Part 1

Summary
Pharmaceutical firms are influenced by both favorable and unfavorable elements due to their
size (Marques, Moniz et al. 2018) To generate a plausible scenario regarding future strategic
alternatives and resources, I will employ aspects with highly uncertain and high intensity in
my analysis. Drug Company potential is growing at a faster rate in emerging markets due to
the lack of alternative biotech goods, a lack of available players in the business, and a decline
in merger and acquisition engagement.
The fundamental driving forces and how it affects the leading pharmaceutical sector are R&D
expenditure with significant intensity, patent legislation with a great influence, and moderate
innovation. In addition, high-impact economic growth, high-impact state regulations, and
increased exercise having high effects and medium-impact exchange rates. Once the primary
drivers are identified, scenarios can be built with variables with highly uncertain and
significant potential effects.

High
Patent
Regulation
R&D

Impact

Innovation Trends
Low

Low Uncertainty High

Pharmaceutical firms are confronting multiple key interrelated difficulties, the most
significant being the loss in R&D productivity resulting in empty product pipelines to replace
drugs reaching patent expiration. A popular solution has been mergers and purchases of rivals
and biotech enterprises, instead of fixing the problems, this has created new ones. Though
biotechnology offers to transform the pharmaceutical sector, it also has difficulties: the
business itself is unproductive and there is ambiguity over the market acceptability of its
goods

Porter examination and industrial analysis are being used to examine the competitive
environment of a company(Mbazira 2019). There is a low threat within the pharmaceutical
business from potential entrants, since the cost of equity is quite substantial, making it
difficult for start-up companies that lack the knowledge to sustain the required benchmark.
The government establishes a large number of restrictions within pharmaceutical sector.
Furthermore, the industry includes taking a massive risk since it requires many years to
produce a product despite ensuring its profitability. The purchasers of medical drugs have
little authority concerning the cost of the products. In this industry, a buyer's influence is
modest because the bargaining organizations are health institutions including pharmacies that
meet patient requirements. The main emphasis of pharmaceuticals is profitability with a
limited desire to deliver the cheapest cost to customers (Mbazira 2019). Suppliers have
minimal power inside the pharmaceutical sector since chemical items are easily accessible
from various producers. The impact of substitutes is strong since illicit products are
increasingly being duplicated by a real drug item and sold at a reduced price. Finally, there is
fierce market competition between the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the business.                      
The pharma industry is divided into many sectors: Firstly, ethical industry, which runs from
growth to a downturn, secondly, generic segment, which reaches maturity (Isabelle, Horak et
al. 2020). Finally, OTC is linked to shakeout, growth inside the vaccine industry, and
advancement throughout the biotech industry.
The danger of potential market entrants is minimal in ethical sector, competition is strong,
power of buyers has been limited, the dominance of substitutes is very high and the power of
suppliers is limited. 
The prospect of new market entrants is strong in generic sector, as is competitiveness, buyer
power, supplier power, and substitute influence. The risk of new entry is modest, competition
is moderate, bargaining power of the buyers is reasonable, power of suppliers is high, and
alternative effect is minimal in OTC industry. The entry of market entrants is lower in ethical
industry, the intense rivalry is medium, buyers' level is limited, providers' power is
considerable, and substitute pressure is lesser. Since the threat of potential entrants is lower in
the biotech industry, competition is mild, consumer power is limited, vendor power is
reduced, and alternative power is negligible.

Although pharmaceutical industry has existed for decades, we have only recently become
able to comprehend and handle the bulk of health problems. The pharmaceutical sector is
enormously lucrative for all who work in it, but its prospects are uncertain. Besides
increasingly aging obesity levels, the business has been hindered by government regulates
restrictions and a better and healthier attitude.
There are following opportunities and threats be briefly discussed.
Opportunities
 The latest evidence showed a rise of health-conscious customers, growing demands of
pharmaceuticals, improvements to Food and Drugs requirements, or low staff
healthcare expenditures could all be opportunities.
 Innovative e-models emerge as a result of digitalization opportunities.
 Technologies could use to develop faster fast responses facilities, Personalized
Therapies.
 Direct marketing to patients.
 Rising price pressure, yet the market is expected to rise population aging.
 For organizations that have lagged in digitalization, acquisitions and mergers might be
a solution.
 I introduction of sustainability programs. Eco-friendly prospects must be explored and
exploited by marketing and product development.
Threats
 Growing governance leads to higher expenditures and lengthy development durations,
with shorter durations to patent expiration as a result; this complicated regulatory
structure is a significant hurdle for potential competitors.
  The decline in the disposable income of customers would affect nations that use
healthcare insurance schemes.
 Decreased tolerance for risk among patients and regulatory authorities is resulting in a
decreased rate of success of marketing clearance.
 Increased government control, a decreasing economy, rising research and innovation
expenditures, and a drop in the world population are all possible threats.

According to me, the outside environment has a significant impact on the development of
entire sectors as well as individual companies. The fundamental goal of external assessment
is to discover the opportunities as well as challenges that would drive revenue, development,
and fluctuation in a certain market or segment.
After performing a detailed analysis, we will have a better understanding of regarding
environment wherein our company operates, the elements that could also impact it, as well as
the issues which need to be addressed in the strategy.

Part 2
1) Sharing a personal experience/observation, please do analyse strategy and the
strategic decision using the relevant models in the theme in focus
After completing my degree, I served at the University of Sargodha as a research assistant. It
was a public university with a strategic aim of providing a professional degree, innovative
teaching, and valuable research. While working there, I saw they were unable to achieve their
aim of offering high-quality education to the greatest number of students due to a failure to
meet their enrolment target. It was a difficult scenario for management, so they decided to do
industry analysis. Many factors influence university admissions, including private
institutions' fierce competition that hires the best qualified (locally and internationally) staff,
offering a market-oriented curriculum, and provide more advanced functionalities to its
learners.

Local corporate organizations are also developing educational institutes, especially university
education schools, as a result of the opening of several universities. Students have a variety of
options when it comes to university education because they are willing to spend a lot of
money on competitive and industry courses. Furthermore, a lot of global universities provide
online certificates, diplomas, postgraduate, and bachelor degrees.

 These circumstances are troublesome for the university because the number of students
enrolled in such disciplines is steadily decreasing. Following a rigorous review of these
elements, the university's administration chose to be more flexible in strategy formation,
focusing on the issues that need to be addressed, such as technological advances that are vital
for education quality. As a result, key stakeholders put sufficient funds into technology and
the creation of high-quality infrastructure with massive publicity. This technique ensures that
study proceeds smoothly and also that pupils remain well-informed for a brighter future.
According to updated scenarios, the next year saw a rise in student registration as a result of
the school system's digitization. 
2) In your opinion, what were the most valuable learning outcomes from today´s
theme/session, for you as a student and for strategic managers/leaders?

The most important takeaway from the session, in my view, is that industry analysis is crucial
for organizational success. Before making any strategic decisions, a business must first
understand its surroundings. Furthermore, industry analysis provides deep insight into the
global setting, key affecting forces, ambiguities, and uncertainties, which are all critical for
organizational effectiveness and lengthy survival.

According to me, a confluence of market analysis gives direction to management; this not
only alerts them to future opportunities, but also warns managers of potential dangers,
allowing them to develop proactive measures for any unforeseen events. I believe the
majority of organizations used various tools for analysis and forecasting, but they were
unable to implement the most appropriate solution, which is why they were unable to cope
with the environment's uncertainties. As a strategic manager, I believe that an organization
should develop a smart corporate strategic plan in which all activities are organized promptly,
thus after completion of scanning and planning they have appropriate devices to
communicate and implement the strategic decision efficiently and effectively.
3) What (There is always something anything) did you pick up from discussing or
working with your fellow students/peers that you did not know or think of before
coming to class and that can help you to grow as strategic manager/leader?

I've taken notes on a few points that came up during the discussion. To begin, how the
scenario analysis covers the wider prospect of industry analysis besides PESTEL and SWOT,
and how it upgrades the organization to comprehend the volatile state of the industry,
prospective uncertainties, challenges that can trouble the organization, and how to better cope
with the ambiguous situation.

Additionally, I learned how all of the analyses are interconnected and work together as a
processing chain for uncovering all the happenings around the organization. Similarly, I
discovered two new concepts: the blue strategy and the red approach, both of which are
excellent additions to my understanding. Though I had already mastered many strategic
management ideas, these concepts aren't included, and I was unaware of their analyses.
Finally, the versatility of ideas is a great output of the discussion, because the diverse people
with different contexts and countries contribute a lot to my learning. The way everyone
expresses their thoughts on the theme is incredible, and how well the rhythm is continue till
the end is marvellous.

4) Using the reflections you have, please select on databases ONE scientific article from
2015 or later, and a) do a short synthesis of the knowledge gained, b) share how this new
knowledge sustain or not classical models and theories 
A) 
I select article for this part is Scenario analysis for strategy design: A case study of the
Colombian electricity industry (Quiceno, Álvarez et al. 2019). This article examines
alternative strategies for electricity businesses to capture opportunities and mitigate dangers,
concentrating on the formulation procedure for a comprehensive, innovative capability for
transformation in the energy sectors, using scenario-planning exercises, along with SWOT
and PESTEL analyses, and also a systems theory methodology.
This study examines those situations in which corporations might be substantially impacted
and influenced when the pricing of technology acceptance is cheap and policies are beneficial
to the development of unconventional power sources from viewpoint of electricity sector
transitions. The most beneficial and problematic scenario for energy companies is one in
which the price of renewables keeps falling and regulations are supportive of technological
advances, forcing them to shrink their old operations and explore potential opportunities. If
electricity providers do not evolve and change to technological advancements, they risk being
pushed out of the market. The well-thought-out approach focuses on altering the current
business while also developing new skills using available resources. New business prospects
arise as a result of technology innovation.
B) The pragmatic knowledge part of the article cited for the above question suggests that to
capture possibilities and eliminate risks, concentrate on the strategy formulation for a broad,
inventive plan for the business transition.

Pharmaceutical businesses appear to have experienced numerous challenges and

confrontations, which were previously explored in-depth in part one. Without a doubt,
external forces cause the bulk of difficulties, but focusing solely on the external environment
is insufficient for pharmaceutical businesses; they must also concentrate on their internal
capabilities and ways to use those strengths to seize opportunities. Companies must be
internally powerful for mitigating external risks, this strategic fit will assist drug businesses in
gaining a competitive advantage. If we compare this development to the A part stated in
referenced work, we can see that it has progressed significantly. We may infer that, while
performing detailed scenario analysis, pharmaceuticals businesses should determine their
strategic alignment of opportunities and strengths.

5) How do you assess your involvement and contribution to class discussions, and what
can you do better to contribute to the discussion next time you are in a similar
situation?
I believe I participated adequately in the previous class. Some classmates stand out for the
quality comments, but I'd never put myself in the same category quite yet. I suppose I make
fair points about competitive pressures and external analysis, but grappled with most of the
other topics such as blue strategy and red strategy and hence didn't take part that much. I
grasp the solid concept of the topic discussed thanks to such responses and comments from
my classmates, but I believe I could do more to fully involve. I think I need to do some more
in-depth studying before attending lectures so that I can participate in discussions more
effectively. I intend to start practicing in the upcoming session with full focus and preparation
and try to making built point of what is discussed. According to me then, I'll be able to
contribute positively.

Reference
Isabelle, D., et al. (2020). "Is Porter's Five Forces Framework Still Relevant? A study of the
capital/labour intensity continuum via mining and IT industries." Technology Innovation
Management Review 10(6).

Marques, C. M., et al. (2018). "Strategic decision-making in the pharmaceutical industry: A unified
decision-making framework." Computers & Chemical Engineering 119: 171-189.

Mbazira, A. (2019). Evaluating the Pharmaceutical industry in Uganda using porters' five forces
model.

Quiceno, G., et al. (2019). "Scenario analysis for strategy design: A case study of the Colombian
electricity industry." Energy Strategy Reviews 23: 57-68.
Whittington, R., et al. (2020). Exploring Strategy Text and Cases, Pearson UK.