The study explores the role that the CEO plays in the facilitation of the Strategic Management Process (SMP) within the small and medium sized companies on the JSE with a turnover between R10 to R80 mil. In answering the question “Is the facilitation of the SMP vested in the CEO alone or does he/she share the overall responsibility with Executives, Functional Managers, Supervisors or Consultants? In response to this question the findings purport that the majority view (69%) strengthen the CEO’s influential role in the facilitation of the SMP. This was evident within the launching and growth phase of the company, where the owner plays a big role as the visionary and as there is no formal distinction between the facilitation and the SMP. In contrast, we have to acknowledge the minority view (31%) of CEO’s who engages Executives, Functional Managers, Supervisors, Consultants and other selected personnel in strategic discussions, in ways to leverage their perspective and insights and create shared meaning and ownership. This could be used to develop skills in facilitation, reaffirm team norms and develop agility to respond timeously and strategically to rapid change. This bridges the transition from the higher growth phase and lower maturity phase of the company. For that reason this will enhance decision making, creativity, collaboration, enumerate core values and stimulate growth within the company.

The objectives of this study are to investigate the formulation and implementation of strategies within Retail Bank at corporate, business unit, functional and operational levels, focusing specifically on who is accountable and responsible for strategy formulation and implementation at each of these levels, as well as the factors related to the success or failure of strategy implementation and how success is measured. In addition, this study attempts to determine whether or not the financial industry as a whole plays a significant role in the success of strategy implementation within Retail Bank.

The objectives of this study are to investigate the formulation and implementation of strategies within Retail Bank at corporate, business unit, functional and operational levels, focusing specifically on who is accountable and responsible for strategy formulation and implementation at each of these levels, as well as the factors related to the success or failure of strategy implementation and how success is measured. In addition, this study attempts to determine whether or not the financial industry as a whole plays a significant role in the success of strategy implementation within Retail Bank.

Views of strategy formulation can be mainly divided into two categories. One is I-O(Industrial Organization), the other one is RBV(Resource Based View)(Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson, 1999¡G2003¡FSe-Hwa Wu, 2000¡FJoseph Shyu, 2000¡FCher-Min Fong, 2001¡FMing-Jer Tang, 2003).Both of vews have each suitable situation. If strategy is formulated from single view, it will cause defects (Robbins, 2003). Recent years, scholars provide solutions from integration¡Bcontingency and dynamic. However, thesis combines 3 features is still few. This paper attempts to find combined views to suit different situation in a dynamic framework. The research provides a static framework included¡G(1) If the contingency of inside and outside company are stable, companies ought to choose ¡uposition-based view¡v; (2)If the contingency of outside company are not stable but stable contingency of inside company, companies ought to choose ¡uvision-based view¡v; (3)If the contingency of outside company are not stable but stable contingency of inside company, companies ought to choose ¡uenvironment-based view¡v; (4)If the contingency of inside and outside company are both not stable, companies ought to choose ¡uresource-based view¡v; (5)If the contingency of inside and outside company are changing smoothly with controllable situation, companies ought to choose ¡uconstruction-based view¡v. The research provides a dynamic framework. From the long term view, a company needs to adjust itself to match the changing of situation in order to have sustainable competitive advantage.

The study explores the role that the CEO plays in the facilitation of the Strategic Management Process (SMP) within the small and medium sized companies on the JSE with a turnover between R10 to R80 mil. In answering the question “Is the facilitation of the SMP vested in the CEO alone or does he/she share the overall responsibility with Executives, Functional Managers, Supervisors or Consultants? In response to this question the findings purport that the majority view (69%) strengthen the CEO’s influential role in the facilitation of the SMP. This was evident within the launching and growth phase of the company, where the owner plays a big role as the visionary and as there is no formal distinction between the facilitation and the SMP. In contrast, we have to acknowledge the minority view (31%) of CEO’s who engages Executives, Functional Managers, Supervisors, Consultants and other selected personnel in strategic discussions, in ways to leverage their perspective and insights and create shared meaning and ownership. This could be used to develop skills in facilitation, reaffirm team norms and develop agility to respond timeously and strategically to rapid change. This bridges the transition from the higher growth phase and lower maturity phase of the company. For that reason this will enhance decision making, creativity, collaboration, enumerate core values and stimulate growth within the company.

The study explores the role of management control systems in a strategy formulation process, this by viewing management control systems as a package and addressing its role in the Value Based Health Care (VBHC) strategy formulation process at Uppsala University Hospital. Previous studies exploring the relationship between management control systems and strategy have found the relationship to be interrelated and that management control systems can take either an interactive or diagnostic role. However, these studies are limited in their approach as they do not address management control systems as a package, thus failing to capture the importance of informal control systems and the impact separate controls have on each other. Applying a case study design using semi-structured interviews, the study partly supports the findings of earlier studies emphasizing how management control systems can be classified and used for both interactive as well as diagnostic purposes. The study however, expands the view of earlier research by emphasizing how diagnostic controls should be further classified as either enforcing or reinforcing control systems, as well as emphasizing the importance of timing for understanding the different roles of management control systems in a strategy formulation process.

<p>Aim: The aim of this research is to formulate India market product strategy for the global multinational corporate Vodafone Inc.,</p><p>Investigate the influence of national cultures in strategy formulation. Applying cultural synthesis in the strategy formulations for target markets. </p><p>Method: The main methods of data collection are individual interviews and discussions and group cultural training. A computer online questionnaire is used past the interview for correlation and analysis of responses. Two sets of interviews pre-cultural training and post-cultural training are conducted. The results are presented, analysed, reflected and related to the research. The research is applied to deliver a reformulated product strategy for Vodafone Inc.,</p><p>Result & Conclusion: This research bought out the implications of national cultures in strategy formulation and how strategy can be delivered by infusing culture as one of the parameter in strategy formulation. The end result is strategy that is closer to local market customer needs and wants aligned with organization business objectives. The conclusion is that global multinationals could deliver better strategy that applies globally to each of the local subsidiaries by embedding ethos of the regional markets in the strategy formulation.</p><p>Suggestions of future research: The research focussed on strengthening strategy formulation by embedding culture as parameter. The theme could be extended to strategy implementation in future research.</p><p>Contribution of the thesis: This research has added value to the strategy formulation, by proposing a new model, where the strategy team comprehends the national culture value of target markets and blends them as one of the parameters in the information’s and data. Thus the final interpretation of the information and data is a collective reflection of own national culture values and the target market cultural values.</p>

Aim: The aim of this research is to formulate India market product strategy for the global multinational corporate Vodafone Inc., Investigate the influence of national cultures in strategy formulation. Applying cultural synthesis in the strategy formulations for target markets.  Method: The main methods of data collection are individual interviews and discussions and group cultural training. A computer online questionnaire is used past the interview for correlation and analysis of responses. Two sets of interviews pre-cultural training and post-cultural training are conducted. The results are presented, analysed, reflected and related to the research. The research is applied to deliver a reformulated product strategy for Vodafone Inc., Result &amp; Conclusion: This research bought out the implications of national cultures in strategy formulation and how strategy can be delivered by infusing culture as one of the parameter in strategy formulation. The end result is strategy that is closer to local market customer needs and wants aligned with organization business objectives. The conclusion is that global multinationals could deliver better strategy that applies globally to each of the local subsidiaries by embedding ethos of the regional markets in the strategy formulation. Suggestions of future research: The research focussed on strengthening strategy formulation by embedding culture as parameter. The theme could be extended to strategy implementation in future research. Contribution of the thesis: This research has added value to the strategy formulation, by proposing a new model, where the strategy team comprehends the national culture value of target markets and blends them as one of the parameters in the information’s and data. Thus the final interpretation of the information and data is a collective reflection of own national culture values and the target market cultural values.

Abstract As a part of the strategic planning process a company has to formulate a marketing strategy before entering a new market. For global marketers, formulation of a global marketing strategy is of big importance since it contributes benefits, including raising the efficacy of new-products launches, cost reduction and improving product quality and market share performance. India is a fast growing subcontinent and it is predicted to be among the top five economies in the world by the year 2025. The driving force in the Indian economy is the growing number of people from the middle class, which currently consists of over 300 million Indians. They are consuming progressively more western brands and more and more foreign companies are establishing in the country. The purpose of this thesis is to get a better understanding of the Indian market in order to formulate a strategy for this market. The thesis aim to identify how a business to business company, with baby products aimed for the upper class segment, should formulate their marketing strategy. To be able to answer our research question we have conducted a number of qualitative interviews, including a focus group interview with potential Indian consumers. The result of our interviews, empirical data along with our collected theory shows that the Indian market is fragmented and diverse. This thesis tells us that a company offering exclusive products should focus on consumers living in urban areas of India. A company should considerate on important aspects when formulating a marketing strategy for the Indian market: Assessment and adjustment of core strategy (choice of competitive strategy), formulation of a global strategy (choice of competitive strategy, choice of segment, marketing in India, the purchase process, culture) and development of global marketing program (degree of standardization).

<p>Abstract</p><p>As a part of the strategic planning process a company has to formulate a marketing strategy before entering a new market. For global marketers, formulation of a global marketing strategy is of big importance since it contributes benefits, including raising the efficacy of new-products launches, cost reduction and improving product quality and market share performance. India is a fast growing subcontinent and it is predicted to be among the top five economies in the world by the year 2025. The driving force in the Indian economy is the growing number of people from the middle class, which currently consists of over 300 million Indians. They are consuming progressively more western brands and more and more foreign companies are establishing in the country.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to get a better understanding of the Indian market in order to formulate a strategy for this market. The thesis aim to identify how a business to business company, with baby products aimed for the upper class segment, should formulate their marketing strategy. To be able to answer our research question we have conducted a number of qualitative interviews, including a focus group interview with potential Indian consumers. The result of our interviews, empirical data along with our collected theory shows that the Indian market is fragmented and diverse. This thesis tells us that a company offering exclusive products should focus on consumers living in urban areas of India. A company should considerate on important aspects when formulating a marketing strategy for the Indian market: Assessment and adjustment of core strategy (choice of competitive strategy), formulation of a global strategy (choice of competitive strategy, choice of segment, marketing in India, the purchase process, culture) and development of global marketing program (degree of standardization).</p>