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STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT- IIndividual Assignment / JournalOnApplication of strategies

Submitted by:Name : Amrinder Singh SandhuRoll No: 131305Section : C

Submitted to: Prof. Khyati Desai

Institute of Management, Nirma UniversityDate of Submission: 11-February-2014Strategy used by me as a Golf player:I have been playing tennis since I was in 6th standard. Played at state level so came across competitors of different states. While playing individually, my strategy would depend on whether my opponent is a left-handed player or a right- handed player. After knowing that, when we will warm-up before a match, I will test his different shots by playing him at either sides, loose balls, checking his speed. But i will never make final plans to be implemented in a game based on these observations. Sometimes we fake our actual game during practice so as to make the opponent overconfident and be complacent. When the match starts, I even try to see his temperament. Players having cool temperament are tough to break in. Short tempered players can be easily distracted by loss of a crucial shot. So consequently mistakes are bound to happen. Also, when we play in a group, use of strategical play is more important. Both the opponents cannot be the same. Giving an instance of recent held Golf tourney in Baroda my partner in doubles and mixed doubles were not as good as me. so in the initial rounds of matches I gave them the complete opportunity to play the match so that even they gain certain level of confidence. We had decided that if we go down at any point of time during the match, my partner will not play one game then I will only play the whole game to as to get back the lead. And also strategies need to be planned out so as to which opponent(out of the two) we will target.

How can the above strategy used by me be related to businesses:If there is a sole proprietor of a company and he is to compete with others in a sector, he will start by scanning the companies and plan his business by creating substitute products or cheaper products so as to reach maximum population. If he has a partner and suppose both are working at different locations, both have different core competencies as individuals. So they need to divide the business and the functions accordingly. Some competitors will be short tempered and might take devastating steps which can be against their own firm.

Strategy during a chess match:The worst enemy of the strategist is the clock. Time trouble ... Reduces us all to pure reflex and reaction, tactical play. Emotion and instinct cloud our strategic vision when there is no time for proper evaluation. - Garry KasparovI am a state level chess player. Chess is said to be one of the most strategic game. It is all about how well you strategize your game and analyse the moves made by your opponent. One of the first things told me by my coach was that I dont only have to think of my own moves but also i need to think of next two moves that my opponent might take. This is very important as you cannot only think about your steps without thinking the competitors moves and its implications on you. The ones who are good at doing this are survivors during difficult situations even in the business. There is a term in chess called a trap- basically, you trap the opponents piece between all yours making it impossible for him to escape. For trapping your opponent you need to learn to think how your opponent is thinking. Some opponents are those who are just wanting to have a win-win situation (draw match). Its easy to break in the thought process of these people as when they are out of options they will copy what you are doing. As a part of your strategy, you need to gamble at this point, where you have to commit mistake based on your assumption that the opponent wouldnt catch hold of it and commit the same mistake. This is such a strategy that people even use in their daily lives and businesses. But the stakes shouldnt be that high. Sometimes in chess we plan a strategy to take down the queen or even win the match by setting a bait for the opponent to bite on, which he will being unaware or not being able to read the bait. Also, there are times when I am losing and that time I need to think how I can somehow take this match to a draw. This is when I will try to take down (trade-off) my pieces for his so as to finish the game as soon as possible and hope for a draw.

Strategy during mixed relay at Gujarat Mahakumbh:During mixed relay (consisting of two boys and two girls) at Gujarat Mahakumbh, each player had to run 100mtrs. Out of the five teams running together, all had decided that their first runner will be a boy so as to gain lead in the beginning itself. Ourteam decided to do it the other way. We believed that we will be able to win the race as I and other guy were quite fast and were confident to take on even if we were last in the beginning. We had placed the first runner and she was the slowest runner we had out of the four of us. We were lagging by the time he handed the baton to the second runner. He was able to cover the lag we became first at that point of time. After he handed over the baton to another girl, we came second till i got the baton and the end result was that we were the winners. After that, all the remaining teams used the same strategy as we did. Also, it wasnt advisable to make the two girls to run back-to-back as if we would be far behind others, psychologically we two guys would find it difficult to cover it.Strategy used by MS Dhoni during T20 world cup :It was a crucial point in the match in the final over of the match and seeing Pakistans track record, it was quite possible for them to achieve this target. The batsman on-strike was a set batsman having faced all the bowlers of the Indian team. So it was likely that the batsman would be able to judge the bowl of the already used bowlers. MS Dhoni decided to give the last over to Joginder Sharma and the people with whom I was watching the match were like this over should have been given to a more experienced bowler and that he is a very slow bowler. But he managed to win that match for us. After the match, when some journalists asked MS Dhoni why he took the decision to give the over to Joginder Sharma, he told that the batsman was used to the bowling line and length of the previous bowlers and Joginder Sharma is a slow bowler so it becomes difficult to hit him and requires more power.