Marks: 20 Independent University Bangladesh School of Business MBA Program, Spring 2021 Course: MBA 550 (Strategic Management) Mid-Semester Assignment Submission Deadline: 11 April 2021 Name: Marzan Islam ID: 2031324 [Answer ALL thequestions from the following where each question carries 5 marks] 1. Suppose you are the head of business strategy at Arong, a Bangladeshi fashion house. Identify both your external and internal stakeholders. Do you believe effective stakeholder management will benefit your organization? Justify your answer. Answer to question no.1 Relationship with external and internal stakeholders are vital for any business, especially when it’s operating at a scale of Aarong, it makes stakeholders that they are of value and come in handy for solving problems. The list of stakeholders are presented below and categorized as internal and external. Internal stakeholders i. Employees: Employees are what make the identity of an organization and are most affected by the performance of the business. As better the business performs, the more they will be appraised and have greater incentives for growth of career. While Aarong makes its own identity through its employees by employing socially challenged females throughout the country as its key crafters of apparels. ii. Board of Directors: The board of directors is the key decision makers and evaluators of an organization and is directly linked with the image of the organization. For e.g. In Australia, when the Childcare giant named ABC Learning collapsed, the first fingers were raised on its directors and had gone through severe scrutinizing. Therefore, in case of Aarong the board of directors is regarded as an internal stakeholder. External Stakeholders i. Customers: The customers are probably the biggest stakeholders of a business as it’s the customers who keep the business alive by providing it revenue through purchasing. ii. Suppliers: The suppliers rely on Aarong for earning revenue and profit while Aarong relies on its suppliers for raw materials and henceforth the suppliers are hugely affected by the performance of Aarong and thus identified as an external stakeholder. iii. Alliance Partners: Alliance partners are also important for Aarong given the wide range of geographical area it covers due to its mission. iv. Creditors: Every industry and organization has support industries and organizations and creditors are one who let a business operate without financial hazard in expectation of returns of their investment once the business has its ventures running and therefore creditors rely upon Aarong. v. Unions: Unions form up of group of workers of same industry, organization, set of skills etc and given the nature of Aarongs policy and human capital, they are among the biggest stakeholders of Aarong. vi. Communities: Communities rely on organizations like aarong for products and employment directly or indirectly and thus are in the list of stakeholders. vii. Governments and Media: An organization of this scale can be help to any given government given the workforce it employs, this allows a government to significantl Effective stakeholder management is vital for any organization and so is in the case of Aarong. Being able to identify the proper stakeholders be it internal or external and managing them, communication with them has been fruitful for almost every organization as understanding stakeholders’ expectations is a sign of being a competent organization with good governance. It is stakeholders that relay needed information to a company and the more they cooperate, the better will be directed into analysis, research and development to increase its value or lower its costs or both. Aarong employs socially challenged females across the country and its apparels are crafted by this workforce, which already makes Aarong one of the most expensive brands of native and continental apparel in Bangladesh due to its lengthy supply chain. Now, if the suppliers pre inform the management of Aarong that the industry supplying like raw materials like cotton, silk etc are facing hazards and may have to raise their prices, this would mean that Aarong would have to increase the price of its dresses generally but due to being pre informed, the concern departments of Aarong can get together and discuss the issue and implement a new method of production or a scheme of price that would not hamper its position in the market. Secondly, effective stakeholder management uses tailored research techniques, such as customer and value surveys, this makes an organization listen to its customer experience to take into account of what could be done better and this would allow for them to meet customer expectations and forecast profits by understanding both the existing and changing taste and preferences of customers. In case of internal stakeholders, managing and communicating with employees will allow the hierarchy to formulate better strategy for sustained business operations. Overall, maintaining effective stakeholder communication will allow my company to formulate strategies that create sustainable competitive advantage and be the market leader which already Aarong is in the case of sub continental apparels in Bangladesh. 2. Imagine ‘Taja Foods Ltd.’ is a newly arrived brand in the market initially targeted to produce & sell ready-to-cook foods such as paratha, noodles, rice, curry etc. for the busy urban corporates in big cities in Bangladesh. In your opinion, what should its vision, mission and values? Answer to question no.2 For any organization it is vital to formulate a vision, mission and objective and that is ultimately what differentiates it from the others in the market and the key weapon for its success to be followed. When forming a new brand like ‘Taja Foods Ltd’, the first task is to create a mission and vision statement and then the objective. Vision statement of Taja Foods Ltd should include what it wants to become in future and that is selling ready to cook food, which would be a problem child category of product in the Bangladeshi market with low share and high growth. Their vision statement should also include in expanding operations not only in Bangladesh but alike socities across the border. It should be something like ‘You do not have to be a chef to cook at home ’ as we know in the current scenario in the sub continental nations, the culture is yet to cook food from grains but with the growing economies and business environments, the work culture and office hours along gender equality is on the rise and there such a statement makes sense as many prefer on other sources then cook at home but with ready to cook foods, it would be much easier for households to be dependent on their own kitchen and not spend on restaurants and diners . Their Mission statement should include what include what They want to achieve and that it seems to expand and strengthen their position in the home food market through I. Planning II. Strategies and executions III. Innovation products IV. Future development The mission statement of Taja Foods Ltd should be like ‘We make food fresh to eat and easy to cook at home and thus easier lives for all and greater efficiency’ Providing ready to cook food would definitely increase the efficiency of the female workforce given that mostly they are the chef or cooks in most households regardless of their corporate rank etc and then they would have family duties, so providing a problem to this solution of spending relentless hours at the kitchen would give them a better worklife. Thirdly is Values. Taja Foods Ltd must follow on the side of those things that their value, which are: Quality: Taja Foods Ltd. values quality in all aspects of its operation. All of their employees sincerely dedicated to excellence. Honesty and Integrity: Taja Foods Ltd Values honesty and integrity in all internal and external relationships. Beacause leadership is setting good examples for living with honesty and integrity. Customers: Taja Foods Ltd values should diverse of its customers and seeks to exceed their expectations. Employees: Taja Foods Ltd values should self-worth, contributions and expertise of all employees and will continually look for ways to enhance their professional growth opportunities. Innovation: Taja Foods Ltd values should be creativity of individuals. Their values should open communication and encourage new ideas realizing that cooperative teamwork produces maximum success. Life-Long Leering: Taja Foods values should be life-long learning as a critical tool of continued professional and personal growth. Empathy, Passion, Empowerment: Taja Food Ltd must encourage and support the best in ourselves and those they serve and provide opportunities for everyone to participate in fulfilling their mission. 3. Imagine ‘Taja Foods Ltd.’ is a newly arrived brand in the market initially targeted to produce & sell ready-to-cook foods such as paratha, noodles, rice, curry etc. for the busy urban corporates in big cities in Bangladesh. In your opinion, what should its vision, mission and values? 4. If you have been given the leadership of ‘Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd.’, which type of leadership style will you apply here for increasing its overall profitability and why? 5. Suppose you have been selected as a management trainee in PRAN RFL group and you are planning to be a strategic leader there by next 20 years. How will reach your goal?