Assessment 3 Type: Individual assessment, A Report Word Limit XXXXXXXXXXto 2500 words, not including a cover page, reference and appendix Value: 20% Due Date: Week 8, 5.00pm Friday 7 September 2018...

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
(FOR BHP)
Executive summary
BHP is an Anglo-Australian dual listed mining conglomerate having its headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. Since its inception the company has seen immense growth and diversified business portfolio and omnipresent geographical markets. The purpose of this report is to gauge the underlying factors of the company’s success through a strategic perspective. The report aims to uncover the strategic elements of BHP’s operations over the years and identifying the role played by key stakeholders.
The report starts with the analysis of the vision and core competencies of the company and how they are aligned with its decisions. It further identifies some of the past as well as cu
ent successful strategies implemented by BHP and relating them to the conceptual frameworks. It progresses with identifying some of the key strategic failures on part of the company’s decisions and analysing the reasons and outcomes of the raised controversies around the issues. The report further analyses the industry environment in the operating verticals of BHP and gauge BHP’s position in context of its competitors. Next, the report analyses some of the core business values of the company and how they complement the acquired core competencies. Here, the strategic view of the company’s leadership is also considered analysing the decisions taken during their stints.
The key outcomes include that i
espective of the numerous controversies that the company has entailed, it has always seek out in interests of their stakeholders with an effective leadership team. BHP is operating in a volatile industry though sticking to its core values and competencies will surely add to its growth in the future.
Table of Contents
Introduction    4
Task 1: Analysing the Growth of BHP through Applying Corporate Strategies and Identifying their Types    4
Vision, Mission and Core Competences of BHP    4
Successful Strategies Implemented Previously by BHP    4
Cu
ent Strategies Implemented by BHP    4
Identifying the Types of the Strategies Applied by BHP    5
Task 2: Criticising Two Recently Implemented Business Practices of BHP and Highlighting their Outcomes    5
Tactics or Strategies of BHP that drew Criticism    5
Analysing the Criticisms, their Sources and Outcomes    5
Task 3: Environmental Analysis of BHP in its Mining and Metallurgy Industry to Identify the Key Threats and Opportunities    6
Porter’s Five Forces Analysis    6
SWOT Analysis    6
Task 4: Leadership Style and Organisational Culture Followed by BHP    7
Core Values or Competencies of BHP    7
Successful Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of BHP    8
Conclusion    8
References    9
Introduction
BHP, previously BHP Billiton is an Anglo-Australian dual-listed multinational, which is primarily into the energy business operating in the product lines of metals, minerals, petrochemical mining headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.
BHP’s structure has always complemented its business strategy and long term goals. It operates in a dual listed structure to maximise value for its shareholders, yet the entity is run by a unified board and management to ensure smooth business operations. The company has strategically manoeuvred throughout the years building competitive advantages and maximising value for all stakeholders.
The company owns tier 1 assets all over the world, which allow for the integration of technology, capital and several low cost options gaining maximum returns from them, time to time. The elements of the company’s primary strategy has always been the areas of technological enhancement, new projects, continuous exploration, reducing operational costs and efficient capital management (BHP Australia, 2018).
Task 1: Analysing the Growth of BHP through Applying Corporate Strategies and Identifying their Types
Vision, Mission and Core Competences of BHP
Vision: “To be the industry leader and create long-term shareholder value through discovery, acquisition, development and marketing of diversified natural resources”.
Mission: “To be a leading global resource company by giving priority to health and safety, owning and operating large, long-life, low-cost, expandable, upstream assets diversified by commodity, geography and market and creating sustainable value for all stakeholders” (BHP Australia, 2018).
Core Competences: BHP debuted in stock markets when at the end of the 19th century, deposits of lead, zinc, and silver ores were discovered in New South Wales and it became one of the largest mining companies in Australia. Diversification is also one of the core competences of the company (BHP Australia, 2018).
Successful Strategies Implemented Previously by BHP
BHP Billiton proves to be an important example of Horizontal Integration strategy that stems from a desire to increase market share by a company or create a new entity based on common know-how and combined operational processes.
It was taken up by focussing on following target areas— resources, market, efficiency, and competence.
In 2001, merger of BHP and Billiton proved to be successful by leveraging each other’s competencies i.e. BHP’s expertise in natural resources and Billiton’s experience in mining.
Also, BHP Billiton acquired many other companies to grow horizontally, utilising other company’s competencies like their resources, location advantage, connectivity and integrate them into their own SBU’s.
Diversification is also one of the main strategies: When prices of Sliver started to decline BHP entered the Steel industry and started buying licenses for mining in Australia, South Africa, and both Americas. Therefore, product as well as market diversification took place (BHP Australia, 2018).
Cu
ent Strategies Implemented by BHP
BHP Billiton is following the growth strategy by creating value and focussing upon its core competencies of:
· Richly diversified asset portfolio
· Experience
· Size
In future, company’s growth curve seems rising as it is concentrating on the parameters of productivity, incremental volume, flexible shale assets, investments in technology and exploration.
Firstly enormous potential comes from safe productivity, which further fosters operating and capital cost efficiency. As mentioned by Allison (2017), then, incremental volume growth through the release of low-cost latent capacity, which will add on to their cu
ent annual production. Also, large resource base of flexible shale assets gives them the ability to respond quickly to higher prices and provides attractive growth opportunities in the near term. Finally comes investments in technology and exploration, where, as affirmed by Kabue and Kilika (2016), acceleration of Petroleum drilling programs has the potential to create significant value by testing several large prospects in three basins over the next few years.
Identifying the Types of the Strategies Applied by BHP
Ansoff’s Diversification Strategy
BHP Billiton is one of the largest diversified resource firms in the world. It is having operations in several continents and consists of nine customer segments. It is involved in mineral exploration, production & processing, oil and gas exploration & development, as well as steel production. It...