BS Assignment Ben Bose P Reg No: 200101618111

For Case 1: Ford Motor Company

1. Define and discuss Ford's business-level strategy (Hint: Porter’s Business Level Strategy)

Ans: Henry Ford began an own circle of relative's vehicle commercial enterprise in 1903; this was during
the industrial revolution.

Porter defined the generic strategies of gaining competitive advantage. They are "Cost Leadership",
"Differentiation" (creating uniquely desirable products and services) and "Focus" (offering a specialized
service in a niche market). He then subdivided the Focus strategy into two parts: "Cost Focus" and
"Differentiation Focus."

Cost Leadership

Differenciation
Competitive Advantage
Cost Focus

Differenciation
Focus

The Ford generic business strategy was Cost leadership strategy which is reducing the costs and offering
the products at lower cost to their customers in the initial days. But in the meantime, they were highly
affected by the competition with rivals like Generic Motors.

GM follows the brand differentiation strategy in which they offer a wide range of products. So, to hold the
market, the Ford also adopted the differentiation strategy along with the cost leadership and Ford followed
with the product innovation to gain the competitive advantage over the rivals.

2. How can the company's various value-chain activities be better linked, than what is now being
done currently, to create better value for the company? (Hint: Porter’s Vale Chain Model)

Ans:

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Porter’s value chain analysis is a dynamic management tool which classifies hundreds of business
activities into nine major categories shown above. Value chain analysis emphasizes that a firm must
consider itself as a value creating system and it is meant to deliver more values to the customer. The
activities are the list of stages from the design to the sales and services of a product. As the Ford
company was initially successful with the concept of assembly line during the industrial revolution but later
it resulted in incurring financial and market share losses with the entry of rivals.

Following are some key aspects in which helps Ford to improve their value chain activities:

 R & D: Ford can focus more on innovations and technology to advance & design smart
automobiles. Its advanced engineering technology can help them in introducing the Hybrid type of
models in automobiles.
 HR: We had seen that there are a very large number of members in leadership team which were
replaced by the others, but Ford must review their complete structure and reorganize them with a
simple and flexible one.
 Technology & Development: Ford must focus on improving technology and strengthen them. If
possible, they can introduce AI in the assembly line on order to reduce the costs and accuracy.
 Sale & Services: Ford's strength is its customers, and they are the one who value the services.
So, to satisfy them and provide the quality they need at reasonable price, which helps as a boost
to sales and the post-sale services are the key to evaluate and get feedback so, a wide range of
services available also helps in increasing the sales.
 Procurement: The supplies are the key to any organization which helps in ease of production,
they might introduce policies like Just-In-Time so that handling costs will be reduced. A wide
range of suppliers will give the company a competitive edge in bargaining & determining the price
of the product.

3. In what ways can the company effectively manage customer relationships to increase its
strategic competitiveness?

Ans: The following are few ways by w companies can effectively manage customer relationship to
increase strategic competitiveness:

C u sto m e r Co m m u n icati o n an d co n ti n io u s fee d ba ck m echa nism

O ff e r, rew ard s, Lo yalty P rog ram s

C u sto m e r Se rvices a n d w a rran ty cla im s p ro ce ss

B u ild Cu sto m er Lo ya lty

M a rketi n g C am p aigns an d Eve n ts

S ocia l an d M a in stre am M e d ia M an agem e n t

 Customer Communication: To be successful in business one must know what the customer
was expecting, and their tastes & preferences helps in better production. Also, there must be a
proper feedback taken from them to review the product we offered.

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 Offers, rewards & loyalty programs: These types of programs not only help to hold the existing
customers but also helps in gaining new customers.
 Customer services: Before purchasing any automobile product every person will check for the
services available nearby. So, a proper maintenance and facilitation of service stations at all the
major cities/towns where the sales are done is a must. If there is no possibility for an own service
station, then an authorized service agent might also help in gaining the customer confidence.
 Build customer loyalty by offering specialized services: Every business will cherish only with
the loyal customers and these customers are needed to be given some privileges such special
services/privileges to the customers will strengthen the bond further.
 Marketing Campaigns and Bigger Events: Ford can organize these types of events so that
they can take their range of automobiles directly to the customers in which Q & A sessions, views
and product specifications are discussed.
 Manage Social and Mainstream Media: Now a days every person is trying to know a product
through internet so, a proper media must be provided by Ford to the public and customers in the
form of websites, social media handles, brochures etc., Providing cost effective warranty features
and faster service timelines.

4. Outline a rough competitor analysis. What would be the expected competitor behavior from
FORD, by using the model of competitive rivalry between different competitors in different
countries to understand Ford's response to different competitors?

Ans: More than 20 firms compete in the U.S market of which Ford, GM, Toyota and Daimler Chrysler
control more than 685 of the market and top six firms (including Nissan and Honda) control 83% of market
share. So, let us evaluate the effect of the above five forces of competition on Ford in the auto industry.

Suppliers
Bargaining
power

Threat Buyers
Competitors
Rivalary from new Bargaining
entrants power

Threat of
Substitutes

 Threat from potential new entrant: We see that the Ford lost it market share after the entry of
its competitors. This was due to new product range cost, quality offered by those new entrants.
Even though the threat may be lower in this industry but still we must remember that such new
entrants will be from highly reputed firms due to the investment required so, their brand image
may also affect the existing players in this industry.

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 Supplier’s power of bargaining: Suppliers are key determinants of the cost of raw material and
their inputs. Therefore, industry attractiveness and profitability will also be affected. Suppliers
bargaining power impact the organization in aspects like switch over costs, on time production
supply etc.,
 Bargaining power of buyers: The bargaining power of buyers is very high because ultimately,
they are the one who consumes the output, so one must verify the aspects like price sensitivity of
buyers & value to the loyal customers wise decide the pressure they exert. So, Ford must analyze
and identify such pressure and observe such may create a conducive environment for the
business growth.
 Threat of substitute products: This is what I have seen mainly in the case of Ford and GM
because GM provided a wide range of cars which threatened Ford to lose their market share. So,
one must remember that the substitutes are major competitors in any industry because they
might give price 7 quality advantage, durability etc., when compared to the existing ones.
 Rivalry among competitors: In this the competitors are compared to our others constantly, even
the people will research and compare the price, quality, features, durability etc., of the variants of
cars supplied by Rivalry companies. They might influence by differentiate the products & cost
advantage.

5. Why is there is a need for a new HR strategy and how Mullay is planning to blend the HR
strategy with worldwide manufacturing operations strategy?

Ans: Strategic leadership is all about effectively managing human capital, the next obvious question is
what human capital is.

Human Capital is a measure of the skills, education, capacity and attributes of labor which influence their
productive capacity and earning potential.

Alan Mulally (CEO of ford) has understood its importance and has taken various steps to ensure that the
current Ford Managers are up skilled.

One of the major problems faced by ford was its Management Team, which consisted of six to seven ford
family members who yielded great power in board of directors meet, Company’s leadership structure
remained complex, highly bureaucratic, and comprised of a six-layered management scheme on which
pay is based.

This kind of leadership chain affected the process of work since it took a long time get any action done
due to its approval process, however Alan has tried to lean size the management team and has to have
more meetings with its product core managers regularly and also has tried to get union labor team to work
with efficiently to reduce the work force issues and has slowly trying planning to eliminate 40 percent of its
workforce by 2008 in an effort to cut manufacturing costs and save more than 1.2billion annually, so that
the company can bounce back to its glory profit making days.

For Case 2: Ready-to-drink Beverage Habits and Ecology

1. What is the importance of handling huge quantity of waste generation from beverages at
least in all Metros, Mini Metros, Big and Medium Towns in India, as a part of Ecology
Environment Obligations and Responsibilities of an organization under the Macro-
Environment Factors?

Ans: Handling significant waste portions will assist preserve maximum environments in the Indian Metros,
Mini Metros, Big and Medium Towns clean, and neat. The major environmental wastes in the beverage
manufacturing industry include production line losses (both spilled product and broken packaging); raw
material wastes; packaging on incoming products; and filtration wastes, which contribute to wastewater

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and wastewater treatment sludges. Beverage manufacturers are responsible for the waste generated on-
site as well as the packaging on outgoing products that will end up as waste.

Improving solid waste management is crucial for countering public health impacts of uncollected waste
and environmental impacts of open dumping and burning.

Solid waste management planning, waste categories, waste containers and collection, waste processing
and diversion, landfill development, landfill operations, and contract issues are key to waste management.
Improving waste management can benefit business and the environment by reducing the cost of
purchasing materials and minimizing waste treatment and disposal costs (and possibly generating
alternative income streams by finding secondary markets for ‘waste’ products)and reducing environmental
impacts associated with waste disposal and consumption of resources and improving the business’
reputation and employee satisfaction through promoting an environmentally responsible image and
providing an improved living environment.

2. Can a “Refill model whereby selected important stores in various localities is taking care
of refilling” in beverages products work? What kind of Retail Vendor Incentives may be
needed to be given to administer this model? What are the practical difficulties in this
distribution strategy?

Ans: Refill model was a good idea because it will reduce the wastage by more than 50% because of
reusing the empties. But to implement this the organization must motivate the retailers.

The retailers must be tuned by proper training & regular communication. There must be some incentives
to them, and the most popular incentive method is rewards based on the levels of targets. I.e.., if the
vendors reached a particular level of target, then incentive will be unlocked, so the more the target
reaches, the more incentives (it is win - win - strategy). Also, loyalty points in the form of offers/discounts
to the customers who refill are also to be given. But the following are some of the practical difficulties in
this distribution strategy.

 The retailers might feel to lose the business due to downtime in case of repairs/delays of such
machinery.
 The incentives provided might be less than the normal sales profit they gain.
 Customers might not be interested in such a type of practice of refilling.
 The refilling item provided might be lost by the customer so, another item leads to an increase in
wastage.
 After the usage but before the refilling of the beverages the empty can/bottle might become
dirt/unhygienic so, it may lead to the health concern of the public.
 To run a refill model a proper supply of inputs is necessary, so even a lit delay might lead to loss
of business especially in case of unforeseen events.

3. Can a “IoT-connected refill vending machines dispensing “a part of business model work
well, particularly in middle- and upper-class localities? What could be the difficulties?

Ans: IoT is an acronym that stands for the Internet of Things. Any device that works on IoT must be on
Wi-Fi or Bluetooth or ethernet. An internet is a must and should in order to operate a Iot connected
device. Here IoT-connected refill vending machines dispensing a part of business model will help the
organizations for reduction in personnel and also, they will enable to pay through contact less online
payments through scanning of cards or wallets, QR codes etc.,

As we can see that all the benefits that arise in refilling through retail vendors are also available in IoT-
connected refill vending machines but in this we need to pay any incentives/rewards to any middlemen,
only a proper maintenance of stock of inputs are necessary. In this IoT enabled device the stock sold &
left updated regularly so that proper maintenance and usage will be done.

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However, the main problem occurs if there might be remote areas where the internet is not available or
fluctuations in the signals. In the middle- and upper-class locations the people might not be interested in
refilling facilities because many people appreciate and encourage the change of sustainability, but they
might not follow the practice either may be due to laziness or due to availability of cheaper alternative or
will do what is required attitude.

Generally, in these classes of areas people are busy in their work. So, a positive response through their
actions with intentions expressed might not be possible.

4. Interact with about 3 or 4 - big or medium size vendors in your selected town/locality and
enunciate their response to your preferred solution. Mention the Name of the Town and
Retailer Shop Name – Owner/Partner – Their Mobile Number, in your answer.

Ans: Some of the vendors I interacted with in Kerala are:

1. Palackal Traders, Aluva, Kerala [Mob: 9496177430]. Palackal exports a wide range of finest
quality Jute bags and plates such as silver paper plates, plastic plates, decorative plates, and
printed plates with custom designs. They also manufacture and export jute bags for rice and other
grains.

Since Palackal is deeply rooted in Aluva it is one of the renowned firms that are engaged in
manufacturing, exporting, and supplying the premium quality jute bags and plates to a huge
customer base. An idea was proposed to Palackal management to introduce disposable/Edible
plates that can be recycled easily and would contribute greatly to the environment.

We had a brainstorm session with the management to identify the key products that can be
introduced into their ecofriendly section. Palackal will now be introducing plates made from PET
bottle flakes, areca leaf and biodegradable raw material. Plates made from wheat barn are now
being manufactured at KYSV which are completely edible, and the raw material is procured
directly from reliable vendors.

2. Kottakal Bakery, Mookkannor, Kerala [Mob: 9207940121]: Generally, they sell bakery items,
cooldrinks in their shop. So, I asked them what they will do with the leftovers. They said most of
the customers leave the empties on the table they eat, and some will throw them in the dustbin,
so they collect waste and give them to the municipal labor every day. The food waste to used to
feed Pigs in their farm.

So, I clearly explained them regarding the effects of non- recycling the waste and suggested they
collect the plastic and tetra packs separately and asked to drop them with the local waste
collection point available. Also, suggested them to serve the beverages on a reusable steel glass.

If possible, serve them on a table so that while cleaning them they can collect and divide easily.
To be surprised they agreed to do this because on and around 200+ containers are getting
thrown by them every day as their majority of customers are students from nearby engineering
college and staff of nearby hospital. So, they come and go hurriedly in between breaks so the
wastage will be high, and it will be huge in the long term for damaging the ecology.

3. Surya Hotel & Catering, Aluva, Kerala [Mob: 93496 25421]: While travelling regularly I used to
have some small bites of food at this place. So, I observed that they are managing a restaurant &
tiffin center separately and most of the passengers are learning the emptied beverage bottles &
paper plates on the table, later the cleaners are throwing them in a dustbin.

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I approached the person at the counter and asked him about the waste. That person in response
said that every day they collect all the waste from dustbins and separate them as dry and wet
wastes. Later it will be given to a waste collective person who sells the plastic to a waste
collecting person who sells the plastic and metallic cans for recycling and throws the remains of
food in a dump yard.

I really appreciated them for such activity because in a rush place like Bus stand, hundreds of
people will have food so a heavy load of waste was produced and off not properly treated it will
be a threat to the destruction of ecology.

5. What kind of re-orientation is needed to be done by the organization in terms of integrated

Ans: Currently a production strategy is related to the R & D issues, production system, operational
planning & central departments. This strategy affects the nature of products/services, the markets to be
served and the way they are to be served. An integrated marketing communication is aimed to unify the
different marketing methods such as direct marketing, mass communication & one-to-one marketing.
Here in integrated marketing communication the tools used are like personal selling, advertisements,
sales promotion, sponsorships etc., To redirect the organization must focus on the functional level
strategies such as financial strategies, marketing strategies, production, HR, and R&D strategies.

A functional level, strategies are the actions assigned to various departments that support the business
level strategy and corporate level strategy. These strategies specify the outcomes an organization wants
to see & achieve the daily operations of specific departments/functions of a business.

A proper direction must be provided to the functional managers about the plans & policies to be adopted
for efficient implementation of corporate strategy. The functional strategies are based on the functional
capability factor. These are made within the guidelines set at higher levels.

So, the organization must reiterate their existing policies to find the best fit of marketing & production
strategies, so that they can provide a better & sustainability product and they can promote the ideology to
the public at large.

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