Wk4 DQ1

Discussion Question 1 CLOs 1, 7 

What characteristics would you look for in prospective employees? (Remember, you are trying to find
people who will help in the execution of strategy). Justify your answer

Ans:

Characteristics of people vary from one another. Employee characteristics

and their perspective behavior determine the company's success, their
knowledge and experience helps to develop and execute company's effective
strategy which is the way of reaching target goal.  Every employee need to
understand the company's target goal, their internal and external
environment. Here are the some characteristics of perspective employees, 
employee should be responsive, which shows respect and courtesy towards
the hiring managers; a candidate who thoughtfully responds when being
addressed, politely greets others, says "thank you” and "you're welcome,”
will set the applicant apart from others who lack proper social interaction
skills. It is also a key indicator of how they will interact with peers and
customers once in the position. Treating people respectfully will yield better
business results in every aspect of a company, especially when dealing
directly with clients.

They should be confident about their ability because it is the important

factor that sets apart between the ordinary and extraordinary is their
confidence. Every successful entrepreneur had this factor regularly pushing
them higher and higher in every step they took. Though not everyone is
born with this talent but confidence can be built up by every entrepreneur by
regular practice and putting themselves at difficult situations time after time.

Creative and innovative are also the major characteristics that every
employer wants in their employees. If I hire such employee who is creative
and innovative then I am pretty sure that he or she will come up with ideas
that only they can understand. For example, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg
who are basically college dropout students but they had a passion which was
filled with innovative and creative ideas. Likewise, I need a similar employee
who has these characteristics that can help to come up with different and
effective ideas to execute the strategies.

They should be a good team leader which can be team player and also can
influence many at the same time. They should have ability to take charge, to
volunteer for assignments, and to accept accountability for achieving the
required results of those assignments. The mark of the leader is that he or
she does not make excuses. You demonstrate your willingness to be a leader
in the organization by offering to take charge of achieving company goals
and then committing yourself to performing at high levels.

They should have ability to handle risk also.  Difficulty and risks can be even
worse if not handled carefully. Though at the same time, it should be kept at
entrepreneur back pocket; that they should be highly skilled in every field
that they are dealing with. It simply means not giving up easily. It's
uncertain that business strategy might successfully work or miserably fails.
If it fails then they must have resilient to pick themselves up and learn
through the experience. And again precede the business with new strategy
and better ideas. To determinately say employees should not give easily
rather cope up in tough environment and find a way to successfully execute
corporate strategies. These are the characteristics of perspective employees
which will be helpful for executing strategy to meet their target.

References:

Thompson, A., Peteraf, A., Gamble, E., & Strickland, J.A., (2012). Crafting &
Executing Strategy. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
 
Ans: Employees joining in an organization are very crucial in successfully achieving the
set objectives and targets. Moreover, they will be the one who executes the strategy and thus are
crucial to realizing the objectives. Hence, businesses and its senior management must carefully
select those employees that are more likely to fit the job and are dedicated to accomplishing their
task honestly and in a timely manner. As provided by Thompson Jr, Williams, Gamble, and
Strickland III, (2018), some of the crucial characteristics that a prospective employee must have
includes the relevant experience in the job they are to be selected for, creative and problem
solver, an effective communicator, a team player, and so on.

First of all, it is very much essential for firms to get employees with the required skills
and experience that is relevant to the job they are to be assigned. No company can hope to
perform the activities required for successful strategy execution without attracting and retaining
talented managers and employees with suitable skills and intellectual capital (Bartlett & Ghoshal,
2002). For example, for the company Aero Bricks that I have been discussing, there is a need to
create awareness about the AAC blocks for which campaigns and seminars are required, for this
it is essential to hire employees who have skills and experience in managing workshops and
seminars.

While different strategies and company circumstances sometimes call for different mixes
of backgrounds, experiences, management styles, and know-how, the most important
consideration is to fill key managerial slots with smart people who are clear thinkers, good at
figuring out what needs to be done, skilled in managing people, and accomplished in delivering
good results (Menkes, 2005). So, it is equally important for a prospective employee to be a
creative and clear thinker who can drive solutions to the business problems at hand and deliver
the results on time.

Similarly, it is essential for prospective employees to be collaborative and be able to

work effectively in teams. The task of implementing challenging strategic initiatives must be
assigned to executives who have the skills and talents to handle them and who can be counted on
to get the job done well. Without a capable, results-oriented management team, the
implementation process is likely to be hampered by missed deadlines, misdirected or wasteful
efforts, and managerial ineptness (Menkes, Executive Intelligence: What all great leaders have,
2006). Weak executives are serious impediments to getting optimal results because they are
unable to differentiate between ideas that have merit and those that are misguided--the caliber of
work done under their supervision suffers. In short, they understand how to drive organizational
change, and they must have the managerial discipline requisite for first-rate strategy execution.

Hence, some of the major characteristics that a prospective employee must possess
include relevant experience in the job they are to be selected for, creative and problem solver, a
team player, and so on.
 References

Bartlett, C. A., & Ghoshal, S. (2002). Building competitive advantage through people. MIT
Solan management review, 42(2), 34.

Menkes, J. (2005). Hiring for smarts. Harvard Business Review, 83(11), 100-109.

Menkes, J. (2006). Executive Intelligence: What all great leaders have.Management Today,
22(9), 16-22.

Thompson Jr, A. A., Williams, M. P., Gamble, J. E., & Strickland III, A. J. (2018).Crafting &
Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: Concepts
and Cases (21st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Ans:

For any organizations, the process of hiring and recruiting is very crucial. It is very important for
organizations to select the right candidate for the job placement they are offering for the long term.
Specially, when the company is looking for people who will be looking after strategic management, it
is very important for companies to look for certain set of characteristics (Thompson, Strickland,
Gamble, & Strickland III, 2008). Following are some of the characteristics I would seek in prospective
employees in the execution of strategy.

1.Innovative and enthusiastic: An employee working in strategic planning must be innovative and
enthusiastic. This means that a person must be creative enough to form new strategies and ensure
that they bring out something new and meaningful that can be beneficial for the business. A person
also must always be eager and try to seek for new ideas and experiments (Yate, 2014). Trying and
experimenting new ideas can bring out new strategies, a company will be able to encourage
innovative strategies. As execution strategy should be something that provides competitive edge to
the business, I think that innovation and enthusiasm are the foremost characteristics that employees
must have.

2.Team player: In an organization, it is not only important for managers to have team spirit and
leadership skills; it is equally essential for employees to have the team spirit and leadership skills. As
strategy execution is done by a team, it is very important for employee to be comfortable while
working in a team. An employee who cannot work well in a team or group will not be able to help the
company to executive the strategy effectively. Due to this, if I am to hire employee, I will ask them
whether they can work in a team and what type of working environment do they prefer.

3.Good communicator: Execution of strategy requires communication skills too. If a strategy is

formulated and in the meantime if an employee is not able to communicate effectively with the
stakeholders and publics at the time of executing strategy then it won't be effective. Because of this,
for an employee working in the process of executing strategy must have good communication skills
and must be able to communicate with managers if or when problems arises.

There are many other characteristics that an employee working in executing strategy must have.
However, if I am to hire an employee, I would seek the aforementioned skills set as a primary
characteristics.

References
Thompson, A. A., Strickland, A. J., Gamble, J. E., & Strickland III, A. J. (2008). Crafting and executing
strategy: The quest for competitive advantage: Concepts and cases. New York: McGraw Hill
Companies .

Yate, M. (2014). Knock 'em Dead Hiring the Best: Proven Tactics for Successful Employee Selection.
Avon : Adams Media .

Ans:

The building of a strong workforce is crucial for a company as it is

responsible for the organization's growth and sustainability. Employees
skills, capability, strength, qualities, and weakness are the crucial
components that an employer needs to be aware of before hiring the
individual (Neilson, Martin, & Powers, 2008). If I had to look at the
characteristics required of prospective employees who are able to execute
organization strategy, they would be as follows:
·Passionate: Regardless of the qualifications and experience of an
employee, an employee who is not passionate enough to work
strategically towards organization goal, can never provide efficiency in
the workplace, nor show dedication towards implementing the
organizational strategy. For instance: I have my interest in HR
management and training, but if I am appointed as a marketing
manager, I won't be passionate enough to work efficiently for the
company, as my field of interest varies, which makes me less
committed and dedicated to executing organizational strategy.
·Communication skills: One of the must-have the trait in an employee I
prefer is excellent communication skills. Regardless of the type of
business, an employee always needs to have strong communication
skills in the workplace. For the execution of strategy, the employee
needs to have a convincing and compelling ability, sound business
relationships and ability to make a crucial decision and justify it.
Hence, communication is highly important characteristic in an
employee. For instance: If the employee is asked to convey the
message from CFO's to his colleagues on the new strategies
implemented by the organization, it is necessary that the employee
have strong communication skills to convey the right message. The
communication skills include listening skills, clarity, and confidence,
presentation (be it verbal or non-verbal) etc.
·Enthusiast and Goal oriented: When hiring an employee, enthusiasm
is a crucial trait I look for an employee because it can reflect their
eagerness and hunger to perform for themselves and company. I
believe an individual need to have a strong mindset to achieve their
goal and are willing to learn and adopt a new procedure without
 hesitations. A goal-oriented employee is more likely to be dedicated
and efficient towards their work.
Apart from that, employee experiences, honesty, teamwork, influential
skills are another necessary characteristic that needs to be there in an
employee (Thompson, Strickland, Gamble, & Strickland III, 2008), as it can
help in the smooth execution of organizational strategy.
References
Neilson, G. L., Martin, K. L., & Powers, E. (2008). The secrets to successful
strategy execution. Harvard Business Review.
Thompson, A. A., Strickland, A. J., Gamble, J. E., & Strickland III, A. J.
(2008). Crafting and executing strategy: The quest for competitive
advantage: Concepts and cases. New York: McGraw Hill Companies.

Wk4 DQ2
Discussion Question 2 CLOs 1, 4 

Explain the differences between a "think global, act global" strategy and a "think global, act local"
strategy.

Ans:

The name of these two strategies, 'think global, act global' and 'think global, act local' are self-

explanatory as what kind of strategies each believe in. While 'think global, act global' believes that one

idea is worth sharing around the world and being used around the world another idea is worth sharing

around the world but needs to be acted upon according to whom we want to sell the product to.

The 'think global, act global' strategy is used by various companies from around the world.

They make such product that they can make and sell to the global audience (Rugman & Verbeke,
2004). If we look at smartphones, Huawei, a-Chinese manufacturer of mobile phones, have tried and

innovate so that their phones can compete with the likes of Apple, Samsung, LG in the global market.

While most of the Chinese-company are sticking to Asian market where there isn't much backing on

the intellectual property rights, Huawei is one such company which has gone global not just in Asia

but in Europe and now slowly into the Americas. They make phones which are more innovative or

technologically advance like the P10 which use shooters from Leica. This makes them differentiate in a

market where price competition isn't much of an issue. This makes them a company which thought

global and acted global.

The 'think global, act local' strategy is something where the company will take the ideas for

around the globe and specialize it to the market that they want to sell (Devine-Wright, 2013). Bata is

a Swiss-footwear brand; however, the company will make all kind of product for the market that they
are in. If we look at India, Bata makes shoes which looks like that were made to resemble something

that the Maharaja wore in India, this made people think that Bata was an Indian brand and many

people still believe that Bata is an Indian brand in the sub-continent, similarly, in whichever country

they enter, they try and make some kind of shoe which resembles their history and culture which

makes the company feel like a Native of same company, the name that they use also has meaning in

many languages which makes people feel that the company belongs to that particular country (Visser,

Gattol, & Helm, 2015). This is how, they are using the think global, act local strategy in their

businesses.

So, these are the differences between the two strategies, 'think global, act global' and 'think

global, act local' strategy.

References

Devine-Wright, P. (2013). Think global, act local? The relevance of place attachments and place

identities in a climate changed world. Global Environmental Change  , 61-69.

Rugman, A. M., & Verbeke, A. (2004). A perspective on regional and global strategies of multinational

enterprises. Journal of international business studies , 3-18.

Visser, M., Gattol, V., & Helm, R. V. (2015). Communicating sustainable shoes to mainstream

consumers: the impact of advertisement design on buying intention. Sustainability  , 8420-

8436.

Ans:

Firstly, 'think global, act global' is a strategy where the companies customized
their products as per the location, cultural values, geographical factors and many more.
One of the main traits of this strategy is it priorities the customer preferences as per
the regions (Thompson, Strickland, Gamble, & Strickland III, 2016). The reason why
the menu of McDonald's sold in the United States is different than that of India is due to
this strategy. Famous for its Big Mac (signature beef burger), McDonald's main course
in India is the Chicken Maharaja Mac. India is a big market and one of the leading
economies of the world so, McDonald's, despite being the big brand had to change its
menu to cope up with the religious and cultural values of large Indian customers.
Moreover, It is more of an outward-looking market-based approach where the
company researches about the market before entering it. This will help the company to
adapt or module the strategies that best suits to the given Market (Vignali, 2001). For
instance, Due to the geographical differences and roads conditioning, Audi cars supplied
in India have greater ground clearance compared to the German model of the same
car. Not all the products are suitable for the global market consumption. So, the
companies that follow this strategy are more prone to the socio-cultural and economic
differences. However, it can successfully place themselves, they can enrich their
differentiation and increase the market share.
On the other hand, "think global, act global" in more of an inward-looking
approach where the product is first made and then offered to the large set of
heterogeneous audience. It focuses on the standardization of every component of the
marketing mix (pricing, product, promotion, and distribution). The product will be the
same throughout the world with the same pricing strategy. One such company that
adopts this strategy is Apple. This valuable company has never customized the products
as per the needs, income or region rather, it produces in economies of scale with the
same equipment. 
Apple, Unlike, its competitor Samsung, that has so many sub-models (S, J, A
series) of the phone, has one single iPhone that is the same throughout all the market.
The promotional campaign, pricing, and product; everything is standardized. I
personally feel that this "Think global, act Global" strategy is a very complex strategy to
follow as one single product has to meet the expectation of the audience from various
backgrounds. However, if it can be effectively placed in the mindset of customers, then
they have the potential to rule the international market, profitably on a larger scale.

References
Thompson, A. A., Strickland, A. J., Gamble, J. E., & Strickland III, A. J. (2016). Crafting
and executing strategy: The quest for competitive advantage: Concepts and
cases. (Twelfth ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Vignali, C. (2001). McDonald's: "think global, act local”-the marketing mix. British Food
Journal, 103(2), 97-111.
Ans:

It is common for many firms to adopt international strategy to operate in two or more countries.
Be that be Coca-cola or P&G or Adidas or KFC, many such companies have entered foreign
market for different reasons. Some have entered new market to gain access to new customers or
to lower the cost of production or to get access to resource and capabilities in foreign country
(Thompson Jr, Williams, Gamble, and Strickland III, 2018). Companies generally adopt three
major strategy to compete internationally: Global Strategy-Think Global Act Global:
Transnational Strategy: Think Global Act Local: Multidomestic strategy: Think Local, Act
Local. For this discussion, we will particularly focus on two major strategy: Global Strategy-
Think Global Act Global and Transnational Strategy: Think Global: Act Local.
Global Strategy-Think Global Act Global: Global Strategy basically undertakes global approach
to produce and deliver the company's product and service. Companies with global strategy sells
same product under same brand names everywhere. For example, BMW. BMW's value
proposition everywhere in the world is, "the ultimate driving machine.” Likewise, another
example could be Starbucks. At Starbucks worldwide, the roasts and recipes for the core menu is
same for every market.
Transnational Strategy: Think Global Act Local: Transnational Strategy adopts both global and
local approach to produce and deliver company's product and services. Companies like
McDonald's and KFC,being global entity, have customized their offerings to address the local
preferences. When McDonald's entered India in 1995, the restaurant removed beef items from its
menu in deference to India's Hindu population which worships cow. Additionally, to address the
vegetarians there, it added vegetarians items on its menu.
However, living the motto completely has been a challenge due to ever-changing and
interconnected world. These days the product mix of companies are specific to individual
markets (Rugman & Hodgetts, 2001). Taking examples of BMW again, the company have richer
SUVs for US while it has more of sporting models for Germany. Similar is the case with
Starbucks. In US, its stores have fast-food feel while in Germany the stores have a high-end café
feeling. Depending upon the preferences of each country, both firms have customized their
offerings. Thus, is it actually possible to think and act globally in every aspect of product mix
has been something to debate on. And that's might be why many companies are struggling with
their global-local divide.
Living the motto of global and transnational strategy to every aspect is therefore challenging.
The new idea is to have global strategies that get tailored locally or transnational strategy that get
reconciled globally.
References
Rugman, A., & Hodgetts, R. (2001). The End of Global Strategy. European Management
Journal, 333-343.
Thompson Jr, A. A., Williams, M. P., Gamble, J. E., & Strickland III, A. J. (2018).Crafting &
Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: Concepts and
Cases. New York: McGraw-Hill Education Inc.
Ans:

 "Think-global, act-global” is one of the approach which characterizes a global strategy and
works best when there are substantial cost benefits to be gained from taking a standardized and
globally integrated approach and little need for local responsiveness. Many international companies
are huger their success to the home market. But, the success story, and their advance technology do
not guarantee a winning entry into new markets (Richman, 2001).

It is always true the new market entrants need to tailor strategies, modify products, adjust
pricing models, adapt sales and distribution approaches and rethink marketing programs. It is also
true that if someone is new to the market then they do not have access to establish network of
contacts. One who does not think can be result for failure.

Some of the companies that can be listed for think global, act global would be steel manufacture; steel
manufacture etc. can only act as global without any localization.

Whereas, "Think-global, act-local” is that  approach where new market entrants need to tailor
strategies, modify products, adjust pricing models, adapt sales and distribution approaches and
rethink marketing programs. Resources to tackle these issues are hard to find in a new market where
you don't have an established network of contacts. In order to succeed globally, even the biggest
multinationals must think locally.

The essence of acting locally is very important in present context of business.  It is because; today
people are laying issue of their own pride, culture, religious, festive and many more. So far, when the
small mistakes hit to their feeling then the whole set up has no meaning at all. The project may
collapse. The Indian issue of set up multiple companies and later they have to rename the companies
name after their home state is the issue behind acting locally.

For instance;

In the UK, McDonald's strategy is to listen more to local consumers and then act on it. The company
strives to do this around the world. Some if its local favourites around the world include the Mc Italy
burger in Italy, Maharaja Mac in India, the Mc Lobster in Canada, the Ebi Filit-O in Japan.

Starbucks

Starbucks is trying out locally designed franchises in stores. The stores are non-Starbucks branded in
order to recapture the feel of a local coffee shop, which would otherwise be threatened by the
existence of Starbucks in its vicinity.

Coca Cola

In 1955, a Coca -Cola advertisement or documentary referred to as the "Pearl of the Orient” shows
Coca-Cola's popularity in Philippines and how Coke has merged itself into the Philippines economy and
culture. And recently, they are promoting the local culture concept and it actually worked and felt like
Coca-Cola is for family.

However, companies and consulting firms articulating the guiding principle "think global, act
local.” While in principle this guidance seems reasonable, it has often turned out to be disastrous for
companies. This is due to a lack of clear direction and strategy for globalization when company leaders
decide to make it a strategic priority. With this historical mind-set engrained, one tends to see
international deployment strategies fail to meet expectations (Royal, 2015).

One of the eye catching fact, says that the new paradigm for success is "think global, act
global.” This paradigm shift, at its core, reflects the fact that US companies have to work within
cultures that are often hundreds of years old, along with their unique economic models, and the
associated cost structures available to foreign companies.

Regardless of the country, there is a consistent mismatch of expectations that needs to be

overcome in the best of circumstances. New US entrants to a market are focused on generating profit;
while virtually all developing countries, especially, are focused on learning best practices from the
work executed by US companies. Knowing this will help strike a balance where both parties can have
their expectations met.

                                                                                 References
Royal, A. (2015). Why Think Global, Act Local Is Failing. Blue Steps: Career service for executives.

Thompson Jr, A. A., William, M. P., Gamble, J. E., & Strickland III, A. J. (2018). Crafting & Executing
Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases (21st Ed.). New York: McGraw-
Hill Education.

Richman, T. (2001). Think Globally, Act Locally, Market Strategically. In DM news. Retrieved from
http://www.dmnews.com/multichannel-marketing/think-globally-act-locally-market-
strategically/article/71700/