Introduction
A business strategy is a combination of decisions and actions that the company takes to reach its business goals and outperform competitors. A strategy generally aims to answer several questions: how to position the company on the market, how to attract customers, how to compete against rivals, achieve performance targets, capitalize on opportunities, and respond to changes (Thompson et al., 2020). MESA, an award-winning company specializing in corrosion control, uses a successful business strategy based on the balance between customer, employee, and community needs and a flexible strategic planning model.
Company Overview
MESA is an American company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which offers corrosion protection products and services. Its goal is to “design, create, install, and maintain cathodic protection system and pipeline integrity solutions with world-class service and attention to detail” (“Our company,” n.d., para. 1). MESA received three Baldrige Awards in 2006, 2012, and 2020 in the small business category (“MESA 2020,” 2020). It is a successful company with a high market growth rate, a strong customer satisfaction rate, and high revenue.
Competitive Advantage
MESA enjoys a significant competitive advantage over other companies on the market for multiple performance attributes. It offers high-quality products, convenient delivery services, reasonable prices, and outstanding customer service. The company’s top priority is safety, which is identified as workforce, subcontractor, and customer requirement and includes training, education, evaluation, and the utilization of correct tools and proper equipment (“SAFETY,” 2020). In compliance with its SAFETY program, MESA works with each client individually to ensure that all their specific needs and requirements are met (“SAFETY,” 2020). Its compliance with the highest standards of practice, along with a competitive pricing strategy and the high quality of products, provides the basis of the company’s competitive advantage.
Business Strategy
The company’s main strategic objective is to become the industry quality and service leader, and its business strategy is consistent with this goal. It includes a friendly and clear customer policy, careful financial strategy, family-like employment culture, and a servant-based approach to leadership (“MESA 2020,” 2020). The company’s strategic planning model “facilitates organization-wide deployment and alignment of the Vital Few Objectives with related measures and targets” (“MESA 2020,” 2020, para. 35). The company focuses on profitability and excellence while providing an open, friendly, and safe working environment and engaging in community support.
The company’s business strategy is successful because it is based on a compromise between the needs of customers, employees, management, and the community. By providing high-quality products and services, MESA maintains a high customer satisfaction index rating (“MESA 2020,” 2020). Its’ SAFETY policy, integral to all processes within the organization, ensures the protection of employees, customers, suppliers, contractors, the public, and the environment (“SAFETY,” n.d.). Along with safety, MESA employees enjoy a range of such benefits as life insurance plans, annual salary reviews, and a generous profit-sharing program (“Careers,” n.d.).
According to the 2020 report, 94% of MESA employees consider themselves high engaged, and 90% of workers are highly satisfied (“MESA 2020,” 2020). In terms of its financial policy, MESA aims to maintain competitive prices, with this strategy reported to be successful, as the company’s overall revenue has continuously grown since 2015 (“MESA 2020,” 2020). The company’s community support program includes corporate sponsorships, hosting classes, participation in industry associations, and leadership at all levels (“MESA 2020,” 2020). Overall, it is the balance between community, customer, and employee satisfaction along with the consistent financial policy that makes MESA’s business strategy a winner.
The further development of the company’s strategy will probably include market expansion, increasing the flexibility of the employee relation policy, and addressing new market challenges. According to the current strategic planning model, MESA regularly reviews its organizational performance and uses the data to develop new solutions and learning (“MESA 2020,” 2020). The model “allows for flexibility to address the need for transformational change, prioritization of change initiatives, and organizational agility” (“MESA 2020,” 2020, para. 35). With the current strategy incorporating the instruments required for constant change and development, it does not require a radical overhaul.
Vision, Mission, and Values
MESA’s vision, mission, and values are reflected in its Purpose, Principle, and Path statements. The company sees its purpose in leading the corrosion control industry through world-class performance. Its mission is “to deliver superior value through its people, passion, products, processes, profitability, and professionalism” (“Our company,” 2020, para. 4). MESA values are integrity, respect, fun, and community, which form the foundation of the company’s culture. These vision, mission, and values are relevant, adequate, and consistent with the company’s business strategy.
Company Objectives
At MESA, long-term objectives are referred to as the Vital Few Objectives. They include world-class safety, exceptional customer experience, world-class performance, is a great place to work, and opportunistic growth (“MESA 2020,” 2020). The company uses the 6D process framework, which is a strategy development process and software tool, to “deploy its Purpose, Path, and Principles across the organization and ensure that the core competencies meet strategic objectives” (“MESA 2020,” 2020, para. 14). All these objectives are addressed within the company’s business strategy, and the process of their achievement is constantly monitored, accessed, and updated.
Strategic Initiatives
MESA gives the utmost attention to the coordination of strategic initiatives taken at various levels of the company. In most modern companies, “crafting and executing strategy is a collaborative team effort in which every company manager plays a strategy-making role—ranging from minor to major—for the area, they head” (Thompson et al., 2020, p. 35). MESA implementation efforts are based on the assignment of overall responsibility for strategic initiatives to specific managers, who are in charge of their implementation and report results to the management team. The well-developed communication process within the company ensures cross-departmental information sharing and coordination of strategic initiatives.
Achieving Operating Excellence
The key to operating excellence at MESA is constant review and quality measurement. The company regards quality and process improvement as an integral part of its strategy and has made a strong commitment that quality and process system requirements will be implemented and maintained throughout the organization. It regularly conducts performance reviews, employee engagement monitoring, and customer satisfaction surveys and uses the data to improve its strategic plan (“MESA 2020,” 2020). It allows MESA to constantly evaluate its performance, prevent problems, and move towards operating excellence.
Overseeing Strategic Management
For MESA, the supervision of government organizations is primarily required during the installation and maintenance of cathodic protection systems. With regard to strategic management, MESA regularly reports its progress to relevant government and corporate entities. With its business strategy being based on constant review and performance evaluation, the company is committed to meeting all technical requirements and needs minimum external control of its strategic management processes.
Conclusion
MESA is a successful company with a business strategy based on the balance between customer, employee, management, and community needs. Its mission is to become the industry quality and service leader, and the strategic objectives are defined in accordance with this goal. MESA relies on constant review and quality measurement to achieve operating excellence and constantly improves its business processes to maintain its competitive advantage.
References
Careers. (n.d.). MESA. Web.
MESA 2020. (2020). NIST. Web.
Our company. (n.d.). MESA. Web.
SAFETY. (n.d.). MESA. Web.
Thompson, A., Peteraf, M., Gamble, J., & Strickland, A. (2020). Crafting & executing strategy: Concepts and cases (22nd ed.). McGraw Hill.