Strategic Analysis Canon

Evaluation of Canon Strategic approach to management

            Each industry has different factors that affect their operations, performance, competitive advantage, marketability or even their profitability (Lynch, 2003). Thus, the management of this firm should be able to determine the most appropriate and suitable strategic approach to management so as to stay in the c competitive market. Specifically, the main goal of this approach is to investigate the strategic management utilize or considered by Canon and the strategic changes which they consider to sustain or maintain the competitive position.

  Furthermore, this report will also discuss the lessons which can be gained from Canon strategic management.

One of the most successful Japanese industries, when it comes to digital and electronic technologies is Canon. The mission of this firm is to make sure that they provide ground-breaking and innovative marketing operations and to encourage greater inventiveness in each target market, even there are at work or at the comfort of their homes by providing those services and products of highest quality and value.

Get quality help now

Writer Lyla

Verified writer

Proficient in: Business

5 (876)

“ Have been using her for a while and please believe when I tell you, she never fail. Thanks Writer Lyla you are indeed awesome ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

On the other hand, Canon’s vision is based on being customer-oriented or focus, an aspect which expresses the basic commitments to the needs of their customers. With this kind of foundation, the Canon is able to work in good faith as well as in good value to grow as industry with a public or global image and reputation for excellence while sustaining global capabilities and potentialities. The industry also aims on having consistent growth and profit by giving the best for their target market.

            As mentioned in the given case study, it can be said that Canon has been able to utilize or consider different strategic approach to management to sustain their competitive position as a market leader in this electronic or digital industry. To be able to analyse the strategic approach to management utilized or considered by Canon, this paper will also analyse their critical success factors or key performance indicators. Accordingly, the critical success factors are being used as a basis for identifying the data required by the management of a specific firm. The context of key performance indicators is very straightforward in analyzing the important elements which are critical to the success of the strategic approach to management of the industry (Huotari & Wilson 2001).

With regards to the situation of Canon, it can be said that the industry is an expert in offering innovative products with regards to photocopying, digital scanners and photography printing as well as other services and products.  The company’s dedication to generate and innovate new products designs for their business lines and portfolio can be noted as as one of the strategic approach to management of the industry. Moreover, the industry has also been able to utilize or consider specific and modified marketing strategies that makes them to become marketable with all their their services and products.  With their foundation like their mission and vision, another approach to management of the industry is their being customer-oriented.

            The ability of the management and employees of the company to be able to listen and talk with their target market to identify determine their demand and needs and to secure good clients or target market/ relationships.  The customer-oriented or focus strategic approach to management makes the industry to gain high public or global image and reputation in this industry and makes them enhance clients or target market loyalty and also customer satisfaction.

Moreover, another strategic approach to management of the industry is the support that the top management or shareholders provides in considering changes to enhance their business and to secure that the company will still compete effectively in the global market.

Competitive advantage

In analyzing the given case, there are different competencies which are obvious in the strategic management approach of Canon. Below are some of the core competencies of Canon.

            Strategic Management Approach

As a global and international company, Canon is said to have greater advantage than the target market. With this advantage, the company has a great opportunity to generate efficient evaluation and monitoring of the management in line with the Canon’s core business transactions and operations.

The company is also known as a multinational corporation that is a global market leader which developed their core strategic approach to management out of photocopies, digital scanners, laser printers, digitized optical images, colour bubble jet printing and other business lines (see Table 13.1). Canon’s management has been able to utilize or consider strategic planning is driven initially by their strong idea in the satisfaction of their target market or customers.  The Excellent Global Corporation plan of Canon can also be considered as their core competencies

            Customer-Oriented Approach

Although the company is a major and large firm in the digital and electronics industry, the company was able to maintain positive and strong relationship target market or customers.  With the consistent excellence of Canon in offering or providing quality and highest-valued services and products, creative and innovative product developments and designs which are made by their effective and state of the art facilities, the global market has been able to consider Canon’s potentialities to provide and satisfy the needs of the clients.

Moreover, this also shows that the core value of the company has been a key factor in offering excellent and high-valued and quality products. Furthermore, in spite of being a multinational industry with diverse requirements, the company s not only regarded as an after for profit generation industry and market growth, but the company also give emphasis in prioritizing needs of their clients or target markets which in turn makes them able to build a strong market competitive advantage.  This corporate value makes Canon unique and distinctive from other similar industries in the market.

            Product Development and Design

One of the key factors or core competencies that enable Canon to become different and marketable with other similar industries is that, the industry has the potentialities in producing and generating services and products based on their creativeness and innovativeness with their designs.

  The employees on their engineering or information technology department as well as the research and development human resources make the company generate products which are new to the public and global market, which leads to higher market interest and growth.  Instead of just assembling and creating materials to make their product, the company has been able to produce their own brands and product design. The unique design of the products of the company makes it stand out from others in the global industry.

            Strategic Changes.

Another core competency of industry is their capability in initiating changes to secure and sustain their competitive edge in the marketplace. The company is also open minded with changes and they do it by initiating and setting up strategic planning which they utilize or consider so as to mould their approach to strategic management and development (Cummings and Worley, 2001). Canon’s management y has the capability to assume and forecast the future and utilize or consider their vision in formulating strategic management approach.  As noted above, Canon has been able to be open minded when it comes to strategic changes that leads to other core competencies of the industry:

Because of their open-mindedness for strategic changes, the industry has been able to develop and enhance highly automated manufacturing plant in different location. With the management’s ability the industry has been able to generate such type of manufacturing plant which enable them to produce and generate new products through their creativity.

The strategic change of the industry can also also lead to their consideration of providing high-technology products or even services (McShane & Glinow, 2002).  Even if this has took years to be developed perfectly, the industry’s strategic approach to changes and strategic planning enables them to create this kind of strategic approach to management leading Canon to have competitive position.

Analysis show that winning business strategic approach to management are based and grounded in the ability of the company to sustain their competitive edge, position and marketability in the global operations (Oliver, 1997). In addition, analysis also show that Canon’s sustainable competitive edges is the management abilities to generate and create products and designs which meets and satisfy the needs of their target market or customers.

  With the strategic partnership of Canon with their supplier as well as their other stakeholders and because of their highly skilled staffs and human resources  along with the intensive research and development process, the company remains at the top of the competition and continuously outgrows other companies in the global market.

Moreover, another strategic approach to management of the company is the ability of the company to enter diversified market in the global context. The goal of the company is to provide high-valued and quality products and services and consistent in satisfying their clients or target markets..

Lessons Learned from Canon

In analyzing the given case study, it can be said that there are many lessons that other companies can gain from the other companies can learn many lessons from the strategic approach to management of Canon.  These lessons are as follows.  The first learning is the aspect of having superior effectiveness and efficiency.  The next lessons which can be learned with the strategy of Canon is in line with their continuous development through expansion. As shown in the analysis, Canon is known in the market to have a good public and global image and high reputation.

Thus, if other industry will attempt consider the strategic approach to management of Canon and integrate it with their current approach, these industries can be able to attain good reputation and image in the global marketplace as well. Industries or firms, which may consider Canon’s strategic approach to management, may also learn to have efficiency and effectiveness in their business operations. Based on the case, Canon has also been able to establish two ways to improve their operational efficiency and these include the aspects of  industry internal-growth such as information technology enhancement and Human Capital development and external acquisition.

            Herein, other firms in the same industry as Canon cal also initiate measures to have business operation efficiency which include implementing strategic planning.  This can help the industry to evaluate and assess the client’s demands and needs as well as the customers’ consumption pattern for quick tailoring of the strategic approach to management as their response to market environment. In addition, other industries can also learn to utilize or consider their strategic approach and technique to determine or identify areas which need strategic changes and improvement.

            Another lesson to be learned from Canon is in line with the clients or target market satisfaction and as well as the attainment of the quality management. Other industries note that quality and reliability is a very important factor to generate clients or target market’s loyalty and their satisfaction. The purpose is to produce innovative products and brands which would satisfy what clients or target markets want.

For controlling the product’s quality, other industries may consider the strategic approach to management of Canon in line with the strategic planning. The management of these industries should be able to adhere to the quality standards all throughout the business operation and product development. Furthermore, other industries can also treasure clients or target market’s feedback which is very helpful for enhancing the quality management approach of the company.

From all the strategies of Canon, it can be said that Innovation is the biggest lesson that innovation within the industry is the most important to consider.  The ability of the management of Canon to provide the latest as well as the innovative products with their creativity can improve their competitive advantage like what has done by Canon.

Lastly, the lessons which can be learned from Canon is the responsiveness to the clients or target market.  To be able to attain or provide the needs and demands of the clients or target markets, quality and innovation must be given emphasis and focus by companies and industries outside Canon.  This should become one of the objectives of the industries for achieving or attaining superior responsiveness to the needs of the clients or customers (Daft, 2003).  There are two prerequisites for other industries to attain such goals.

This includes the comprehension and understanding of the company with the needs and demands of the clients or target markets and knowing how to effectively serve it and provide it.  Other companies know that the more they become responsive to their clients or target markets, the greater the brand loyalty it can establish. If these continue, this will lead to strong brand loyalty allowing such companies to gain competitive edge and opportunity to charge a premium price for all their products or to sell more services and products in this kind of industry (Henderson, 2000).  Thus, other industries can conduct market research to help them understand the preferences of their clients or target market.

            In general, strategic approach to management can be considers as the long-term plan of activities that is establish and set to make the industry achieve or attain their organizational goals and objectives. With regards to the strategic changes considered at Canon, it can be assumed that the strategic management contexts which will be given emphasis and prioritize is with regards to the strategic choices that make them stay competitive in the global market.

Reference

1. Cummings, T.G. & Worley, C.G. (2001). Organization Development and Change. Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Publishing.
2. Daft, R. (2003). Management. 6^th Ed. Cincinnati, Ohio: Thomson South-Western.
3. Henderson, T. & Mihas, E. (2000). Building Retail Brands. The McKinsey Quarterly, 3, 110.
4. Lynch, R. (2003) Corporate Strategic approach to management. 3^rd ed. FT/Prentice Hall.
5. McShane, LC and Von Glinow, M 2002, Organizational change and development. In UOP (Ed.), Organizational Behavior. McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
6. Oliver, C 1997, "Sustainable competitive advantage: Combining institutional and resource-Based views." Strategic Management Journal 18(9): 697-713.
7. Proctor, T 2000, Strategic Marketing: An Introduction, London: Routledge, pp. 21-36.