Strategic Choice and Evaluation-Business-Level Strategies and Corporate-Level Strategies
The main difference between corporate-level strategies and business-level strategies is based on their objectives. A business-level strategy seeks to bolster a company’s competitive edge in the marketplace, while a corporate-level strategy is concerned with the business’s long-term growth and profitability. To that end, mid-level organizational managers apply business-level strategies to accomplish goals specific to their departments. Conversely, a company’s senior executives use corporate-level strategies to guide the organization to achieve its vision.
Another notable difference is that corporate-level strategies are long-term, whereas business-level strategies are short-term. Departmental managers formulate business-level strategies to attain measurable short-term goals such as attracting more customers and improving profits. Conversely, corporate-level strategies are long-term, seeking to solve an organization’s comprehensive issues (Bogomyagkov et al., 2012). For instance, in the face of globalization, most businesses are on a mission to diversify their workforces, which takes some time before attaining the ultimate goals.
Besides, the two types of strategies differ in terms of their focus. A business-level strategy focuses on increasing consumer value and addressing competition by improving the quality of products and attaining cost leadership (Bogomyagkov et al., 2012). However, a corporate strategy focuses on improving the organization by maximizing profits, creating value, and expanding.
However, it is worth noting that the two types of strategies are interrelated. Departmental heads make business-level strategy decisions guided by corporate-level strategies (Bogomyagkov et al., 2012). For instance, if a company’s long-term strategy is cost leadership, departmental managers may have to consider cost as they seek to improve customer value.
Examples
Apple’s corporate-level strategies include the close-related diversification of its services and products. The company’s high-end computing and entertainment products are integrated so that customers can only use certain software on Apple products. For instance, Apple Play can only function on Apple devices, forcing consumers to purchase Apple products (Aljafari, 2016). Diversification has helped the company create a pool of loyal customers. On the other hand, Apple Inc. leverages business-level strategies to beat the competition in the tech industry. To address the stiff competition, Apple invests heavily in R&D and innovation to develop new products (Aljafari, 2016). Apple has since created new devices such as MacBook Air, iPad Air, iPhone 14 Pro, and others to compete with products manufactured by rivals such as IBM, HP, and Samsung. Apple’s business-level strategies enable the company to survive in a competitive industry.
References
Aljafari, A. (2016). Apple Inc. Industry Analysis Business Policy and Strategy. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 7(3), 406–441. https://www.ijser.org/researchpaper/Apple-Inc-Industry-Analysis-Business-Policy-and-Strategy.pdf
Bogomyagkov, Y., Machulskyi, I., & Rolf A Lundin Jönköping. (2012). Corporate and business level strategies at MNEs A managerial practice view Acknowledgement. http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:563234/
ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
We’ll write everything from scratch
Question
This week focuses on strategic choice and evaluation.
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
Discuss the differences and relationships between a business-level strategy and a corporate-level strategy.
Use examples from a company you are familiar with to illustrate these differences and relationships.