SECTION B: COMPULSORY (30 MARKS) QUESTION TWO (30 MARKS) Read the following case study and answer the questions that follow: Honda Motor Company, Ltd. Company Background Name Honda Motor Company, Ltd. Founded September 24, 1948 Logo Industries Automotive, Aviation, Robotics, Finance served Geographic areas served Worldwide (more than 100 countries) Headquarters Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan Current CEO Takahiro Hachigo Revenue JPY Y14,601.1 billion (2016) 9.6% increase over JPY X13,328.1 billion (2015) Profit JPY Y406,358 billion (2016) 27.6% increase over JPY Y561,098 billion (2015) Employees 208,399 (2016) Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Chrysler Group LLC, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Main Company, General Motors Company, Nissan Motor Company, Hyundai Motor Competitors Company, Tata Motors, Ltd., Toyota Motor Corporation, Volkswagen AG and many other automotive companies. Honda Motor Company (further Honda or Company) is a Japanese motorcycle, automobile, aircraft and engine manufacture. The Company was founded in 1948 by Soichiro Honda, as an automotive parts manufacturer. Honda later moved to manufacturing motorcycles and has become the world's largest motorcycles manufacturer in 1959. In 1962, Honda started manufacturing automobiles and was the first company to launch a dedicated luxury brand, Acura, in 1986. The Company is now the 8th largest automanufacturer in the world. Over the years, the Company has ventured into many industries and is now manufacturing jets and robots. Honda always highlighted that its core business is engines and all the products the company has ventured in is built around them. Company has been growing significantly over the past few years, mainly due to its automobile business. Initiated By Academic Director Dr Muni Kooblal Document No Exams /01/2019 Authorised By Group Chief Executive Office Mr J Ramnundlall Revision Na 01/2015 issuing Office Head Office - Main Campus CONTROLLED COPY Revision Date 03/06/2015 Document STM 731 issue Date 03/06/2019 Page 8 of 10 Competence in engine manufacturing - company's core product All Honda's businesses are built around the engines - its core product. The company's first engines were built for motorcycles and power equipment, but were later produced for cars and marine vehicles. Honda is the world's largest engine manufacturer, which produced over 27 million units of engines for automotive, motorcycle, marine, and power equipment products, in 2015. The company has lots of experience in manufacturing quality and well-performing engines. Its engines are praised for their durability, easiness to start, quietness, fuel efficiency and reliability. According to Reliability Index, Honda's car engines are some the most reliable in the industry. Engines are the key to motor products and the company's competence in manufacturing engines is a competitive advantage few rivals can match. Source: Honda World (2016). Honda Financial Report 2016. Available at: http://world.honda.com/investors/library/annual report/2016/honda2016ar-all-e.pdf ;Accessed August 30th, 2016Questions: 2.1 Assume you have been appointed as a Strategic Manager for Honda. Present a clear SWOT analysis for the company and assess how the results of a SWOT analysis can assist an organisation in strategy formulation. (20) 2.2 Explore the future challenges for Honda in the Car manufacturing industry. (10) SECTION C: ANSWER ANY TWO QUESTIONS (40 MARKS) QUESTION THREE (20 MARKS) Critically examine the strategic management process in an organisation of your choice and make recommendations on how the process can be improved. (20) QUESTION FOUR (20 MARKS) Organisation XYZ got into some difficulties. The reasons for this were: it was more concerned with sales than cash; it was not innovative enough, management did not really analyse the implications of large customers who did business with the company, the manager always thought he knew best and did not accept outside views and advice; and not learning and sharing culture in the organisation. Assume you have been appointed as an Independent Management Consultant by Organisation XYZ, advise the Top Management how to address and solve the current challenges facing the business. (20)QUESTION FIVE (20 MARKS) Expound how can a strong, positive culture enhance on organisation's competitive advantage. Provide practical examples to enhance your analysis. (20)