in the company. The management must agree to the proposed changes if they want to survive in a competitive business environment. Nonetheless, maintaining a top position in the market requires the company to practice relentless reinvention. Thus, Ooni Company must be determined to change its existing strategy and adopt an approach that cements its position in the market. The implementation of the strategy would compel the company to engage professions capable of championing and popularizing the strategy to the employees in the organization (Darmawan and Azizah, 2020). Finally, Ooni is a family business, and the management team is run by family members. To realize transformation, the management must accept changes by accepting to bring new faces in the company.

Altogether, the adoption of the proposed strategies is likely to be halted by certain issues, such as the structure of the business, the culture, and employee’s resistance to change. As such, the company must address these issues to enjoy a smooth implementation of proposed recommendations. Regarding the organizational culture, the company should analyze the internal and external elements that might restrain the implementation process. There must be alignment between the proposed strategy and the culture maintained by the business (Sabino et al., 2021).

Equally, organizational structure defines what a business can incorporate into the existing system. Ooni operates using a hierarchical structure which illustrates a decentralized leadership model. Such an organizational structure makes it difficult for the implementation of certain strategies, such as cost-leadership, which requires collaboration, yet in the case of Ooni, the CEO makes most of the critical decisions. In such a scenario, the company should adopt a flat structure that fits with most of the strategies.

Finally, resistance to changes is a major problem that numerous organizations experience. It is important to engage the entire organization when in the process of making changes (Veloso-Besio et al., 2019). When employees are prepared in advance for occurrence of changes in the company, they are likely to support the proposed ideas or recommendations. Nevertheless, resistance to changes occurs when the changes are unpremeditated since some employee’s fear losing their jobs and demotions. Altogether, Ooni’s successful implementation can only happen if the management addresses all the potential issues that can threaten the execution of the proposed recommendations.

Part 3: Reflection

The completion of this project could not be possible without collaboration from the rest of the members of the group. The group’s task was to produce a presentation and a management report. The task was to evaluate Ooni, a pizza oven manufacturer, and share strategic recommendations appropriate for the company. The strategy process that resulted in the development of the strategic recommendations began by organizing a group meeting to establish the ground rules, select the group leaders and assign roles to the members of the group. A considerable amount of time was spent analysing the case study and identifying the facts.

Individual members were also asked to analyze the case study and share their recommendations with the group. Any form of communication, inquiries, and correspondences was done via the social media. The group members suggested creating a WhatsApp group account and include all the members, where real-time communication would be initiated. It was an efficient means of communication since the members have ample time to reflect on the best strategic recommendations for Ooni Company. I think the relationship between the group members was exemplary, and the progress occurred without any hurdles. The members submitted their suggestions in real-time and each of the recommendations aligned with the vision and mission of Ooni. The group also ensured that the benefits produced by the proposed strategic recommendations outweighed the risks. In making the recommendations, the members also performed a SWOT analysis on the company. The primary objective was to develop strategies that would assist the company to leverage its strengths and take advantage of the opportunities. Furthermore, it was also necessary to propose recommendations that would assist the company to surmount potential weaknesses and threats.

Ultimately, the group recommended three strategies, i.e., product diversification, cost- leadership, and blue ocean strategies, as the most appropriate for the company. Regarding the implementation issues, the group identified culture, structure, and resistance to change as the major threats. It is also worth mentioning some of the strategies recommended by some of the members were rejected by the group. One of the strategies eliminated was the cost-focus strategy. The group rejected this strategy because of its potential to limit the company’s future growth. The cost-focus strategy emphasizes on a specific element, such as demography. If the company makes the mistake of focusing on a single demographic, it invites the risk of collapsing when that particular element becomes non-existent. The group also rejected the differentiation focus strategy since it works best in an environment where companies constantly increase the price of products. Such a strategy can threaten a company's survival that thrives in a competitive business environment because any attempt to increase the product price results in narrowing the target market.

Altogether, throughout this module, I have perfected time management skills, report writing skills, and understands the importance of setting and pursuing achievable goals. Through commitment, integrity, and trustworthiness from the group members, we were able to complete the project within the allocated time. Undoubtedly, the strategic management module was an exemplary experience.

Conclusion

The Ooni Company's existence in a competitive business climate is primarily dependent on the methods it employs. For Ooni's continued supremacy in the market, managers should take these strategic directions, according to this analysis. Cost leadership, product diversification, and blue ocean strategy were just a few of the tactics addressed. Reduced manufacturing costs allow a firm to sell its goods and services for less than its competition.

This approach encourages the organisation to be more inventive and efficient. To minimise the threat of competition, product diversification strategies look for underserved areas. It is also worth noting that the Blue Ocean Strategy adopts a differentiation approach since it involves opening up new market space and developing new demand. But the company's structure and culture must match the execution of the strategic guidelines. Engaging workers and the whole business in the transformation process is also a consideration. Whether or if the planned adjustments are a success will be determined by their feedback. The strategic management programme has given me a wealth of information and skills.