J_Boats

(a) The corporate strategy for J/ Boats’ is diversification into related products and services. J/ Boats’ is a company that manufactures racer and cruiser boats. They mostly come up with the design and pass on the manufacturing process to their partners Tillotson- Pearson Inc. Other then manufacturing thier sons which are all avid sailors like their fathers had co-founded a successful sailing school known as J World and leveraging the J Boat brand name, the school teaches novices sailing and advanced racing skills by using J Boat sailboats. Other than that they also have their own shops known as J sailing gears, which sales shirts, vest, jackets and other accessories. On the other hand, J/ Boats’ business strategy are the key significance that help them have such great management success. Not like their competitors who went out of business in the 70’s beacause of undistinguished products, poor profitabilty and the inabilty to weather economic downturns. J/boats focuses on the high-end, performance-oriented market segment, which basically means they focuses more on quality, performance and innovation rather than styling changes. (b) Critical performance variables is defined as factors that must be achieved or implemented succefully for the intended stategy of the business to succeed. J/ Boats’ critical performance variables are customer loyalty and their indepedent yacht dealer. Once critical performance variables are determined the best way of ensuring that they are managed effectively and efficiently is through diagnostic control. Diagnostic control systems are formal information systems that managers use to monitor organizational outcomes and correct deviations from preset standards of performance; and aim to coordinate and monitor day- to-day operations. J/ Boats’ manage their critical performance variables through the monitoring of day-to-day operations which are divided among five of their members, Bob focusing on marketing, Rod in design, Al working on the inexpensive entry boat for the crusing market, Jeff with the customers and Jim with the orders. The outcome of these allows the organization to achieve goals without constant oversight. (c) Strategic uncertainties are the uncertainties and contingencies that could threaten or invalidate the current strategy of the business. Besides that, strategic uncertainties derive from senior managements perception of the known and unknown contingencies that could threaten or invalidate the assumptions underlying the curent strategy. J/ Boats’ strategic uncertainties are would be mostly be the changes of the customers tastes that could put J/ Boats in a disadvantage and those uncertainties would be customers response to the performance of the boats, the cost, the difficulty of identifying their customers in such a large market, and their interest towards the boats manufactured by them. Strategic uncertainties are in constant state of flux and therefore cannot be programmed and monitored on management-by-exception basis. Interactive control systems are formal information systems that managers use to personally involve themselves in the decision activities of subordinates; and aim to stimulate learning and monitor strategic uncertainties. J/Boats’ manage their strategic uncertainties through day-to-day management and control, by involving themselves each in one project and setting up management meetings which are highly interactive where team members contributed ideas and concerns about each of the active projects.