Answer -1 ->

The process whereby the leadership of an organisation, acting on behalf of the company's
shareholders, formulates and carries out meaningful objectives and programmes is
referred to as strategic management (or owners). Typically, the process of formulation
starts with an assessment of the available resources, then moves on to a study of the
industry to investigate the competitive environment of the firm, and finally, an analysis of
the organization's internal operations. After conducting such an exhaustive investigation,
a strategy for achieving the desired outcomes is subsequently established. The
development of a strategy with the purpose of implementing that plan with the intention
of guiding and aligning the organisation with its key objectives.

Strategic Challenges –
1. Technology - Technology is generally the first barrier that comes to mind when
discussing the difficulties associated with management in the twenty-first century.
These days, almost everyone carries a smartphone that has a processing speed that
is more than 120 million times quicker than the whole computer power of NASA
in 1969. There has been a recent surge in interest in the problem of personal
privacy, and corporations are competing to produce space travel that is
commercially feasible. In today's world, it is possible to clone DNA, automobiles
can drive themselves, robots are present in practically all manufacturing facilities,
personal privacy is a major problem, and businesspeople are competing to
produce space travel that is both affordable and accessible. The rapid
advancement of technology has had an effect on almost every facet of
contemporary life.

2. Environment - There may be climate change sceptics, but few can deny that
weather events are happening more often and with greater consequences, and that
each climatic event has real costs and a domino effect. Consider the effects of a
flood not just locally, but also on customers and companies that depend on the
region's products from afar. A recent flood in Texas, for example, caused
significant damage, including the loss of 25 freight cars when a train derailed and
overturned. Each of those autos was supposed to bring things and supplies to
other businesses that would now suffer a loss, perhaps affecting many more
businesses.

3. Politics - There are always new challenges in politics. As chaotic as it has ever
been, some argue that the nation is more divided now than it has been since the
Civil War. Companies have a far greater challenge in navigating the political
context as they do business. As a result of today's indignation and social media,
wise firms have traditionally supported both political parties in order to be
pragmatic, but this may backfire on them when customers object to subjects such
as abortion, LGBTQ rights and so on.

Strategic Challenges in reference to Nokia – Any organisation, at any one time, is

confronted with a variety of severe strategic challenges. The way in which an
organisation responds to the threats posed to its strategic interests will decide whether or
not it will enjoy financial success.

In the years preceding up to Elop's appointment as CEO of Nokia, there were a number of
strategic challenges facing the company that may be broken down into seven main
categories. The seven challenges that needed to be overcome were insufficient strategic
planning, intense competitive pressure, inadequate innovation management, poor
operational efficiency, and an inappropriate corporate culture.
1. Weaknesses in Strategic Planning - From the start, the company's strategic
approach was terribly faulty. The company delivered an extraordinary
performance in the early years of the twenty-first century. It was the market leader
in a number of distinct market subcategories. The company's approach became
faulty as a result of its success. When client needs started to evolve, the firm
failed to recognise the transition or respond accordingly. As a result, we lost both
momentum and market leadership in all of our market segments.

2. Weak Innovation Management - The company's effort to exert some kind of

control over the innovative process was a dismal failure. In the time, the company
gave the impression of being at the forefront of mobile phone technology on a
global scale. Thus, the corporation became complacent when it came to creating
new technologies that would meet the demands of its customers.

3. Clear Differentiation Strategy - Nokia came up with a unique strategy for

market positioning. Since more than a decade ago, Nokia has been running its
mobile devices on the Symbian operating system. As we moved into the era of
smartphones, the process of implementing this platform became increasingly
difficult. The operating system that Nokia decided to go with was Windows 7.
This is the result of the partnership that took place between the two companies. It
was a possibility for Nokia to create Android-based mobile devices.
Answer -2 ->

Despite substantial developments in business-level strategy over the past two decades,
business-level strategy cannot meet the strategic needs of large multi-business
conglomerates on its own. Companies in this situation need strategies for each of its
various companies, as well as a broader strategy for the corporation. The corporate
method provides rationale for keeping all of these companies under the same ownership
group while retaining a degree of isolation from outside shareholders and investors.
There are primarily three kinds of corporate parenting, and they are as follows –
❖ Financial control - In this model, it is the responsibility of the parent company to
monitor and assess the financial performance of the investment portfolios held by
each of the operating business units. The shareholders and the financial markets
look to the corporate managers to locate and acquire firms and assets that have the
potential to generate profits on their behalf. It is the responsibility of the managers
of the individual business units to operate their units' businesses and make
decisions at their level. On the other hand, the parent business regulates
everything by establishing performance requirements.
❖ Strategic planning - In this organisational structure, the responsibility of the
parent company is to ensure that the various business divisions cooperate
effectively with one another. This may be accomplished by developing a unified
plan, making it simpler for companies to collaborate with one another, and
establishing a single location for the provision of services and resources.
❖ Strategic control - In this strategy, the parent firm helps its subsidiaries increase
their value by using its existing resources and expertise. A corporation could, for
instance, possess a prestigious brand or a talent that is possessed by very few
individuals overall. The corporate parent makes use of the knowledge and
experience it has gained as a parent in order to capitalise on possibilities for
expansion.

There are also several highly important analytical procedures that are detailed below-
1. Investigate the "strategic component" of each individual corporate unit -
During the process of formulating firm strategy, employees working in various
business divisions recognised important components. After putting the best plan
the organisation has to offer into effect, it is much simpler to evaluate each
individual business unit. Another approach is to develop a center of excellence
inside the organisation with the purpose of boosting the overall quality of the
organization's services and extending the strategic functioning of the organisation,
amongst many other potential benefits.

2. Conduct an investigation into each business unit to identify "areas where

performance may be improved." - When the resources of the parent business
are combined with those of the junior company — one that has opportunity for
growth — there is an improvement in performance. For instance, if the parent and
child companies specialise in different activities, such as manufacturing and
research and development, they might combine their skills to achieve economies
of scale. Another scenario is if the parent and child companies specialise in the
 same activity, such as manufacturing. It may be difficult to identify these zones,
and a great number of people are simply oblivious that they are there. It may be
identified in a variety of ways, one of which is by contrasting it with other similar
products on the market. When these conditions arise, the parent company tackles
these problems by relocating skilled employees from one business unit to another,
based on the set of skills that are required at that particular time.

3. Perform a study to see how well the business unit or target company fits
within the parent company – It is critical for businesses to understand their
strengths and shortcomings. The first question a corporate parent should ask is
what qualities of the business unit make it a suitable match for the golden
opportunity of parenting.

To get a parental advantage, which is to produce more value in the portfolio of firms than
any rival could, should be the primary objective of any company's strategy as well as the
most clear notion that should serve as a guiding principle. Because of this, the
components have to have impeccable alignment and a snug fit when they are put
together.
It is necessary to make a great deal of adjustments to how and what the majority of
corporate planning processes concentrate on in order to make this notion the primary
motivation behind strategic choices made at the corporate level. These are the types of
adjustments that need to be made in order for the value of multi-business conglomerates
ever to turn out to be more positive than negative.
Answer -3a ->

Capabilities - Organization capabilities (OC) are intangible, strategic assets an

organisation employs to get work done, execute its business plan, and satisfy consumers.
These talents can't be learned in a day or by following a pattern. Instead, the organisation
learns and improves itself via repeated encounters. They can be skills, systems,
technologies, or adaptable features. These assets establish a company's identity and
differentiate it from rivals. Each company weaves these features into its culture over
time, making them hard to identify and reproduce. Coca-Cola could sell its soft drink
recipe to another firm, but that company couldn't match Coke's popularity.

Competencies - A "competency" has rules and a technique to teach them to an

organisation.
First, gather and organise strategic management competence research. Other issues
include rivalry, strategy, economics, systems science and complexity. As the
investigation progresses, essential ideas, topics, and concepts emerge as data patterns.
These patterns are then re-applied to the data to assist organise it and produce hypotheses
that may be tested when further research is done. The corpus of knowledge becomes
more comprehensive as the patterns become more solid and every information fits into
one or more patterns. For example, recognizing "creative destruction" as an economic
element necessitates a strategic management strategy that drives the firm's progress. So
the corporation changes as rapidly as the economy. Also, "complexity." Complexity
science says complex systems self-organize. Strategic management must consider the
organization's strength in company design. The only similarity is an alphabetized list of
words. New definitions reflect themes considered to be significant for understanding
strategic management. It defines management concepts, answering "why business
executives should know this." The explanations illustrate ways to enhance competence.
The connections demonstrate how topics and concepts are connected. The body of
information is set up like Wikipedia, but it has one editor and one mission: to provide
businesses a competitive advantage.

Distinctive Competencies - The unique skills of a company set it apart from its
competitors. It is a group of important business practises and technological skills that set
your company apart from the rest. Companies work hard to get better at what they do and
give their clients a clear value proposition. This includes a set of benefits that your
customers can only get from your company. These unique skills help your company's
image by making your target market more aware of your brand.

1. Valuable – What does it have to offer clients in terms of added benefits and
advantages over the competition?
2. Rare – What do you do that no one else is doing? For which items and services
do you see a decline in sales and a rise?
3. Inimitable - How much money are your rivals willing to invest in a copycat
effort?
4. Organizational - How is the organisation organised to use the resources?
Answer -3b ->

The VRIO Framework was developed by Jay B Barney in order to determine the relative
importance of a company's resources. Resource Value, Resource Scarcity, Imitation Risk,
and Organizational Competence (VRIO) are the four components of the VRIO acronym.
Resources are the subject of VRIO, a strategic analysis tool.
1. Valuable - According to GE's VRIO Analysis, local food is a valued resource
since it's unique. This boosts consumer value. Customers choose these things
above rivals because they're unique.
GE's VRIO Analysis shows that R&D isn't a feasible resource. Because R&D
costs outweigh its inventive benefits. Few new features and products have
emerged in recent years. R&D hinders GE's competitiveness. Enhancing R&D
teams and reducing their costs is advised.

2. Rare - Local food products are not uncommon, according to General Electric's
VRIO Analysis. Other competitors easily provide this. Competitors may use these
resources in the same way that GE does, decreasing GE's competitive edge. Local
foods provide GE a competitive advantage. General Electric Company may still
use this valuable resource.
According to VRIO, General Electric's distribution network is a one-of-a-kind
resource. Because rivals would need a lot of effort and time to beat GE's
distribution network. This is uncommon in industrial firms.

3. Inimitable - The staff of General Electric Company are also cheap to clone,
according to the VRIO Analysis. Because other companies may educate their
employees new skills. These organisations may entice GE employees by offering
greater wages, work conditions, bonuses, and growth opportunities. GE's
employees become a competitive advantage. Competitors may buy them.
According to GE's VRIO Analysis, copying GE's distribution network is costly.
GE built this over time. Comparable distribution systems are expensive to
reproduce.

4. Organization - General Electric's financial resources are organised to capture

VRIO value. We use these assets to invest in the finest areas, capitalise on
opportunities, and protect against threats. These resources provide GE a
competitive advantage. The distribution network of General Electric Company is
constructed according to the VRIO Analysis. GE uses this network to reach
customers by stocking all of its outlets. These resources provide GE a competitive
advantage.
Because of this, businesses that stick to the VRIO framework of analysis and investigate
each resource to evaluate whether or not it provides a sustainable competitive advantage
will be able to achieve their objective. The VRIO is also helpful in deciding which parts
of the course need to be improved. Understanding and analyzing things in accordance
with the VRIO framework of analysis is thus very necessary for a successful business.