Business Policy Assignment
Business Policy Assignment
Business Policy Assignment
External environment analysis of FICL In general, a college has to monitor macro environment forces (economic, social-cultural etc) and significant microenvironment actors (students & staff members, local community / government/other educational institutions) that affect its ability to earn profit. The college should set up a marketing intelligence system to track trends and important developments. For each trend and development, management of FICL needs to identify the associated opportunities and threats. A marketing opportunity is an area of stakeholder need in, which a college can perform profitably. Opportunities can be classified according to their attractiveness and their success probability. The colleges success probability depends on whether its strengths not only match the key success requirements for operating in target market but also exceed those of its competitors. The best-performing college will be the one that can generate the greatest stakeholder value and sustain it over time. Also as a developing country, which needs foreign investment / fund / skill from developed countries, Pakistan has no other choice to enter an open market era. Consequently, communication and information technology are mostly required. FICL, which has both Urdu language / culture and information technology departments, has an opportunity to develop and enhance both infrastructure and programs. Currently FICL is facing below mentioned external forces
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
Rapidly advancing technology Unequal competition Minimized view of a college education Specialized accrediting associations Sluggish approval processes Demographic trends Recruitment disadvantages Legislative involvement Formula funding uncertainties Uncertainty of off-campus operations Turnover in institutional leadership personnel threatens faculty and program stability Political pressures related to accountability, accessibility, and affordability driving programming Perceived fit of department programs within college programming and mission Changing demographics of our graduate students has reduced the number of students wishing to pursue gaships in certain areas making
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15.
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18. 19.
25. 26.
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28. 29. 30. 31. 32.
it difficult to cover some lab classes Outside of the department many misperceptions and myths exist related to an understanding of what the department does in terms of its academic and scholarly activities Paradoxical situation of the recognized and widely accepted benefits of physical activity set against the lack of value placed on physical activity as evidenced politically through policy and legislation Many of our competitors have recently developed or are currently developing new state of the art facilities which amplify the problems related to our aging facility and threaten our competitiveness to maintain cutting edge research and deliver quality programs External threats, changing priorities, and limited funding can potentially create internal tension over limited resources Competition from other schools who have more diverse programming opportunities and resources for students (e.g., on line courses, blended programs) Limited number of qualified applicants for faculty positions in many department areas Many faculty nearing retirement age who will need to be replaced in a market where there are limited numbers of qualified individuals Low salaries for department faculty relative to other institutions lowers our competitiveness to hire New faculty in a market where there are limited numbers of qualified individuals Changing rules for merit and the inability for salary increases to cover cost of living increases for many faculty coupled with increasing loads is lowering morale Salary compression is resulting in many senior faculty seeing there salaries slipping relative to new hires No enrollment control in most programs has created demand that cannot be met and threatens the high quality of our programming and which could negatively impact our reputation as the premier department in the region Saturated market Competitors that have better English proficiency Native speaker of English that have studied abroad Lack of awareness among staff Lack of awareness among students Potential of the national higher education council to intervene academic and administrative procedures at the various stages of the implementation of bologna reforms Increase in the level of competition in the field of student mobility Visa requirements High burden of additional workload that the quality assurance processes would create insufficient motivation of some academic staff
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36.
Opportunities Changing demand and delivery: The demand for credit and non-credit education at advanced levels has become a career-long reality. But the education must be delivered to students with limited time and mobility. Technology can greatly assist outreach efforts. FICL was founded as an outreach effort to meet the educational needs of place-bound students, and its future lies in continuing to be resourceful in carrying out that mission. Growth in fort bends service area: The expanding population on the west side of Lahore and FICLs expanding role in serving that population add considerably to the institutions growth potential and raise questions of revising its mission and identity. Changing learning environments: Multi-media technology is also changing the way on-campus instruction is delivered and represents an enormous opportunity to develop new and more effective ways of teaching and learning, as well as generating new knowledge. Information technology offers the opportunity for enabling the pursuit of learning from anywhere at any time. Changing roles and responsibilities: Technology offers the opportunity, even necessity, to rethink faculty roles and workload assignments. Team approaches that draw upon the strengths of different faculty, supported by resource and technical staff, offer the promise of more effective instruction that also creates time for research and development. Quality improvement: Systematic and serious use of performance assessment, especially of learning results, can lead to improved effectiveness and efficiency. Assessment of this sort constitutes performance research, which is appropriate to institutions of higher learning and an area in which they can be models. FICL is putting into place a new effort at comprehensive and systematic assessment of institutional effectiveness in all areas of performance. Improved credibility: Increasing enrollment and numbers of faculty offer the possibility of FICLs pursuing national accreditation in special fields, namely aacsb in business administration and ncate in education. Expanded recruitment: As a small institution in a small, centrally located city, FICL has the potential to attract needed full-time students from surrounding metropolitan areas where there are no public Institutions of modest size available. However, lack of housing and traditional campus activities limits the recruitment potential.
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Use of scholarships to assist recruitment: FICL has substantial scholarship funds, and these are being utilized to assist recruitment. Supporting data systems are now in place to enable such use. Identification of unmet educational needs: FICL has conducted a number of focus group sessions with regional enterprises and agencies to identify unmet needs and to ascertain how the institution can better serve them and their employees. FICL faculty members have developed model processes and instruments for more accurately determining the nature and extent of educational need in given community. The model has been implemented in el campo, texas, and has been presented at the annual conference of the southern association of colleges and schools. The university has also conducted a needs assessment in fort bend county. Response to unmet needs: FICL has created a regional outreach center to assess and respond to community needs for information, for educational programs, and for applied research. Expanding the array of programs: FICL continues to seek new program authority in certain fields. It is also revising and diversifying options within existing programs to better respond to educational needs. Responsiveness to students: Although responsiveness to students is a commitment and strength of FICL, it also offers the opportunity for even more rewarding effort. Students are more than customers; they are participants in, contributors to, and products of a highly structured learning environment and developmental process. Being more attentive to their needs can bring improvements in learning, recruitment, retention, career success, and alumni support. Effectiveness in responding to students is not determined by admission standards, size of the endowment, or research achievements of the faculty. It represents a level playing field among institutions of all types. The university thus has the opportunity for worldclass performance on this criterion of institutional effectiveness. Competitive advantage: Technology has made programs from around the state, nation, and world accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Competition for enrollments among these programs is strong and likely to increase. In the competition for students in the Lahore region, FICLs advantages are cost, proximity, and collaboration. It is difficult to beat the price of attending first a community college and then an upper-level or fouryear institution. And even in an age of high tech, high touch will remain a very attractive asset and one that requires proximity. Given reasonable travel distances, the institution can readily mix methods of delivering instruction to suit the demands of the subject matter and the needs of the students. Collaboration among uh system institutions and supporting
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community colleges is also an advantage that can expand access, enable more efficient use of resources, and provide a wider array of program options. Threats Rapidly advancing technology: Changing technology poses the most farreaching, unavoidable, and unpredictable threat to institutional stability and competitiveness:
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B. C.
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F.
Initial investment in infrastructure and equipment, replacement costs, technical support costs, and employee training costs threaten always to overwhelm the institutional budget; The efficiencies of technology remain tantalizing, and the ante tends to go up as capability increases; Uncertainty about the direction technology will take deters faculty from making major time investments in methodologies that the next advance can sweep away; To ensure human capability to use the technology is commensurate with its potential, ongoing training is necessary. Training translates into staffing considerations, since it takes time from the job and makes turnover a significant concern; Technology raises the stakes of competition, bringing competitors into territories formerly protected by distance (though this threat is also an opportunity); Effective adaptation of roles, responsibilities, and policy infrastructures is difficult in a rapidly changing environment.
Unequal competition: Not only will technology bring increased competition within the region from institutions outside of it, FICL also faces competition in providing non-credit continuing education from the community colleges and regional service centers. These providers are subsidized by the state and thus can offer instruction at prices far below what FICL must charge just to break even. Minimized view of a college education: Distance delivery, on-line delivery, and compressed time delivery of degree programs encourage the perception of a degree as representing no more than an accumulation of prescribed courses. The traditional view has seen progression toward a degree as being enriched by a learning environment and teaching community that extends beyond the classroom. Still part of most residential experiences, this valuable element of traditional education can be diminished or lost in non-traditional delivery, unless given careful attention. Specialized accrediting associations: Professional associations that
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accredit special fields have undoubtedly raised standards in certain fields, but they have too often put the interests of a specialized field above the overall interests of the institution and have emphasized input measures as opposed to successful results. Left unchecked, they threaten to balkanize the academy, especially by exacerbating market-driven differences in faculty salaries. Sluggish approval processes: In a rapidly changing educational environment, the time-consuming and complex processes of securing requisite approvals for new programs, program changes, off-campus delivery, and even delivery by telecommunications are often outdated, unnecessary, and mainly detrimental to meeting educational needs in a timely and efficient way. Oversight and accountability are appropriate concerns but should not hinder public institutions in their efforts to serve the public in ways that compete with private and out-of-state providers. The coordinating board has made commendable strides in recent years in reducing the bureaucratic bottlenecks. Demographic trends: Though the population of the Lahore region is growing modestly, the growth is mainly in the Punjabi and Urdu sector, where college participation rates have been significantly lower than the average for the greater population. This trend would seem to counsel strong intervention strategies at the elementary and junior high school levels. The institution is leading a collaborative initiative to address this need. Recruitment disadvantages: In recruiting to campus students from outside commuting range, FICL is faced with a lack of furnished and affordable housing, as well as lack of public transportation and limited parttime job opportunities. Also, the absence of freshman and sophomore course work, along with the absence of traditional student activities, reduces the attractiveness of the institution to full-time residential students. Legislative involvement: State and federal legislatures have involved themselves significantly in higher education policy and institutional operations during the past several years. While legislative solutions to problems may be commendable in their intent, they often create a compliance burden that small institutions are hard-pressed to bear. Legislative actions almost invariably result in reporting requirements and processes that add substantially to overhead costs. Since funding rarely accompanies such mandates, the costs of compliance must be passed on to students or absorbed from instructional budgets, diluting the quality of education delivered. Formula funding uncertainties: Although FICL does not appear to have suffered from changes in state funding formulae, the future impact of such changes and the prospect of even further changes leave institutions not knowing what they can depend on. Even modest shifts in the formulae can
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have considerable impact on a small institution. Further, the state approach to incentive funding tends to value only improvement in institutional performance. It does not seem to value consistently high levels of institutional performance. E.g., FICL has consistently high retention and graduation rates, but incentives favor institutions with historically low rates that have shown recent improvement. Uncertainty of off-campus operations: Although the board and chancellor have given assurances of commitment to a collaborative model for off-campus delivery of programs, the future remains worrisome, given the coordinating boards endorsement of the pathways model for the evolution of centers to independent institutions and the desire of communities for a clearly permanent presence, with a stake in the community. Progress training control / accounts and other offices position: There was no space present in the stores as it was full of the old students / staff dossiers and other records since 1948 onwards. Huge bills of stationery were presented for conducting/making and maintaining the tests, exams records etc. Majority of the clerical staff were also remaining busy in this work. Therefore, they could not pay attention towards most important requirement of the section to check, monitor and have tracking of the teachers & students performance & syllabus tracking/covering and monitoring etc.
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Total for Opportunities Threats Rapidly advancing technology Unequal competition Minimized view of a college education Progress training control / accounts and other offices position Specialized accrediting associations Sluggish approval processes Demographic trends Recruitment disadvantages Legislative involvement Formula funding uncertainties Uncertainty of off-campus operations Total for Threats
0.5 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.5 1
4 4 4 4 4 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 4 4
1.00 0.182 0.182 0.182 0.182 0.136 0.091 0.091 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.045 1.23 2.23
The Space Matrix The Strategic Position and Action Evaluation or the SPACE Matrix is a fourquadrant framework which indicates whether aggressive, conservative, defensive, or competitive strategies are most appropriate for a given enterprise or company. The SPACE Matrix Analysis is most often employed during professional market analysis of a firm or for graduate level MBA coursework. The axes of the SPACE Matrix represent the two internal dimensions of a competitive firm which are its financial strength or FS and its competitive advantage or CA] and two external dimensions which are environmental stability ES and industry strength or IS. These four factors are the most important determinants of an enterprise's overall strategic position in the marketplace. A generic SPACE Matrix is detailed below: Depending upon the type of firm and its industry, a number of variables could make up each of the dimensions represented on the axes of the typical SPACE Matrix. Factors that are typically included are those found in the firm's External Factor Analysis and its Internal Factor Analysis (EFA & IFA) and these should be considered in developing a SPACE Matrix. Other important variables that can be included in a SPACE Matrix examination are a firm's financial performance such as return on investment, leverage; liquidity, working capital, and cash flow commonly are considered determining factors of an organization's financial strength. Like the TOWS Matrix, the SPACE Matrix should be completely customized to the particular firm being studied and based on factual information derived from industry and market data. The steps required to develop a SPACE Matrix are listed below:
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Select a set of variables to define financial strength (FS), competitive advantage (CA), environmental stability (ES), and industry strength (IS) Assign a numerical value ranging from +1 (worst) to +6 (best) to each of the variables that make up the FS and IS dimensions. Assign a numerical value ranging from -1 (best) to -6 (worst) to each of the variables that make up the ES and CA dimensions. Compute an average score for FS, CA, IS, and ES by summing the values given to the variables of each dimension and dividing by the number of variables included in the respective dimension. Plot the average scores for FS, IS, ES, and CA on the appropriate axis in the SPACE Matrix. Add the two scores on the x-axis and plot the resultant point on X. Add the two scores on they-axis and plot the resultant point on Y. Plot the intersection of the new xy point. Draw a directional vector from the origin of the SPACE Matrix through the new intersection point. This vector reveals the type of strategies recommended for the organization: aggressive, competitive, defensive, or conservative. The directional vector associated with each given profile suggests the type of strategies to pursue which are: aggressive, conservative, defensive, or competitive. When an organization's directional vector is located in the aggressive quadrant (upper-right quadrant) of the SPACE Matrix, an firm is in an excellent position to use its internal strengths to (1) Take advantage of external opportunities (2) Overcome internal weaknesses (3) Avoid external threats Therefore, market penetration, market development, product development, backward integration, forward integration, horizontal integration, conglomerate diversification, concentric diversification, horizontal diversification, or a combination strategy all can be feasible, depending on the specific circumstances that the company is facing at the time. Financial strength: Ratings: The Colleges primary capital ratio is 7.23 percent, which is 1.23 percentage points over the generally required ratio of 6 percent. The college's return on assets is negative 0.77, compared to an educational industry average ratio of positive 0.70. The college's net income was $183 million, down 9 percent from a year earlier. The college's revenues increased 7 percent to $3.46 billion. 1.0 1.0 3.0
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4.0 9.0 Industry strength: Deregulation provides geographic and product freedom. Deregulation increases competition in the education industry. Pakistans law allows the college to acquire other colleges in Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Multan and Bahawalpur. 4.0 2.0 4.0 10.0 Environmental stability: Less-developed countries are experiencing high inflation and political instability. Headquartered in Lahore, the college historically has been heavily dependent on the education industries. These industries are depressed. College deregulation has created instability throughout the industry. -4.0 -5.0 -4.0 -13.0 Competitive advantage: The college provides data processing services for more than 450 institutions in all over Pakistan. Superregional colleges, international colleges, and non-colleges are becoming increasingly competitive. The college has a large student base. -2.0 -5.0 -2.0 -9.0 Conclusion Es average is -13.0 3 = -4.33 Is average is + 10.0 3 = 3.33 Ca average is -9.0 3 = -3.00 Fs average is + 9.0 4 = 2.25 Directional vector coordinates: x-axis: -3.00 + (13.33) = +0.33 y-axis: -4.33 + (12.25) = -2.08 The college should pursue competitive strategies: In the figure above, the actual diagram would go in the blank space in the lower right corner.
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The directional vector may appear in the conservative quadrant (upper-left quadrant) of the space matrix, which implies that staying close to the company's basic competencies and not taking excessive risks should be the recommended strategy. Conservative strategies most often include market penetration, market development, product development, and concentric diversification for example. The directional vector may be located in the lower-left or defensive quadrant of the space matrix, which suggests that the company might want to focus on rectifying internal weaknesses and avoiding external threats. Defensive strategies include retrenchment, divestiture, liquidation, and concentric diversification. Finally, the directional vector may be located in the lower-right or competitive quadrant of the space matrix, indicating competitive strategies would be most appropriate. Competitive strategies include backward, forward, and horizontal integration; market penetration; market development; product development; and joint venture, to name but a few. Understanding all of these potential options can be a complicated and time consuming undertaking. If you need a space matrix produced for your organization or for a business research project just contact china doll publishing or follow the link for more explanations regarding custom writing services. Internal-external (IE) matrix The Internal-External (IE) matrix is another strategic management tool used to analyze working conditions and strategic position of a business. The Internal External Matrix or short IE matrix is based on an analysis of internal and external business factors which are combined into one suggestive model. The IE matrix is a continuation of the EFE matrix and IFE matrix models. How does the Internal-External IE matrix work? The IE matrix belongs to the group of strategic portfolio management tools. In a similar manner like the BCG matrix, the IE matrix positions an organization into a nine cell matrix. The IE matrix is based on the following two criteria:
1. Score from the EFE matrix -- this score is plotted on the y-axis 2. Score from the IFE matrix -- plotted on the x-axis
The IE matrix works in a way that you plot the total weighted score from the EFE matrix on the y axis and draw a horizontal line across the plane. Then you take the score calculated in the IFE matrix, plot it on the x axis, and draw a vertical line across the plane. The point where your horizontal line
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meets your vertical line is the determinant of your strategy. This point shows the strategy that your company should follow. On the x axis of the IE Matrix, an IFE total weighted score of 1.0 to 1.99 represents a weak internal position. A score of 2.0 to 2.99 is considered average. A score of 3.0 to 4.0 is strong. On the y axis, an EFE total weighted score of 1.0 to 1.99 is considered low. A score of 2.0 to 2.99 is medium. A score of 3.0 to 4.0 is high.
Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) Developing a QSPM makes it less likely that key external / internal factors will be overlooked or weighted inappropriately in deciding which alternative strategies to pursue. Although developing a QSPM requires a number of subjective decisions, making small decisions along the way enhances the probability that the final strategic decisions will be best for the firm. As evidenced for the small College examined in this paper, the QSPM can be a useful strategic planning tool even for small firms. The business analyzed herein should Buy land and build a new larger campus rather than Renovate its existing campus. Success and even survival of this business could hinge on the owner getting this strategic decision right. So the QSPM can be helpful. The QSPM can be useful for all kinds of organizations - large, small, profit, and nonprofit in doing strategic planning. A limitation of the QSPM is that it can be only as good as the prerequisite information and matching analyses upon which it is based. Another limitation is that it requires good judgment in assigning attractiveness scores. Also, the sum total attractiveness scores can be really close such that a final decision is not clear. Like all analytical tools however, the QSPM should not dictate decisions but rather should be developed as input into the owners final decision. This paper provides guidelines and procedures as well as a simple example to show how the QSPM can be successfully used by businesses facing critical strategic decisions. In absence of a tool such as the QSPM, sometimes strategic decisions are made based primarily on emotion,
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politics, gut feeling, past experience, and intuition. In actual business settings as opposed to the classroom environment, these subjective factors can result in loss of income and revenues by resulting in strategies that fail to create competitive advantage. The QSPM provides an objective framework that can facilitate organizational strategic planning just as well as it does classroom strategic planning. Overall, the benefits of developing a QSPM far outweigh the limitations, because the analysis represents an objective rather than subjective basis for deciding among feasible alternative strategies. Also the QSPM utilizes the underlying external and internal assessments, rather than filing this information away and not using this it in deciding among strategies to pursue. Applying the QSPM in a retail computer setting, this article demonstrates QSPMs usefulness. Hopefully this article will spur use of the QSPM among both profit and nonprofit organizations engaged in strategic planning.
Sr. No Opportunities 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Quality improvement Expanded recruitment Use of scholarships to assist recruitment Identification of unmet educational needs Response to unmet needs Expanding the array of programs Responsiveness to students Competitive advantage Changing demand and delivery Growth in fort bends service area Changing learning environments Changing roles and responsibilities QSPM Weig ht 0.038 0.038 0.038 0.038 0.038 0.038 0.038 0.038 0.038 0.038 0.038 0.038 0.038 0.5 0.045 0.045 Ratin gs 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 4 4 4 Sco re 0.15 4 0.11 5 0.11 5 0.11 5 0.07 7 0.07 7 0.07 7 0.07 7 0.03 8 0.03 8 0.03 8 0.03 8 0.03 8 1 0.18 2 0.18
Improved credibility Total for Opportunities Threats 1 2 Rapidly advancing technology Unequal competition
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3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Minimized view of a college education Progress training control / accounts and other offices position Specialized accrediting associations Sluggish approval processes Demographic trends Recruitment disadvantages Legislative involvement Formula funding uncertainties Uncertainty of off-campus operations
0.045 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.045 0.5 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 1.00 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 1
4 4 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 4 4 4 2 2 2 3 3 1 1 4 4 4 1 1 2 1 2 2 4
Total for Threats Strengths 1 Student turnover increased from 5.8 to 6.7 2 Average Student purchase increased 3 Employee morale is excellent 4 promotions resulted in 20% increase 5 Newspaper advertising expenditures increased 6 Revenues from repair/service segment of College College technical support personnel have MIS College 7 degrees 8 Colleges debt-to-total assets ratio declined to 34% 9 Revenues per employee up 19 percent Total for Strengths Weaknesses 1 Revenues from software segment of store down 12% 2 Location of College negatively impacted by new students 3 Carpet and paint in college somewhat in disrepair 4 Bathroom in college needs refurbishing 5 Revenues from businesses down 8%. 6 College has no web site 7 Supplier on-time-delivery increased to 2.4 days 8 Oftentimes students have to wait to get enrolled Total for Weaknesses
2 0.18 2 0.18 2 0.13 6 0.09 1 0.09 1 0.04 5 0.04 5 0.04 5 0.04 5 1.2 3 0.44 0.44 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.33 0.33 0.11 0.11 2.4 4 0.50 0.50 0.13 0.13 0.25 0.13 0.25 0.25 2.1 3
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