UNIT 9 •.•.

STRATEGY

READING AND
LANGUAGE
m Look at the two views about planning on the left. Which do you agree with,
and why? Work with a partner to produce a statement about planning that
you both agree with.
'Long-term planning
is essential for any
company. It plots III In what ways do you think the four companies on the left below have
where a company developed good strategies? Read the article on the opposite page quickly
wants to go, and
and compare your answers.
how it's going to
get there.'
II Read the article again and complete this summary, using between one and
'Strategic planning three words in each gap.
is a complete According to the article, old-style strategic planning is a thing of the past. However,
waste of time. In
this day and age, beyond trying to survive, companies do need a strategy for \ even in periods of
you simply cannot ............ 2, in order to ensure healthy 3 and competitive advantage.
foresee exactly
how markets will In a paper on strategic development, experts at Boston Consulting Group talk about the
evolve.' concept of 4. They argue good companies act in five key ways: they respond to
........... .s very fast; they try to work with 6; they perceive changes in ?;
they trial their goods and services effectively; and they work with the best 8.

Strategy has changed, and companies need to be more 9.

iii Discuss these questions.

1 Who do you think is the intended audience of the article?

a~~[Link]· 2 What is the writer's purpose? Is there more than one, e.g. to explain/persuade?

3 Are there any quotations used in the article? For what purpose are the quotations used?

® TOYOTA
4

Cl
What emphatic techniques are used? Are any repeated?

Language reference: rhetorical questions page 137

D Match the words and expressions from the article (1-8) to their definitions
and synonyms (a-h).

p&G 1 downturns

2
(lines 23-24)

deductive (line 48)

a) creating some free time when you're not busy
b) periods when business activity is reduced and conditions
become worse
Exercise C
1 growth 3 oversee (line 71) c) ability to become strong and successful again after a difficult
2 (economic) recession 4 hidebound (line 77)
situation or event
3 recovery d) using the knowledge and information you have in order to
4 adaptive advantage 5 awareness
form an opinion about something
5 relevant data/ signals/ changes (line 106)
e) continue to exist for a long time
6 networks of partners/ valuable 6 resilience (line 107)
partners f) knowledge or understanding of a particular subject or situation
7 building in some
7 society/ customer preferences g) be in charge of a group of workers and check that the work is
slack
8 people/ talent/ resource (lines 107-108) done satisfactorily
9 flexible/ dynamic/ adaptive
Exercise E 8 endure (line 114) h) having old-fashioned attitudes and ideas
1b 2d 3g 4h 5f 6c 7a 8e

Exercise F D Replace the words in italic in these sentences with the words or phrases
1 thriving from the article in the box.
2 sharp I are alive to free-flowing hardly sharp thriving I
3 free-flowing
4 hardly 1 The new shopping mall is very successful, but the local shops are closing down.
5 are alive to 2 Their legal team is able to think and understand things very quickly.
3 Everyone was relaxed at the meal, and the conversation was continuous and uninterrupted.
4 This is not the best time to make radical changes to our strategy.

5 The shoe manufacturers know about the importance of the threat posed by foreign imports.
84
 UNIT 9 ~~ STRATEGY

Living strategy and death of the five-year plan

by Stefan Stern

Is strategy dead? Chief strategy

officers will deny it. Some strategy
consultants may reject the idea, too.
But markets are unpredictable. The
5 economic outlook is uncertain. The
world has changed. If old-style
strategy formulation is not exactly
dead, then it is hardly in the best
of health.
lO During periods of recession, many
leadership teams have only one
strategic goal in mind: survival.
Grander visions are filed away or
forgotten. In a recent paper, 'Thriving
15 under adversity', senior Boston
Consulting Group partners Martin
Reeves and Michael Deimler argue
that, in recessions, simply cutting
costs has not been enough to ensure
20 a healthy recovery. 'If survival
buys time, it does not guarantee them. Google is an obvious master of dynamically. It is a complex, adaptive
sustainable competitive advantage,' 55 this, getting closer than anyone else to world, and leaders have to navigatetheir
they write. The winners in down- understanding how online advertising way through it. How can you say today
turns have pursued, and achieved, works. Second, they see clearly how 90 what the economy will be like even six
25 increased sales. their business fits into a wider context. months from now?'
So companies need a strategy for Amazon has made sure its Kindle Leaders need to show a bit more
growth. But J began by arguing that no e-book reader is supported by a humility, while living with all this
the traditional approach to developing network of valuable partners. Third, uncertainty. 'Strategy is really an
strategy - long, internal debate they are alive to social change and 95 evolving idea which develops over a
30 leading to the announcement of three- shifting customer preferences. Toyota long period, on a long and winding
or five-year plans - seems to belong to managed this with its hybrid Prius car. road,' he says. 'And this new world
another era. So what does smart, 65 Fourth, they experiment effectively, calls for just-in-time decision-
21st-century strategy development as Procter & Gamble does when making.'
look like? trialling products. Lastly, they draw on 100 Adapt to survive. The danger for
35 Unsurprisingly, some sharp minds the talents of the best people they can successful companies, Mr Bryan says,
in the strategy consultancies have find - whether they employ them or is that over time they lose the very
been giving this question some 70 not. Software companies such as Red abilities or qualities that earned them
thought. At BCG, the same double Hat and TopCoder oversee large their market-leading position in the
act of Reeves and DeimJer has networks of programmers, using the 105 first place. They no longer have the
40 produced another paper, 'New bases best people with great flexibility. Their same flexibility, awareness and
of competitive advantage' , that looks permanent staff is relatively small. But resilience they once did. Building in
at something they call 'adaptive 75 they have access to many more. some slack - unscheduled meeting
advantage'. This is strategy, too, but This vision of a far more free- time, for instance - might create the
not as we know it. flowing, less hidebound corporation, 110 space where some resilience can be
45 'Organisations with adaptive ready to change strategic direction re-established, Mr Bryan adds.
advantage recognise the unpredict- fast, is shared by Lowell Bryan, a Strategy has changed. While the
ability of today's environment and the 80 director at McKinsey. He may be a eternal truths - about market position,
limits of deductive analysis,' they 3D-year veteran of the firm, but he scale and capabilities - endure, a more
write. New problems are constantly discusses these ideas with the 115 dynamic and adaptive approach is
so emerging. Well-run businesses enthusiasm of a new hire. now needed. Leaders need to be ready
respond effectively to them. 'You have to give up the pretence to make necessary adjustments and
How? First, they process relevant 85 that you can predict the future,' he says. bigger changes.
data - 'signals' - quickly, and react to 'This is about managing much more

II How have businesses you are familiar with adapted to change? You could
choose from one of these sectors. Talk about the challenges they faced and
how they responded .
• a bank • a supermarket • a mobile phone company • an Internet service provider
• a car manufacturer • a gym chain • a clothes brand • an airline
85
UNIT 9 Stra egy
-

STRATEGIC LOCATIONS 0

Before you read

'I1lnk about the he dquatters and other sites of a company tha you a~ lnt rested n,
Why "roe they I«ated where they are?

Reading
R: th rtkle from the Rnanclal Times by PauI Tvrre4Land do the exercises that follow.

LlYEL 01 DiffiCULTY •• 0

ea d va fagr u
"contribute to t rl-up firm
Im'ival".

1 4

152 t[I Pearson Education Llmfted 2011 'HOlOC IA L

 TEXT NK - UNIT9

1 Look through th whot article to find t e ~) o~al ctu§ter f biDer (hoke I poten t I
n me(s) of .•• recruit (J2 wonts)
Yes, it provides us wid! an enhal1(ed labour pool
a) a video-gam 5 company.
to recruit from.
b) a fOwn on the south coast of Eng! nd where thi
company is based.
e) universities here I offer eou , creat" medi
tee 110 gy (JJ wold ~
t) an e)l2cutive:at the Canadian br nth oUne
• co sand unN rsWes here are
cOmp·1rIY_
ncouraged ta offer reurses in the crealM! m ia
d) the Canadian city where the com pany has II n and technology.
office.
d) r e rch I univ J itles I suit I needs I I dus
e) t provInce where this (Ity i!> situat@'d_ (SIwordr.)
f) II busin ss-scheelprofesser, Yes, r search in the unl rfo"ti s gets tai to
two co II agu s or his. our indusUy.
e) "resell( I indus\fy dust r I persu de' open I
:2 Find words and expressions In 1)a phs 1 office h re (l4 words)
No, it was largelv inlilu need by genefGU5
a d 2lh t mean th followh1g.
Incehtiv s from the Qu bee government.
a} transJaU g video games and ather software into
other langua s, adapti g il to dflfet@flt maTbts, f) t.u. hteaks Iovernrnenl/ offer (lwords)
Softw re produc rs l MO re I can claim tax
etc.
relief on up to 30 pe cenUf th salaries of
~ II fe theIr production staff, or more if their work is
c) testi product to c cit thatth@'j wor correctly published in renth.
d) present in la numbers in a small area
e) speaking m y Ian a 5 tho th t su m IV (a, b or c) for the
f) places. where ma1'l)l bus; esses of ChI!same type art de as a whole.
are present a) Tax breilks can h. Ip c:lll5-t~rsto deY top, nd
g) the way th tllings are in a particular place Queb is encouraging a video·games cluster (0
d elop th re, Ilk the one in Brighton, England.
h) not bee king doW1'1
b) Mi(hael Perter's research she the importance
of clus rs, and Brighton and Montreal are
3 Whic:hof th e ideas are not mentl oned In eo~mple of these in rei tion to 1he "id~·game 5
p p 30r4? Industry.
Clusters ...
¢) Ousters ofvldeo·ga s ma ers will no doubt
a) have been the subject of work by Mlc:h I Porter. crop up in other plates. given the right tax
b) ben t firms thai ma~ them up, thankS 10 Incentives.
their b@ing ar each other.
c) benefit customers, Overtoy U1
d) reduce costs. Thin bout your own Indu tTy. or one you would like
e) make it easil!-r to recrult people. to join. Do the lirms th t make up ttl Industry tend

f) allow IikHninded people to socialise tog her.

to dust r in p rtlcul r pi ces? If so, her~, nd what
stra egic dvant g 5 do tMy in fy()m Ing there~ If
I ncr"~ productivity. not. hynot?
h) ellcoura new businesS1! to form.
o can provide suppt:lrt to companies in difficulty. Ov rtoyo 2
D make it more IikelV ttrat new bus~aesses will 'Software producer in Montreal call, for example, daTm
SUrvNe. tu reli on up to 30 per cent of til lad of their
pro<fudlon staff, or up to )7.5 pen nt ifthelr lit
Is . blished in french.' 1m ne you are ataxpayer in
Qu bee. Would you ppro ofthis use of lov mment
maney? Why? J not?v

PHO 01'1. ~afSOn Education imited 2011 JSJ

I lex! ba_n~_

·1I~1I'II_S_tr_a_t_e-"gy:.<.- _
Mission statements I Level of difficulty: •• 0 I

Before you read

According to the Longman Business English Dictionary, a mission statement is a short written
declaration made by an organisation, intended to communicate its aims to customers, employees,
shareholders and others. Do you think mission statements are useful to these groups? Why (not)?

Reading
Read this article from the Financial Times and answer the questions.

Why so many mission statements are

mission impossible
by Sathnam Sanghera amount of literature available on on tediously about 'passion',
the subject: tens of books and 'integrity' and 'excellence'. And a
1 The woman behind the desk at Avis theses with lively titles such as quick Google search reveals that
Hent-A-Car had been chatting freely Libraries, Mission and Marketing: now even individuals and families
for some time, but developed a Writing Mission Statements That are getting in on the act. The
dreadful speech impediment as soon Work. Broadly, the authors fall into prospect of the latter is particularly
as I queried the bill. 'I'm afraid two camps: those who think perplexing. Families do not need
you're liable for the flat tyre,' she mission statements are not worth mission statements. And neither do
declared, sounding like a robot the paper, plaster and plastic they businesses for that matter: if you
reciting the small print from a are written on, and those who think have a real raison d'etre, as James
regulatory document. 'It's company they are fabulous. Among the Collins and Jerry Porras put it in
policy,' But it was flat when you gave critics, it is customary to cite Built To Last, 'a visitor could drop
me the car! 'It's company policy.' But Enron's mission statement, which into your organisation from
I only drove it out of the car park famously declared that the another planet and infer the vision
and back!! 'It's company policy.' But company was 'open and fair'. without having to read it on paper'.
I'm a regular customer and a 4 Meanwhile, among proponents, it But while businesses do not need
shareholder!1I 'It's company policy.' is almost obligatory to craft a them, mission statements need
This treatment continued for a mission statement for mission not be a source of irritation, if
while. Halfway through the statements: to set out in precise they are: (1) short, (2) clear and
encounter - which ended with my detail the essential ingredients for (3) realisable.
threat to sell my shares in Avis declarations of company philo- 7 All the best corporate mission
Europe, never to use Avis again and sophy, One expert insists that there statements adopt this modest
to complain about it to everyone I are exactly five things mission approach. Walt Disney's aim 'to
meet for the remainder of my statements should cover: the make people happy' springs to
hopefully very long life (have purpose, goals, products, markets mind, as does Wal-Mart's aim 'to
followed through with the first and philosophical views of the give ordinary folk the chance to buy
threat, am working on the latter organisation. Another insists on no the same thing as rich people', 3M's
two) - I noticed that AvlS'S 42-year- less than eight key elements. Yet aim 'to solve unsolved problems
old mission statement was another insists that the best test of innovatively' and Google's simple
emblazoned on surfaces around the a mission statement is being able to aim 'not to be evil'. As it happens,
office. 'We Try Harder; it pro- identify the company when one Avis's 'We Try Harder', which the
claimed. The words haunted me as I crosses its name off the statement. company describes on its website as
stomped off to write a long and 5 On reflection, I cannot side with its 'rallying cry', fits my criteria
ultimately unsuccessful letter of either camp. There is something perfectly. It is short, memorable
complaint. We Try Harder? Try natural about mission statements - and realisable. Indeed, there is no
harder to do what? To irritate our after all, what is the American problem with the mission state-
loyal customers? To drive them Declaration of Independence, if not ment at all. The problem, judging
away? a mission statement? But, at the from my experience and from
Weeks later, the words were still same time, since the 1982 Avis's recent lamentable corporate
swilling around my head. So, as an publication of In Search oj performance, is that the company
outlet for my rage, I began Excellence, which advised has given up trying to make its
researching the subject of mission companies to articulate clearer mission statement a reality.
statements, to find out if they goals, the fad has spread too far.
are all as annoying as Avis's. 6 The tiniest businesses are now
Surprisingly, there is a substantial drafting long statements that bang FINANCIAL TIMES

o Pearson Education Limited 2006 'PiMioIi.!a*,Otl

 -
1 Read the whole article and choose the best option. c) ... that bang on tediously about 'passion', 'integrity' and
The writer probably ... 'excellence' .
A had had an interest in mission statements before his i) show that they are confident and happy
experience at Avis. ii) talk continuously about something in a boring way
B has come to dislike all mission statements since his iii) express views and opinions in a very loud, forceful
experience at Avis. way
C wrote this article, in part, to complain about his d) ... individuals and families are getting in on the act.
experience at Avis. i) beginning to do something that others are doing
::
ii) watching the activities of companies with great
2 Read paragraphs 1 and 2 and put the events in the anecdote
interest
in order.
iii) putting pressure on companies to produce mission
a) The Avis woman told him mechanically that he was
statements
legally responsible for the cost of repair.
e) ... a visitor could drop into your organisation from
b) The client walked away angrily, imagining that the
another planet
company was trying hard to behave in a way that makes
i) stop doing something
customers leave.
ii) take something to a place
c) The client explained that the car had a flat tyre before he
iii) visit without arranging a time
drove it and that he was someone who used the
f) ... if they are: (1) short, (2) clear and (3) realisable.
company's service often.
i) possible to fulfil
d) Her voice changed when the client asked a question
ii) easy to understand
about the charges.
iii) dealing with situations in a practical way
e) The client noticed that the company's mission statement
was clearly visible on objects around the Avis office. 6 Read paragraph 7. Match the adjectives (1-6) with the
f) The Avis woman was talking in a friendly way to the nouns they go with (a-f).
client. 1 modest a) problems
2 ordinary b) approach
3 Find words and expressions in paragraphs 1 and 2 which
3 unsolved c) mission statement
can replace the phrases in italics in Exercise 2.
If rallying d) folk
4 Read Paragraphs 3 and 4 and say whether these statements 5 memorable e) corporate performance
are true or false. 6 lamentable f) cry
The writer of this article ...
7 Complete these sentences with the correct adjective from
a) could not stop thinking about the words the Avis woman
Exercise 6.
had used.
a) It was a truly conference. All the participants said
b) decided to investigate mission statements as a way to
it had been enjoyable and worthwhile .
. deal with his anger.
b) If something is average, common or usual, it is described
c) discovered that some MA and PhD students have written
as ' '.
long studies on the subject.
c) The company encourages all its employees to stay in
d) says that a title is 'lively' for humorous effect, because
............ three-star hotels when they travel for business.
he really believes it's boring.
d) When you can't find an answer or explanation for a
e) argues that mission statements can be categorise&into
mystery, it remains .
two groups.
e) The saleswoman's treatment of the customer
f) found experts were remarkably consistent about what
was , and he left feeling very dissatisfied.
makes a good mission statement.
f) The chairman's speech called on all the staff to
5 Read paragraphs 5 and 6 and choose the best meaning for support the company's strategy.
the words and expressions in italics in the context of the
article. Over to you 1
a) On reflection, I cannot side with either camp.
Look at the five mission statements in paragraph 7. Do you
i) agree with
agree with the writer's assessment of them? Which do you like
ii) get angry with
most?
iii) give an opinion on
b) ... the fad has spread too far.
i) influence of something
Over to you 2
ii) enthusiastic devotion to something Think of three famous companies and write a mission
iii) practice that becomes very popular for a short time statement for each. Then check to see on the Internet to see if
they already have a mission statement and if your version was
similar.

© Pearson Education Limited 2006

 Reading and Writing

READING TIPS
j:IICI
ITI PART ONE
>
C
- Read the questions carefully first.
- The words in the questions are usually not the same as the words in the text so look for
Z
Ci') paraphrases in the text. Words from the questions may well be in other texts.
>
z - Make sure the text matches the question exactly.
c
:IE
j:IICI
• Look at the statements below and at the five extracts from an article about strategy.
• Which section CA,B, C, D or E) does each statement 1-8 refer to?
:::!
z • For each statement 1-8, mark one letter CA,B, C, D or E).
Ci')
• You will need to use some of these letters more than once.

Example
o Certain products were becoming cheaper .......~ .....

1 Customers have changed their purchasing habits.

2 The regulatory body accepts that the industry has changed dramatically.
3 Many copycat companies had started very quickly.
4 New companies are providing niche products.
5 The riskiest strategy is to do absolutely nothing.
6 The authorities failed to recognise the advent of change.
7 A common industry strategy had been rendered useless.
8 Both positive and negative tactics can be learned from this sector.

A
BUSINESSLIFE-ANDREWHILL-ONMANAGEMENT
Take note: seven lessons in strategy from Staples' desk
by Andrew Hill

In 1986, Tom Stemberg opened the first Staples superstore in Massachusetts. Stationery
retailers have not stood still since. By 1990, Mr Stem berg's disruptive bright idea had
spawned dozens of lookalike office supply warehouses. Consolidation followed, but in
1997, regulators blocked Staples' bid for Office Depot. Last week, Office Depot again
agreed to be bought by Staples, for $6 billion. Antitrust approval is not a given, but what
the US Federal Trade Commission deemed a potentially dominant position 18 years ago
now looks more like a defensive necessity. So is that it for the category-killing, big-box
retail trend of which Staples was part? Almost certainly not. The industry can still teach
others a few lessons about strategy - and they are not all gloomy.

B Do not count on staying dominant. As Rita Gunther McGrath noted in her book The End
of Competitive Advantage, with few exceptions, 'stability, not change, is the state that is
most dangerous in highly dynamic competitive environments'. Mr Stemberg and others
fired the staple-gun that launched a new era, in which the half-life of dominant companies
has shortened dramatically. A strategy that had served stationers and their customers
well for centuries withered in 1986, but Staples' approach barely survived ten years
before it too was under attack.

18
 UNIT9 ~~ READING AND WRITING

c Stay competitive on price. Staples and others launched at a point when the cost of office
machines was starting to fall. Sales of computer and printer equipment provided a solid
foundation for growth, underpinning the discounts on pens, paper and notepads and
other bulk supplies. It soon became clear, however, that in retail, your biggest competitor
is the Internet. Two years ago, when it approved a merger between Office Depot and
Office Max, number three in the market, the FTCconceded that customers now 'look
beyond'superstores. ;:ICI

>
""
C
D In fact, if the commissioners had glanced up in 1997, they would have seen Amazon,
Z
which went public that year, on the horizon. At the time, Staples rightly argued the Ci')
Internet would increase price transparency. But it was still early days: the commission >
Z
c
concentrated
superstores.
instead on the deal's impact on the fraction of the market served by
But do not ignore your offline competitors. Big suppliers proved susceptible
:e
;:ICI
to death by a thousand paper-cuts on Main Street and in malls, as the likes of Costco, the :::!
z
retail club, Target and Walmart's supermarkets and Walgreens' pharmacies extended their Ci')
stationery departments.

E Dominance opens a (small) space for specialists. Tablets and smartphones may have
cut bulk orders of printer ink and paper, and offered consumers alternatives to pad, pen
and pencil. But specialist stationers are starting to fill a niche for retail customers with
bespoke, high-end or quirky ranges of the same paperclips, ballpoint pens and notebooks
sold by the discounters.

WRITING TIPS
PART TWO
- Read all the instructions carefully and underline key words.
- Check the format required (proposal, letter, report, etc.).
- Use clear headings and subheadings, and a range of business words and linkers.
- Write at least 200 words. If you write fewer, you will lose marks. You do not get extra
marks if you write more than 250 words.

• Your company, a supermarket chain, is experiencing steadily falling sales in the domestic
market. Your boss has asked you to write a report to outline the problems and suggest a new
strategy to improve sales and for overseas expansion.
• Write the report for your boss, including the following:
- two reasons for falling sales
- strategies to deal with the above problems
- strategy for expansion overseas
- conclusion.

• Write 200-250 words.

19