1) Analyse the environment and likely organisation structure of Symphony Seed Sales and Symphony Research Institute
Symphony Seed Sales (SSS) and Symphony Research Institute are subsidiaries of the Symphony Seeds Ltd holding company which, in turn, is a subsidiary of Conglom holdings. Symphony Seeds is part of a division known as the Land Development Corporation (LDC).
SSS and SRI both operate in the same environment, namely that of any large agricultural firm. Symphony Seeds considers itself a mature firm, implying that the firm perceives a high amount of predictability within the market. This, combined with the simple structure of the firm, means that Symphony Seeds is operating in a relatively simple environment. The holding company only has two arms which are each operating relatively autonomously which lends itself to this argument.
The simplicity of the market, in turn, implies that the market is also stable. Movements in agricultural markets are typically foreseeable and don’t move at the speed of a dynamic industry such as technology. Saying this, the research undertaken by SRI makes it possible to create a new product which corners the market. Creating a higher-yield seed-type may have led to SS becoming the UK’s largest seed breeder. The possibility of events such as a competitor developing a better product or contamination getting into an order of Symphony Seeds (and thus, the product falls out of favour) pose risks to the stability of Symphony Seed’s position in the market.
Environmental richness also needs to be taken into account if we are to analyse the setting fully. SSS and SRI have a large number of resources behind them. The firm is able to use its position as market leader to its advantage, most likely using economies of scale to price its products at a competitively low rate. Furthermore, it is possible that high profits can be funnelled into more intensive R+D which would pull Symphony Seeds even further ahead of the competition.
Symphony Seed Sales (SSS) and Symphony Research Institute are subsidiaries of the Symphony Seeds Ltd holding company which, in turn, is a subsidiary of Conglom holdings. Symphony Seeds is part of a division known as the Land Development Corporation (LDC).
SSS and SRI both operate in the same environment, namely that of any large agricultural firm. Symphony Seeds considers itself a mature firm, implying that the firm perceives a high amount of predictability within the market. This, combined with the simple structure of the firm, means that Symphony Seeds is operating in a relatively simple environment. The holding company only has two arms which are each operating relatively autonomously which lends itself to this argument.
The simplicity of the market, in turn, implies that the market is also stable. Movements in agricultural markets are typically foreseeable and don’t move at the speed of a dynamic industry such as technology. Saying this, the research undertaken by SRI makes it possible to create a new product which corners the market. Creating a higher-yield seed-type may have led to SS becoming the UK’s largest seed breeder. The possibility of events such as a competitor developing a better product or contamination getting into an order of Symphony Seeds (and thus, the product falls out of favour) pose risks to the stability of Symphony Seed’s position in the market.
Environmental richness also needs to be taken into account if we are to analyse the setting fully. SSS and SRI have a large number of resources behind them. The firm is able to use its position as market leader to its advantage, most likely using economies of scale to price its products at a competitively low rate. Furthermore, it is possible that high profits can be funnelled into more intensive R+D which would pull Symphony Seeds even further ahead of the competition.