A strategic evaluation of the development of a new product.

Abstract

An effective strategic management process is vital to the continued success of any organisation. As competition mounts within markets globally, the pressure on organisations to succeed continues to mount. This paper attempts to analyse the situation of a small firm in the South African market. It recognises the challenges faced by this organisation while critically assessing the strategic choices made by this firm in its attempts to continue on its current growth path. In particular, this paper assesses the strategic initiative of the development of an attendance management program to address the identified strategic gaps within Monitored Healthrisk Managers. This assessment excludes an analysis of the current market for such a product, it is presumed that such a market exists, but rather attempts to analyse the position of MHM itself to see whether it has the necessary resources to undertaken such an initiative. In particular, this paper assesses the strategic choice using an abstract of the model developed by Johnson & Scholes to analyse the strategic option using criteria supporting the suitability, acceptability and feasibility of the development of the program. This research is intended to provide a critical assessment of the program which will be used in a report to the management team of MHM serving to illustrate the viability of such an undertaking.