Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness Research Paper

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness - Research Paper Example The manufacturing plant is located in Richmond; in the Virginia State. This is the biggest plant ever built in the tobacco industry. Marlboro is well known for its adverts by use of the Marlboro man (Erin & Jack, 2003). Impact of Globalization and Technological Changes on Marlboro Globalization in this scenario is the process of improving the interactivity of the social, political interdependence, cultural, financial economic and incorporation of markets that are triggered by development of technologies in the communication and transport sector at the same time liberalizing trade. Globalization together with unparalleled change in technology has led to a weakening of the borders from the States control (Michael, Duane & Robert, 2008). There is an increase in the volume of cigar and money at an alarming rate which kills the tobacco industry. Fake tobacco products are smuggled into the State by organized criminals. There are various networks of companies, people and groups who evade ta xes and royalties to bring in fake cigarettes which look similar to the genuine products. As a result they trade like any other company’s products hence killing the revenue collected by the company. The products sold by these smugglers cost much lower than the genuine products. With globalization and technological change the products can be designed in away, that one cannot differentiate them genuine products. The taxes can be avoided easily with fake documentation which can pass for the real documents. Application of the industrial organization model and resource based model by Marlboro firm to earn above average returns can be done in various ways. First, with the application of the industrial organization model, Marlboro firm can make use of alliances with other cigarettes manufactures to form an association like a cartel. Since the organized cooperate more with other close competitors in the tobacco industry, this will reduce the probability of the collaboration to lift t he revenues of the firm. Moreover, the firm can also make good use of its resource based model by differentiating their products and making it known to the customers about the genuine products and how to separate from the fake products. All it takes are the internal resources by the company to implement strategies that can easily reduce cases of smuggling. In addition, the government regulatory controls can be partnered with, by the company by having agents or inspectors who are able to draw a clear line between fake and genuine products. There are various procedures that can be taken by Marlboro firm in reducing the negative impact of globalization and technological improvement to increase returns on their products. First and foremost, analyzing the external environment is very crucial in identifying the potential threats and how to override them. Second, the firm must distribute its products by reliable distributors who are not likely to imitate or sell the products to competitors for imitation (Erin & Jack, 2003). Third, every firm has its own strength and opportunities, Marlboro can make good use of its lifetime existence in the market to identify tactics that are appropriate in attracting in good returns. This can be done by employing skilled labor from technological sector to help in branding their products in a manner that competitors cannot copy them. The Effect of Marlboro’s Vision and Mission Statement on Their Success The main aim a mission statement is to draw to attention