Applied Concept Paper (global Strategy and Policy)

Executive Summary

This paper is based on certain key concept of strategy implementation of staffing, directing, evaluation and control. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate my understanding of certain fundamental concept and capability to relate them to the actual business world through applications of my critical thinking skills. The concepts such as downsizing, job rotation and radio frequency identification are taken from chapter 10 and 11 from the book Strategic Management and Business Policy by Thomas L. Wheelen and J. David Hunger.

The paper discuss about recent articles regarding downsizing done by companies such as Best Buy, Hewlett Packard and Sony. As we can observe that budget and jobs cut are everywhere however it is essential for us to know the motives of the companies for downsizing. Furthermore, the paper explains in detail about the benefits of job rotation and the use of modern technology of Radio Frequency Identification. From this paper, I learned that different companies may have different outlook on the actions they take such as job rotation can be expensive for companies due to high cost of training of existing employees, but companies still prefer to engage in job rotation to create an enhancement for employees and their work setting.

ABSTRACTS

 Bye-bye big box: Best Buy to downsize stores after profit drops

This article describes that Best Buy Company decides to shut down fifty of its large-model stores this year and replaced by more compact shops and mobile-only stores. The company plans to open 100 small-scale mobile stores by 2013 on top of the 305 that are currently open. By 2016, the total number will expand to 600 to 800 mobile stops. The downsizing has been in the works for months. The electronic giant also wants to cut $800 million out of its cost by 2015, including $250 million within the next fiscal year. The company plans to open 100 small-scale mobile stores by 2013.

 HP to Layoff 27,000; Largest Layoffs in Company History

The is article mentioned that approximately 27,000 workers at Hewlett-Packard Comp. (HPQ) will be out of the job that is 8 percent of the company’s total staff of 324,000. The HP layoff program will be gradually implemented as part of restructuring that wraps up by October 2014. HP has not revealed a precise timeline for when the job cuts will occur, within the 2012-2014 restructuring windows. However, sources indicate that most of the cuts will likely come in the U.S. and Europe, while the company's Chinese unit which is a major growth target will largely be spared. HP’s deep cuts are bad news of its employees and the U.S. engineers in general who will face greater competition in the jobs market.

 Sony Job Cuts: Japanese Electronics