Strategic Positioning Analysis

Strategic Positioning Analysis
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Executive Summary
Economic activity in the US occurs majorly in the cities. As such, it is essential for an effective long-term operation of these economies. A plan for this should always be founded on the future for the communities. Like the other regions of Florida, Ocala, and Marion County at large is prone to a variety of disasters both natural and technological. Planning the future, therefore, involves bringing it into the present and factoring all of the anticipated changes and their effects. This is the process of strategy formulation (Dobbs, 2014).
In the late 1990s, Marion County developed a Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS) to address the exposure to economic vulnerabilities (Florida& Mellander, 2015). The major role of this body was creatio0n of a comprehensive strategy aimed at minimizing such. As such, it was meant to identify and choose mitigation initiatives. In light of this, the LMS was constituted of community organizations, local government, and representatives from the private sector. The following research is aimed at documenting steps similar to LMS’ in a bid to enhance the sustainability of the strategic growth plans of the city of Ocala.
A strategic positioning of an organization defines its future state whilst grounded on its present (Dobbs, 2014). The future of Ocala as an economy, as explored, is poised on better care of the existing businesses and an assurance that there is an available workforce at all times.

This is in itself essential for mitigation of future downturns as well as ensuring there is potential for more growth (Rothaermel, 2015). On this note, the strategic positioning analysis determines that the industries should be diversified to reduce the risks associated with pooling all resources in a single venture. In addition, it assists the management of the city in charting pathways for job creation as a means of guaranteeing social development.
Market Analysis
In the United State, cities are the backbone of the majority of the economic activities. This is a fact that highlights the importance of efficient operations within. In terms of growth, it is estimated, as in 2007, that 89 percent of the nation’s output originates from cities. Investors and a city’s leadership have this in common: they both must conduct a market analysis before making decisions. For investors, their field has the liberty of withdrawal as they will or as situations dictate. This is not the case for a city’s leader. Regardless of the turn of events, it is their legal responsibility to seek the best for a community always (Florida & Mellander, 2015). As such, a lot of factors come into play when forging a city’s growth plan.
According to the US Census Bureau, the population of Ocala between 2010 and 2014 was composed of 72 percent white. For the African American community and Latinos, the percentage was 22 and 5.74 respectively. In this report, there were about 18600 households with 40% having married couples living together. Of the number, 16 percent were women without a husband while 155 had senior citizens living in them. This population, in addition, was composed of 33.5 less than 25 years of age, 20.5 above 45 years and the rest in between. Also, these collective statistics pointed out to an 85 percent of males for every 100 females below 18 years of age (Florida& Mellander, 2015).
As it happens in most business strategy creation processes, Ocala needs to apply Porter’s Five Forces framework as a means of analysis (Dobbs, 2014). This is a tool used in strategy creation as devised by Michael Porter in 1980. It is also a powerful tool for the determination of a business’ competitive influence in the market. In the interest of this paper, the model will be explored in its basic five factors with a focus on Ocala.
Threats of New Entrants
For investors willing to enter into the Ocala economy, there are various hurdles restricting such. The aviation and aerospace industry is a highly regulated industry. Investing in this industry for the manufacture of components requires heavy capital injections and conformity to detailed legal and industrial procedures (Florida& Mellander, 2015). These barriers may result in high costs of entry or a very powerful competition. Though the profitable firms will have the effect of attracting new business, it is commonly opined that entry of other firms will decrease their profitability. As such, these industry players seek to bar entrance. Usually, the firms seeking entry may find hurdles such as:
• Patent and copyright
• High investments
• Difficulty accessing distribution channels
• Inaccessibility to the specialized technology
• Government-driven obstacles
Threat of Substitutes
A substitute is a product from another industry fulfilling the same need. The more there are, the larger the competition. In the energy sector, there are several electrical providers. These, such as Duke Energy and Clay Electric Cooperative, pose as substitutes for the Ocala Utility Service (Florida & Mellander, 2015). As such, the competitive environment means there will be lower profits. This in itself might lead a business to consider terminating its product line or close altogether. These substitutes, however, have associated factors. Brand loyalty, prevailing consumerism trends, and switches in costs will affect which of the similar products will be acceptable.
Bargaining Power of Customers
This is usually in reference to the ability of the consumers to put firms under pressure. These have an eventual effect on price reduction and creation of better products and service delivery (Perera, Zaslavsky, Christen & Georgakopoulos, 2014). When firm seeking to enter the Ocala region, and the present one, find a need for bulk buyers, then they will succumb to the demands of these buyers. This is also true for those who understand the buyer’s ability to switch to other products from an alternative industry or competitor. There is sensitivity when dealing with buyers because they usually have access to information on product quality and the differential advantages.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
It is the suppliers that provide a firm with the necessary resources for the production of goods. This, therefore, means that there is a need for steady relationships depending on the dynamics of the industry. A firm may find itself disadvantaged when facing powerful suppliers who will be in a position to dictate the prices both in the present and future (Perera, Zaslavsky, Christen & Georgakopoulos, 2014). In the telecommunications industry, the players such as AT&T, Spectrum, and Nextiva, among the other players may band together and gain full and absolute control of the industry. Their power involves a potential to switch these prices as they deem fit. The power of the may especially be immense if they are few and without alternatives players.
Industry Rivalry
For a majority of industries, the level of competition determines to a greater extent the overall competitiveness of the industry. Therefore, for a firm to succeed, it must have a better understanding of its industrial rivals. Its position is dependent on the public perception of its products and service delivery. This chiefly distinguishes it from the rest of the industry. For the more than five telco firms in Ocala, there is bound to industry rivalry (Florida& Mellander, 2015). This is when they are attempting to gain grounds for control of the Ocala communications space. One of the factors accelerating this competition is the presence of established businesses having access to a large resource pool. The growth of the businesses in Ocala means that any new firm must understand its competition in order to better adjust. Competitive rivalry, however, is a major determinant of the profits and strategic decisions. This factor plays positively for the customers in that they have a wider range of products to choose from.
Strategic Positioning Analysis
Strategic positioning refers to an organization’s position in its future state while considering the current status as influenced by a changing business environment. As such, it is inclusive of a creation of a future goal and the roadmap for its achievement. Besides this, it also refers to how a specific business creates a distinct identity within its industry. Charting out the pathway to success involves an analysis of the right information both of the market. Any strategy created defines the structure of the company and its character in a bid to assess its potential for continuity.
For its vitality, the town of Ocala needs to perpetuate the presence of a conducive environment, the creation of good jobs and offer its community with basic amenities such as childcare, good housing, and educational opportunities. On top of that, the town should ensure its infrastructure stays developed to meet federal needs, industrial basics and even as a spur for new job creation. The following are the major strategic focal points for sustainability:
Education and Training
For the economy to grow, there must be industrial growth coupled with a growth in commerce. Such is a factor that majorly feeds of the human resource. For sustainable development, Ocala needs to ensure the available workforce is highly trained. Through the rapport with College of Central Florida, Marion County School Board amongst others public and private education entities, Ocala should enhance the necessary tools for a better-trained workforce. The Economic Development Corporation (ECD) reports a Workforce Connection between the investment community, the public schools, and the business executives (Florida & Mellander, 2015). This avenue needs strengthening in order to create a new approach to training the community.
Creation of New Jobs
Though the town has experienced an upsurge in its economy in the last decade, the recent economic downturns have definitely had an impact (Warnick, Bojanic & Xu, 2015). Ocala is one of the US cities that enjoyed plenteous days when the economy was growing. Locally owned businesses not only create jobs but they also ensure the generated revenue stays within the city for injection into the economy. Such, alongside provisions of local businesses with an opportunity to grow with the city, will spur future development of industry and commerce. It is this that results in job creation and eventually building an economy of an economy.
Business Retention
For sustainability, businesses must make the best use of the existing resources (Warnick, Bojanic & Xu, 2015). This, therefore, means that Ocala must focus on retaining the existing businesses. It is because the success of the existing businesses is the best marketer of the town. As such, it needs to understand the various needs of the businesses in order to better offer them a conducive environment. The ECD and Chamber of Commerce should seek to ensure they bring aboard partners for development of a better economic growth. In addition, the education institutions should better share their reports on new technologies and research. These are essential as pointers to new businesses opportunities and efficiency.
Diversification
Diversification ensures a reduction in risk (Grant, 2016). This is because it involves investment allocation amongst different industries and through various financial instruments. Though is not a cover against losses, it is essential in the achievement of long-range goals. Though the economic development of Ocala has been focused on the construction of the retail sector and homes, the strategic future is in diversification. When a single industrial player faces an economic hardship, the impact is wide and far-reaching for the whole population (Grant, 2016). Targeting a broad range of industries reduces such a risk. The future of Ocala is not in a single sector but in all of them. Therefore, diversification is necessary.

References
E. Dobbs, M. (2014). Guidelines for applying Porter’s five forces framework: a set of industry analysis templates. Competitiveness Review, 24(1), 32-45.
Florida, R., & Mellander, C. (2015). Talent, Skills, and Urban Economies. In The New Oxford Handbook of Economic Geography.
Grant, R. M. (2016). Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley & Sons.
Perera, C., Zaslavsky, A., Christen, P., & Georgakopoulos, D. (2014). Sensing as a service model for smart cities supported by internet of things. Transactions on Emerging Telecommunications Technologies, 25(1), 81-93.
Rothaermel, F. T. (2015). Strategic management. McGraw-Hill Education.
Warnick, R. B., Bojanic, D. C., & Xu, F. (2015). Using a trade market analysis technique to refine measurements for economic impact analysis of special events. Journal of Travel Research, 54(1), 52-65.