SEM 641 – Business Strategy

Reflection Paper

Submitted By:
Abhishek Mahanty
1651306
A) The article discusses how companies can convert their global presence into a competitive
advantage. It states that companies have expanded their operations globally is not enough to
guarantee success. Instead, companies need to strategically leverage their global presence to
gain a competitive advantage.

The companies can do this by leveraging their global supply chain and adopting a "global"
approach. This means tailoring products and marketing strategies to local markets while
maintaining a consistent global brand. This article also talks about how technology can play an
important role. Companies that integrate their global operations and tailor their approach to
local markets are more likely to succeed. This article was relevant because Nexii made the same
mistake. They thought about expanding a little sooner and needed to prepare for this.

The second article, "The Aging of the World's Population and Its Effects on Global Business"
discusses the global trend of population aging and its impact on the world economy. I have
taken a class with Barry before, and this is one of his fav topics to discuss. I liked the part
where the article explores the opportunities and challenges for businesses in an aging world.
The article suggests that businesses need to adapt their strategies to cater to the needs and
preferences of older consumers. For example, businesses can develop products and services
tailored to older consumers' needs, such as healthcare and wellness products. In addition, the
article argues that businesses need to adopt age-friendly policies and practices to attract and
retain older workers. I read an article in Harvard Business Review to see what else a business
can do to deal with aging population issue. It also had almost the same points. In addition, it
said that businesses should also prepare for the impact of aging on their supply chains, as older
consumers may have different preferences for products and services. This could involve sourcing
materials and products tailored to older consumers' needs and developing partnerships with
other businesses that serve this demographic.

In the article AI superpowers, my major takeaway was how USA and China are using AI and how
China is leading the race. Lee suggests that China is well-positioned to become a leader in AI
due to its large population, vast data resources, and government support for AI development.
He argues that China's emphasis on practical applications of AI could give it an edge. While
China prioritizes practical applications of AI, and the United States focuses more on
fundamental research. The implementation part of the article was exciting for me to understand
how China is implementing AI. I didn’t know that China will catch up with USA so soon. China
has also laid out plans to become a world leader in AI by 2030 and make the industry worth
$150 billion.

Lastly, the Article “World is Spiky and not flat” discusses a return to the local concept, which
interested me. It states that with the recent rise of nationalism is a story that most of us have
heard. We often assume that the more high-tech a society becomes, the more global and
borderless it will be. And until recently, that has often been true. And new technologies, and the
businesses built on them, often need large numbers of people interacting with one another in
close proximity—something only cities can offer. As the 21st century unfolds, the localizing
potential of technology will only become more powerful. The coronavirus pandemic that began
in 2020 showed how fragile global supply chains could be. It is very, very spiky.

B) The readings helped me understand two critical things we were thinking about, even in our
capstone project. I am working with Nexii Buildings, and we discussed their expansion strategy
as a team. They have been looking to expand their business widely. Last year they also opened a
manufacturing unit in the USA which they shut down. They also laid off quite a few people, and
we wondered if they were right with their expansion strategy. The articles help us understand
how they can better plan to expand their business. Not as a scope of this project, but if they
decide to later expand in a country facing an aging population problem, what can the company
do to better set foot in such a country? This can be a part of their global expansion, and what
they can do to cater aging population can be a part of their strategy.

Thanks to the rise of ChatGpt, everyone is discussing AI these days. Not as a part of the project,
but I was thinking about how a company like Nexii can implement AI in their business to make it
more efficient. I did more research on this area to figure out that Nexii is already taking steps
towards it. They recently partnered with RYCOM to utilize Data Intelligence services to
continuously capture, measure, and analyze building system data. The ability to capture and
analyze data in ways that are easy to interpret facilitates proactive building management,
increases tenant comfort and safety, and provides the insight needed to manage energy
consumption and GHG emissions. So, AI can be used for building automation and energy
management. AI can also be used for the predictive maintenance of buildings.

C) In the article “Do you have a strategy?” Hambrick and Fredrickson argue that strategy is not
just a set of objectives or a plan of action but a distinct and coherent set of choices that define
how a company intends to compete and create value in the marketplace. I took up Nexii as my
capstone project as I want to work with a sustainable company and understand how their
strategy works. A sustainable company can compete and create value in the marketplace by
creating differentiation. Sustainability can be a good differentiator. By developing sustainable
products and services, the company can appeal to environmentally conscious consumers willing
to pay a premium for environmentally friendly products. But that’s a niche market that would
not work in a construction business. It would be tough to compete in a market which is price
sensitive, and there is so much competition. They can, however, try to bring the price down by
bringing down the price, which can be done by constantly innovating and spending R&D. A
sustainable company can reduce its costs and improve its operational efficiency by
implementing sustainable practices such as reducing waste, conserving energy, and using
renewable resources.
References
Hambrick, D.C. & Fredrickson, J.W. 2001. Are you sure you have a strategy? Academy of
Management Executive, 15 (4): 48-59.

Lee, KF. 2018. AI Superpowers. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Ch. 1&2: 1-50.

Gupta, A.K. & Govindarajan, V. 2001. Converting global presence into a global competitive
advantage. Academy of Management Executive, 15 (2): 45-56.

Chand, M. and Tung, R. L. 2014. The Aging of the World’s Population and its Effects on Global
Business. Academy of Management Perspectives, 28(4): 409-429.

Azhar, A. (2021, September 20). The world is spiky, not flat. Strategy+business. Retrieved March
27, 2023, from https://www.strategy-business.com/article/The-world-is-spiky-not-flat

[email protected]. (2022, May 17). NEXII and RYCOM partner Smart Tech with sustainable
building solutions: NEXII building solutions: Green construction company. Nexii Building
Solutions. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://www.nexii.com/nexii-and-rycom-partner-
smart-tech-with-sustainable-building-solutions/

Kharpal, A. (2017, July 21). China wants to be a $150 billion world leader in AI in less than 15
years. CNBC. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/21/china-ai-
world-leader-by-2030.html