Business Management Industry Attractiveness

Question: Discuss about the Business Managementfor Industry Attractiveness. Answer: Introduction Business management is crucial in the today's competitive world in order to sustain in the market. The process in which the organization develops the strategies, procedures, plans and policies direct the business on the short run and long run is called the business management. Woolworths in Australia is one of the largest supermarket chains. However, due to the ineffective business management, the company is being highlighted for the wrong measures and cost it has to pay. The study aims to critically evaluate the theoretical concepts that influence the strategic management such as the attractiveness of the industry, resource-based view and the competitive advantage. The management theories and concepts are used in the study to understand the importance of strategic management in Woolworths. Moreover, recommendations are made that helps the organization to enhance the strategic management. Industry Attractiveness In the opinion of Hill, Jones Schilling, (2014), the presence or absence of threats exhibited by the various forces of the industry has a significant impact on the strategic management practices of the organizations. The industry becomes less attractive when there is an increase in the number of threat factors in the market. Woolworths operates in a highly competitive market and hence have some competitors that increase the sustainability risk. Furthermore, the growing competition imposes other threats such as lack of resources, presence of substitutes, price war that leads to the decline in the market attractiveness. Understanding the market forces helps the managers of the company to develop effective strategies that address the issues efficiently. Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson, (2012) argued that before planning the strategies, it is important to determine whether all the success factors of the company are identified. Thus, it can be inferred that the identification of the success fa ctors helps Woolworths to achieve the areas where competitive advantage can be obtained. Resource Based View Operating in a competitive market and remaining sustained in the market is a critical activity for the managers of Woolworths. The resources, capabilities and the core competencies have a direct impact on the strategic management process of the company. According to Eden Ackermann, (2013), any change in these factors leads to changes in the strategic management practices of the company. The organization is highly depended upon its resources such as the raw materials and the supplies. With the increase in the competition, the availability of the raw materials and the resources has shown a downward trend. Thus, in order to maintain the level of customer satisfaction by providing the quality products, it is important for Woolworths to consider innovative strategies that can make the maximum use of the available resources. Moreover, having proper knowledge about the available resources supports the organization to build up strategies according to the available resources. Rothaermel, (2015) further opined that it is important for the managers to set the strategic management practices according to the capability of the organization. The strategic success of Woolworths is based on the distinctive organizational capabilities of the organization. On the other hand, Mellahi Frynas, (2015) argued that the flexibility is important in the workplace as there is an ongoing need to identify and develop innovative capabilities. The capabilities are useful in responding to the changes in the demand for the consumers or the threat factors in the economy. The core competency is a deep proficiency that helps the company to provide unique value to the potential customers of the organization (Thompson et al., 2013). Thus, it is important for the managers of Woolworths to implement core competencies in the strategic management practices in order to increase the performance level of the company. Competitive Advantage The concept of competitive advantage allows the organization to outperform the competitors in the market. Woolworths uses the competitive advantage model in the workplace in order to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors (Doz Prahalad, 2013). This further allows the company to develop strategies accordingly that support in obtaining the competitive advantage over its employees. Based on the competitive advantage, the managers can set the strategic management practices as per the attributes such as power, high entry barriers, highly skilled personnel, and geographic location. Campbell, Coff Kryscynski, (2012) argued that the company should not lay full focus on establishing competitive advantage strategies for the company without knowing the customers better than the competitors. Hence, Woolworths need to carry out market research to understand the needs and demands of the customers. The market research supports the establishment of the strategic management practic es to meet the market demand. Recommendations Woolworths have been in the news regarding its management mistakes that has decreased the organizational performance and productivity. It is thus important for Woolworths to consider effective strategic management practices that will help to enhance the management process. The managers of Woolworths can consider expanding the ecommerce in order to increase its sales, revenue, and thereby grow further. Implementing the multichannel approach will help to drive traffic to the stores. As opined by Doz Prahalad, (2013), choosing the appropriate equipment or methods helps to minimize the risk factors, costly errors and thus improving the way in which the organization carries out the business. Implementing web-based technologies will enable the managers to improve the strategic management of Woolworths. The web-based technologies include e-purchasing and smart inventory control systems. The technologies will support better management of the working capital of Woolworths. The appropriate selection, as well as implementation of the strategies into the organization, helps to boost up the performance level of the company as the strategic management process is enhanced. Conclusion The business management being an important concept needs to be handled effectively by the organization. Due to the various management issues, mistakes and wrong decisions in Woolworths, the management system has not been effective as per the expectations. The attractiveness of the industry, the resources, core competencies and the comparative advantages play a vital role in the process of strategic management. It is, therefore, important for Woolworths to understand these factors while determining the strategic practices for the company. Moreover, strategies have been recommended to the company to improve its strategic management process. The recommended strategies will help Woolworths to increase its sustainability in the market. References Campbell, B. A., Coff, R., Kryscynski, D. (2012). Rethinking sustained competitive advantage from human capital.Academy of Management Review,37(3), 376-395. Doz, Y., Prahalad, C. K. (2013, January). Quality of management: An emerging source of global competitive advantage?. InStrategies in Global Competition (RLE International Business): Selected Papers from the Prince Bertil Symposium at the Institute of International Business, Routledge(pp. 345-368). Eden, C., Ackermann, F. (2013).Making strategy: The journey of strategic management. Sage. Hill, C. W., Jones, G. R., Schilling, M. A. (2014).Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning. Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., Hoskisson, R. E. (2012).Strategic management cases: competitiveness and globalization. Cengage Learning. Mellahi, K., Frynas, G. (2015).Global strategic management. Oxford University Press. Rothaermel, F. T. (2015).Strategic management. McGraw-Hill. Thompson, A., Peteraf, M., Gamble, J., Strickland III, A. J., Jain, A. K. (2013).Crafting Executing Strategy 19/e: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases. McGraw-Hill Education.