Objectives:
This lecture brings strategic management to life with many
contemporary examples. Sixteen types of
strategies are defined and exemplified, including Michael
Porter's generic strategies: cost leadership,
differentiation, and focus. Guidelines are presented for
determining when different types of strategies are
most appropriate to pursue. An overview of strategic management
in nonprofit organizations, governmental
agencies, and small firms is provided. After reading this
lecture you will be able to know about:
.
Types of Strategies
.
Defensive strategies
Defensive Strategies
In addition to integrative, intensive, and diversification
strategies, organizations also could pursue
retrenchment, divestiture, or liquidation.
Divestiture
Selling a division or part of an organization is called
divestiture.
Divestiture often is used to raise capital for
further strategic acquisitions or investments. Divestiture can
be part of an overall retrenchment strategy to
rid an organization of businesses that are unprofitable, that
require too much capital, or that do not fit well
with the firm's other activities.
Guidelines for Divestiture
Five guidelines when divestiture may be an especially effective
strategy to pursue are listed below:
.
When firm has pursued
retrenchment but failed to attain needed improvements
.
When a division needs
more resources than the firm can provide
.
When a division is
responsible for the firm’s overall poor performance
.
When a division is a
misfit with the organization
.
When a large amount of
cash is needed and cannot be obtained from other sources.
Divestiture has become a very popular strategy as firms try to
focus on their core strengths, lessening their
level of diversification.
For example, retailer Venator Group, formerly Woolworth, in 1999
divested eight divisions in order to
become solely an athletic footwear and apparel company. The
eight divisions were Music Box, Randy River,
Foot Locker Outlets, Colorado U.S., Team Edition, Going to the
Game, Weekend Edition, and Burger
King. Venator several years ago was a $4.6 billion conglomerate
before CEO Farah divested thirty-five of
Venator's forty-two divisions, including all Woolworth and
Kinney Shoe stores. A few divestitures
consummated in 2000 are given in Table.
Recent Divestitures
Parent Company Divested Company
Microsoft Sidewalk Entertainment
AlliedSignal Laminate-Systems
Monsanto NutraSweet
Compaq Computer Corp. AltaVista
Dupont Conoco
Mead Corp. Northwood, Inc.
IBM Networking Technology
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Gillette
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Borg-Warner Automotive Kuhlman Electric
De La Rue PLC Smart Cards
Walt Disney Anaheim Angels
Walt Disney Anaheim Might Ducks
Walt Disney Fairchild Publications
Harcourt General Neiman Marcus
3Com Palm Computing
North American Van Lines Allied Van Lines
Harvard Industries, Inc. Kingston-Warren
Cendant Corp. Entertainment Publications
Marks & Spencer PLC Kings Supermarket
U.S. Industries, Inc. USI Diversified
Silicon Graphics, Inc. Cray Supercomputer
Eastman Kodak Co. Image Bank
Microsoft Expedia
Kellogg Company Lender's Bagels
Sabre Holdings Travelocity.com
Liquidation
Selling all of a company’s assets, in parts, for their tangible
worth
Selling all of a company's assets, in parts, for their tangible
worth is called liquidation.
Liquidation is
recognition of defeat and, consequently, can be an emotionally
difficult strategy. However, it may be better
to cease operating than to continue losing large sums of money.
Guidelines for Liquidation
Three guidelines when liquidation may be an especially effective
strategy to pursue are:
.
When both retrenchment
and divestiture have been pursued unsuccessfully
.
If the only alternative
is bankruptcy, liquidation is an orderly alternative
.
When stockholders can
minimize their losses by selling the firm’s assets
Means of achieving strategies: Joint Venture and Combination
Strategies
Joint Venture
Two or more companies form a temporary partnership or consortium
for purpose of capitalizing on some
opportunity.
Joint venture is a
popular strategy that occurs when two or more companies form a temporary
partnership or
consortium for the purpose of capitalizing on some opportunity.
Often, the two or more sponsoring firms
form a separate organization and have shared equity ownership in
the new entity. Other types of
cooperative
arrangements include
research and development partnerships, cross-distribution agreements,
cross-licensing
agreements, cross-manufacturing agreements, and joint-bidding
consortia.
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Cooperative Arrangements
.
Research and
development partnerships
.
Cross-distribution
agreements
.
Cross-licensing
agreements
.
Cross-manufacturing
agreements
.
Joint-bidding consortia
Joint ventures and cooperative arrangements are being used
increasingly because they allow companies to
improve communications and networking, to globalize operations,
and to minimize risk.
Nestlé and Pillsbury recently formed a joint venture named Ice
Cream Partners USA based in northern
California. The new company primarily sells super premium ice
cream that is high in fat—and price. Super
premium ice cream sales were up nearly 13 percent in 1998.
When a privately owned organization is forming a joint venture
with a publicly owned organization; there
are some advantages of being privately held, such as close
ownership; there are some advantages of being
publicly held, such as access to stock issuances as a source of
capital. Sometimes, the unique advantages of
being privately and publicly held can be synergistically
combined in a joint venture
Guidelines for Joint Ventures
Six guidelines when joint venture may be an especially effective
strategy to purse are:
.
Combination of
privately held and publicly held can be synergistically combined
.
Domestic forms joint
venture with foreign firm, can obtain local management to reduce certain risks
.
Distinctive
competencies of two or more firms are complementary
.
Overwhelming resources
and risks where project is potentially very profitable (e.g., Alaska pipeline)
.
Two or more smaller
firms have trouble competing with larger firm
.
A need exists to
introduce a new technology quickly
Some Recent Example Joint Ventures
Parent Company #1 Parent Company #2 Newly Created Company
AOL Bertelsmann AG AOL Europe
Walt Disney Infoseek Go Network
Nestlé Pillsbury Ice Cream Partners USA
Dow Jones Pearson Vedomosti
Volkswagen AG Porsche Sport Utility Vehicle
Pacific Century Group DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG Pacific
Century Matrix
Microsoft Ford Motor Company CarPoint
EBay Microsoft Fair Market
Excite At Home Tele Columbus Gmblt At Home Deutschland
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