Strategic Analysis_hbr Case_ben And Jerry Home Made Ice Cream.pdf

Day 1: Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream, Inc: A Period of Transition Questions: 1. What is your view of the strategy concept? Ben & Jerry was an unconventional type of ice cream producer from the time of its establishment. To certain extend this is due to the “self-made” business model which evolved from gas station own shop to pint container supermarket distribution. By trying different strategies to keep their company operational, the two founders managed to shape their business model in a way which gave them competitive advantage over rivals (even without advertisement). In my view strategy is a set of different aspects of company business (starting simple with a product, production process, distribution, marketing, etc. and aggregating to vision and overall business model) which distinguish a company from its rivals. These aspects should work all the time together and in synergy (as a whole) which usually results in growth, creating value for all stakeholders, profitability, sustainability, etc. 2. What role does strategy play in a business enterprise? Strategy plays a significant role in any company. It could be compared to a language. Anyone who can speak (in terms of defining meaningful sentences) and understand the language of that company is able to lead, work and associate him-/herself with the same goals. It is very important that the senior management can formulate clearly all aspects of the strategy, setting the goals and boundaries of the intended business focus. The strategy of a company should enable the company to achieve competitive advantage by customizing and personalizing the approaches used to define and differentiate its product offerings, produce/deliver goods or services, acquire and keep customers and organize activities within the company. 3. What issues does Bob Holland face as CEO? Considering Bob Holland profile as experienced corporate manager, it is very likely that he faced challenges related to the corporate culture and strategic vision of the founders. In other words, he had to deal with a family grown business model; founders who would like to keep the current set-up, fast growing company which needs different corporate governance model and on the other hand resistance to change. Most probably the biggest challenge was to define a long-term vision/strategy as the founders are not corporate professionals (never targeting big success) and not interested in permanent corporate growth/profitability (but more in sustainability). “Holland left after 20 months following philosophical differences”1 4. What actions would you recommend to him? Not trying to implement the “consultant approach” by replicating large scale business models - well working somewhere else; consider all industry specifics; flexible and innovative approach; convince the owners that large scale companies must have a strong corporate governance to continue to be successful and at the same time keep the company identity and well established competitive advantages. 1

Source: Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_%26_Jerry%27s