strategic management

[Harmain Siddiqui]

Pakistan Steel Mills, the largest industrial project in the country’s history, was established in the 1970s with technical assistance from the erstwhile Soviet Union. It produced long-rolled steel and heavy metal products and was the pride of the country for many years. It continued to operate in profit until 2008 – albeit at a reduced capacity. According to a recent press report, the Pakistan Steel Mills finally shut down for good on June 10, 2015.

A number of attempts were made by successive governments to somehow jump start this strategically vital national asset but to no avail. Prolonged litigation, allegations of corruption against PSM’s former top executives, bureaucratic delays, etc. all stymied various governments’ efforts to privatize the Pakistan Steel Mills.

Your assignment: Assume that you are a team member of an international management consulting firm tasked by the Government of Pakistan for formulating an overarching strategy for reviving the Pakistan Steel Mills and restoring it to its former glorious status.

Your team may recommend any/ all options – including privatization. Your team may also suggest strategic initiatives for effecting a successful turnaround of PSM while remaining in the public sector as was successfully accomplished in the case of Pakistan State Oil.

1. Start your submission by giving a brief historical narrative of how PSM gradually fell into this financial abyss. This introductory part should be in one brief paragraph not exceeding 200 words.

2. Using the PESTEL (or PESTELE) model and other macro and micro-environmental factors discussed in the online lectures, identify and discuss the local/international trends that had affected the working of Pakistan Steel Mills until its “demise” in 2015. Your submission should be in bullet format; the bullets must read as grammatically complete sentences.

3. Using the concepts taught in the ongoing online course, formulate a strategy/strategies for effecting a turnaround for this troubled organization. Be realistic, practical and to the point. You may consult – for reference purposes only – the EFE and IFE matrices, and CPM of PSM vis-à-vis other competitors – both local and foreign. These may be available on the Internet; but please do NOT copy-paste anything verbatim. You may consult the Internet and obtain a format for writing a consultant’s report; there are many examples available. You may use paragraph format in this part with proper headings and topic sentences for each paragraph.

4. Lastly, present 10-15 cogent strategy recommendations that summarize the way forward for PSM. Again, your submission should be in bullet format; the bullets must read as grammatically complete sentences. Please ensure that your recommendations relate to strategy, and not tactical or operational matters.
   Your entire report should be between 500-1000 words. Please do NOT exceed this limit.
   Do NOT limit yourself merely to financial analyses; discuss all strategy related aspects in all organizational areas including policy making, operations, marketing, management, MIS