Post Describe Kraft's strategies,Strategic challenges does CEO Rosenfeld face

1. Post Describe Kraft's strategies.

Corporate strategy is best defined 'an organizations basic direction for the future: its purpose, its ambitions, its resources and how it interacts with the world in which it operates 'Kraft has three corporate strategies which are:

·To delight global snack consumers

·To unleash the power of iconic heritage brands

·To create a performance driven and value led organization (Kraft, 2011)

By implementing such strategies Kraft are able to manage their activities appropriately and by doing so they are able to identify the skills and competencies which are required to foster organizational growth hence drive profits. Kraft's growth strategy is to build a global snacks powerhouse and unrivalled portfolio of brands people love.

It is essential that managers are able to effectively formulate and implement corporate level strategies' in order to achieve corporate objectives of the firm by means of developing and sustaining competitive advantage. Management must have a clear vision in place as to where it wants to be in the long-term so it is able to identify its strategic purpose as to why the company exists. Kraft's strategy enables managers' to look at ways in which it can add value to the different parts of the firm. Moreover, how it can meet shareholder expectations. Kraft should effectively link its internal capabilities together with its external relations if they want their strategy to be successful in this ever changing environment.

Furthermore, strategy also seems to shape organizational behavior therefore it is vital that everyone in the organization is focused and that they have a shared a vision because they will be more likely to be working towards the same goal.

b. What Strategic challenges does CEO Rosenfeld face?

The economic climate aside, there are two key trends affecting consumers globally that we as the world's second largest food company take very seriously: the two extremes of malnutrition, which are hunger and obesity.

It may sound paradoxical that the world is facing unprecedented growth in both of these areas at the same time, but it's true. So, we're working hard to address them, because it's the right thing to do for our business and the right thing to do for our world.

People around the world delighted in the convenience of packaged foods which arguably enabled more women to work by reducing the need for home cooking time. In the Knowledge Economy, however, customer attention is what is scarce, not material things. Rich economies enjoy unprecedented wealth of material things, and convenience is simply expected; it rarely offers sustainable differentiation. In addition, Web 2.0 communications between consumers mean that product-centric differentiation is consumed quickly. Industrial Economy companies, with few exceptions, have been lackluster innovators because their core competencies revolved around efficiency of operations, the hallmark of the industrial age. Innovation by default involves some kind of discontinuous change, the anathema of ultra-efficient producers.

c. Which evaluation measures should Kraft use? Explain your rationale.

Customer Relationship Strategy - Evaluation of Research

The market sampling was composed of mail intercepts and telephone interviews. Six hundred respondents were exposed to all Kraft's commercials or print ads .Kraft's advertisers provided information on targeted demographics, major competitors, product attributes shown in the campaign, print and media schedules, and 30 second TV commercials and related print ads .Research questions were identical for the controlled and test cell groups. From a multitude of products, respondents were asked to make brand selections; next, respondents were given magazines and TV shows to read and watch and later queried on specific magazines and TV shows; other research applications focused on brand recall and first and second brand selection; and the final test addressed competitive imagery section.

Management Marketing Strategy - Evaluation of Research

Kraft's management performed an international consumer survey to determine if consumers were aware of the product quality and whether they were receptive to Kraft's product quality .After receiving a favorable survey response, KFI decided to produce an adaptive, revitalization, and business acquisition marketing campaign; tailored for specific foreign markets (Kilts). From a product adaptation perspective, KFI used market segmentation to isolate consumer needs and preferences.

Long-term Viability Model

As Kraft's management team assessed the global competitive environment, they determined that their current business and marketing strategy was not capable of meeting and countering increasing market challenges.

d. Go to Kraft's website and evaluate revenues, profits, and strategic initiatives.

It's simple, clear and easy to remember: Kraft Foods have a strategy that is focused on five     key categories (e.g., biscuits and chocolate), Team selection: Blank cheques are bets on people so Kraft puts the right people in charge of delivery. Define goals and plans: Targets need to be aggressive.  You are not looking for incremental improvements. With a blank cheque comes the responsibility of delivering extraordinary results. It is neither for the faint-hearted nor those who seek the luxury of pursuing marginal improvements or initiatives that will take a long time to produce results. Teams should be forced to question all their assumptions about their business and to confront orthodoxies that have been blindly accepted by the company.

 Formally hand over the blank cheque: Once the business plan has been agreed upon, business leaders need to formally "issue the check” by approving the amount the team has asked for and transferring it into an account that can be accessed by the team leaders.

Monitor results and accept that failures will occur: Blank cheque initiatives involve redefining how business is done. Remember you are looking for significant and sustainable performance improvements. This often involves challenging the way business is done and innovating new approaches. The team needs to be encouraged to run experiments and take risks, and some of these experiments will inevitably fail.