Business

Part I Background Summary

The golf equipments industry registered very intensive competition among the key suppliers in 2005 and USGA came under intense pressure to enhance its business strategic approaches. During that year planning and management functions in companies plying their trade in the golf equipment industry were designed to optimize resource allocation and competitive advantage relative to rationality, maximization of profits and market responsiveness (Kotler  Keller 99). The preliminary strategic planning processes in the companies were therefore perfected through analytic review of the inherent situation in the internal and external environments of the companies. The case study reviews the effectiveness of the competitive strategies adopted by companies in the golf equipment industry in 2005.    

Part II Problem Identification

The difficulties to accurately predict the likely outcomes and the subsequent implications of the strategic plans and decisions arise from the susceptibility of long term planning to unforeseen constraints and adverse effects on the economic outlook. The management team in USGA must acknowledge the possible setbacks in the implementation and achievement of projected growth in sales as expressed in the strategic plan (USGA Website). The key aspects of marketing communications mix in an organization include product features, price strategy, promotions and current performance.  Despite the adoption of these strategies, it remains to be seen if USGA achieved long term competitive advantage over its key competitors.

Part III Researching Internal and External Factors

The competitive analysis of the USGA brand is based on SWOT analysis and the five forces that constitute organizational micro-environment namely the threat of substitute products the threat of the entry of new competitors the intensity of competitive rivalry the bargaining power of customers and the bargaining power of suppliers (Porter 36, 1985). The important aspects of driving forces behind the intensified competition among companies in the golf equipments industry was the motivated by the need of the companies to achieve competitive advantage through expanded turnover, growth of market share by percentage, increase net revenues, enhanced customer care, efficiency in distribution of products and services, and efficient utility of financial resources.
Indeed, the value of the adopted strategic planning models lies in the ability of the management team of a company to fully pursue effective and objective representation of the companys internal and external environments but also the managements viability in focusing minds and helping the companys stakeholders take particular actions from informed perspectives (Kotler  Keller 101, 2009). So far, it is evident that competitive factors bear very significant influence over the strategic approaches towards marketing and planning in USGA. This demonstrates how important it is for the company to take into account all the important aspects of the environment whenever undertaking organizational planning and competitive advantage audits. Each and every element of the organizational competitive strategies should always be accorded full attention in order to ensure successful achievement of the set goals and objectives (Aaker, 2008). Factors such as the stakeholders, partnerships and industry life cycles are tailored to suit the strategic needs in USGA as situations may demand.
Competitive advantage plays a major role in the golf equipments industry. As the largest golf equipments suppliers in the US, USGA definitely portrays advanced and well thought out market positioning strategies that are designed to see the company remain a leading player in the golf equipments industry. The company is using differentiation strategies to capture a wide consumer base through the offering of numerous product lines (Porter, 1985). USGA is further favored by its flexible pricing because of its stable financial infrastructure which can accommodated such conditions without hurting its productions activities and financial standings. Moreover, USGA draws competitive advantages from the massive nature of its large market research projects which many companies in the golf companies find difficult to achieve (USGA Website, 2009).
The company enjoys a strong brand name, a competitive advantage that ultimately places the company above its competitors. The mere recognition of a brand name may go a long way in providing a company with the much needed favors in penetrating the market segments (Kotler  Keller 102). Good governance practices and performance parameters too are good indicators for winning over customers in the golf equipments industry. Just like any other kind of business commitments, golf equipments production and distribution presents as much risks as benefits, and only those companies with sound resource and management capacities stand to rip most from their competitive elements. Golf equipments industry has in place advanced RD programs that have enabled the company to set a fast pace in the discovery and adoption of new production technologies to reach out to a wide range of golfing enthusiasts.
The five forces determine the competitive intensity and attractiveness of a market and any changes to any of these forces would require a company to re-assess the market place (Porter 37). The golf equipments industry exists as a deregulated sector, a situation which however, if combined with the relatively high fixed costs compared to other industries, makes it difficult for new players to make entry. The high barriers to entry (Kotler  Keller 102, 2009) make the golf equipments distribution business a favorable industry for both the USGA brand. Barriers to exit serve as indicators on how easily a company can exit the market, and USGA is characterized by high barriers to exit because company has wide network of distribution channels and highly specialized equipments that cannot be sold off easily. Customer buying power represents the level of power that buyers have over products (Robbins  Judge 79, 2004). The demand for USGA golf equipments in the short run is inelastic and therefore customers have much of options for other golf equipment brands and sports utility options. As such, customers have high buying power relative to the USGA brand because buyers can freely switch brand on service and cost preferential grounds. Threats of substitute products are therefore very high given that there are several the golf equipment production companies in the US, most of which have impact in the market and so far pose no threats to the market shares of USGA.
Competitive rivalry is the ability of a product to match the performance of the existing products in the market and evidently, the USGA brand faces high competitive intensity in most of its target market in the US. The environment is best mirrored by the McKinsey 7 S model which stipulates that organizations are not single structures, but rather constituencies of seven different elements namely structures, strategies, systems, shared values, styles, skills and staff. The McKinsey 7 S model (Daft 66, 2001) further suggests that the seven different elements can further be split into soft Ss and hard Ss. Hard Ss is a category that consists of factors such as systems, structure and strategy and they are considered to be conspicuous in the organization and are traceable to the mission statements, strategy plans, corporate structures and routine documents of organizations.     
Part IV Information of Analysis

USGA competitive strategies are designed to achieve increased marginal utility for its golf equipment products. Indeed, the marginal utility of any commodity is set to increase when more and more units of that commodity are consumed (Aaker 272, 2008), as described by the backward sloping demand curve.

The following is the demand curve for golf equipment that is supported by the above marginal utility curve for golf equipment sales

The backward sloping demand curve has great significance in marketing strategies because it enables companies to determine the effectiveness of their marketing strategies, because successful marketing strategies will be demonstrated by increased consumption of that product that will hence increase the marginal utility of the product (Daft 67, 2001). Once the marginal utility of the product increases, more units of the product will be sold with increase in prices of the product (Kotler  Keller 101, 2009). The backward sloping demand curve is also of significance to marketers owing to the fact that marketers can strive to make a product so popular with the aim of making people to become ignorant of other products such that an increase in the price of such a product would lead to an increase in demand of the product.
It is also necessary to conduct a SWOT analysis of USGA to understand the relative strengths and weaknesses of the company in order to identify the potential opportunities for USGA and estimate the threats that are prevailing in the market

Strengths
The relative strength of USGA in the market is its brand image and marketing perception in the eyes of its consumers. The constant marketing strategies over the years have made USGA into a synonym for high-quality golf equipment. There have been very few instances of bad cases and thus, the company has enjoyed unstipulated growth in its brand equity. This is further seconded by the proximity of the company to its customers. Research indicates that a high percentage of the population of USGAs customers are situated nearby and thus USGA is their first choice  for customers who are not great fans of USGA, they prefer to but from USGA because of the proximity factor.

Weaknesses
    The supply chain factors are the biggest weakness in the case of USGA. Its distance from its suppliers is magnified due to its distance from the international airport. USGA incurs not only the cost of importing from its suppliers, but also faces the excessive cost of transport from the international airport that is situated a great distance away. The reduction in this weakness can be done in the form of a warehouse in between, however, that again would be a tradeoff.

Opportunities
    USGA has the opportunity to expand vertically into the market. It currently offers a wide range of golf equipment however, USGA can focus on equipment that can target the segment of the population that is unable to play golf. USGA can invest in simulators of golf to target the senior most segment of the golf-loving population. These simulation games will definitely sell at premiums and can be a significant revenue factor for USGA in the short run itself.
    Another opportunity in the market lies to target the youngest segment of the market. Aiming to become future golf players, USGA should introduce a different variety of products for this segment of the population ensuring that their brand is registered in the minds of young consumers  a potential advantage considering the future benefits of such a strategy.

Threats
    The threat of potential competitors in the industry owing to the natural competitive structure of the market always looms there. USGA should identify its main competitors and work towards differentiating its products. Though USGA has had no direct competitor head fight, it has had to ensure that its products have been distinctive and of the highest quality.
    USGA also faces a critical quality assurance problem reliance on its suppliers for quality means that a great deal of the quality assurance is not in the hands of USGA. Thus, maintenance of the same quality over time is a threat that could virtually lead to USGA losing its loyal clientele.
Part V Possible Solutions

Imperatively, the management of USGA needs to acknowledge that strategic planning cannot be achieved in isolation given forecasts are susceptible to inherent uncertainties. Therefore, creative and innovative approaches will be adopted in the design of the strategic plan.
According to the complexity theory, dynamism in any organization is typified in multi-directional relationship across systems, with interactions among different elements of a particular system resulting into the emergence of new norms and behavior (Kotler  Keller 53, 2009).
Effectively, the complexity theory acknowledges the need for the management team of USGA to match any normative changes with convincing efforts to promote an understanding of the emerging norms and ensure that interactions between localized parts of the complex organizational system are not interfered with. This would require the management of USGA to further undertake comprehensive reviews of current operational structures and processes to identify areas of weaknesses and improvements. Factors such as the stakeholders, partnerships and industry life cycles must always be tailored to suit the strategic needs in company as situations may demand. To this end, USGA must streamline its strategic plan to reflect realistic and achievable objectives (USGA Website, 2009).

Part VI Recommendation

Like any other kind of business commitments, the golf equipments industry presents as much risks as benefits. USGA stands to rip most from its competitive advantages through the adoption of sound resource and management capacities. The company should enhance its RD programs so as to set a fast pace in the discovery and adoption of new production technologies and reach out to a wide range of golf players and fans.
The bottom line is that USGA should focus on strategic planning as an investment rather than an expense. This perceptual difference will entail a competitive advantage for USGA and will eventually be the major differentiating factor enabling the Association to expand its enrolment considerably.
Based on the SWOT analysis, it is imperative for USGA to address the threats and weaknesses that are encroaching the business in the short and long run. While competition is always a natural factor, the critical quality assurance issues are somewhat of a more serious nature that should be addressed by USGA. Further, USGA could look towards capitalizing on the opportunities mentioned earlier. It should begin with the youngsters targeting strategy as it has a much larger and longer payoff than the senior segment targeting strategy. This will be the first step towards a comprehensive optimization system that would be the foundation stone for USGA building its global change management and competitive strategy  a step that is entirely necessary in this era of globalization where competition has marked the business environment significantly (Keller  Kotler, 2009).