Personal Reflection 1

EB19006 V1

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Submission date: 27-Mar-2021 02:30PM

Submission ID:

File name: EB19006 V1

Word count: 559

Character count: 3927

Personal Reflection 2

The unit 3 course topics mainly highlighted the term strategic management and its

related aspects. The materials define what strategies are and why companies need them. Then

it explained the strategy-making process, who the concerned entities are, what the approaches

of the strategy-making process are, what the strategic issues are. Then it explained four

generic level strategies which are differentiation, cost leadership, focussed differentiation,

and focussed cost-leadership. The materials shared in the workshop also highlighted the

importance of SWOT analysis, Porter’s five forces of competitive analysis, and strategic

thinking at the time of strategic development. Strategic development and management need

analysis of the internal and external business environment to develop a tailored plan for the

business. The content also shared information regarding the emergent and deliberate strategy-

making process. Both are required at the different phases of the company’s operation.

I learned various aspects of the strategy-making process. I was unaware of some

terminologies such as emergent and deliberate strategy making, generic business-level

strategies, etc. The unit week 3 content materials helped me in gaining a deep understanding

of the strategy-making process and how to analyze the present environment to develop

strategies for the future. Previously, I had a little knowledge about focussed cost leadership

and focussed differentiation. The knowledge shared in the workshop strengthened my

knowledge of each aspect of strategic decision-making.

I learned that strategic management is a continuous process. Strategies are required to

evaluate and supervise the business as well as the industry in which the company is operating

on a regular basis. Strategists are required to assess the competitors and setting goals for the

company before formulating strategies (Schneider, 2020). The responsibilities of strategists

do not end after developing and implementing strategies. They need to continuously re-assess

each strategy on a regular interval so that it can be tailored based on the demand of the
Personal Reflection 3

current scenario (Schneider, 2020). Also, technology, competitors’ position, and economic

and political environment are continuously changing. The business needs to be flexible

enough to adapt quickly to these changes and remain competitive in every situation. Lack of

ability to understand the current issues, lack of stakeholders’ buy-in, varying stakeholder

perspectives, and poor understanding of future uncertainties can present challenges in

developing effective strategic decisions. In my opinion, there must be many brainstorming

sessions in the company for senior executives to discover strategic goals and tactics to

achieve them.

The final project was based on the company Unilever for the SDG goal Climate

Action. Environmental sustainability is now an important element that is integrated into a

company strategy. The SDG goal 13: Climate Action aims at mobilizing resources to address

the needs of developing countries to adopt climate change initiatives. Unilever is working to

achieve a zero-emission plan by 2039 (Unilever, 2021). For that, it is using renewable energy

and low-carbon ingredients into operation and also developing fossil-fuel-free cleaning and

laundry products. The knowledge that is gained from the unit 3 content will surely help me to

develop strategies to achieve the target. I will explore the knowledge into strategic decision-

making and defining the company’s approach for the process of achieving environment

stewardship.
Personal Reflection 4

References

Schneider, L. N. (2020). Strategic management as an adaptation to changes in the ecosystems

of public hospitals in Israel. Israel Journal of Health Policy Research 9, 65. Retrieved

from https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-020-00424-y

Unilever. (2021). Planet & Society. Retrieved from https://www.unilever.com/planet-and-

society/