Strategic Decision Making

Increasing revenues, increasing profits, increasing dividends, increasing profit margins, increasing returns on investment, increasing earnings per share, increasing stock prices, improving cash flow, and so on are all financial goals. Strategic goals include gaining a greater proportion of the market, delivering goods faster than competitors, reducing the time from design to market, lowering costs, producing better products than competitors, expanding geographically faster than competitors, and so on (Brown, 2020). Although most businesses as noted by Information Assignment Help do so, combining two or more methods may be very harmful if it is taken too far. No company has the resources to implement all of the possible business plans. It is time to make some tough choices and create some priorities. Integration strategies include; forward, backward and horizontal integration. Diversification strategies can be related or unrelated. Defensive strategies can be retrenchment, divestiture or liquidation, and each has some guidelines. Consumers who are price-sensitive want standardized items to be produced at a low per-unit cost, where Cost Leadership comes in. Michael Porter's Five Generic Strategies may be broken down into five distinct categories.

Creating a manageable list of the most appealing potential solutions is necessary. We need to know the pros and cons of each of these options and the trade-offs, expenses, and gains they entail. Most of the managers and employees involved in developing the organization's mission and vision, conducting the external analysis, and conducting the internal audit should be involved in assessing the various alternatives (Grant, 2021). Participants' ideas should be addressed together in a series of sessions to see whether they can be implemented. The methods should be rated in order of attractiveness once all possible options have been presented and comprehended by participants. There are three stages of the formulation of strategy. As a result of the SWOT Matrix, managers can construct four strategies: Using a four-quadrant framework, you may determine if a firm should pursue an aggressive, cautious, defensive, or competitive strategy. Graphically depicts divisional differences in comparative market share and growth rate for the industry in the B C G Matrix.

Graduate-level Response

Question 1 as posted at Assignmenthelpsite.com

Backward integration is a technique in which a company acquires or merges with suppliers of raw materials. A company's subsidiary may also help it oversee its supply chain. Forward integration helps organizations build consumer relationships by performing distribution operations (David & David, 2016). If Dr Pepper Snapple's CEO asks me whether one should employ backwards, either forward or integration, I will propose backward. Beverage firms operate in a highly competitive market, so they need inexpensive and simple raw material access to develop economies of scale. Forward integration may create monopolies.

Question 2

Ethical and cultural issues are crucial to any organization because they give values, lead the firm, keep the business legitimate, and increase goodwill. One of the most distinguishing characteristics of a company is its culture (David & David, 2016). When a company's strategy evolves, it is the human factor that provides unity and purpose, inspiring a sense of dedication and productivity in the workforce. Every one of us has a fundamental need to understand and make sense of the world.

Full Answer Section

     
  • Application to Dr Pepper Snapple:You address the question about backward vs. forward integration with relevant arguments for backward integration considering the competitive beverage market.
  • Ethical and cultural aspects:You highlight the importance of ethical and cultural considerations in strategic decision-making.
Areas for improvement:
  • Specificity:While your overview is broad, adding specific examples and details from Dr Pepper Snapple's operations and market could strengthen your analysis.
  • Trade-offs and risks:You mention trade-offs in selecting strategies, but could delve deeper into specific trade-offs and risks associated with backward integration for Dr Pepper Snapple.
  • Alternatives and comparisons:Briefly discuss alternative strategies (e.g., cost leadership, differentiation) and how they compare to backward integration in this context.
Additional suggestions:
  • Consider using bullet points or numbered lists for enhanced readability.
  • Briefly mention the SWOT and BCG matrices and how they could be applied to Dr Pepper Snapple's strategic analysis.
  • Conclude by summarizing your key recommendations and rationale for Dr Pepper Snapple's strategic direction.
By incorporating these suggestions, you can elevate your response to an even higher level of comprehensiveness and relevance to Dr Pepper Snapple's specific situation. Remember, a strong response not only demonstrates knowledge but also applies it to the actual scenario presented.  

Sample Answer

   

Your response provides a well-organized and informative overview of various business strategies and their considerations. Here are some additional thoughts and suggestions:

Strengths:

  • Comprehensive overview: You've covered key concepts like financial goals, strategic goals, integration and diversification strategies, Porter's Five Forces, and strategy formulation approaches.