Running Head: Strategic Choice 1

Strategic Choice

Claudette Fort

STR/581

January 17, 2011

Professor Infante
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Strategic Choice

Background – The Organization

Inspire2Live Now will be created as a non-profit and charitable organization that

provides hand-made and electronic greeting cards to hospitalized children and their families in

the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. Although Inspire2LiveNow is a non-profit

organization, just as in the development of a commercial entity developed to generate profits, a

strategy is critical to long-term success in fulfilling this specific need in our community.

This paper outlines this organization’s vision, alternatives, and the strategic choices I

have made in pursuit of developing this non-profit organization. Also, I will use the term

“customer” interchangeably to describe the children and their families.

Vision

Inspire2Live Now seeks to provide encouragement, comfort and hope to children that are

hospitalized and their families. Also, we seek to provide an opportunity to allow children to help

brighten the lives of other children that are hospitalized through artistic expressions in the forms

of hand-made greeting cards.

Alternatives

Upon development of this concept to serve a specific need for children that are

hospitalized I considered the following alternatives available to families:

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1. Established non-profit children organizations such as St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Ronald

McDonald Charities, Atlanta’s Children Shelter, and state and local family agencies that have

a similar vision to provide comfort and support to families.

After careful consideration, I found that each of these organizations serve the needs of

children in different ways. Therefore, I decided to continue on my current path to create the

Inspire2Live Now as a new non-profit organization that will complement the benefits provided

to the community by established charities and non-profit organizations. This paper will reflect

strategic choices that support this decision.

Strategy

A generic strategy was selected based on a core idea on how I can build, thrive and

survive as a non-profit organization. I reviewed the concepts for the three generic types of

strategies: low-cost leader, product differentiation, and striving to appeal to a specific group

with focus on differentiation. I decided to pursue a focus strategy.

This strategy supports the vision I have for the organization and my intent to focus my

energy and resources on a specific customer segment - - hospitalized children and their families.

In addition, my focus strategy will be anchored in differentiating this organization from others

non-profit organizations by delivering hand-made greeting cards to the children in paper and

electronic forms.

Value Discipline

The value discipline that I have selected to be the foundation of the strategy will

encompass concepts of customer intimacy. “Companies engaged in customer intimacy

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understand the difference between the profitability of a single transaction and the profitability of

a lifetime relationship with a single customer” (Pearce, 186). Customer intimacy is very relevant

because formulating lifetime loyalty could result in donations and “pay it forward” commitments

from the children and their families to support other children facing illness that results in

hospitalization.

Summary

It is important to create a strategy for a non-profit organization that supports the vision of

the organization. Part of the process of formulating a strategy is to understand alternatives

available to the customer and whether your product or service will satisfy a need.

Inspire2LiveNow will be a unique non-profit organization that will satisfy the need to provide

support, encouragement and hope to children suffering from illnesses that require hospitalization

and their families by delivering hand-made greeting cards to let them know they are not alone or

forgotten.
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References

Pearce, J. A., II, Robinson, R. B. (2011). Chapter 7: Long-Term Objectives and

Strategies. Strategic Management: Formulation, implementation, and control (12th ed.). Boston,

MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Pearce, J. A., II, Robinson, R. B. (2011). Chapter 8: Business Strategy. Strategic

Management: Formulation, implementation, and control (12th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-

Hill/Irwin.