Assignment for Managing strategy - Masters of business administration

Assignment for Managing Business Strategy

Questions

Analyse the internal resources of Thorntons by identifying and classifying the activities and resources the company employs to produce and market its products . What are the firm 's strengths and weaknesses 45 marks

Thorntons ' activities and use of its resources had immense impacts on its production and marketing /retailing activities . As for any business enterprise , it aims to create competitive advantage and shareholder value . These value added to the company 's performance strongly correlates to the competitive strength of a business . In addition

analyses such as Internal Analysis covering the firm 's strengths and weaknesses are needed to guide business processes in promoting efficiency , thereby increasing profitability . In to see which among the numerous activities creates value to the company , a value chain analysis is included

Internal Analysis : Strengths and Weaknesses

As an initial study , Internal analysis is an important instrument for auditing the general strategic position of a business , focusing in its internal issues : Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths of Thorntons PLC

i . Key player in UK specialist chocolates market - Brand Name

Founded in 1911 , Thorntons gained a first mover advantage over other confectionary companies through creating its own niche in the high street confectionary market . High street chocolate consumption is highly associated with Thorntons . It has also multiple channels of selling the product , from company owned stores to franchises to online telephone and mail catalogues . ADDIN EN .CITE JenningsDavid JenningsNottingham Business SchoolThornt ons PLC : Corporarate and Business Strategy102004English (Jennings , 2004

ii . Superior Product Quality

Only the best , top notch chocolatiers are employed by Thorntons . Aside from that , high presentational standards and choice of ingredients have made Thorntons a famous brand among the high street market ADDIN EN .CITE ThorntonsPLCThorntonsPLCResults Presentation2003www .thorntons .co .uk (ThorntonsPLC , 2003 . The chocolates maker is also popularly known as a maker of specialty unique chocolate products , like Easter eggs , etc

iii . Multiple Distribution Channels

The company is expanding its wide distribution channels not through increasing the number of stores but through targeting centres of population in the high street market . In addition , the company is also pursuing mail catalogues , telephone s and internet s

Weaknesses of Thorntons PLC

i . Company sales strongly a follow a seasonal pattern

Thorntons like many other companies are heavily affected by seasonal sales . A huge chunk of sales are made up of holiday sales , specifically Christmas holidays and the Easter . The profitability of the business is highly undermined by the ability of the firm to attract customers during the lean months of sales

ii . Inefficiencies

The guiding principle in Thorntons is to serve the freshest products all the time . However , because of the seasonality of sales , additional manpower and resources are utilized . This additional employment of resources causes quality variation especially from different company stores . In addition , the unpredictability of additional manpower needed during peak seasons is noticed to cause shortfalls in efficiency Variation in process standardization had increased operating costs and decreased product quality . Consequently , these have lead to increased...