Lockheed Martin Strategy Case

Lockheed Martin is an advanced manufacturer of engineering products that are used in everyday activities by The United States Military and their allies. They focus on autonomy and artificial intelligence along with their superior air crafts, energy maintenance systems and missile defense, fire, control systems, along with aeronautic and space capabilities. The advanced weaponry and intelligent communication systems enables our service men and women to continue protecting our country and its citizens from ongoing threats. Lockheed Martin also offers a variety of products and services for global civil nuclear power industries and green power initiatives.

The mission statement of Lockheed Martin states ” Our mission to protect war fighters and ensure their safety by providing superior weapon systems and sensors”. Their vision statement states : To be the most respected global leader in every market and community we serve through pride, commitment, and power of enterprising people”.  Their mission statement is detailed and provides specific details as to what they provide and how they provide it, where as their vision statement is short,vague and does not provide details to their long term direction and how they are committed to serving and empowering.

Strategy play an important role in every company because it provides managers with a set of actions that are necessary implemented to outperform competitors while achieving superior profitability. The strategy of Lockheed Martin is to compete in a variety of differentiating markets while maintaining superiority over competitors. Their strategy produces higher profits and gives them an advantage to attract more customers and surpass their performance targets.

When we think about the companies objectives we consider where they can make improvements through their technological advancements and their everyday operations. At Lockheed they continuously ask consumers for their feedback and opinions as to where they think improvements can be made with their products through customer feedback and surveys. When it comes to their employees they have a workforce where more than half of have a minimum of a bachelors degree in their trained field. They empower employees with performance driven leadership system. The weekly meetings are held to address training, certification, and goal setting performance reviews. They have a diverse workforce that is not only limited to race, gender, ethnicity, they encompasses a variety of working styles, capabilities, communication styles. Employees are provided with a variety of services and benefits such as a work life balance environment, medical, dental, vision, prescription coverage life insurance, personal illness income, flexible schedules, paid vacation, adoption assistance, and on site wellness centers to treat acute medical conditions free of charge. 

The core values of Lockheed Martin are to provide the most innovative and affordable weapons to keep soldiers safe. Ensuring excellence in product development and affordability that exceeds customers expectations are crucial for the company to maintain a competitive edge. Their core values are realistic and align with the companies performance and reputation which confirms that they are living up to their core values.

Lockheed Martin stands apart from its competitors because of their competitive advantage. The obtained this advantage in 1995 with a merger of Lockheed and Martin Marietta, they were the two leading companies in aerospace and technology corporations. By combining their expertise they are able to outperform their rivals Raytheon, Boeing, Northop Grumman, and ATK.  They have become the premier designer and manufacturer of advanced weaponry and sensory systems for the United States and their allied military forces. They maintain their competitive edge by acknowledging their rivals strengths and weaknesses as well as their own. Through these practices they are able to sustain a competitive advantage that is not easily duplicated.

At Lockheed Martin they employ a variety of management strategies by doing this they keep employees engaged and empowered. According to Forbes employees do their best when they see how their work and responsibilities directly impact their companies value and performance. Keeping employees involved and asking their opinions stimulates curiosity. Through curiosity and engagement a company shows their employee trust and empowers the employee to have more control of their work (Forbes, 2016). Through a sustained competitive advantage buyers have lasting reasons to prefer a firms product or services over those of it’s competitors (McGraw, 2016).

References

Lockheed Martin ( April 2019). Who We Are. Retrieved from https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/who-we-are-business-area.html

Kevin Ready Forbes (February 2, 2016). Three Management Strategies You Can Use For Higher Team Performance. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinready/2016/02/02/three-management-strategies-you-can-use-for-higher-team-performance/5b9ebf35adde

Thompson, A. Crafting & Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases. [Purdue University Global Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://purdueuniversityglobal.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781259899683/