Hello,

I need three responses of at least 175 words each for the below students discussions for this week. Also in the bold below are the questions the students at answering.

Think about your own organization – where you work (or a company you desire to research). What are the top two threats and the top two opportunities over the next five years?

Student one:

Serco Group, plc. is a global services company that operates across four geographies: UK and Europe, North American, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. I work for our North America division (Serco-NA), which employs over 8,000 people. The North American division works in four sectors:

• Defense – “delivering system and equipment lifecycle support services for critical military assets” (Reimagining Public Services, n.d.).
• Citizen Services – “providing case management and workforce development services” (Reimagining Public Services, n.d.).
• Transport – delivering transportation systems (Reimagining Public Services, n.d.).
• Health Services – supports government programs (Reimagining Public Services, n.d.).

I work under the Defense sector of Serco-NA. The two biggest threats my division and sector face are:

• Aggressive competition – Serco competes in the market with several companies, including Microsoft, Symantec and Wipro. “It is ranked 8th among its top ten competitors” (Serco’s Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions, 2019). These companies have proven strategies that sustain customers. They also create new and innovative products and services that attract new business. With so many companies leading the market, it’s difficult to stay relevant.
• Security – Being attached to the Department of Defense means the information my company has is valuable to many other entities. Our network and physical security is always a priority as we attempt to protect ourselves from hackers and other malicious beings.

Our two biggest opportunities are:

• Increase in demand – More and more government agencies require the ability to outsource their work to contractors. With so many agencies losing funds, they simply don’t have the ability to sustain employees and keep abreast of the latest technology. By outsourcing the work, they can cut costs without sacrificing operations.
• Increase in globalization – By the nature of our work and where Serco is currently operating, we have the opportunity to market our products and services to new locations and expand our company.

References

Reimagining Public Services. (n.d.). Retrieved from Serco: https://www.serco.com/na/sector-expertise

Serco’s Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions. (2019, August). Retrieved from Owler: https://www.owler.com/company/serco

Student two:

I decided to focus on my business that I started at home. As I stated in my introduction last week, I make traditional baked goods, as well as keto-diet and/or vegan friendly options. I have implemented a delivery service and also participate in events at establishments in Kuwait, for example, the Kuwait Zoo’s Feed Market, Qout Market, and as a vendor at school events, festivals, and fundraisers. I will discuss the threats and opportunities that I expect to possibly present themselves over the next five years.

As our readings show us, the environment surrounding any business has a major influence on the success of an organization and the techniques they use to push their products/services. The overall environment can be sectioned off into two aspects, the general environment and the industry (Anonymous, 2015). The general environment includes all trends that are associated with technology, the society around the business, the demographics within that society, and the economic atmosphere of the area (Anonymous, 2015). The industry refers to the competitive environment, which encompasses all of the competing businesses in the market (Anonymous, 2015).

Both the general environment and the industry create threats that are relevant to my business within the next five years. The first threat would be the competing businesses in my area. Kuwait, much like the rest of the world, has seen a huge surge in the new trend of veganism and the ketogenic diet. I, myself, have been vegetarian for years and even practiced the “keto diet” several years ago, before we ever had any type of keto-friendly options within the market. Now, however, there have been several new restaurant chains offering food options for both types of eaters. Also, there is a well-known bakery (J’s Bakery) that has picked up more speed because they now offer several types of desserts that are vegan or keto-friendly. Social media has allowed several home-based businesses to gain some notice as well. Instagram has become a very popular way to order products similar to mine from other home-based businesses. Also, whereas the events and festivals here do help me gain more customers, they also provide other businesses with the same opportunity, as there are usually several vendors offering similar products. For example, where I was accepted to participate in Qout Market, J’s Bakery regularly attends as well. Another threat would be the political atmosphere in Kuwait. I do not necessarily mean recent events that have taken place so close to Kuwait, but rather the health of the Amir. He is now 90 years old and has already went to the states for a while for medical treatment. Although we all hope he lives for many years longer, the reality is that his age and health may cause unpredictable political issues, if he were to pass away. We just simply do not know what the next Amir would be like and how it would affect Kuwait.

Moving on to more positive things, I would like to mention the opportunities. The first opportunity being that I would be able to obtain a business license within the next few years. This would create a wide range of business opportunities. The first is that I would be able to enter into different ordering services. For example, we have several online ordering services such as Talabat, Deliveroo, and Carriage, all of whom only accept partnership with businesses who have obtained a government license. By being able to join their programs, I would be able to reach thousands more possible customers who regularly use their apps/websites to order products. There are also some events which only accept licensed businesses. Obtaining a government license also ties in with my next opportunity, which is the opening of new complexes that offer rental options or the option to purchase a unit and obtain the deed for the unit. A government license would make it possible to open a location, rather than just delivering or participating in events. In addition, rental and purchasing prices are cheaper in the complexes I am referring to because it is not in the “capital area” (near Kuwait City).

References:

Author – Anonymous. (2015) Mastering Strategic Management. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. Retrieved from: https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/73

Student three:

I own a couple kitchen and bath shops and I sell cabinetry and counter tops. The top two threats I face are other small local competition and the well being of the housing market. The top two opportunities I have over the next five years are the cheap product sold by the box stores and lumber yards which are my large competition and the fact the housing market is good. I am in a niche’ market and I sell high end product which is all wood and solid surfacing. “With the globalization of economy and development of technology, organizational strategy development in distribution channel management has become more significant for a competitive business world (Sahin: 2018).”

Other small businesses have become threats to me recently because they said I could not carry the same brand of product in one of my locations because they are within a 15 minute and 15 mile radius. I went and got another location an hour away on lake Winnipesaukee so I could get this cabinet brand. Now the cabinet company of this particular brand says I can sell them out of my other office as well on lake Sunapee: I just cant have any displays in here. I have 3 small competitors down here on lake Sunappee and 3 up north more on lake Winnipesaukee. I have seen their locations and mine are better. The large lumber yards and box stores like Home Depot carry trash particle board product and people come to me because they want high end furniture for their home. All I really need to sell is 1 kitchen a month or $20,000 in sales to make 1/4 or $5,000 to pay all my bills. The bills among the two stores I own are only $2,500 total because each rent is $1,000 and everything is mostly included even internet. I hope to get a lot more stores considering I now have 2 and its only been 8 months in business and apparently I can only fit 10 stores in the state of New Hampshire within a 30 minute or 30 mile radius. Each store only cost me $5,000 to open because the rents are cheap and they are small about 700 square feet and I can only fit three to four 72 inch displays in there which cost me a $1,000 each. I have 6 stone towers in each which are free from the distributors. I got a free 72 inch cabinet display from this other company in each store as well. I have a few brands of cabinetry and stone I offer. I will need employees soon when I get a third location which would be another threat or liability to me, but as long as I give them a 50% commission then they can make $2,500 on a $20,000 sale and I can make $2,500 and pay rent and bills and still take home minimum wage monthly from a location. The box stores and large lumber yards with their cheap trash product and the upswing housing market is an opportunity for me in my small niche’ market. The other small businesses in this small niche’ market are my biggest threat so far considering they have already tried to pull a mafia move on me and shut me down with a line a product I like. Employee’s may be a threat of concern later down the road but I will see how it works out in a couple more months when I get another store. I’m not scared to fail and I have already outgrown my other 6 small local competitors who only have 1 location each. To me its just a bunch of scam centers but I guess its fair because that’s business with all the laws and regulations and stuff. I guess its fair I can make 75% on a $10,000 kitchen, but I only take 25% to stay competitive. Its my goal to beat everyone else’s pricing with the best all wood and solid surfacing products available. That’s why people come to me. Even though its just a bunch of furniture store scam centers. Instead of making my 75% which I’m highly capable of; I simply take my small fair 25% profit and give the customer the best product available. Its also important to consider it takes about 8 weeks or 2 months to design and consult and close a sale. 25% scam centers are decent though. Sometimes I will do a 50% off sale and a bunch of rich millionaire home owners will come in and buy kitchens and baths. Its a funny place. The only thing that isn’t funny is the other small businesses who think its a game and want to try mafia stuff on me and claim I can’t sell stuff because they sell stuff. Well now they might just be too small to sell stuff if I happen to say so.

Sahin, Aynur, and Turskis, Zenonas. “A Comparative Study of Integrated FMCDM Methods for Evaluation of Organizational Strategy Development.” Journal of Business Economics and Management 19.2 (2018): 360–381. Web.

Student four:

Opportunities help in supporting the organizational strategy and threats stop or hinder an organization from achieving its goals. It is important to have knowledge on both opportunities and threats of your organization because it will help in analyzing or discovering market trends, identifying important shifts, and creating a successful workplace. The analysis of opportunities available for the organization and threats posed focuses on an organization’s external environment (BUSN620, 2020). I am currently working in a behavioral health clinic that is dedicated to supporting our troops with their mental and emotional issues/needs. The first opportunity I see in this organization is expanding our inventory with advanced or newer psychological testing. I have worked in the organization for three years now and every year we get to provide newer psychological testing to our troops which will help in their clinical diagnosis. Technology is advancing faster than ever and it is expected to advance even more in the coming days. Hence, with the advanced technologies and faster improvements in healthcare, I see getting newer psychological tests in my organization in the next five years as an opportunity. Another opportunity would be including marital counseling and substance abuse counseling. The clinic is doing great with providing individual counseling but including marital counseling and specialized substance abuse counseling can be another great opportunity in my organization. One threat could be expensive medical equipment and psych tests in the future. With the improved products, prices go up too. Expensive medical equipment can be the biggest threat in providing quality mental health care to our troops over the next five years. Another threat is the social stigma with seeking behavioral health services. Even with newer/expensive equipment and qualified professionals, there is a high chance that patients will not openly talk and utilize the services because of existing social stigma for years. A company’s progress, stability, and profitability are interdependent on its ability to quickly identify and respond to changes in the external environment hence, understanding opportunities and threats are important (Jessee, n.d.).

References

BUSN620. (2020). Lesson 2: Strategic Management Evaluation. Retrieved from https://apus.realizeithome.com/RealizeitApp/ContentDelivery.aspx?

Jessee, T. (n.d.). How to Identify External Factors That May Affect Your Strategic Plan. Retrieved from https://www.clearpointstrategy.com/external-factor…