Strategic Management Research Journal, Part 2 Strategic management in Caterpillar Incorporated

Strategic management in Caterpillar Incorporated
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Strategic management in Caterpillar Incorporated
Strategic management is vital for the success of any business organization. It involves a set of managerial and leadership actions and decisions that dictate how a corporation is run. Careful consideration of both internal and external environments of the organization is crucial before the development of strategic plans. The managers must have a systematic way of analyzing these environments and a means of assessing the weaknesses and strengths of the organization. Besides, every firm must be able to identify the opportunities that give it a competitive advantage over others and external threats that it may receive. Caterpillar Inc. is one of the firms that utilize strategic management approaches to plan, organize, lead, and control the entire systems.
Caterpillar Inc. has a long history of strategic management and has, over the decades, developed high-quality management strategies. The firm is a leading producer of heavy earth-moving equipment and has had success with strategic management and still enjoys the advantage of proper planning at present. It also provides adequate corporate data on the website. This makes it easier to access important information about the company. For instance, the site indicates that the company was founded in 1925, and its Corporate Headquarters is located in Deerfield, Illinois, United States. It also provides information regarding the previous year’s revenue projection, which is $57.4 billion as of 2018 (CAT, 2019). The company also provides a comprehensive list of all the products they offer to their consumers. Leadership strategies, governance, brands, stakeholders, and financial information are also provided. Caterpillar Inc. is a firm that avails all the significant corporate for its potential customers, investors, and business associates. Besides, it also reveals unlimited business information through the news features on its website. The news section gives daily updates of essential business deals of the company. It also provides the quarterly financial report, their business culture diversity, and inclusion. However, CAT, like most companies, does not talk about the competition on their website. This is a very healthy business ethic. They tend to stress on their brand name and story to stand out in the competitive environment. For example, the company tells their brand story and how they have more than 90 years of experience in producing high-quality machinery.
In the 1970s, Caterpillar Inc. dominated heavy machinery’s market share by 70%. However, in the 1980s, it's market share dropped to 60% due to a thriving Japanese competitor, Komatsu, whose market share rose from 9% (in 1974) to 15% in the 1980s. This happened partly because the US dollar rose with an average of 88% compared to the currency of ten industrialized nations, causing a fall in price in the Komatsu products (Miller & O'Leary, 2002). Many bu...