Strengths
The strengths of Li Ning are strong brand image and expert system, excellent web-site and customer support. Resource-based philosophy and innovations create new opportunities for market development and brand recognition. Customers’ loyalty can be achieved through the people who are employed by Li Ning. Innovations in technology and freezing processes allow the Li Ning up attract hundreds of customers each day. Technological factors involve the Internet access and development of the company’s infrastructure, new methods of cooking and information availability (Levy and Weitz, 2008). Such factors as continued economic growth, increased disposable profits, dynamic domestic and local competition, accelerating technology, automation, population decentralization, expansion, and innovation will spur the appearance of this new marketing form. The competitive advantage of the company is unique product proposition and locations. Low prices and high quality of products appeal to middle class consumers. For Li Ning, the opportunities include high potential to growth in America and penetration into new markets. Also, Li Ning, has financial and human resources in improve its profitability, professional management team and corporate culture, customized order system and free shipping. There is a great opportunities for Li Ning,, because specialized restaurants, throughout the world are interested in goods produced in the environmentally friendly manner. The company tries to expend its activities introducing self-service, limited-menu express (Aaker, 2003). The strength of Li Ning approach is that planning is crucial as it determines strategic directions and activities. In the import/export company, planning consumes prime resources and transforms them into approaches that are intended to improve the quality of service provided. This sentence suggests that managers who are assigned the task of strategic development, have scheduled appropriate time, and have been provided with appropriate knowledge or information need resources. Such resources help assure staff members that the undertaking to which they have been assigned will be achieved. The identification and appointment of a strategic planning team or task force are responsibilities that should be given careful thought (Goodstein, 2001).
Weaknesses
The main weaknesses are fierce competition in industry and limitability of the proposed products. Competition is the main threat for Li Ning,. In spite of weaknesses and threats, Li Ning, has an attractive position based on a combination of cost management and customer services. Recent months, economic situation and crisis have a negative impact on the company as many potential customers try to save money.Both in physical appearance and in most aspects of their culture-notably, their language, their traditional form of administration, and their religion. The problem is that volume size does not significantly change the cost base. Li Ning, relies heavily on high quality products and on time delivery. Li Ning, suppliers have a unique availability product they can exert a strong influence over prices and conditions of supply potentially putting pressures on the businesses purchasing their product. As the most important, there is a limited number of suppliers in this industry. Competitors follow the same strategies as Li Ning, relying on product differentiation and cost leadership (Dunne and Lusch, 2007).
Opportunities
Li Ning gives a special attention to strategic approaches in business. The company’s management underlines that the structure of the organization depends upon and is influenced by strategic and size. For Li Ning strategy depends upon structure of business: vertical business requires greater control over its operations and has centralized and bureaucratic structure based on span of control. Horizontal process has decentralized structure based on information relations and communication inside the company. In stable environments where change and interaction are at a minimum, strategic management can be more effective. The main weaknesses are that there are specific situations when employees outperform the functional units of the traditional hierarchically structured organization. Li Ning’s employees are effective as coordinating and integrating mechanisms, especially for complex tasks requiring specialized knowledge. Employees are used more effectively in a knowledge/service-based organization (Aaker, 2003).
For Li Ning, the capacity to coordinate in a team environment is especially useful within a structured organizational environment where information tends to get held up in organizational channels. Now more than ever, managers are turning to employees to accommodate new technologies and achieve creative, significant performance within their organization. The strategy for creating, developing, and managing an innovative team is a clearly defined goal. The true measure of a strategy’s effectiveness is how successful it is in accomplishing the goal or purpose. In a balanced scorecard, strategic approach is the primary objective, while an employee remains the means, not the end. It is the degree of the team’s commitment to the goal that makes the team function as a unit and, in large measure, will determine its success. At this point, integration takes place. Through these discussions, managers attempt to attain alignment between their goals, the individual’s goals, and the organization’s goals. From Li Ning case arguments, It is evident that the strategy is a core of business today. Strategy is essential as it allows a leader to set his or her own goals, even if there is agreement to support the manager’s and organizational goals, that still does not guarantee a deeply felt individual commitment (Aaker, 2003).
Threats
The main threats are poor and underdeveloped sport culture in China. A danger is that it may become a social forum. They can drift off track, and it is the leadership’s task is to keep them focused on the task. Strategic management requires a careful analysis of the situation and evaluation of all alternatives. In many situation, strategic decisions call for teams of knowledgeable people to share knowledge for more effective problem solving and decision making. It is past time to break with tradition and to start using teams more effectively. Still, good managers should take advantage of this powerful mode of interaction when and where appropriate. An effective strategic management process develops a kindred spirit by focusing the strengths of each member on a clear and challenging goal. Then, just as in operating models, various strategic models are used to depict the need for listing alternatives or options to be considered in achieving specified goals. A segment that deals with ordering or organizing the steps to be completed is not included in all models. In some situations, the strategic management has been made that the steps will be sequenced in a way that enables the persons using the plan to achieve the desired outcomes. In one form or another, implementation is contained in most models (Levy and Weitz, 2008).
References
Aaker, D. 2003. Managing Brand Equity, New York: Free Press.
Dunne, P. M., Lusch, R. F. 2007. Retailing. South-Western College Pub.
Goodstein, L., Nolan, T., Pfeiffer, W. J. 2001. Applied Strategic Planning: How to Develop a Plan That Really Works. McGraw-Hill; 6 edition.
Levy, M., Weitz, B. A. 2008. Retailing Management. McGraw-Hill/Irwin.