Strategic Management

SECTION B (35 MARKS) There are THREE (3) questions in this section. Answer ALL questions in the Answer Booklet provided. All questions are related to article titled "Not a typical mama" below. Not a Typical Mama To most people, their mother is the best chef in the world but not all mothers are great cooks nor are all mothers who can cook well able to turn their skill in the kitchen into a million Ringgit business. Puan Siti Sabrina Sabri is not a typical mother. A radiographer by training, Puan Siti Sabrina or Mama Sabrina (Mama Sab) is the founder of Mamasab International Sdn. Bhd (Mamasab). She started the business in 2015 as a home-based cakes and bakery business and among the earlier clients were her colleagues in Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya (PPUM). Puan Siti Sabrina did not have any prior business knowledge or training when she began her business, nor is she from an entrepreneurial family. Knowing her weakness, Puan Siti Sabrina joined business classes and workshops organized by business coaches including the one conducted by the infamous Azizan Osman. She also brushed up her baking skill by watching and joining YouTube baking classes. Her investment in the business and baking classes certainly paid up well. Mamasab opened its first outlet in 2018 and it now has 14 outlets throughout Peninsular Malaysia and its year 2020 sales was RM100 million. Although Mamasab has grown not only in size and revenue but also in its product lines (which now include frozen food, cosmetics and household items), Puan Siti Sabrina still maintains the family concept in the business. She likes to invite Mamasab's agents and runners to her home and she still gets personally involved in agents' coaching. With 12 outlets well spread throughout Peninsular Malaysia and 27.43 million internet users in Malaysia (as of January 2021), Mamasab could have eliminated its agents and get customers to order directly online but it opts to maintain its business model and invite more people to become its agents and runners. The "no loss guaranteed" concept whereby agents are not bound by any contract, need not pay any membership fee, keep any stock or force to buy anything makes Mamasab a popular choice among those who are interested to earn extra income by becoming agents. Mamasab offers more than 50 products. Despite its venture into cosmetics and household items, food remains as its main products and four of its six best-selling products are cakes. According to its website, its products have high repeat orders. This is perhaps another reason behind its popularity among aspiring agents. Figure 1: Devil Food Chocolate Cake (one of Mamasab's best-selling cakes) Looking at its achievements thus far, Mamasab seems to be on the right track but F&B is not an industry with high entry barrier. Hence competition is a given and new rivals can appear at any Botecotodlitbetriction Polated On 10 lifted Figure 1: Devil Food Chocolate Cake (one of Mamasab's best-selling cakes) Looking at its achievements thus far, Mamasab seems to be on the right track but F&B is not an industry with high entry barrier. Hence competition is a given and new rivals can appear at any time, making the market even more saturated. With restrictions related to COVID-19 lifted, economic activities are gaining momentum and unemployment rate is slowly declining. However, inflation is expected to be high especially with the price of petrol in the world market increasing. Besides, the value of Ringgit has not improved much and this certainly adds pressure on the price of imported supplies. These are the facts that Mamasab has to consider while charting its plans for year 2022 Sources: 1. Hazwan F.M (2021, November 29) Harga barang keperluan dijangka terus meningkat, Berita Harian https://www.bharian.com.my/bisnes/lain-lain/2021/11/893219/harga-barang keperluan dijangka-terus-meningkat 2 Kami adalah Mamasab International Sdn. Bhd., Mamasab Bakery https://mamasabbakery.com.my/tentang kami 3 Kemp S. (2021, February 11) Digital 2021: Malaysia, Datareportal. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-malaysia 4. (2020, December 20) Produk Mamasab yang paling wajib anda cuba? Mamasab Bakery https://mamasabbakery.com.my/produk-mamasab-yang-paling-wajib-anda-cubal Question 1 Conduct internal and external analyses for Mamasab International Sdn. Bhd. and summarize your analyses in IFE and EFE matrices. The combined number of factors for the matrices must be AT LEAST FIFTEEN (15). You can include your knowledge of the F&B industry, the economy, online market and any other relevant information including those related to COVID-19 pandemic in the external analysis. Make sure ALL factors are written in a self-explanatory manner. (19 Marks) Question 2 Using an appropriate strategy generation tool, identify THREE (3) potential strategies for Mamasab International Sdn. Bhd. Explain and provide clear examples of how the strategies can be applied by the business. (8 Marks) Question 3 a) Construct a QSPM and determine the optimum strategy for Mamasab International Sdn. Bhd. (5 Marks) b) Based on your optimum strategy in Question 3(a) above, briefly discuss whether Mamasab should continue having a large number of agents. (3 Marks) [Total: 8 Marks]