MGT429 Gordons Food Service Executive Strategies & Policies Project Paper Tipic: Gordons Food Service Finist the PPT and the Project Paper follow the Poli

MGT429 Gordons Food Service Executive Strategies & Policies Project Paper Tipic: Gordons Food Service

Finist the PPT and the Project Paper follow the Policies

Your written reportmust include (but is not limited to) the following components:

1. Executive Summary(5%)This section should include an overview of the entire reportand highlight the important findings.This section usually should not exceed one page.

2. External Analysis(Industry Analysis)(20%)You mayuse analyticaltools such as Porter’s FiveForces(required), industry life cycle, and strategic group analysis. Exemplar questions may include:•Who are the competitors and what are their market shares?•What products or services are produced inthis industry?•How have demographic, social, or technologicaltrendsinfluenced this industry?•What key opportunities exist for this industry? Which company (or companies) is most likely to take advantage of theseopportunities? Why?•What key threats (in terms of new entrants, product life cycle, product obsolescence, substitute products, etc.) exist for this industry?

3. Internal Analysis, including the assessment of the firm’s strengths and weaknesses (20%)You may discuss in greater details here about the firm’s history, products, markets, culture, vision, and so on. Some specific questions may include: •Which functional areas within the firm are particularly strong and which are particularly weak? Why?•Areany of the firm’s resources/capabilitiessources of competitive advantage? Are those advantages sustainable? What are the firm’s distinctive/core competences? •What do the firm’s financial statements say about its health?Comparison to competitors?•What has the firm’s non-financial performance (corporate governance, employment stability/growth, innovation, customer relations, etc.) been like over the past three to five years?

4. Analysis of business-level strategy used by the firm (20%)•Whatis the firm’s primary industry? What is the generic strategy used by the firm in this industry?•What customer needs do the firm’s products/services satisfy? What market segment does the firm serve? How does the firm use its distinctive competencies to serve the customer needs?•How is (or is not) the business-levelstrategy supported by its functional strategies?Is the chosen generic strategy appropriate given the firm’s external and internal environments? Why or why not?•Does the firm use other business-level strategies to competee.g. chaining, franchising, product proliferation, product development etc.? How effective are these strategies?

5. Analysis of the corporate-level strategy of the firm (20%)•Identify the businesses the firmis in (or is considering entering), how they are related (or unrelated), and whether and how they create additional value in their combination. Be specific and detailed. If it is unclear that value is created, try to assess why the firm might have chosen to enter those businesses.•Has the firm used any horizontal or vertical integration strategies in the past? What are the rationales and effects of these strategies? Has the firm formed any strategic alliances or used strategic outsourcing? Analyze the rationales and effects.•Analyzethe global strategy used by the firm (if it is a multinational company) and the rationale of using that global strategy. What entry modes did the firm use to enter those countries? Were the methods of entry used (or proposed) the best choice given the firm’s objectives, environment, strengths, weaknesses, and strategy? Be sure to include any appropriate financial analysis to support your assessment.

6. Recommendations (10%)Recommendations should respond to the key issues identified earlier, and must be specificand actionable. They should be consistent with the analysis. You should evaluate the impact of each recommendation on the firm’s environment, strengths, weaknesses, and strategy. Also highlight why they are feasible to the firm. Do not forget to consider the firm’s financial standing when making recommendations.

7. Abibliography of your sources. Any external information used must be properly referenced. Failure to properly reference any external source constitutes plagiarism. Use the APA format for the bibliography. Your final papershould be in an agreeable and professional format.Be sure to useheadings for each section in the paper. It also needs to follow correct form, spelling, and grammar. (5%)

The final paper should be no more than 10 pages in length (excluding references and appendix), single-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, with one inch margins all around

. CAPSTONE PROJECT: BOSE CORPORATION
Capstone Project: Bose Corporation
As of 2018 Bose Corporation finds itself ranked number eleven on the list of top
consumer electronic companies in the industry. (“List of Consumer Electronics Companies”,
2018) The consumer electronic industry refers to any device containing an electronic circuit
board that is intended for everyday use, usually in the privacy of your own homes. The late
1
CAPSTONE PROJECT: BOSE CORPORATION
2
Amar Bose founded the company in 1964. Less than 10 years after graduating from MIT and
purchasing a stereo system that he was extremely disappointed with due to poor sound quality.
(“The first 50 years of Bose”) Following this incident Bose began to conduct research aimed at
clarifying and fixing factors that he felt were weaknesses in the current “high-end” audio
systems. In 1964 Amar Bose made it his mission to achieve “Better Sound Through Research”,
and The Bose Corporation stays true to that still today as they have made this their slogan. (“The
first 50 years of Bose”)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Bose Corporation is a company that is known for their high-end electronics manufactured
for travelers, NASA, car companies, the military, aviators, and home builders (“Bose: A Better
Business, Through Research”). It is more a business built for an operating model rather than an
operating model built for a business (“Bose: A Better Business, Through Research”). This goes
in line with their slogan that states, “Better Sound Through Research”. Bose has a wide
international presence, advanced research and development capabilities and proprietary
technology which keeps them at the top of what they are doing, even as litigations and private
ownership remains the major areas of concern for it. The risks with going forward include,
increasing cost of inputs and rapidly changing technological advancements. However, with the
growing demand of energy efficient products and new businesses (ElectroForce Systems Group)
that are important to various other industries, provide growth opportunities for Bose Corporation.
The Porter’s Five Forces method can be used to identify risk of entry by potential competitors,
industry rivalry, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, and the threat of
substitutes. After performing the Porter’s Five Forces analysis, we conclude that industry rivalry
is high, bargaining power of buyers is high, bargaining power of suppliers is moderate, threat of
substitutes is moderate, and threat of new entrants is low. The generic business-level strategy
Bose Corporation utilizes is the differentiation strategy. The business-level strategy outlines
actions taken to offer value to the target market and obtain a competitive edge by utilizing the
core competencies. With this strategy, Bose Corporation provides value to its target market by
offering unique features and characteristics of its brand. The target market for Bose Corporation
lies, particularly on the demographic aspect. The company’s target market includes men and
women who are over 30 years. Bose Corporation’s target market also includes individuals from
the middle class and high-class income earners. Bose Corporation also uses other business-level
strategies such as focused differentiation and integrated low-cost/differentiation strategy. Bose
Corporation has three major product lines: automotive supply, retail, and professional systems.
By designing, developing, and selling three different but related product lines, the company
manages risk. The combination of the product lines also enhances the efficiency of the company.
Bose Corporation formed a strategic alliance with Flextronics International Ltd. This alliance
enabled the companies to expand their current strategic partnership. The alliance allowed Bose
more access to Flextronics’s supply chain solutions, increasing speed-to-market around the
CAPSTONE PROJECT: BOSE CORPORATION
3
globe. The global strategy the company uses is the international strategy, which means that the
company sells the same products in both the local and international markets. The company
typically exported its products and services to the foreign markets. This approach was beneficial
because Bose Corporation avoided the costs of developing operations in the new market.
INTERNAL ANALYSIS
Bose is known for their quality. Although they are criticized for being heavily priced,
their quality of product is still one of the most reputable in the world, with the cutting edge
technology they use through their research. Along with quality, Bose does a smart and effective
job with their marketing as well. Bose is known for marketing their products with well worked
on videos, giving an idea of the various technologies being used and how that is different and a
premium from the others in the market. Another aspect of marketing that makes Bose successful
is their Target Market, Bose does not market their high-end products to a hi-fi enthusiast, but
rather they target people who like simplicity and quality. Such a market consists of
unsophisticated people who have money to spend, a businessman/businesswoman who travels is
a perfect example, that’s why we notice that most Bose products are sold at high-end malls and
airports, rather than at guitar centers. Bose’s research is their strongest competitive advantage, it
is with this research that they were able to achieve huge deals with NASA , which allowed Bose
to develop active noise cancellation.
Bose Corporation has a number of strengths which makes them stand out among their
competitors. Bose has a Wide International Presence; Bose has their products made, designed
and distributed among all major markets around the world. It operates in 134 countries
comprising in the Europe, US, Canada, South America, Australia, Middle East, South Asia and
Asia Pacific (Bose corporation: Consumer products, 2013). It carries out its operations through
16 subsidiaries internationally with eight manufacturing facilities. The advantage of having such
a wide international presence, is that it helps to mitigate the various risks associated in a region.
New avenues of growth is created. Bose Corporation’s Strong Research and Development
Capabilities helps it to maintain their existing customers, as well as attract new customers. With
Bose working on products that are mainly entertainment based they need to have good research
and development in order to stay alive in the market. Bose Corporation has their own research,
design and development centers creating a decentralized structure which helps to maximize
efficiency and share fundamental research and existing technologies. Proprietary Technologies;
The advanced technologies used by Bose makes their products unique and have a certain finesse
that is different from other products in the market. Different technologies used by the company
include TriPort Ear Cup Drivers, Acoustimass Technology, Acoustic Waveguide Technology,
Acoustic Noise Cancellation, Direct/Reflecting Technology, Psychoacoustic Equalization, True
Space Technology and Electromagnetic Suspension System for automobiles(Bose corporation:
Consumer products, 2013). These advanced technologies give the company an advantage when
dealing with the diverse needs of its customer base and maintains its leading market position.
CAPSTONE PROJECT: BOSE CORPORATION
4
But, the corporation also has certain weaknesses. Litigation is one of such, Bose is
involved in various lawsuits that could impact brand image of the company. Recently,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) found that Bose committed fraud in its Section 8
renewal of the trademark WAVE for various goods, which included audio tape recorders and
players. It claimed that Bose continued to repair and ship back the previously sold audio players
and recorders at the time renewal was signed. However, TTAB did not qualify the use with
connection to the specific goods and thus ordered a cancellation of the WAVE registration. Later
the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had ruled the decision in favor of Bose (Bose
corporation: Consumer products, 2013). If the company continues to get involved with such
litigations it could harm the company by spoiling their brand name. Private Ownership is another
weakness Limited management layers and the decisions are always taken by fewer members
which might be detrimental to the company. Public limited companies usually have an edge over
these companies as they are required to have a certain number of people on the company’s board
to facilitate a comprehensive scrutiny of any business issue and reach a consensus so that
business decisions can be taken with efficiency and ease (Bose corporation: Consumer products,
2013). In these companies it is mandatory to disclose their financial and operating activities in
order to generate goodwill for the company.
However, there are many opportunities for the Bose Corporation, that should be taken
advantage of. Many countries are looking for products that are energy efficient and Bose with its
technology and energy efficient products can move in such a direction to increase demand for
their products. An example of such would be, in the 2009 Chicago Auto Show, Bose introduced
an energy efficient sound system that was designed for the Chevy Volt. This system was 30%
smaller, 40% lighter and 50% more energy efficient compared to the traditional sound systems.
The company capitalize and took a higher market share in this segment and generated higher
revenues (Bose corporation: Consumer products, 2013). Another such opportunity would be the
ElectroForce Systems Group; is a new business that provides advanced test instruments for
materials research and product development. The business provides a variety of materials, testing
equipment to research institutions, medical device companies, universities and engineering
companies worldwide. Biomedical and engineering companies are growing so quickly and their
demands are ever so increasing (Bose corporation: Consumer products, 2013). Bose’s
ElectroForce Systems Group is poised to be a vital player in this community. Bose could benefit
significantly by using its intellectual assets in forming various new businesses.
Lastly, there are certain threats that the Bose corporation needs to be aware of and try and find
solutions to overcome these threats. One of which is the increasing cost of input. The cost of
operations could be affected by the increasing cost of raw materials. The key raw materials used
in the audio products and electronic systems industry include rolled steel, aluminum, plastic and
other resin materials. As per the Bureau of Labor Statics, producer price indexes for core raw
material inputs such as rolled steel, primary aluminum, plastic materials and resins have
increased by 95.81% for the last decade (Bose corporation: Consumer products, 2013). Another
such threat would be technological advancements. Competing in a market in which technology is
CAPSTONE PROJECT: BOSE CORPORATION
5
changing day by day, Bose needs to be able to keep up with the changes and be able to develop
proper advancements to make them be able to compete with the competition in the market. The
rising counterfeiting goods market is another major threat. This is because the amount of such
products are increasing rapidly and it reduces the revenue generated as well as creates a bad
name and misinterpretation of the company brand. The US Chamber of Commerce estimates a
cost of USD 500-600 billion a year on the global economy due to counterfeiting and piracy
activities. It accounts for about 5-7% of the world trade. In US alone, these activities result in a
yearly sales loss of about USD 200-250 billion, a figure that is steadily increasing (Bose
corporation: Consumer products, 2013). These counterfeited products take part of the market
share away from the company as they offer cheaper prices for the fake goods. This in turn,
causes consumers to be disappointed with the low quality counterfeited products and reduces the
trust they have in the original brand.
EXTERNAL ANALYSIS
While analyzing the external environment surrounding Bose Corporation we chose to use
2 methods. The first is Porter’s Five Forces to identify risk of entry by potential competitors,
industry rivalry, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, and the threat of
substitutes. The second is a brief PEST analysis to discuss political, economic, social, and
technological factors influencing our market.
The first force going to be addressed is the intensity of industry rivalry within the
consumer electronic industry. This specific force is exceptionally strong due to a couple key
factors, including aggressiveness of firms, the number of firms in the industry, and associated
switching costs. The aggressiveness of firms is high and one of the main reasons this forces
influence is so strong. Bose Corporation is not the only organization that is developing new
technology to enhance consumers listening experiences. Other firms, like Sony, JBL, and Beats
are also top competitors in this industry. (“List of Consumer Electronics Companies”, 2018)
However, these are not the only 4 firms in the industry. The industry includes several others,
which is why the consumer electronics industry is considered mature, with certain product
categories approaching saturation. Low switching costs is the final main contributor to the
strength of this force. Most of Bose Corporation’s products require one purchase. For example, if
you are buying a Bose SoundLink Mini and wish to replace this, the only associated cost would
be the purchasing of a new product. There is no need to buy a new power cord, case, or any
additional accessories if you choose not to because they are usually included when you buy the
speaker.
Bargaining power of Buyers is the second force worth discussing because customers
determine profitability of products and the market share of the company. The bargaining power
of buyers for Bose is also a strong force. The key factors that lead us to determine this is
frequency of purchases among its customers, customer knowledge, and again low switching
costs. The amount of information that is available to customers today emboldens them to do their
CAPSTONE PROJECT: BOSE CORPORATION
6
research on that specific product and other substitutes available. Allowing them to weigh their
options of if a change in brand is necessary or if there is another product that suits their needs.
One of the ways to combat this is to taken on an aggressive marketing tactic that attracts new
customers and proves to their current customers that their brand is the best choice. Low
switching costs for obvious reasons should be a concern of Bose. Being that there are a large
number of competitors in the industry, they need to be aware when pricing their products to be
competitive, but reasonable for the quality. If a consumer finds a similar product at a
significantly cheaper price, it is likely they will purchase the cheaper alternative if the quality is
similar. The frequency of purchases plays a moderately strong part when influencing this force
because it relates to customer knowledge and switching costs. Consumers want a product that is
going to provide them with the quality they need for longer than desired. If a product is of high
quality this is going to create a sense of brand loyalty with customers vastly leading to a higher
intensity of effect the buyers have on the industry.
A moderately influencing factor is the bargaining power of suppliers with Bose. Bose is a
company that is known for high quality products, meaning that their suppliers must also uphold
the same quality and standards. Bose has implemented a system known as Just In Time (JIT II)
which effectively manages inventory control and the performance of their suppliers. This
systems has allowed Bose to reduce cost, have in plant representatives, and have a defined
ceiling on all prices. There was reported one situation where a supplier of Bose was sent a box of
materials that Bose refused to accept saying it was inadequate. However, the supplier found
nothing wrong and re sent the package back to Bose without any communication. Bose, easily
trashed the box and found a new supplier who was willing to produce and ship the quality that
they require.
Like previously mentioned in the bargaining power of buyers, the threat of substitutes is a
moderately strong force against Bose. This is broken down by 2 factors that have also previously
been mentioned, low switching costs and moderate variety of substitutes. For example, below are
three very similar products produced Sony, Bose, and JBL.
All of these products could be substituted for the other if price or brand were not extremely
important to the purchaser. The Bose SoundLink Mini can be found online for around $115.00.
However, when this product was first released it was hard to find it for under $175.00. This high
product cost could lead potential customers to purchasing substitute products like the Sony
SRSX3 which can be found for around currently $50.00 for a used, but good condition one or a
CAPSTONE PROJECT: BOSE CORPORATION
7
new JBL Flip 4 for approximately $80.00. Both of which are quite a bit cheaper than the Bose
SoundLink Mini.
The last force affecting Bose Corporation would be the threat of new entrants.
Fortunately for Bose, this force is weak at this and for the most part should remain weak due to
the maturation of the industry. Simply the cost associated with entering a market at this life cycle
would be extremely high and almost impossible. A new firm would need to allocate funds and
divide their overhead costs by the relatively small number of products they choose to produce.
Making the products extremely expensive compare to their already established competitors.
To recap Porter’s Five Forces Analysis of Bose Corporation, industry rivalry is high,
bargaining power of buyers is high, bargaining power of suppliers is moderate, threat of
substitutes is moderate, and threat of new entrants is low.
The next model chosen for external analysis was a PEST analysis. Using this model we are able
to easily and in an organized fashion describe the political, economic, social, and technological
influences surrounding the consumer electronic industry.
The Political factors will be addresses first because the affect the markets where the Bose
Corporation operate. Political stability in their biggest markets is a huge concern for Bose. If a
country has political stability the hurdles a company has to jump through lessen. For example,
many would say that our current economy is not in the most stable position due to fluctuations in
our administrations and orders. The ever changing increase in tariffs and trade barriers will make
it significant harder and more expensive for companies to do business with the United States.
Another political factors affecting Bose could be the data security aspect. As of lately
governments have been working hard at protecting our online data security. Increasing protecting
in this will lead to more consumers doing business online and positively affecting the
organizations. Based on this political factors there is potential for the Bose Corporation to
continue growth.
Economic factors are also extremely important when considering the economic external
factors in their environment. One of the biggest opportunities Bose may encounter is the high
growth of developing markets. If Bose continues to infiltrate these markets with the highest of
growth rates they could see significant increases in their companies overall revenues. Many other
corporations view India as one of the key markets where future growth is likely to make a boom.
If Bose finds a way to make head in this market, they could be extremely successful. A second
economic opportunity for Bose, would …
Purchase answer to see full
attachment