AIB (MBA) 2015 Report for the subject "Strategic Management" by A.R.W.M.M.D.Rohana

1. STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Australian Institute of Business
Master of Business Administration
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2. Executive Summery
The main intention of this assignment is to examines and analyse the corporate strategic plan
of Kandy International Software Solutions (KISS) and propose suitable points along with develop
new strategy to enhance the strategic plan of the organization to meet their goals align with
the industry trends. Reason for that is in IT sector, Software companies currently face biggest
challenge to keep their high quality standards of their solutions along with minimize the cost to
maintain their reputation and the profitability.
Here I discuss about the organization’s vision, mission and objectives which defined by the
senior management to drive the organization towards the expected goal as a leading software
development company in Sri Lanka. I’m going to analyse the critical importance of
implementation, execution and evaluation of the organization strategies of Kandy International
Software Solutions (KISS), based on the different strategic management tools. Based on the
analysis I’m going to develop an appropriate strategy for the organization which enhances the
current strategy and which help organization to align the strategy with the defined goals and
take competitive advantage over the competitors in the same industry.
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3. Contents
Contents.......................................................................................................................................3
1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................4
2. Theoretical Background of Strategic Planning ......................................................................7
2.1 Strategic Vision ....................................................................................................................7
2.2 Strategic Mission...................................................................................................................8
2.3 Objectives..............................................................................................................................8
2.4 Crafting a Strategy..............................................................................................................10
3. Analysis of KISS Strategic Planning....................................................................................11
3.1 Vision Statement.................................................................................................................11
3.2 Mission Statement...............................................................................................................11
3.3 Objectives............................................................................................................................13
4. Organizational Analysis through Strategic Management Tools...........................................14
5. Propose Strategy for KISS....................................................................................................15
References.................................................................................................................................17
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4. 1. Introduction
Kandy International Software Solutions (KISS) is one of the leading Software Development
Company in Sri Lanka started its operations in year 2005. As a leading IT company, Kandy
International Software Solutions (KISS) specialized in several areas as below;
• Application Development
• Business Technology Consultation
• Embedded Systems
• Testing and Validation
• Mobility
• Legacy Transformation
• Free and Open Source Software
Kandy International Software Solutions (KISS) has worked with multiple clients in multiple
industries in both locally as well as globally in last 10 years.
Kandy International Software Solutions (KISS) consistently strived to exceed the customer
expectations by providing revolutionized business solutions to through various applications
with using wide range of technologies. In order to maintain the brand name and the customer
satisfaction, company requires talented pool of qualified professionals who can deliver the
quality outputs as well as good organizational governing process to keep everything functioning
smoothly.
Software engineers of Kandy International Software Solutions (KISS) expected to be constantly
innovative set of employees who are highly energized, competent and motivated to perform
excellently in development of challenging business solutions.
Over the years Zone24x7 has developed its own proprietary organizational governing process
called “KandyWay”, based on the CMMI standards and IEEE standards. “KandyWay” helped to
maintain smooth workflow within the organization to meet the standards of software
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5. development, project management, keep track of information and project delivery. It combines
the best of modern engineering practices to form a fast, flexible and a reliable framework that;
• Improves productivity
• Reduces rework
• Eliminates duplicate work
• Encourages reusability
• Provides better measurements and analysis
• Assists growing organizations by implementing proven development principles
Which was really appreciated only by the management and employees, but also appreciated by
clients of Kandy International Software Solutions (KISS) too.
In this assignment I’m going to examines and analyse the corporate strategic plan of Kandy
International Software Solutions (KISS) and propose suitable points along with develop new
strategy to enhance the strategic plan of the organization to meet their defined goals align with
the industry trends to keep the competitive advantage in the industry.
1.1 Vision Statement
“Bring our clients into the knowledge era through continuous innovation and modern
technological applications for simplify their day to day life with the help of information
technology.”
1.2 Mission Statement
“With the power of KISS’s team of highly talented associates, we are able to provide software
products and services for our individual and corporate customers with maintaining high value
for money, outstanding quality, widely customized software solutions with the capability of
superior service and support to simplify their day to day life.”
1.3 Objectives
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6. • Keep our customers happy and keep their values through continuous innovation,
support and service in each project.
• Identify the potential of our associates and provide all kind of technological training and
latest infrastructure for our associates need to remain as productive as possible.
• Create a dynamic organization that is prepared to meet the new challenges of IT
industry.
• Developing business partnerships that help our organization to improve market share.
• Reducing energy consumption through using energy-efficient light bulbs and air-
conditioners as well as motivating employees to switch off computers before leaving
work.
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7. 2. Theoretical Background of Strategic Planning
“A company’s strategy is its action plan for outperforming its competitors and achieving
superior profitability.” Strategic planning should evolves over the time due to adopt the
changing circumstances in environment, technological advancements and ongoing
management analysis within the organization. This evolvement always partly proactive and
partly reactive due to each situation that organization need to face the real challenges in the
business war. Strong strategic planning help organization to gain or win the market share over
the others and this winning strategy should pass the following key tests;
• The Fit Test
How well does the defined strategy fit to company’s current situation?
• The Competitive Advantage Test
Can defined strategy help the company to achieve the sustainable competitive
advantage?
• The Performance Test
Is the defined strategy producing good company performance?
Therefore organization should have winning strategy and good mechanism to execute the
winning strategy which called as good management. Good strategic planning help organization
to create winning strategy which should boils down from top management to bottom level of
employee. To do that organization defines its vision, mission, objectives which show the
2.1 Strategic Vision
Strategic vision outlined what the organization wants to be and it is a long term view which
concentrate on the future of the organization. It can be emotive and it is a source of inspiration.
In order to develop an effective strategic vision statement, any organization need to be able to
describe the kind of relationship that they want with its;
• Customers
• Suppliers
• Competitors
• Employees
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8. • Environment
2.2 Strategic Mission
Strategic mission defines the fundamental purpose of an organization, which sufficiently
describing why it exists and what it does to achieve its vision. It states why your organization is
in business and what are you hoping to achieve. Mission statement contains following
components;
• The overall purpose of your business – what are you trying to achieve (who we are).
• What your business does – products and services it provides (what we do).
• What is important to your business – the values your business lives by (why we are
here)
2.3 Objectives
Objectives are an organizational performance targets, the specific results that management
wants to achieve. Managerial purpose of setting objectives is to convert the vision and mission
in to specific performance targets. Well stated objectives should quantifiable or measurable
and contain deadline for achievement. Measurable objectives are managerially valuable for
three reasons;
• They focus efforts and align actions throughout the organization.
• They serve as yardsticks for tracking a company’s performance and progress.
• They motivate employees to expand greater effort and perform at a high level.
There are two different types of performance objectives to set to measure the organizational
overall performance;
• Financial Objectives – relates to the financial performance targets management has
establish for the organization to achieve.
• Strategic Objectives – relates to target outcomes that indicate a company od
strengthening its market standing, competitive position and future business
perspectives.
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9. Balance score card is the widely used method for combining the use of both strategic and
financial objectives, tracking their achievement a more complete and balanced view of how
well an organization is performing.
Figure 2.1: Balance Score Card
(Source: https://s-media-cache-
ak0.pinimg.com/originals/29/8c/89/298c894e9c489aaaab16d65d8b7b81ab.jpg)
It provides the organization’s employees with clear guidelines about how their jobs are linked
to the overall objectives of the organization, so they contribute most productively and
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10. collaboratively to the achievement of these goals. Nearly 50% of the global companies used a
balance-score card approach to setting objectives and measuring performance.
2.4 Crafting a Strategy
Objective setting should not limited to senior management who establishing of organizational
wide performance targets. Organizational objectives should broke down in to performance
targets for each of the organization’s separate businesses, product lines, functional
departments and individual work units. This top down approach or strategy making hierarchy
support to achieve the organizational wide strategic and financial objectives with the help of all
the employees who work towards the goals.
Figure 2.2: Balance Score Card
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11. (Source: http://image.slidesharecdn.com/mps812-lecture4-aug2011-110821024459-
phpapp01/95/entrepreneur-4-business-strategies-rapid-growth-strategies-20-728.jpg?
cb=1313894859 )
3. Analysis of KISS Strategic Planning
In this chapter I’m going to critically analyse the KISS’s vision statement, mission statement and
objectives. Then I will provide the suggestions for potential improvement of each section to
meet the expected industry standards.
3.1 Vision Statement
“Bring our clients into the knowledge era through continuous innovation and modern
technological applications for simplify their day to day life with the help of information
technology.”
Vision statement of the business is too much broad, it should be specific and focus on few
major areas that KISS need to achieve in future. Current vision does not indicate that what and
how organization is going to bring their clients in to knowledge era in future. It doesn’t have
much motive and inspiration. Which mislead the perception about the organization of the
employees as well as clients too.
Then business domain also not specific again, it generalize the software development and IT
services. If KISS would be able to give specific business domain would be easy for analyse and
evaluating for decision making.
As an example vision should be specific as “Innovate and continuous development of cloud
computing based, high valued software solutions for every client to simplified their daily
activities”
3.2 Mission Statement
As we discussed in the previous chapter, strategic mission has three different parameters that
we need to analyse in detail with the KISS scenario.
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12. • The overall purpose of your business -
Provide software products and services for individual and corporate customers of KISS.
• What your business does -
Continuously maintaining high value for money, outstanding quality, widely customized
software solutions and services.
• What is important to your business -
Simplify the KISS customer’s day to day life with the help of superior service and support
of information technology solutions.
In here we can see that each parameter does not specifically highlight the exact expectation of
KISS wanted to achieve.
Purpose of the business is too much broad, it should be specific and focus on few major areas
that KISS need to achieve in future. Current purpose does not explain what KISS is going to
achieve in future. Which gives that KISS is also just another software development company,
that image create within the employees and clients will destroy reputation of the organization.
As an example business purpose should be specific as “Innovate and develop highly valued
software and services for every client through engineering excellence”
Then business domain also not specific again, it generalize the software development and IT
services. If KISS would be able to give specific business domain would be easy for analyse and
evaluating for decision making. As an example business domain should be specific as “Provide
widely customized, best quality cloud computing based software solutions and services for
our client to gain highest return of investment”.
Key values of the business again not specific and not focus on one domain, it again generalize
the values. As an example business purpose should be specific as “Simplify the KISS customer’s
daily life with the help of superior technological support”
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13. Finally the mission statement looks like; “With the power of KISS’s engineering excellence and
superior technological support, we are able to innovate high quality cloud computing based
software products and services which are able to widely customized and provide higher
return of investment for our clients to simplify their day to day life activities.”
3.3 Objectives
As I discussed in chapter two, objectives are an organizational performance targets. But in KISS
objectives are not focus on the performance and not provide specific results with numbers that
management wants to achieve. The purpose of the setting objectives is not fully covered within
current objectives. It doesn’t convert the vision and mission in to specific organizational
performance targets. Therefore current objectives of the KISS are not quantifiable or
measurable and doesn’t have specific milestone or deadline.
As per the theories I discussed in the previous chapter, I would like to suggest and improve
current KISS organizational objectives to meet the expected criteria to execute the vision and
mission statements of the organization. For that I include both strategic and financial objectives
to drive the KISS to meet its vision and mission.
• Implement 5S practice within the organization before the end of 2015 to reduce the
wastage 30% and increase the operational efficiency 30%.
• Developing global business partnerships to growth of 20% annual profit starts from
2016.
• Reducing energy consumption 40 % from 2016 onwards through using energy-efficient
light bulbs and air-conditioners as well as motivating employees to switch off computers
before leaving work.
• Increase 10% allocation from annual budget for Identify the potential of our associates
and provide all kind of technological training and latest infrastructure increase their
productivity.
• Become 1 Billion Dollar software company in 2020 with development of own product
and services.
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14. We can use balance score card track the above mentioned financial and strategic objectives,
their achievement to identify how well an organization is performing.
4. Organizational Analysis through Strategic Management Tools
In this chapter I’m going to analyse about the organizational strategy through different strategic
management tools. I’m going to do this analysis about internal and external environments
through strategic management tools as follows;
4.1 SWOT Analysis
I
N
T
E
R
N
A
L
Strengths Opportunities
E
X
T
E
R
N
A
L
• Owning proprietary organizational
governing process called
“KandyWay”, to meet the
standards of software
development, project
management, keep track of
information and project delivery.
• Engineering excellence through
continuous learning and
development process for
associates.
• Growing demand for cloud
computing, Internet of things and
mobile application development in
the business world.
• Our existing clients recommend our
solutions to their clients make new
business opportunities.
• Most of the Asian countries now shift
their manual process to automated
process create huge opportunities.
Weaknesses Threats
• Organizational vision, mission and
objectives are not clearly defined
and which create doubt in the
internal employees and our clients.
• Company doesn’t have strong
marketing mechanism to promote
• Most of the competing software
companies now shift their business
domain to cloud computing and
mobile application development.
• There are many low cost software
solutions introduce to the market by
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15. the high quality products in to
different markets.
the competitors drag our market
share.
Table 4.1: SWOT Analysis (Source: Authors Work)
5. Propose Strategy for KISS
As an innovative software development company in Sri Lanka, KISS needs to have good
corporate strategy to expand or introduce of our product and services in different new markets.
Therefore we need to look forward about current market behaviour and predict the future.
Then based on our capabilities and the opportunities that we have, organization needs to select
the best strategy to fit in the future and gain the competitive advantage.
Figure 5.1: Balance Score Card
(Source: http://images.flatworldknowledge.com/carpenter/carpenter-fig05_010.jpg )
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16. As a software company KISS is not focusing on the low cost software development, because
they already have plan to increase 10% allocation from annual budget for maintain the
engineering excellence through investing continuous training and development of the
associates and purchase latest infrastructure increase their productivity. Therefore Low cost
strategy is not suit for the KISS to proceed with.
Then they only have one option, which is differentiation strategy. Yet again it has two sub
categories to consider about;
• Broad differentiation strategy.
For this one KISS would be able to focus on the broad customization for the software
development like Application development for different platforms, Business technology
consultation, Testing and Validation, Mobile app development for different OS’s, Free
and Open Source software Development.
Because of the broader market segment and the trend of shifting companies from
manual to automation with information technology, this would be the greatest
opportunity to touch those market and get out portion and increase our market share.
• Focus differentiation strategy.
For this one KISS would be able to focus on the niche market segments like Embedded
systems development, Quality assurance tool development and cloud computing
software solutions development.
Niche markets means very few competitors are there in the market to capture the
market segments. There KISS has greater advantage with their previous projects
delivered to the clients with having proven record of engineering excellence. Therefore
this would be the high tech solution development segment for the organization to gain
more financial benefits out of the patents and proof of concepts.
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17. References
• Thompson, AA, Strickland, AJ and Gamble, JE 2014, Crafting and Executing Strategy: The
Quest for Competitive Advantage Concepts and Cases, 19th
edn, McGraw-Hill, New York
(ISBN: 9780078029509)
• Banham, HC 2010, ‘External Environmental Analysis for Small and Medium Enterprizes
(SME’s)’, Journal of Business & Economics Research, vol. 8, iss. 10, pp. 19-26.
• Ning, H 2012, ‘How to Maintain Sustainable Competitive Advantages – Case Study on
the Evolution of Organisational Strategic Management’, international Journal of
Business Administration, vol. 3, iss. 5, pp. 45-51.
• Bigler, J, & Williams, F 2013, ‘ World-class strategy execution through ‘on the job’
leadership development’, Business Studies Journal, vol. 5, iss. 1, pp. 95-112.
• Nongo, E, & lkyanyon, D 2012, ‘The Influence of Corporate Culture on Employee
Commitment to the Organization’, International Journal of Business & Management, vol.
7, iss. 22, pp. 21-28.
• Ahenkora, K, & Peasah, O 2011, ‘Crafting Strategy That Measures Up’, International
Journal of Business & Management, vol. 6, iss. 10, pp. 278-283.
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