Strategy Formulation Tools: MICHAEL PORTER Model for Industry Analysis

PORTERS MODEL FOR INDUSTRY ANALYSIS:

Perhaps the best known tool for formulating strategy is the model developed by Michael E. Porter, an internationally acclaimed strategic management expert.

Essentially, Porter’s model outlines the primary forces that determine competitiveness within an industry and illustrates how those forces are related.

The model suggests that in order to develop effective organizational strategies, managers must understand and react to those forces within an industry that determine an organization’s level of competitiveness within that industry.

According to these model, competitiveness within an industry is determined by the following factors:

1. New Entrants or New Companies within the Industry
2. Substitute Products or Services – for goods or services that the companies within the industry produce/provide.
3. Supplier’s Ability to control issues like costs of material/ inputs that industry companies use to manufacture their products or provide their services.
4. Competition level among the firms in the industry.

According to the model, buyers, product substitutes, supplier and potential new companies within an Industry all contribute to the level or rivalry among industry firms.

TACTICAL PLANNING Vs. STRATEGIC PLANNING

Tactical Planning is Short range planning that emphasizes the current operations of various parts of the organization.

Short Range is  defined as a period of time extending about one year or less in the future.

Managers use tactical planning  to outline what the various parts of the organization must do for the organization to be successful at some point 1year or less into the future.

Tactical plans are usually developed in the areas of production, marketing, personnel, finance and plant facilities.

COMPARING AND COORDINATING STRATEGIC & TACTICAL PLANNING:

Basic differences between strategic planning and tactical planning:

1. Since upper managers generally have a better understanding of the organization as a whole than lower level managers do, upper management generally develops the strategic plans and because lower level managers generally have better understanding of the day to day organizational operations, generally the lower level managers develop the tactical plans.           
2. Because Strategic  Planning emphasizes analyzing the future and tactical planning emphasizes analysing the everyday functioning of the organization,facts on which to base strategic plans are usually more difficult to gather than are facts on which to base tactical plans.                                                                                                                       
3. Because strategic plans are based primarily on a prediction of the future and tactical plans on known circumstances that exist within the organization, strategic plans are generally less detailed than tactical plans.                                                                             
4. Because strategic planning focuses on the long term and tactical planning on the short term, strategic plans cover a relatively long period of time whereas tactical plans cover a relatively short period of time.

Despite their differences, tactical and strategic planning are integrally related. Manager need both tactical and strategic planning program, and these program must be closely related to be successful.

Tactical planning should focus on what to do in the short term to help the organization achieve the long term objectives determined by strategic planning.

FUNDAMENTALS OF STRATEGIC PLANNING

STRATEGIC PLANNING:

Strategic Planning is  the long range planning that focuses on the organization as a whole. In doing strategic planning, managers consider the organization as a total unit and ask themselves what must be done in the long term( 3 to 5 years) to attain organizational goals.

In strategic planning, managers try to determine what their organization should do to be successful 3 – 5 years from now. The most successful managers tend to be those who are capable of encouraging innovative strategic thinking within their organization.

STRATEGY:

Strategy is defined as a broad and general plan developed to reach long term objectives.Organizational strategy can and generally does focus on many different organizational areas such as Finance, Sales,Marketing,Production, Research and Development and PR.

It gives broad direction to the organization.

Strategy is actually the end result of strategic planning. Although larger organizations tend to be more precise in  developing organizational strategy than smaller organization, every organization must have a strategy.

For a strategy to be worthwhile, it must be consistent with organizational objectives, which, in turn, must be consistent with organizational purpose.

STRATEGY MANAGEMENT:

Strategy management is the process of ensuring that an organization possesses and benefits from the use of an appropriate organization strategy. An appropriate strategy is one best suited to the needs of an organization at a particular time.

The strategy management process is generally thought to consist of 5 sequential and continuing steps:

1. Environmental Analysis
2. Establishment of an Organizational Direction.
3. Strategy Formulation
4. Strategy Implementation
5. Strategic Control