Awilo Holdings began as a small company which operated in the financial services sector of Ghana’s economy. Within the last ten years, the Board, which is chaired by the founder, Ms. Abigail Kyerewaa, has incrementally expanded into three more sectors of the economy, namely: telecommunications, logistics and real estate. Currently a conglomerate, Awilo Holdings has four different companies in its portfolio and has its corporate head office located within the capital city, Accra.
Required:
Explain the different levels of corporate strategy as it relates to Awilo Holdings. (6 marks)
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- Corporate level of strategy
At the apex level of strategic management in Awilo Holdings is the corporate head office located in Accra. The corporate level of strategy, which is the responsibility of the board of directors of Awilo Holdings, is concerned with the overall purpose and scope of the organisation and how value will be added to the different strategic business units.
In Awilo, strategy and strategic management at the corporate level is expected to impact upon the whole organisation. Thus, all parts of the business operation should support and further the strategic plan. Specifically, the board of Awilo has the sole responsibility of determining which industries to involve the organisation. It is also expected that the board of Awilo will prioritize and manage the expectations of stakeholders. Finally at the corporate level, the board is expected to allocate or obtain corporate resources both for the present and the future. - Business-level strategy
Business level strategy represents the second tier level of strategic management. In Awilo Holdings, business level strategy would refer to each of the particular and distinct combination of products and markets dealt with by each strategic business unit – in this case the individual firms that operate in the different sectors aforementioned. It is the responsibility of each of the corporate managers to translate the statements of direction and intent generated at the corporate level into concrete objectives and strategies for their respective business units. In essence, the corporate managers of each business unit determine how their respective firms will compete in the product-market arena. - Functional or operational level strategy
This level is concerned with how the components parts of an organisation deliver effectively the corporate and business level strategies in terms of resources, processes and people. The functional level represents the third tier or the bottom of the decision-making hierarchy. The functional level in Awilo Holdings will be the operational areas for each of the business units such as Finance and accounting, human resource, marketing and sales, research and development functions. The managers at the functional areas are to develop annual objectives and short-term strategies that would implement the strategic plans of their respective business units. The focus of functional level managers is to do things right – i.e. be efficient.