Peer-graded Assignment: What should e-

Types do going forward?

Why a strong strategy is essential for the future business success?
The reason why having a strategy is essential for the future of e-Types is because it gives business
time to get a sense of how they are preforming, what their capabilities are, and if these capabilities
are able to help them grow.

Formulate a business strategy that suits the needs and visions

Before making any strategic decision, e-Types need to examine their position simply by making a
SWOT analysis, which will help them take strategic actions:
STRENGHTS WEAKNESSES
• Strong and skillful team that believes • Edgy design style that cannot be
in their capabilities applicable to all clients’ needs or
• Representative edgy style that projects
distinguishes from the competition • Lack of opportunities for growth
OPPORTUNITES THREATHS
• Invitation to a contest that will enable • High competition of prominent design
them to show off companies
• Eventual winning will open many • Contest that unofficially expects
other business opportunities for conservative design entries
growth

Having the situation analysis like this, it is easier to make strategy formulation:

‘Use team’s readiness and commitment to success to grab the given opportunity, which eventual
positive outcome will enable the company wider exposure and growth opportunities. Such exposure
not only will overcome the current weaknesses from market and financial perspective but will also
put the company in a position of high demand, hence possibility to pursue the design style with
clients of their choice.’

Why managers too often formulate sub-optimal strategies

Suboptimal practices in companies are a situation whereby responsible managers fail to do the right
thing just to take advantage of existing controls and procedures.

Although it is good to have the recognizable work style as a company value, and build the brand and
image upon that, in the case with the Team Danmark’s contest, e-Types should be reasonable and
make the design proposal close to the more stereotypical expectations.

There are two reasons why.

First, it is a design project that should match wider audience’s perception of the national symbol and
make the people identify with it. And when it comes to a design project of such category, ‘edgy’ is
the wrong choice. Majority of the audience do not have the sharp eye for design and the organizer of
the contest will not go with an option that is hard to be understood.

Second, sticking strongly to the company’s ‘edgy’ design principles in the contest, is a barrier for
winning it from the start, as we had the chance to see the odds made by the e-Types team in one of
the videos.
And that will mean, loosing a chance to win a financial award and prestige to have a won project that
is of a national interest.

e-Types faces a serious challenge that affects the main value and the pillar of their existence so far.
The design options should be perceived as growth options. And growth means coming out of the
comfort zone and be able to see the business potential of the opportunities that come on the way.
Submitting the ‘conservative’ design increases the chance of winning the contest and moreover
means that e-Types team has gone upper in the maturity scale by understanding that the best
design is the one that fits the needs of it.

They can make enough money with being edgy, but they won’t grow with the desired pace. So, the
way to success should be grabbing the options that arise and adapt to the actual needs that the
design projects have. That is the only way to get on the fast lane to greater success.

Measures to optimize current business strategies

e-Types should continue to follow the principles of their work, but also go for clients and projects that
will help them get out of the barriers of being edgy. That will help them improve their financial picture
and will allow them to invest in finding clients that will be ready to accept the progressive style that
this company offers. By having a wide portfolio of clients and projects they could still present their
most edgy work and position themselves as a company they want to be.

Every opportunity is important to be considered especially the ones that promise high income.
Clients should not be turned down because of their design preferences. Such challenges should be
considered as a test for claiming the maturity of being able to understand client’s needs and the
needs od the design they are asking for.

So, starting ‘from tomorrow’, e-Types should participate in the contest by submitting their first design
even though the team is not satisfied with their work completely. Even they don’t win the contest
they will win over the barrier of their reasoning. On a mid-term they will start to see the benefits of
the work of scale and that will reflect on the longer-term strategy where they will handle large
portfolio of clients and sizes of projects. This will give them freedom on longer term to present a
portfolio of the most edgy designs and position themselves as a company based on their core value.