Introduction
The creation of strategies may be a one-sitting process and thus perceived to be easy and successful. However, the strategies put in place will have no meaning if not well implemented. In fact, the implementation part is what causes failures from the side of the management. In order for proper implementations, the willingness and activeness must start from the top as roles tickle down.
For the case study analysis of how the implementation is realized, the two companies selected for the same are:
- The PepsiCo Company, which is a multinational beverage manufacturer and distributor in more than 200 countries.
- The Sedibeng Breweries company is the manufacturer and distributor of alcoholic beverages in South Africa.
For a clear understanding of strategy implementation and realization, the roles and responsibilities in these two organizations will be considered.
The PepsiCo Company
The company has put in place some strategies those intents to see it remain in the market. The strategic implementation is realized through various roles:
The Role of the Management
The chief executive of PepsiCo Company is at the forefront of all strategy implementation plans. Through his link with the board of directors, he is ensuring that all external and internal environments of the business are in the proper place. According to the company’s sustainability report (2009), the roles of various committees put in place for implementation of the company’s strategy are well defined ( p.24).
The committees include; the level executive committees which have been mandated by the management of various projects that are at various levels. There is also a separate planning committee that is mandated with the redesigning of the existing strategies to cope up with the emerging changes. Furthermore, to ensure that the company continues to explore a wider market, the committee termed as the entrepreneur is mandated with the responsibilities of developing the entrepreneurial spirit of ambitious individuals selling the firm’s brand (Lucas 2007, p.58).
Quality Focusing Strategy Maintenance
In order to ensure that it remains in the market, the company has strategized on ways through which quality in its products can be maintained. According to the information on its site, the company has put in place a management maintenance software system in place called TCCQC. Through this system, all activities of the company are coordinated and guided so as to achieve the best quality in every activity. Through this system, the company is steered towards its achievement of cooperating strategic plan by ensuring that the company enters into new markets and achieves its aim.
Adoption of the Continuous Quality Production Techniques through Quality Labor
To ensure the company’s strategy of quality focus, PepsiCo Company through the department of human resources is focusing on putting in place a skilled workforce. The company through its graduate management trainee scheme is ensuring quality training of its manpower on the latest technology of production. This scheme has been in the pipeline and is still active. The manpower already in place is on continuous on-the-job training and periodic seminars for the latest technology and adoption. Furthermore, the company has stuck to its policy of using quality materials in production as part of product formulation policies.
Image creation through charitable activities
According to the information encrypted in its vision, PepsiCo Company has set its eyes on becoming the most coveted company on the planet. In order to ensure that its vision comes to pass, the company has embarked on building its image throughout the world. One area the company has capitalized on is charitable activities. It has an established philanthropic program termed as PepsiCo foundation that is funding community projects in the united states.
In 1999 the company launched a new charitable project called PepsiCo fresh project in which individuals were supposed to submit votes for their charitable organizations to be funded. A total of 203 projects from the whole North American continent have been funded. The current program is to extend the same to other continents beginning with Europe; which is already underway. Through direct contact with the community, the company is aiming to be popular with the community.
Strong Marketing Strategies
To ensure its strategies are achieved, the company is in the continuous process of advertisement of its brand. This has kept it ahead of coca-cola, the nearest rival. In the further marketing strategies, the company has ensured the uniqueness of its brand remains in place.
The Sedibeng Breweries Company
Since this company is still new in the market, it is on serious modalities of implementing its strategies that will ensure that it takes a larger command of the market and remain in it for long.
Management Responsibilities and Roles
The successful implementations of any strategies are pegged on the leaders’ role. This is the case for the Sedibeng Breweries Company. The company’s CEO is at the forefront of ensuring roles are played by everyone. Every department has been assigned special roles by the management through set goals and targets.
Facilities maintenance for continuous production
The technical manager of the company has put in place a maintenance strategy for the plant that will ensure continuous production throughout. According to the technical manager, the projects nearing completion include a fire fighting system, power backup system and alternative components to essential gadgets such as multistage pumps are in place. Daily, weekly, and annual maintenance schedules have been drawn
Marketing Focus
According to information on its site, the company is endeavoring to reach new customers nationally and the remotest part of the country. Through the marketing department, the company is in the process of ensuring the image of the company is built as it has embarked on consistent advertisement and awareness campaigns through local media and billboards across the nation. Furthermore, the marketing organ is instilling some mechanism to ensure that the company’s product stands out (Howley & Van Westering 2000, p.59).
To bring out the aspect of distinctiveness as part of its marketing strategy, the company is focusing on a quality product. Since quality goes hand in hand with labor, the human resource department has been on the lookout for the best manpower. As a marketing strategy, the company has embarked on personal selling methods. It is engaging so many personnel who are selling their products to the customer countrywide. Also, through personal selling, the company is working hard to attract more customers by directly getting in touch with them through the selling clients and hence getting to improve on their tastes and preferences.
Resources requirement for implementing a new strategy for the two companies
Even though a business may seem to be moving well for the two companies, it is no guarantee that they will remain in the market forever. Thus, there is a need for the management to come up with a new strategy to keep them going. For both of them, the major resource that is needed for this course is quality and organized manpower in place. Even though limited companies are considered artificial persons, it is the real manpower that is behind every success.
The manpower put in place should have a very high sense of organization so as for the business to achieve its target. To achieve this, the two companies need to have this manpower resource in place and organize them into a succession of chunks. For the PepsiCo Company, these blocks or chunks will be more since it is a big company. These blocks also termed as strategic business units (Lagace 2006, p.26), should then be charged with responsibilities, recourses, and authority to stir the ideas geared towards the strategy of the business.
Targets and Timescales for Achievement for the two Companies for a given Strategy
For the two companies, PepsiCo and Sedibeng Breweries, to realize a given strategy, then it ought to have a target and time scale for the same. In the case of Sedibeng Breweries, its operation is still small and the strategy is proposed is to make the company’s brand an all-time favorite brands in the entire nation. To achieve this strategy, some targets that can be set include; having a depot in every district after three years, raising a capital worth $1 million in two years’ time, to become the nation’s favorite brand in five years.
Sedibeng Company should take only 3 and half months to complete the upgrade of fire fighting equipment at Mukopane at a cost not exceeding 50000 rands. In the case of PepsiCo Company, since it is a multinational company, it is still expanding its business and seeking to maintain the market. The strategy set for the company involves a further market expansion to cover remotest parts. The company should thus aim to set up billboards in every town in East Africa by the year 2013. This will enable its brands to be well known in the parts of Africa where it is still not very common like its competitor coca-cola.
Conclusion
Strategy realization is actually what the business should be doing at any given point. It is possible for one to come up with the best strategy on paper but it will not be of any use if it is not implemented. For effective strategy implementation, quality leadership should be in place. The quality leadership put in place should put motivation in their management menu. This is because of the fact that a motivated worker is a productive worker. Furthermore, in order to effectively implement the strategy put in place, the timeline should be drawn and targets set for each person or department. There is no business that can grow without setting and implementing a strategy.
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