It is highly useful for business concerns to make effective strategies for becoming successful in local as well as in international markets. It was mentioned by Aaker (2008) that business strategy is considered to be the company’s high level plan for attainment of specific business goals. In addition, those business strategies are considered to be successful for companies that enable them to grow and get strong competitive position along with high financial productivity. Business strategy is considered to be the plan that is made by management to attain the vision, long term objectives as well as goals that lead towards success and growth (Bowler and Gilbert, 2005). In addition, if the business strategy fails to attain the business objectives then there is a need to change it. In this report, the business strategy of Capricorn Coastguard will be analyzed with the help of external and internal strategic tools. Being a consultant, it will be informed to Capricorn Coastguard that where it is currently present and how it can face both external and internal environmental issues.
The Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association was formed by Australia in 1961. This is one of the most significant organizations that are run by the volunteers. The main purpose of this association is to guard the coast in an efficient manner through education, rescue as well as research. There are approximately 2500 regular members and it has more than107 association-owned rescue vessels, 147 radio bases, thirty display and communication vans, and these have official affiliations and collaborations with other associations in Europe, US as well as New Zealand and Australia (Maguire and Hagan, 2007; Wilson et al., 2005). Capricorn coast is located in Yeppoon and it has service and retail amenities, five star resorts, marina and crocodile farms, historical towns as well as shopping centers (Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association, 2017; Perry and Lindell, 2003). Different services include marine rescues service, safe boating and patrols, reporting to distress calls as well as radio facilities for each flotilla for monitoring marine distress, search and rescue services.
The business strategy explains that how the organization plans to fulfill set objectives as well as goals and how it differentiates from other rival brands. In addition, business strategy reflects the organizational strengths, resources as well as opportunities along with threats that are being faced by organizations (Bateman, 2007; Ellemor, 2005). The business strategy for Capricorn Coastguard can be analyzed by focusing on external as well as internal analyses with the help of various tools. Both external and internal factors that impact the business strategy of Capricorn Coastguard are assessed as under:
It was mentioned by Baker and Hart (2008) that there are different factors that can impact the organizations in both positive and negative manner. The external factors for Capricorn Coastguard are assessed through PEST and Porter analyses, as under:
According to Cravens and Piercy (2006) PEST analysis analyzes four important external environmental factors including political, economic as well as social and technological factors that have an impact on organizations. The PEST factors for Capricorn Coastguard are as under:
According to Doyle and Stern (2006) political factors include political stability, rules, regulations as well as tax policies, legal restrictions and government intervention. Likewise, Capricorn Coastguard is impacted by the mentioned political factors. Australia is politically stable country and this is the positive sign for organizations, either volunteer or non-volunteer (Salas, 2008). Capricorn Coastguard has to work as per laws and regulations set by Australian government.
The economic factors include exchange rates,
The social factors include the cultural values, ethics, norms, philosophies as well as principles prevailing in a country (Gold-Bernstein, 2004). By providing services to the people, Capricorn Coastguard is doing something better for the society and is highly socially responsible organization.
According to Howard (2009) advanced technologies have become the need of current organizations and they have to implement updated systems as well as highly technical software. Capricorn Coastguard is working for the safety of people and focuses on radio monitoring. These operations cannot be performed without high quality technology.
It was mentioned by Kumar (2010) that Porter’s five forces model is useful in assessing the external industrial environment for the organization and it explains about different threats that can be faced by organizations due to external environmental factors. The five forces model for Capricorn Coastguard is as under:
Issues identified:
The issues identified for Capricorn Coastguard on the basis of external analysis are:
The internal analysis of business concerns can be done with the help of different tools and techniques (Malhotra, 2008). In addition, main tools include value chain analysis, McKinsey 7S framework as well as VRIO analysis. The internal analysis for Capricorn Coastguard is as under:
The value chain analysis is one of the most useful tools and it explains about the primary as well as secondary activities performed by organizations for creating value for customers (Prencipe et al., 2003). The value chain for Capricorn Coastguard is as under:
The primary activities performed by Capricorn Coastguard include search and rescue services, safe boating as well as CPR and first aid. These activities are highly useful for customers’ safety. The equipment is purchased from the suppliers and the services are provided to the customers by Capricorn Coastguard. The customers are provided full support by Capricorn Coastguard.
The secondary activities in value chain include infrastructure, human resource management as well as technological development along with procurement (Warburton et al., 2007). The human resource of Capricorn Coastguard include volunteer. Advanced technology is required by Capricorn Coastguard for providing rescue services to the customers. That is why; it is highly useful or Capricorn Coastguard to focus on research and development as well as innovation. The infrastructure of Capricorn Coastguard is also highly developed and a continuous check and balance is kept on the flotillas as well as vessel assistance and vessel tracking as well as patrol safety.
It was mentioned by Malhotra (2008) that SWOT analysis is highly useful in assessing the internal strengths and weaknesses along with threats and opportunities that are external to the businesses. SWOT analysis for Capricorn Coastguard is as under:
The strengths of Capricorn Coastguard include its volunteering nature as well as volunteer staff members that work with full enthusiasm and devotion.
The weaknesses of Capricorn Coastguard include its complete reliance on technology and software systems. Due to failure of software systems, Capricorn Coastguard can face several issues in providing services to the people.
The main threats for Capricorn Coastguard include technological advancements, political instability as well as economic ups and downs.
It is a useful opportunity for Capricorn Coastguard to increase its services by focusing on continuous innovation and technological development.
It was mentioned by Dutta (2006) that VRIO analysis is one of the most significant strategic tools that can be used to assess the resources as well as capabilities of business concerns. The capabilities of Capricorn Coastguard include its competent volunteer staff members as well as its differentiation strategy. Moreover, the resources of Capricorn Coastguard include human resources, advanced technology and equipment as well as physical infrastructure as well as its innovative and technical systems.
On the basis of internal as well as external business environment for Capricorn Coastguard, it is recommended:
It is concluded that it is highly useful for organizations to create effective business strategy that can enable the business concerns to attain objectives, aims and goals. By attaining goals and objectives, organizations can become successful in the market and attain huge market share. Capricorn Coastguard is operating in the environment that is quite favorable for it. It is focusing on volunteering activities which indicate that it is highly socially responsible and performing useful activities for the betterment of society. One of the main strengths of Capricorn Coastguard is its HR which includes volunteer staff members. The staff members are working with devotion and enthusiasm for providing different types of services to the customers. It is highly useful for Capricorn Coastguard to comply with the rules and regulations made by Australian government and to continuously monitor changes in the economic factors including inflation rate, economic recession, changes in prices as well as exchange rate.
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