Strategic Actions

Strategic Actions

IGT recently conglomerated with GTECH, another lottery market leader. It is a blessing in disguise that strengthens the firm’s chances of survival in an increasingly competitive business environment. First, the cooperation between two gambling giants strengthens their brand in the industry. In a time of financial uncertainties, clients refrain from unstable corporations that can easily file for damages hence resulting in a loss. IGT, therefore, cannot be classified as one of them, since there is a pool of financial resources. Strength such as this is enough to win over the consumer’s confidence and to attract a new market segment. Not all the casinos in the America have survived the 2008 financial crash. The fact that IGT sailed through with minor bruises implies that it can withstand market storms. In turn, it has gained the government’s trust. The management can use the firm’s status as a leader to initiate productive reforms in the industry. It can be done through lobbying for government support and minimization of taxes to guarantee organizational stability.

            In addition, the firm needs to diversify its resources. For instance, the management can consider venturing into the Computer technology industry or hardware manufacturing. In particular, the tech and start-up industry are booming in the Southern States. It will be a wise decision for the organization to invest in a different business environment as a cushion in case of an industrial crash. Without a doubt, the economic depression provided valuable lessons for corporations such as IGT and GTECH. Still, I recommend that the organization should not be driven by greed but the need to provide quality products and services while observing business ethics.

            Furthermore, it is advisable that IGT’s leadership should establish subsidiaries in countries with good economic prospects. Nations like China, India, and Korea enjoy relatively fast economic growth rates than in the United States (Srivastava et al., 2012). Therefore, IGT should confirm its status as a global firm by venturing into these markets. While joining a new business environment will not be easy (given the differences in business cultures and tight regulations), the high population rate of middle-income earners in China guarantees a return on investment in the long run. Moreover, the organization should allocate a sizeable amount of resources to employee training, CSR activities and R&D. Studies show that corporations cannot outwit their rivals unless they invest in research to analyze the market and consumer needs. If IGT uses the pool funds in technology upgrade and marketing it will retain its competitive advantage.

Minimizing Weaknesses

Unless IGT addresses the issues that undermine its position in the industry, it is doomed. First, IGT should hire expert financial advisers to recommend legal means of minimizing litigation risks (Fleiser & Bensoussan, 2013). The court process is both costly and time-consuming. It draws off energy from the employees due to lack of job security. In the end, the organization is on the losing end. However, this should change through phasing out of corrupt officials rendering the firm vulnerable to lawsuits. The move should begin at the top management level, where the board members should hire a young and vibrant workforce to replace aging staff. In this way, the organization initiates initial phases of business process re-engineering. It might take years for materialization of tangible results but eventually, there will be a success.

            Over the past decade, there is a surge in the number of activists against gambling. The rise is a direct threat to IGT’s future, especially if there is no implementation of counter-measures. It is the responsibility of IGT’s public relations department to draft means of addressing the resurgent problem. For example, the organization can conduct educative programs across the country to shed light on its activities and business practices. The sessions are crucial to improving the relations between the corporate world and citizens. Alternatively, the firm can file a petition to protest harassment and to seek an injunction against lobbyists. IGT should make it known to the government and the public its contributions to nation building, specifically through taxes corporate social responsibility, and environmental sustainability.

            Furthermore, given the bulging size of this gambling firm, I recommend the management should decentralize its roles and responsibilities. If the mid-level managers surrender their authority to the junior staff, they will introduce new ideas that can arrest organizational weaknesses and minimize operational cost. What IGT’s leaders do not realize is that the operational costs eat up much of the annual revenue, thus exposing the organization to market shocks (Fleisher & Bensoussan, 2013). A reversal of this downward trend lies in a mass layoff of incompetent workforce and promotion of hardworking employees. Eventually, the recovered resources are usable in financing legal procedures that improve the organizational ratings.

            The gambling industry is on the recovery path after years of economic hardships. Experts project that the improvement of market prospects will continue into the late 2020s. Therefore, IGT has an opportunity of boosting sales revenues but to do this, it should fulfill all the requirements of the regulators and fulfill its promises to shareholders.

In summary, it is clear that IGT is in a better position to maintain its status as a market leader. The latest collaboration with GTECH implies it has a larger base of workforce and finances. Therefore, the top level management should seize the opportunity by reaching out to new markets in developing Asian states. At the same time, the company should embrace ethical business practices to gain the confidence of the government and the public.

References

Fleisher, C. S., & Bensoussan, B. E. (2013). Strategic and Competitive Analysis: Methods and Techniques for Analyzing Business Competition (p. 457). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Srivastava, P. K., Kulshreshtha, K., Mohanty, C. S., Pushpangadan, P., & Singh, A. (2012). Stakeholder-Based SWOT Analysis for Successful Municipal Solid Waste Management in Lucknow, India. Waste management,25(5), 531-537.