This refers to an individual, group or organisation that is affected or interested in the operations of the organisation. Stakeholders are normally categorised as internal (for example employees, managers, teams in other functions of the organisation), external (for example, pressure groups, government bodies), connected (for example shareholders, customers, competitors – these are technically also external).… Read more
This refers to a business technique which identifies the individuals, groups or organisations which the organisation impacts, or vice versa, and assesses their needs, power,influence and view of the organisation. Stakeholder analysis, such as the use of Mendelow’s Matrix, can be applied to the corporation as a whole during strategic planning, or to specific operational… Read more
This refers to the marketing stages a product or service passes through from introduction to withdrawal from the market. The product lifecycle typically includes introduction (market launch, often including market trials), growth (increasing sales as the market becomes more aware of the product), maturity (the peak level of real sales but with little growth in… Read more
This refers to an organisational model which groups staff with common skills and business processes. Typical functional structures include centralised ICT, finance, HR or marketing teams. By providing functional expertise across the organisation, this model can provide operational efficiency and access to specialist capability which could not be afforded in smaller business units. Functional structures… Read more
This refers to an organisational model which groups staff according to the product or market sector they work with. By focusing on a particular product or market, this model can provide improved customer service and responsiveness, tailor functional support to the specific needs of the sector and provide flexibility to respond which might not be… Read more
This refers to an organisational model which has a clearly defined hierarchy. By providing clear demarcation and decision making, this model can improve standardisation and consistency of service, and provide clear accountability; these benefits may be offset by slower decision making and a lack of flexibility. Bureaucratic structures is a term normally found in strategic… Read more
This refers to a management tool for developing business growth strategies. Developed by Igor Ansoff, the matrix provides a framework against which to assess options for market penetration (selling more existing products in existing markets), market development (selling existing products in new markets), product development (selling new products in existing markets) and diversification (selling new… Read more
This refers to the business and marketing strategy of selling existing products or services into existing markets. A market penetration strategy focuses on the markets and products the organisation is familiar with. This strategy is usually lower risk as the organisation typically has good information on the market, its competitors etc. Market penetration is a… Read more
This refers to the business and marketing strategy of selling new products or services into existing markets. A product development strategy focuses on building on existing market knowledge and developing new skills and processes in order to supply new products. In competitive markets this strategy may provide competitive advantage through enhanced use of market knowledge… Read more
This refers to the business and marketing strategy of selling existing products or services into new markets. A market development strategy focuses on building on existing production capacity and offering those products or services into new markets; such as different geographical regions, sectors or industry niches. This strategy may provide competitive advantage through reduced time… Read more