Creating a strategic plan aimed at the further companys growth and preservation of its leading positions is always a complicated issue as it incorporates numerous approaches to planning, forecasting, analyzing, etc. A manager responsible for creating the given plan should take into account all factors that impact a company and the market, and create a specific approach that will contribute to the improved outcomes and further rise. For this reason, particular data should also be collected and processed, and a specific model explored to attain success. Analyzing the eHarmonys case, we should state that four basic ways could be used to create the basis for the further companys development and preservation of its leading positions. In this regard, five essential criteria should be considered when choosing one or another option.
Five Main Criteria
The financial matter should be one of the most important aspects that should be considered when voting for a particular strategy. It is essential as it determines the outcomes and the overall power of the company. Additionally, every organization has its budget that should not be exceeded when planning and implementing a specific strategy. That is why the financial matter should be the first to consider when determining the strategy applied to attain success. Investigating the given case, we should admit the high level of rivalry combined with the stable incomes peculiar to eHarmony. Thus, under these conditions, the option that is not too costly should be welcomed.
Opportunities for further growth are another essential criterion that could predetermine the choice. Any step made in terms of the companys evolution should create the basis for another one. It means that a manager should make a forecast that will consider all possible complications and actualize a new strategy to attain a competitive advantage. For this reason, when choosing an option for further eHarmonys rise, we should consider which one is more promising and contributes to new opportunities that could be explored and guarantee new incomes. Only in case, an approach has this very feature. It could be recommended for further usage and implementation.
Brands image is another vital aspect. Traditionally, it is taken as one of the integral elements of any company as it determines the terms of relations between this very organization and its customers. Brand promotion is a complex process that rests on the peculiarities of existing demand, market, appreciated values, and other unique aspects that determine the increase or decrease of a certain companys popularity. In case it manages to attain success and become appreciated by the target audience, it could use the companys image to attract attention to its products and even set higher prices on them. However, the deterioration of the brands image will result in the appearance of numerous problems with customers. That is why the only option that does not have a pernicious impact on eHarmonys image should be chosen.
Theoretical acquisition of some competitive advantage is another critical point that plays a great role when considering the advantages and disadvantages of a certain approach. The case demonstrates to us that at the moment, the company functions in terms of extreme rivalry. There are numerous competitors, like Yahoo! Personals, and Match (Piskorski, Halaburda, & Smith, 2008), which are also focused on the same market. Additionally, these companies strategies imply the long-term and gradual entrance to the market. For this reason, eHarmony should vote for the concept that will ensure a great competitive advantage and positive alterations related to it.
Finally, the preservation of the successful model used to guarantee stable incomes is the next criterion that should be analyzed when deciding what option to apply. Any company has its strategy, which is one of the main sources of its income. For this reason, it tends to explore it and make the best use of it. One should also realize that reconsidering this strategy will be too costly and demand serious company restructuring. That is why we should say that eHarmony should abandon an option that presupposes radical changes in the existing model as it might have a great negative impact on the whole company and its final results.
Having outlined the criteria mentioned above, we should say that opportunities for further growth, acquisition of the competitive advantage, and the brands image will be the main three aspects among these important ones. The choice of these very conceptions is obvious as speaking about eHarmony, we should admit its popularity with the target audience, and the necessity of the further rise. In this regard, we could state that the third option that presupposes growing of a new business based on eHarmony could be considered the best possible choice that could help to win the rivalry and create the ground for the companys further rise.
Schoemaker and Russos Approach
Besides, applying the main approaches to creating a decision weighted model suggested by Shoemaker and Russo in their article, we could state that the third option could also be taken the most appropriate one even in terms of the model mentioned above (1993). The authors of the model state that pressure a manager experience when making different decisions are overwhelming, and his decisions could be less reliable than many people believe (Schoemaker & Russo, 1993). For this reason, we could state that the application of the criteria mentioned above helps to avoid mistakes and justify the decision to accept the third option. Besides, incorporating more sophisticated methods to accept the decision, we should also say that it is possible to state the strategy’s advantages and disadvantages (Schoemaker & Russo, 1993). The organization of a new business in terms of eHarmonys brand will attract customers attention and contribute to the appearance of new opportunities for further rise. Furthermore, as against the fourth option, which presupposes running globally and possible misunderstandings, the given approach does not presuppose the existing model; however, a new business will be introduced. It will become popular as there is a high level of demand for these services combined with the popular brands name.
Conclusion
Altogether, eHarmony will pass through the period of change as it faces severe rivalry. Thus, there is a great necessity of the approach that could guarantee the acquisition of a specific competitive advantage needed to attain success and ensure that stable incomes will be obtained. Besides, consideration of the five criteria mentioned above also creates the basis for our choice. The option that presupposes creating a new business incorporated by eHarmony could help the company evolve and preserve its dominant position in the market.
References
Piskorski, M., Halaburda, H., & Smith, T. (2008). eHarmony.Harvard Business School. Web.
Schoemaker, P., & Russo, E. (1993). A pyramid of decision approaches.Decision Theory and Decision Analysis: Trends and Challenges, 36(1), 53-78. Web.