The business world is characterized by a lot of competition as each player wants to stay at the top and remain the best in their respective fields. Boardroom meetings are a common occurrence in the sector as the different industries try to come up with better ways and methods of beating their rivals. Competition is a norm and with improved technologies, businesses are forced to stay flexible; change with the changing technology and business environment. Strategic management is essential in any institution. It enables the management to analyze it competition regarding the internal and external environment and thus make a decision concerning the major goals. The role is primarily carried out on behalf of the business owners by the top management (Papadakis, Lioukas and Chambers, 1998). Nestle company is the focus institution in trying to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of strategic management and how the views were executed. The paper explains the importance of strategic management and how Nestle benefited from it.
Nestle is an international food and beverage company and in 2014, it was ranked 72 on Fortune Global 500. Regarding revenues, it is the largest food company in the world. Food is a necessity in life, and such a company needs to strategize to stay at the top. All firms in this sector purpose to provide nutritious and healthy products to their customers but what makes Nestle stand out from the rest is its strategic management. They focus on not only the external factors that contribute to the growth of the company but also the internal factors.
The internal management processes mainly concentrated on the employees. To ensure that whatever was manufactured and produced was of high quality, the more than 330000 workers had to work in favorable conditions to ensure they give their full potential to the company. It will increase the productivity among the workers. Also, working on the communication between the management and the employees helped make the workers feel comfortable working in the form as they could raise any issue they had with the management. The researchers enable the company to stay up to date with the latest food and beverage portfolio. By emphasizing the importance of research and how the foods they produce enhances the skin and general health of an individual, the strategic management helped the company take the leading role in the manufacturing of foods and beverages. The decision to empower people with the choice of food helped the company gain popularity among people increasing their customer base.
To counter their external factors that result in competition, the strategic team set up to incorporate wellness and nutrition challenges to ensure they enlighten their clients on the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. It provided a platform for them to advertise their products which are also nutritious and enhance a healthy lifestyle. Start Healthy Stay Health helps parents provide foods rich in nutrients to their children. It allows for interaction between the company and the parents and in doing so, the guardians can determine the best food choice for their children. The objective is made possible through another program dubbed, United for Healthier Kids. Such programs improve the relationship between the consumer and the firm making it a favorite brand among parents because they want the best for their children (Rosenberg, 2013)
There are many diseases that are linked to the lifestyle of an individual and through its strategic management; Nestle Company identified the market niche, lack of consumer-friendly products. With so many processed foods linked to conditions such as obesity, hypertension, and heart conditions, the firm has taken a different turn by focusing on foods that have low levels of salt, sugar, and saturated fats. Such contents are common in junk foods which are a favorite for children. To ensure the first one thousand days of a child’s life are spent eating food rich in nutrients, the firm has introduced the Nestle healthy kids program. (Powell et al., 2013)
The company’s production process id eco-friendly and this makes it a favorite among many people. Global warming is the result of the pollution caused to the ozone layer, and the need to reduce the negative human impact on the layer is important. With such a big company putting in place such measures, it gains trust among people and with the good reputation individuals tend to purchase their products.
In conclusion, strategic management is essential especially when a firm wants to get to the to. It helps a business align their goals with customer’s preference. Also, it enables the team to come up with new and better ideas that not only ensure they gain profit but act in a responsible manner regarding the environment. Revenues are the main reason a business exists, but the trust of a consumer can affect the total revenue collected depending on whether they gain or lose it. just as its name suggests, strategic management enables a business change from the normal way of carrying out operations on new and better methods while working towards satisfying the needs of the consumer.
- Papadakis, V. M., Lioukas, S., & Chambers, D. (1998). Strategic decision-making processes: the role of management and context. Strategic management journal, 19(2), 115-147.
- Rosenberg, I. H. (2013). Nutrition and the biology of human ageing: Proceedings of the ninth nestle international nutrition symposium. The journal of nutrition, health & aging, 17(8), 706.
- Powell, L. M., Schermbeck, R. M., Szczypka, G., & Chaloupka, F. J. (2013). Children’s exposure to food and beverage advertising on television: tracking calories and nutritional content by company membership in self-regulation. In Advances in communication research to reduce childhood obesity (pp. 179-195). Springer New York.
