Webster Limited: Fiber Focused Agribusiness In Australia

Identification of a Fiber focused Agribusiness operating in Australia

The Strategic Management considers the evolvement and implementation of various strategies by the business organizations to ensure that the organizational goals and objectives are met and the business activities are managed quite conveniently. The management of strategies are associated with the business functioning and it has the ability to improve the business functioning along with increased production and higher revenue generation too. The business organization that has been selected as the case study is this report is the Webster Limited in Australia, which is a fiber focused agribusiness in Australia with its focus on cotton production and can be used for the production of paddock to clothing and other useful materials used by people all over Australia and in other parts of the world (Robson 2015). Overall, the strategic management is the continuous planning, analysis and monitoring of the various important components required to develop and implement strategies and accomplishes the business goals and objectives with ease and efficiency. The strategic management also means managing the human resources and other business aspects for maximizing the ability to achieve the business objectives and keep a close eye on establishing future directions for business success and enhanced growth opportunities. The report will focus on the agribusiness concepts along with the business units and different business level strategies implemented such as the cost leadership and cost differentiation strategies and finally will recommend necessary measures for future strategic direction of the business named Webster Limited in Australia (websterltd.com.au 2018).

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The fiber focused agribusiness operating in Australia is the Webster Limited, Australia, which is one of the leading and most established agribusiness company. It is an organization with rich diversity and has been operating for more than a decade and has been involved in various agribusiness activities through stronghold connection to the agricultural industry in Australia. Due to this, the company has remained competitive in the marketplace and is known for its excellence and commitment towards sustainable agricultural activities along with the production of cotton fibre required for padding to cloths and other materials. (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2014) The company has been focused on three major business including the agriculture of cotton, production of walnuts and water management. Most importantly, the organization has conserved the natural resources properly that are fundamental to what the company has been doing and what will be done in the upcoming years. The primary focus of the company is on cotton production with the use of various new technologies and expertise, which has enabled maximization of yield and brought water efficiency, thus increasing the capability to manage production of more than 200000 bales of cotton every year (Hill 2017). The agricultural processes are managed through acquisition of Tandou, Kooba and Bengerangm which has helped in the growth and development of business as well as allowed the company to produce complimentary crops that have been supported through strategic and value enhancing water efficient technologies and equipments. There are extensive grazing farmland that produce 10,000 lambs on an annual basis for the production of cotton and wool that are later processed through advanced technologies for the production of quality based clothing and other materials suitable for the humans to use (Eden and Ackermann 2013).

Business units, products and service lines

There are various business units managed by the company and thus Webster Limited in Australia has focused not only on the production of cotton, but also has been one of the largest producers of walnuts and water management. The major business units include agriculture business or agribusiness, walnuts’ production and managing diverse portfolio of water entitlement (Hitt and Duane Ireland 2017). The company holds currently more than 40000 hectares of fertile land that are used for irrigation purposes for the production of cotton, corn and other cereals while the extensive grazing lands serve as useful lands for sheep. The company maintains a diverse portfolio that includes 200000 mega liters of water entitlement use for irrigation power management and is useful for managing the crops production (Wheelen et al. 2017). It has provided the company an added advantage to manage the crop production with ease, furthermore provide crop diversity along with the maximization of yield and pursuing better growth scopes and opportunities to sustain in the competitive agricultural business environment at present in Australia. The natural resources are managed properly, which has created ease for the company to manage business in a sustainable manner considering as much as lesser impact can be created on the environment to preserve the ecological balance in nature (Rothaermel 2015). The business units are managed through diverse business operations and processes through maintenance of sustainable asset base and leveraging the scale through use of technological skills and technical expertise. This has not only deliver excellence in terms of the products delivered to the clients, but also has maximized the productivity of the organization and benefited the shareholders who have invested on the organization (Meyer, Neck and Meeks 2017).

The largest business revenue unit for Webster Limited in Australia is the cotton production and secondly, the production of in-shell premium and kernel walnuts that hold about more than 90 percent of annual walnut production in Australia. Still, the primary focus has been on the production of cotton that has been achieved through focus on the vision and mission statement considering the use of latest technologies and expertise of workers to increase the yield, furthermore manage water efficiency and usefulness to ensure that the consistency of producing 200,000 bales of cotton every year is maintained (Gamble, Thompson and Peteraf 2013). More than 10,000 lambs are grazed for the production of wool and produce fiber based materials required for padding to clothing and other useful materials. The agricultural fiber based agribusiness products are exported to many countries all over Asia and with most of the produces made available at Australia, the company has gained a string reputation and brand image due to its consistent quality and price friendly components.  The customers nowadays focus on quality and thus the Australian fiber based agribusiness has focused on delivering the best, whether it is the cotton fiber or walnuts through management of supply chains properly for meeting the demands in the market segments (Lasserre 2017).

Another important business unit is the walnut plantation and growing walnuts that has already accounted for more than 90 percent of overall walnut production in Australia. The company, being proactive about its management of natural resources, has managed its diverse operations and processes and made sure to develop a strong asset base that can leverage the scale through technical knowledge and skills, furthermore benefit both the organization and its shareholders or the individuals who have invested on the organization (Morschett, Schramm-Klein and Zentes 2015). As the name suggests according to agribusiness, Webster Limited, Australia has focused on the sustainable farming to achieve the long term goals by maintaining more than 40,000 hectares of land that are fertile and suitable for the agricultural purposes. The agricultural activities and growing the walnut plantations has been supported by harnessing of water portfolio, which has maximized the profitability and developed the business in complementary crops that are supported by value adding water management activities (Vogel and Güttel 2013). The operational processes managed by Webster consist of vertical integration that starts with the production of nursery and then developing trees for planting and then managing the walnut orchards, thus making it convenient for the harvesting and drying for the fruit production. The quality finished products are the kernel and in-shell walnut, which have been exported directly to all parts of Australia from the farm. According to Stead and Stead (2014), the high quality food production ensures maintaining the food safety laws and rules and is supplied to the direct end users, i.e., the customers and even to the retail shops to meet the demands in different market segments (Stead and Stead 2014). The orchards managed by the company are present in over 2000 hectares of area located n both New South Wales and Tasmania. The business unit can also be called as the Horticulture business unit that produces the in-shell and kernel walnuts in Australia. The continuous addition in orchard portfolio has made the business unit strong and has facilitated the addition of 900 hectares more at the west of NSW, which guarantees increase in walnut production by around 20 percent in the upcoming years as well (Goetsch and Davis 2014). The business unit where the manufacturing and production processes are managed is present at Leeton, where the cracking of walnut and processing facilities are present. This business unit manages the packaging and delivery of both in-shell and kernel walnut and ensured that the customers’ needs and preferences are met. Due to this, the customers have also relied highly upon the company’s dedication and commitment towards the delivery of quality authorization and best practices (Hahn 2013).

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Significance of largest business revenue units’

In spite of the business unit managing the walnut production in Australia, still the company’s main priority has been on the agribusiness cotton fiber production of more than 200000 bales of cotton annually. The business unit has been set up neat the Murray Darling Basin, which has create for Webster Limited in Australia to grow the agricultural division and produce cotton that are later transferred to different mills and clothing manufacturers for creating clothes and other fabric items (Pearce and Robinson 2013). According to various reports, though there was heavy rainfall in Australia, still the business units have maintained the cotton fibre growing plants and ensured that the pollination in Riverina could be successful, which brought good amount of yield as well. Sometimes, even during the high temperatures, the irrigating cotton growing lands’ average yield was more than 13.28 bales per hectare during the last year. The business units manage the large scale operations and focused on the production of more cotton per hectare to bring out the best quality fiber (Bettis et al. 2014). Thus, it could be devised that the cotton production business unit has been the largest and it has generated the highest revenue for the agribusiness named Webster Limited in Australia.   

The organization’s attractiveness and reputation lies in the fact about how much profit has been gained and its position with the agribusiness industry. There are various generic strategies including the cost leadership and cost differentiation that form the strategic planning and have allowed the businesses to flourish and maximize the production. As stated by Morden (2016), the business level strategies are integrated and a combination of various activities that the firm utilizes to make sure that a competitive edge over its competitors is made and the core competencies and skills are exploited properly within the various market segments (Morden 2016). To select the most important business level strategies, the companies need to identify who to serve, who are the targeted consumers that they need to satisfy and finally how their needs and requirements can be fulfilled. The business level strategies including the cost leadership and cost differentiation strategies have already allowed the companies to make a wider reach to its customers and cerate richness through efficient flow and exchange of information among the business and its customers (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2015). Thus, it could be understood that the business level strategies are core concepts about how the companies need to use the core skills and competencies to deliver value and put the customers’ needs at first, furthermore exceed their expectations and continuously innovate with time. This will not enhance the company’s abilities, but will also allow the organization to gain a sustainable position in the marketplace, that too, within a competitive agri-business industry (Alkhafaji and Nelson 2013). The Integrated Cost Leadership-Differentiation Strategy is another major business level strategy that has been used by the business organizations nowadays.

Harrison and John (2013) stated that the cost leadership strategy allows undertaking various integrated actions for the production of good quality goods and deliver the best quality services that can meet the customers;’ needs and preferences. The products and services should be offered at lower prices, without compromising on its quality and the same thing has been done Webster Limited I Australia during the production and delivery cotton fiber in all over Australia. The business units of the companies do handle the primary and support activities to ensure that the costs incurred during the management of business operations are lowered and high competitive level of differentiation is maintained all throughout (Harrison and John 2013). The primary activities include management of logistics, supply chain activities and outbound logistics whereas the support activities include procurement of strategies along with management of human resources properly to meet the criteria of the company. The goods and services are generally standardized for the cost leadership strategy, because it can allow the organization to sell those at a considerably lower price without facing any decline in sales or profit level (Ray Gehani 2013).

The cost differentiation strategy has enabled the companies to offer its products with innovative and distinguishable features that are valuable for the customers and can also make them differentiate those products from the products offered by other companies. Based on the statements provided by Greco, Cricelli and Grimaldi  (2014), this can establish the company’s position in the competitive marketplace and at the same time, create scopes to access the scientific researches and form string, highly skilled and knowledgeable workforce (Greco, Cricelli and Grimaldi 2013). This will enhance the sales and marketing effectiveness and maintain a strong reputation through innovation and consistency in quality based products. The cost differentiation not only means bringing uniqueness in products’ features and benefits, but also set some lower prices or higher prices to compete with the competitors and make sure to attract the right targeted market segments to increase the customer base (Simon, Fischbach and Schoder 2014).

Figure: Model for business level strategies (Simon, Fischbach and Schoder 2014)

The Integrated Cost Leadership-Differentiation Strategy is another business level strategy that combines both the cost leadership and cost differentiation strategies to survive in the global competition that has been increasing at present. While few companies follow the single generic business level strategy, this kind of effective strategy has the ability to turn the organization Webster Limited into better business unit that can position itself within the competitive global business environment and adapt to changes quickly through learning of new skills technologies, knowledge and expertise (Hanson et al. 2016). The leveraging of core competencies and skills across the business units of Webster and product lines are further managed to put differentiable features to the products and deliver better customer value at a much lower cost when compared to the products supplied by competitor businesses without making any compromise on the products’ or services’ quality. Engert, Rauter and Baumgartner (2016) argued that few of the benefits of this kind of strategy are enhanced ability to adapt to changes more quickly, whether it is environmental changes or changes in needs and expectations of the customers, learning new skills and technologies become easy and the flexible manufacturing and production system will maximize the production of differentiated products available at lower prices (Engert, Rauter and Baumgartner 2016). The management of information networks will be possible along with the use of Total Quality Management or TQM for the creation of high quality differentiated products through the reduction of expenses and costs incurred while managing the production process.  

According to the agribusiness, i.e., Webster Limited’s focus on sustainability and benefiting the stakeholders, it is important to implement the right business level strategy among these three different strategies. The fulfillment of obligations and responsibilities of the various stakeholders involved in business is dependent upon the need for establishing an effective business level strategy and aim to meet the practice in standards related to accountability, responsibility, openness, transparency and disclosure of brand image among the clients (Krause 2015). This will draw in more clients and create a huge customer base, which can be influenced in making purchases from the company on a consistent manner. As stated by Le Heron (2017), the integrated Cost Leadership differentiation Strategy is considered as effective, because of its ability to leverage the core skills and competencies with proper use of assets owned by the company, furthermore maintain good standards of quality through adoption of new technologies (Le Heron 2017). With the use of this strategy, Webster Limited would also be able to use a flexible manufacturing system and reduce the costs incurred while managing the business operations and processes. The TQM approaches should further assist in the production of high quality products with differentiable features that can make the clients choose between the company products among the other products available in the market place (Council 2013).

The integrated cost leadership differentiation strategy has helped Webster Limited to maintain a flexible system of manufacturing and production that has been controlled by a computer system. This has also allowed the company to respond to the changes in needs and requirements of the market segments, furthermore maintain a low cost advantage of large scale manufacturing and production. Being focused on the production of cotton fiber, the company needs to maintain consistent bales every year and this it should be important to produce products and services in moderate as well as in flexible quantities (Gyau et al. 2014). With the implementation of this business level strategy, it has also become easier for Webster Limited in Australia to manage information networks across companies and establish interdependency between the external and internal value creation activities of the company. Few examples of include the company’s linkage with retailers, suppliers, subcontractors and other companies that produce clothes with the use of cotton fibers supplied by the company (Raj 2017). The integrated business level strategy has also helped in managing the Total Quality Management systems to improve the quality of products and services along with enhanced productivity. The improved quality of products has further helped in managing the attention of customers towards the company products regarding its performance, reliability and convenience of the clothes prepared with the help of these cotton fibers. Shields et al. (2015) quoted that the company’s maintenance of large asset base along with proper allocation of tools, techniques, resources and training programs arranged for the employees have enhanced the workforce potential and created a positive impact on the functional areas of the business (Shields et al. 2015). Therefore, it can be stated that the integrated cost leadership differentiation strategy has been the agribusiness’ business level strategy that has not only helped in keeping the costs lowered and manage product differentiation but also has improved the capacity of Webster Limited, Australia to deal with the major forces like threats of new entrants, substitute products, competitive rivalry and much more.

The model of competitive reality means the activities that are part of the system managed by Webster Limited in Australia to ensure that it gains competitive advantage over its competitors in business. The competitive advantage or reality model has been proposed by renowned theorist Michael Porter, who has made the company learn about the effective competitive strategies and undertake any defensive actions for creating a sustainable position within the industry, furthermore deal with the competitive forces and obtain higher rate of return on the investments made on the organization (Cania 2014). Nowadays, with the evolvement of agribusinesses, it has become equally important for companies like Webster Limited in Australia to identify the needs of the customers and determine the innovative ways to address those needs effectively, furthermore provide value proposition and hold a stronger competitive position when compared to its rivalries in business. According to Banker, Mashruwala and Tripathy (2014), the competitive reality model has been used by the company to develop own capabilities and explore the different sources of revenue and strategic resources required for enhancing the production level and increase the profit level of the company too (D. Banker, Mashruwala and Tripathy 2014). The enhancement of capabilities of the organization depend on the value chain framework where the assets owned by the company and strategic resources are managed to ensure smooth business functioning all throughout.

 Figure: Business model (D. Banker, Mashruwala and Tripathy 2014)

According to this model, the organization needs to deal with all these forces, especially the needs of customers to be fulfilled though all the other aspects also hold useful significance for achieving competitive advantage in business. The other five forces are social environment, legal environment, competition in the industry and the technological changes managed (Galliers and Leidner 2014). One of the major components responsible for gaining long term success in the competitive business environment is the organization’s capability to respond to changes in the market conditions and through the formulation of strategies required to develop significant temporary advantages. According to Porter, there are five major strategies that are needed to be followed by the organizations to remain competitive within the business environment (Brenes, Montoya and Ciravegna 2014). The relative position that an organization holds determines whether the company has achieved the specific level of profit or loss in business. Webster Limited in Australia has mainly prioritized on the differentiation and low cost to obtain average profitability, which is fundamental to success and long run competitive advantage in business (Tanwar 2013). The cost leadership, differentiation and focus are the generic strategies that the company implements for achieving above the average performance and make useful decisions to gain a competitive edge over its competitors in the future days to come as well (Nickols 2016).

Lower cost                                                Differentiation

1. Cost leadership

2. Differentiation

3 (i). Cost focus

3 (ii). Differentiation focus

The cost leadership strategy implemented has allowed Webster to keep the costs of operations lowered and become one the major low cost producer of cotton fiber in Australia with focus on sustainable measures. The economies of scale, better accessibility to raw materials and resources and consideration of major forces have helped in achieving sustainability and remain a good performer within the competitive business environment with higher revenue generation and increased efficiency of business operations all throughout (Rothaermel 2015). The company abs remained unique, because there are no other companies all over Australia that follow similar approaches of managing the production of cotton and with the unique features of products and innovative ways of managing business, the company has offered good quality cotton fiber at premium prices for the cloth manufacturing shops in Australia. Another major aspect of the competitive advantage reality model is the cost and differentiation focus, which has assisted Webster Limited to select different market segments and develop its strategy according to the needs and preferences in those market segments (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2014).

During the present years, two major developments have dominated the textile and apparel industries including the fast fashion and production of high quality cotton in Australia. The new products sporting new designs and uniqueness are common because of the innovative approaches undertaken by the cotton business nowadays. Based on the explanation provided by Huo et al. (2014), the agribusiness is something new, which has not only produced huge quantities of cotton fiber, but at the same time, also developed the farming lands and expanded it, which has further facilitated the maintenance of sustainable measures to keep the environment safe and healthy (Huo et al. 2014). The protection of environment and encouraging diversity are of equal importance beside the production of cotton fiber nowadays. Thus, the present regime has been designed for encouraging the development of a sustainable, competitive and market driven cotton sector that can safeguard the legal communities are large and at the same time, respect the standards of environmental protection. Webster has managed sustainability through support of legal commitments and producing cotton in various places where it should be important for the agriculture based economy (Marchi, Maria and Micelli 2013). The cotton growers assigned for managing the production process at Webster Limited, Australia have made sure to abide by the laws, rules, regulations and standards of environmental protection and even promoted animal welfare and safety regarding food consumption too. The authorized varieties of seeds are planted and grow crops that can meet the minimum quality of cotton actually harvested. Thus, the agricultural facilities have been benefited at the organization while the cotton production has increased in spite of the changes in climatic conditions experienced in Australia (Hrebiniak 2013). Thus, the major focus on production of cotton has been successful for Webster Limited, Australia and it has helped in the maximization of yield along with management of water efficiency, especially needed for enhancing the production of more than 200000 bales of cotton every year in Australia.

The implementation of a strategic plan can help in identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats faced by the company, furthermore crate strategic directions to manage cooperative agreement. The evaluation strategy, on the other hand, ensures that the right strategic plan is implemented and the strengthening of program activities is possible through the addressing of areas of improvements and ensuring new accomplishments through innovation and business openness (Teeratansirikool et al. 2013). The strategic management planning is the procedure that enables the organization to make decisions and undertake actions for ensuring that the right implementation program is implemented and manage proper use of resources, engagement of stakeholders, promote communication and make decisions that are fruitful and necessary for the business success. The implementation of SWOT framework at Webster Limited has assisted in identifying the major areas of strengths and weaknesses along with the opportunities and threats that might be faced as well. The implementation plan ensures that the strategies in the strategic planning are put into actions as stated in the implementation timeline, furthermore reflect on the accomplishment of SMART goals and objectives along with the measurement of progress (Ray Gehani 2013). The evaluation strategy enables the implementation of the strategic plan and program activities through collection of important data and information and monitoring the organizational activities. The future outcomes are dependent upon the decisions that are made by the businesses at present. Though there might be scopes for uncertainties, still to increase the profitability of the organization and enable successful strategic planning ahead, it is important to manage the implementation plan in agricultural business and create a positive impact on the agricultural production, i.e., the production of cotton fiber for Webster Limited in Australia (Longoni and Cagliano 2015). There could be price related risks, production risks, rates of interest fluctuations and changes in Government policies and programs, which are needed to be mitigated for ensuring successful business functioning along with increased revenue generation.

The implementation of SWOT analysis framework would not only guide the company’s focus on evaluation of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, but could also relate these aspects to the major functional areas of management including the production, marketing, human resources and financial management. The focus should be internal while identifying the strengths and weaknesses while the external factors should include the opportunities and threats (Bereznoi 2015). The proximity to a major market in Australia, a large city in Australia can provide more scopes and opportunities to the cotton fiber production while the threats could be caused due to the emergence of new competitors and changes in agricultural production or due to the use of environmental policies and frameworks.

Strengths

  • The company has been one of the pillars in the production of good quality cotton fiber and walnut production in Australia and it has a positive brand image and identity as well.
  • The capital expenditures have brought good returns on investments due to the successful execution of projects and thus new revenue streams have been created as well.
  • The company boosts of a highly skilled workforce consisting of employees who are knowledgeable about the agricultural activities and producing the optimum quality cotton with lower costs incurred during the production process.
  • The customers are quite satisfied with the products and services delivered and thus good bran equity has been present among the potential customers too (Ruan 2013).
  • The strong free flow of cash along with automation of activities has further enhanced the quality of goods delivered by the company and this has allowed to enter new markets with superior performance and remained competitive as well.

Weaknesses

  • Due to its focus on three major areas of business including the cotton fiber production, walnut production and water management, the company had to raise more capital for making investments sin the channel for gaining long term growth and success.
  • Being one of the leading agribusinesses, still the company has faced issues and challenges to maintain success outside the core business activities, which is a major weaknesses too
  • The marketing of products has suffered due to lack of proper product positioning along with inability to use the unique selling proposition strategies (com.au 2018).
  • The financial planning was not managed properly, due to which the budgetary activities have hindered and this has created lack of money to be used for the implementation of newer technologies.
  • The emergence of competitor could also be another weaknesses faced by Webster Limited in Australia.

Opportunities

  • The focus on keeping the environment clean and safe has created new scopes for the company to manage sustainable measures and maintained the environmental standards too.
  • The Government green initiatives have opened up new scopes for Webster Limited to enable procurement of products and services by the state and federal contractors of the Government too (Robson 2015).
  • The lower rate of inflation in Australia has created ease for the company to bring more stability in the market and maintain proper prices of products without compromising on the quality of cotton fiber produced as well.

Threats

  • The demands for the products remain almost same all throughout the year, but the cotton production and walnut production are managed at few months in the entire year. Due to this, the supplies might be unable to meet the demands in the market sometimes.
  • The increased competition due to the emergence of new entrants and substitute products like other kinds of artificial fiber produced by the other companies could be a serious threat for Webster in Australia (Eden and Ackermann 2013).
  • Lack of innovative products and supply of the cotton and walnuts is not regular, which could lower down the interest among the customers and lead to decline in sales and profitability too.

The implementation plan also includes following the various laws and legislations including the Agricultural Operations Policy and improves the four major areas of intervention including the agricultural production, marketing and distribution, agro processing and input supply and distribution. The implementation plan also includes the corporate governance management required to fulfill the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders in business and ensure that the Board of Webster Limited maintains a robust and effective governance system for smooth business functioning (Wheelen et al. 2017). To ensure management of proper implementation plan, it is necessary for The Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”) Corporate Governance Council to implement guidelines, rules and regulations so that the corporate governance principles are complied with considering the organizational structure, size and scale of business operations managed. Webster Limited in Australia has focused on promoting ethical and making responsible decisions, which has enabled the Code of Conduct of the business to establish various procedures, guidelines, rules and regulations that can allow the organization to maintain high ethical standards and at the same time, foster openness, transparency and proper management of accountability too (Meyer, Neck and Meeks 2017).  

The evaluation strategy has helped in evaluating the various duties managed by the employees and other stakeholders including managing the confidentiality of information, conflict of interest, protecting the assets owned by the organization, managing employment practices and finally fulfilling the responsibilities of the community too. Webster Limited in Australia adopted a Securities Trading Policy that prevented the trading activities with the shares of the company by the employees, which ensured that the evaluation strategy has been successful. The evaluation strategy has enabled the employees and directors of the company to trade in the Securities by complying with the Securities Trading policy (Vogel and Güttel 2013). The evaluation strategy also enables evaluating the significance of human resource management strategies and ensuring that the candidates are selected from different backgrounds regardless of their color, race, ethnicity and cultural background. This has promoted diversity at the workplace and respected the rights by benefiting the shareholders or investors too (Nickols 2016). The human resource strategy has been evaluated, which showed that the company maintains proper remuneration policies and wages structure to pay the workers properly and at the same time, make them perform to the potential. Webster Limited also implemented the performance based remuneration, which facilitated the performances of the employees and made them accomplish the business goals with much ease and effectiveness (Pearce and Robinson 2013). The evaluation strategy has also helped in determining the strategic feasibility and allowed the company to gain the capability to implement strategies effectively, furthermore evaluate the resources, both human resources and financial resources to manage smooth business functioning. The evaluation strategy has also identified the consequences of actions and ensured that the right decisions are made at the right time for reaching the targets set by Webster Limited, Australia during the manufacturing and production of good quality cotton fiber in Australia (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2015).

Few major recommendations for creating a future strategic direction are as follows:

  • It is recommended for Webster Limited, Australia to analyze the various forces affecting the business with the use of Porter’s five forces framework and then develop a strategic vision and mission to move in the right direction
  • Climatic changes cannot be controlled, still the company should focus on environmental measures to keep the environment safe and ensure that a proper ecological balance in nature is maintained while the processes of plantation and production of good quality cotton fiber are carried out.
  • The assessment of feasibility and forecasting the outcomes through prior assumptions made prior to the development of implementation plan and evaluation strategy is recommended as well for Webster Limited, Australia.
  • The strategy should be matched with the external environment and ensure that the marketplace consisting of the competitors, customers and regulatory bodies are dealt with properly for fulfill the duties and responsibilities
  • The maintenance of Permanent Water Licenses is and managing the Group’s permanent water rights are recommended for making judgments regarding the present market conditions
  • It is recommended to adopt the Integrated Pest Management or IPM introduced by BCI for managing proper distribution and use of pesticides to keep the cotton plantations safe and productive
  • The monitoring of the crops for pests and identifying the sources of damage have been done in conjunction with the utilization of pest thresholds and to accept some degree of toleration for the damage of crops.
  • The shareholders’ intent should be understood and they must be provided with god rate of return on investments for keeping them satisfied and improve the ability of business to make wider reach and business expansion for Webster Limited, Australia.

Conclusion

The production of cotton along with being a large producer of walnuts had made the company deliver its products both locally and globally and thus the produced materials have hold a string reputation in terms of quality and consistency for Webster Limited, Australia. The high level of skills, knowledge and expertise of the employees and working with the business partners further contributed to the development of various scopes and opportunities and allowed the agricultural division to grow on a large scale fiber based agribusiness in Australia. Webster Limited in Australia maintained various business level strategies including the cost leadership, differentiation and integrated cost leadership differentiation strategy for becoming successful in the competitive business environment. The agribusiness aimed at carrying out sustainable measures and at the same time, maximized the production level of the organization though maintaining the quality standards with the implementation of Total Quality Management or TQM system. With the management quality standards, the products were able to fulfill the need and preferences of the customer while the competitive advantage reality model by Porter further assisted in obtaining good rate of return on investments made. This provided value proposition as well as managed proper supply chains to meet the demands in the marketplace, furthermore allowed the company to sustain a competitive position within the business environment through production and supply of more quantities of cotton fiber all over Australia and in other parts of the world

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