Target Corp - Strategic Management - 5 forces - value chain Essay

Target Corp - Strategic Management - 5 forces - value chain - Essay Example Operating in a dynamic business environment, companies often have to change their strategies to suit the industry requirements. Technological environment keeps on changing, so does customer tastes and preferences as well as government policies. The environment an organization was operating in five years ago, and the challenges faced then, are a very different from the challenges faced today. Five years from today, this scenario will be different. Thus, strategic management as a process does not end at any particular time; rather, it is an evolutionary process. As the business environment keeps changing, the management in most cases has to implement changes that will ensure that it successfully meets its goals and objectives. Failure to implement such changes whenever they fall due means that the organization falls short of its goals and objectives. Thus, it fails to live up to its vision, mission and does not achieve its target. As a destination, strategic management aims at achievin g particular goals and objectives, defined by the mission, vision and objective statement of the firm. A destination establishes a journey; not until the company reaches the defined destination, then strategies will keep on changing, through the review process. b. All companies currently must have a strategic plan to survive in the highly competitive business environment. Every organization, serious enough in achieving its goals and objectives needs to have plans on what it hopes to achieve. Even if it lacks a mission statement, then it ought to have a vision of the goals it hopes to achieve in the long term. A strategic management statement defines the vision and the mission, establishes goals and objectives to achieve. These are the underlying factors in a strategic plan of a company. Target Corporation has a vision, a mission and a target objective, the key elements defining a mission statement of a company. Laying out its plans in a well-defined way and manner, with a comprehens ively started goals and objectives, Target Corporation qualifies as a strategic management organization. While defining what it plans to achieve in future, Target Corporation plans to be the leading firm in the retail industry. Coming second from Wal-Mart retail chain in terms of market share and revenue collection, Target Corporation management hopes to become the leading firm, by passing Wal-Mart. the probability of this vision becoming a reality in absence of strategic management plans is zero. Therefore, Target has to lay down a framework that would help it achieve these goals and objectives. To achieve this strategy, the company plans to embark on an aggressive growth and expansion plan. Its long-term plans involve internal and external growth plans on areas identified through the SWOT analysis plan. Externally, it hopes to expand its operations internationally through establishment of more branches. This will not only win the firm a competitive advantage over other firms, but will also help it acquire a larger market share. Another way in which Target shows its strategic management plan is through product diversification and development. Despite offering a range of fashionable products, and enjoying high customer loyalty, the management believes that through product differentiation and diversification, it can win more customers,