Your individual report must address the following:
1) Critically evaluate your organisations business level generic strategies.
Theories about generic strategy at the business level address the issue of breadth of scope of the product or service offer (broad/mass market or narrow/niche) and the issue of competitive advantage (cost leadership or differentiation). Show a connection between the activities of your organisation and generic strategy theory. Reflect on whether the company is playing the same game or a different game to its competitors.
Say how Tui markets itself as a broad market or narrow niche market
How they gain competitor advantages portars generic strategies - explaining where and why the business is in one particular section.
How the business compares to its competitors . Just compare to Thomas Cook http://www.scribd.com/doc/118320181/TUI-Business-Strategy - page two explains the differences between the two companies.
This section should look to be around 500 words
2) Identify a number of different directions of strategic development which might be appropriate for the organisation and analyse methods which might be suitable for adopting each direction.
Classic theory proposes that organisations follow directions (the where) which can be regarded as being either market led or product led or some combination of both. There is also to be found in academic literature a typology of methods (the how) by which they pursue these directions. Using these constructs, discuss the developments which your organisation is undertaking or perhaps could undertake across a range of different directions.
Select 3 possible approaches Tui could take in the future to improve the business.
- Specific student travelling aim at students looking to travel. With the numbers of students rising and students. With students now looking for a more exotic holiday compared to the outdated 18-30s holiday to Malia etc. South East Asia is the holiday of choice with students wanting to go travelling but really only on week holiday in their summer holiday. This could be classed as market development as its still using the same product but aiming it at new customers. Organic growth
- Holiday packages for over 65, the highest proportion of the population over 65 and this age group with the most disposable income they are the perfect target market. As the majority are retired great package deals can be made in out of season time as they have no young children or work commitments. Organic growth or acquisition
- A possible tourism innovation for Tui could be the idea of a hop on hop off style bus pass around Europe. Similar to that of InterRail. Although this would be able to reach more countries over a larger area at a fraction of the cost, appealing to people on a budget and travellers. This idea would come under diversification. this could be completed with a alliances or joint venture.
1. Use ansoffs matrix to explain what section each approach fits into and the risks each section has.
2. Each idea must also explained how it could be completed by either; Organic Strategic alliances and Joint VenturesIntegration (MT) Acquisition (MT) 600 words
3) Select any one (and only one) of the strategic development options you analysed in element 2) above and evaluate its merits using established evaluation criteria.
Take one of the potential developments you outlined and put it under the microscope by testing it against a set of criteria. These criteria should not be ones that you have devised yourself but ones which have some greater validity by having been articulated and established in academic literature. Be sure to cite the authorship or origins of the criteria you select to use.
Choose which ever one of the three ideas is easiest to talk about in all three of these sections.
Split into three sections Suitability acceptability and feasibility:
Suitability: choose the idea which realistically would help the business improving business opportunities, has the least threats and environmental factors. Use Johnson Scholes and Whittington (2005:362) for ideas.
Acceptability: How shareholders, employees and customers would perceive this new idea.
Feasibility: Look at the Financial feasibility and how this idea could affect financial stability of the company, Looking at previous figures and whether the business has a debt, would this idea be financially feasible for the business. Potential financial implications?
This section should be the biggest at around 650 words
4) Identify and evaluate the key issues for implementation of the strategy option you evaluated in element 3) above especially a) the functional issue of human resource management in the light of the culture of the organisation, b) any other significant issues for specific business functions and c) the management of change that is implicit in the implementation of strategy.
Implementation issues will probably impact differently on the different business functions which go to make up the organisation. Much will depend on the organisations resources and competencies but, being in a service industry, certain business functions such as human resource management will always have particular significance. The way these are managed will depend on the culture of the organisation and perhaps the nature of the industry.
Strategic development invariably involves a degree of change, but change can vary in degree from continuous improvement / incremental to radical or even revolutionary. Change management theory addresses the whole range of degrees and you should decide what is appropriate in the case you have picked and judge what the change management issues would be. 500 words