Strategic Management Practice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Strategic Management Practice - Assignment Example The strategic management practice has been analyzed with respect to the operations of the Virgin Trains. This required an analysis of the external and internal environment of Virgin Trains. The external analysis has been carried out using the theoretical frameworks of PESTEL and Porter’s Five Forces. The internal analysis takes into consideration the availability of resources and the core competencies of the company. This analysis has helped in addressing the strategic issues faced by the organization. The strategic management practice has helped the company to design an appropriate course of action in order to attain the organizational goals. The strategies also include monitoring of the performance of the company and address the gaps on a continuous basis using a balanced scorecard to achieve the goal of the organisation. Introduction The report involves an application of the strategic management practice in case of Virgin Trains Company of UK. The background information on Virgin Trains has been presented below along with the theoretical framework of strategic management practice in organizations. Company Background: Virgin Trains Company Virgin Trains Company is jointly owned by the Virgin Group and the Stagecoach. Virgin Group holds the majority share with 51% stake in the company whereas Stagecoach holds a share of 49% in the company. The company has been providing train services in the Intercity West Coast region for the last 16 years since 1997. The company operates and provide long distance passenger train services in the routes of western part of UK. The trains run from the areas of Greater London towards the stations of North West England, West Midlands, Scotland and North Wales. The train services of the company cater to a cumulative population of 18 million people in various cities of UK. The various cities connected by the train services of the Virgin Train Company are London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, etc (Virgin, 2013). The Virgin Group was awarded to own the operations of the Intercity West Coast in 1997 after beating Stagecoach and Sea Container. In 1998, the Virgin Group sold 49% of its stake to Stagecoach. After getting the contract to run passenger train services from London to the western parts of UK through the Intercity West Coast franchisee, Virgin Trains implemented its work of upgrading the rail tracks and networks in the western coast so that the train speed could be increased to 140 miles per hour. However, due to the suspension of the contracts by the management and subsequent cash outflows for the planned project, the up-gradation work was reduced to attain a speed of 125 miles per hour. In 2005, the first stage of up-gradation work was completed and the Virgin group published its train time table with the frequency matching speed of 125 miles per hour. The subsequent development work for the rail networks in the western coast was continued by the Virgin Rail Group and in 2009; the n ew high frequency timetable for