School of Postgraduate Studies
Master of Public Management
Assignment
Name with Initials: G.K.M.T.S. Kaviraj
Registration No: 049 (2019/2021)
Subject Code:
Subject : Strategic Management
Assignment : 02
Group Individual
Name of the Lecturer: Dr. SRSN Sudasinghe / Dr. Ali Aham Nawaz
Student’s Statement:
I certify that I have not plagiarized the work of others or participated in
unauthorized collusion when preparing this assignment.
15.02.2022
Signature: ……………………... Date: ………………………
Office use only:
Deadline Met Extension Given Late Submission
Signature: ……………………………
Marks Given:
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Case Study – Strategic choice and Execution
Introductions
The Export Development Board has been established under the Export Development Act of
Sri Lanka No. 40 of 1979. The primary role of the Export Development Board of Sri Lanka is
to contribute to the economic development of the country by increasing export earnings. The
EDB is the country’s apex State Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) – as mandated by the
legislation. EDB has been fully committed to accomplishing its vision of enhancing exports,
diversifying the export basket & export markets, promoting innovation as well as generating
employment opportunities that ensure the sustainable economic growth of the country.
The focus of the Government is to make Sri Lanka a prosperous nation by expanding the
export economy through increasing valued-added industries, and not merely to rely on
traditional exports.
Sri Lanka’s export market has witnessed slowdown in the recent years. While the reduced
export earnings has been linked to challenging global economic conditions which include
currency depreciation in key importing countries, and volatile operative environment.
However, the reality is that Sri Lanka has done nothing new to capture the interest of the ever
evolving global economy.
For decades Sri Lanka has continued to focus on Tea, Rubber and Coconut sectors, and with
little or no value addition, the island nation is losing its market share to new entrants such as
Kenya and Vietnam, both nations that have a similar GDP to that of Sri Lanka.
I, a newcomer to the Export Development Board, conducted a feasibility study on this
situation. The feasibility study was conducted as follows
Situation analysis
To do this, I used SWOT to identify the internal and external factors that have contributed to
this problem, as well as the opportunities and threats we have here.
This analysis helps in identifying the short-term and long-term business objectives of the
export market and the market selection process. It is possible to formulate strategic plans for
this. Internal environmental factors in the export market can be classified as strengths and
weaknesses while external ones can be classified as opportunities and threats.
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Strengths
Business strengths are its resources and capabilities that can be used as a basis for developing
a competitive-advantage. Examples of such strengths include:
Patents
Strong brand names.
Good reputation among customers.
Cost advantages from proprietary know-how.
Exclusive access to high grade natural resources.
Favorable access to distribution networks.
Weaknesses
The absence of certain strengths may be viewed as a weakness. For example, each of the
following may be considered weaknesses:
Lack of patent protection.
A weak brand name.
Poor reputation among customers.
High cost structure.
Lack of access to the best natural resources.
Lack of access to key distribution channels.
Opportunities
The external environmental analysis may reveal certain new opportunities for profit and
growth. Some examples of such opportunities include:
An unfulfilled customer need.
Arrival of new technologies.
Loosening of regulations.
Removal of international trade barriers.
Threats
Changes in the external environmental also may present threats to the firm. Some examples
of such threats include:
Shifts in consumer tastes away from the firm's products
Emergence of substitute products.
New regulations.
Increased trade barriers
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External Factors analysis
I chose the PESTLE and Foter’s five forces model method to identify external factors in the
export market.
PESTLE analysis
PESTLE is an analytical tool which considers external factors and helps to think about their
impacts. Is a useful tool for understanding the “big picture” of the environment in which we
are operating. By understanding our environment, we can take advantage of the opportunities
and minimize the threats. This provides the context within which more detailed planning can
take place to take full advantage of the opportunities that present themselves.
P – Political
The current and potential influences from political pressures
Government type and stability
Freedom of the press, rule of law and levels of bureaucracy and corruption
Regulation and de-regulation trends
Social and employment legislation
Tax policy, and trade and tariff controls
Environmental and consumer-protection legislation
Likely changes in the political environment
E – Economic
The local, national and world economic impact
Stage of a business cycle
Current and projected economic growth, inflation and interest rates
Unemployment and supply of labor
Labor costs
Levels of disposable income and income distribution
Impact of globalization
S - Sociological
The ways in which changes in society affect the project
Cultural aspects, health consciousness, population growth rate, age
distribution,
Organizational culture, attitudes to work, management style, staff attitudes
Education, occupations, earning capacity, living standards
Ethical issues, diversity, immigration/emigration, ethnic/religious factors
Demographics: age, gender, race, family size
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Media views, law changes affecting social factors, trends, advertisements,
publicity
T – Technological
How new and emerging technology affects our project / organization
Maturity of technology, competing technological developments, research
funding, technology
legislation, new discoveries
Information technology, internet, global and local communications
Technology access, licensing, patents, potential innovation, replacement
technology/solutions,
inventions, research, intellectual property issues, advances in manufacturing
Transportation, energy uses/sources/fuels, associated/dependent technologies,
rates of
obsolescence, waste removal/recycling
L - Legal
How local, national and global legislation affects the project
Current home market legislation, future legislation
European/international legislation
Regulatory bodies and processes
Environmental regulations, employment law, consumer protection
Industry-specific regulations, competitive regulations
E – Environmental
Local, national and global environmental issues
Ecological, environmental issues, environmental regulations
Customer values, market values, stakeholder/ investor values
Management style, staff attitudes, organizational culture, staff engagement
Porter’s Five Force model
The porter’s five force framework has identified as one of the best strategies which
could be utilized to measure and analyses the competition in a export industrial
business firm. The porter’s framework facilitates successful five implementations of
key functions such as understanding the completion in the export industry, new entrants
into the industry, power of suppliers, power of customers and threat of substitute
products
Porter’s 5 forces model is a framework to analyze the level of competition with an
industry and useful to develop business strategies.
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Threat of New Entrants
Brand loyalty
Switching costs
Control over distribution
Agro-climatic conditions
Power of Suppliers Industry Rivalry Power of Buyers
Supplier concentration Industry growth rate Buyer concentrations
Input differences No. of producers Product differences
Switching costs Brand loyalty Brand identity/
Threat of backward Fixed costs Switching costs
integration Exit costs Threat of backward
integration
Threat of Substitutes
Availability of substitutes
Relative price/
Performance of substitutes
Buyer propensity to
substitute
Ansoff matrix analysis
Following the export market analysis, the Ansoff Metric system was used as an corporatel
strategy for market development.
Market
EXISTING NEW
EXISTING
Low
MARKET MARKET
PENETRATION DEVELOPMENT
RODUCT
RISK
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Accordingly, I have chosen to introduce a new product to the existing market. For this
purpose, I present the following products as suitable for export.
Export of Kitul related products
Export of local medicinal plant related products
Local confectionery products
Reasons for choosing these products for export
Since these products are unique to Sri Lanka, there is no threat of other competitors
entering the market.
High demand due to the recognition of kithul based foods as a drug to control
diabetes.
Increasing demand in the foreign market for herbal medicines
High demand for Sri Lankan sweets in the international market and lack of
competitors
Strengthening the rural entrepreneurs' economy by exposing them to the export
industry
Conclusion
The export process can make a significant contribution to tackling the global economic crisis
and strengthening the country's economy. The interest shown by the present government in
the promotion of the country's exports is evident from the President's 'Vision for Prosperity'
policy statement and the manner in which the ministries are named. Therefore, it is time to
devise strategic plans to conquer the international market apart from the traditional export
industry.
Sri Lanka's name has historically topped the international market for tea, rubber and coconut
based export crops. In order to win that space in the future, we need to implement a new plan
that combines value-added technology with new technology to adapt to the current global
market and ensure market stability.
References:
https://www.srilankabusiness.com/si/edb/
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