THEORY Strategic Issue Diagnosis Strategic issues have been defined as ‘environmental trends and possible events that may have a major and discontinuous impact of the firm’ and early research focused on identifying and assessing these important phenomena (Ansoff, 1975, p. 24-25, 1980). Later scholars introduced the concept of strategic issue diagnosis: the evaluation and infusion with meaning of environmental data with the intent of generating organizational momentum to respond (Dutton & Duncan 1987b; Dutton et al., 1983; Dutton & Jackson, 1987), a process that involves the following steps (Julian & Ofori-Dankwa, 2008). Decision makers scan the environment in attempts to detect signals of potential importance to the firm, collating and reifying a variety of related stimuli into a “strategic issue” (Dutton et al., 1983). This issue joins similar issues in the “strategic issue array,” the list of different strategic issues being potentially considered at any given time (Dutton & Duncan, 1987a; Dutton, 1997). Based upon their interests, beliefs and inclinations, different individual executives and managers, as well as groups, attempt to sell, promote and champion a particular strategic issue’s significance by means of different diagnoses (Dutton & Ashford, 1993; McMullen et al., 2009). By means of analysis and negotiation, the upper echelon of the firm comes to a more or less commonly agreed upon diagnosis of the issue in question as to its nature and possible effects (Dutton et al., 1983; Dutton, 1993, 1997). Once more or less established, the strategic issue’s diagnosis influences the formulation and implementation of a response, which may unfold over time and which itself may lead to further altered diagnoses (Dutton, 1997; Chatto... ... middle of paper ... ...ely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening, and minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult (Fiske, Gilbert, & Lindzey, 2009). Agreeableness: Agreeable individuals value getting along with others. They are generally considerate, kind, generous, trusting and trustworthy, helpful, and willing to compromise their interests with others (Komarraju, Karau, Schmeck, & Avdic, 2011). Agreeable executives are warm, and prefer cooperation over competition (McCrae & Costa, 1987) focus more on what employees think of them than on accomplishments, and avoid conflicts at all costs (Nadkarni & Herrmann, 2010). On the other hand, disagreeable executives promote a climate of competition and fear (Peterson et al., 2003). Moreover, disagreeable executives are skeptical others’ view and ignore strategic alternatives suggested by other managers and employees (Lant et al., 1992).
Every company has internal and external forces that effect how they operate within the community in which they are located and also within their own walls. These internal and external forces play a strong impact on the company’s profitability and success. These forces have an effect on what consumers they attract or ignore and how they are perceived by those who have the buying power. A mistake any analyzing and implementing measures to assist with these factors could greatly affects a company’s bottom line and success. This is why any company wanting to grow and be successful will need to take all of these forces; sociocultural, technological, economic, environmental and political-legal into consideration in creating their strategic plan.
In agreement with the way the book views negative effects of demonstrating an excessive amount of agreeableness, the article “The Dark Side of Agreeableness: Why Pleasing Isn’t Always Pleasant” encompasses the same idea. It elucidates on the fact that managers who hire employees who display too much agreeableness are easily the ones who are taken advantage of and are unlikely to enforce standards set forth by the
After a thorough examination into BP’s numerous strategies, further analysis into the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) provides an overall performance level regarding the outcomes of their CSR and sustainability goals. Drag and Zimnol (2014) stipulated a SWOT analysis can provide structure to the internal and external factors affecting the company’s current and future outlooks. Additionally, a SWOT analysis can generate context regarding the company’s current relationship with the environment, which can portray the ways to both reduce environmental impact and regenerate damaged communities (Drag & Zimnol, 2014). Therefore, evidence suggests that although BP displays admirable strengths capable of maintaining
Wheelen, Thomas L. and J. David Hunger. Strategic Management and Business Policy, 13th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2012. Print.
Most of the common activities in our daily life present an opportunity to negotiate, whether or not we realise it. Meta-reflecting upon my negotiation experiences during the class and other activities have led me to identify few common themes. In this assignment, the two themes I will be discussing are (1) the importance of being clear on the strategic intent and big picture thinking, and (2) the importance of managing the negotiation process through understanding the various phases and visualising negotiation as a train journey.
Wheelen, Thomas L. and J. David Hunger. Strategic Management and Business Policy, 13th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2012. Print.
Fast Company,(139), 69-70,73,16. Retrieved from Research Library. Document ID: 1870795761. Wheelen, Thomas L. & Hunger, J. David, (2010). Strategic management and business policy.
This is a crucial part of a strategic analysis because ‘…organisations do not exist in a vacuum, they are part of a complex world’ (Bowman 1987:61) and many factors can influence operations, beneficially and unfavourably. However, these can be difficult to comprehend due to their complexity, diversity and fast changing nature. Necessarily a number of techniques have been developed to facilitate the process and to ‘…contribute to answering the key managerial question…’of what ‘…opportunities and threats might arise in the future’ (Johnson & Scholes 2002:99).
Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger, J. D. (2012). Strategic Management and Business Policy: Towards Global Sustainability. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Throughout the global economic environment the desire to out-perform the competition is always present. In every situation, the companies who do better are the ones with superior strategy (Rothaermel, 2013). Strategic management is therefore important in every company, no matter what industry or market they operate in; and as stated by M. Carpenter and G. Sanders, 2013, is described as "The process by which a firm manages the formulation and implementation of its strategy". Strategic management is a constant topic under discussion with different schools of theorists with different beliefs and attitudes which is described as "A tense array of disagreement" (Rees, 2012).
• Hitt, Michael A; Hokisson, Robert E.; Ireland, RD. Strategic Management. 6th Ed., Masson, Ohio: Souht. Wester 2005.
Environment is another significant factor that affects the strategic plan. When a major environmental disaster occurs, such as a hurricane, it can affect a company’s production facilities, their sales facilities and the community that the company serves.
In analyzing the macro-environment, it is important to identify the factors that might in turn affect a number of vital variables that are likely to influence the organization's supply and demand levels and its costs (Kotter and Schlesinger, 1991; Johnson and Scholes, 1993). The "radical and ongoing changes occurring in society create an uncertain environment and have an impact on the function of the whole organization" (Tsiakkiros, 2002). A number of checklists have been developed as ways of cataloguing the vast number of possible issues that might affect an industry. A PEST analysis is one of them that is merely a framework that categorizes environmental influences as political, economic, social and technological forces. Sometimes two additional factors, environmental and legal, will be added to make a PESTEL analysis, but these themes can easily be subsumed in the others. The analysis examines the impact of each of these factors (and their interplay with each other) on the business. The results can then be used to take advantage of opportunities and to make contingency plans for threats when preparing business and strategic plans (Byars, 1991; Cooper, 2000).
Strategic management is a disciplined effort or control to make necessary decisions that have an effect on a business or an organization; the aim of strategic management is mainly to develop new, innovative or diverse ideas and opportunities for potential or development, and facilitates or assists an organization to achieve its goals (SM, 2010). In reality, strategic management not only can be used or applied to determine mission, vision and values or objectives, but it also establishes roles and responsibilities or timelines in a business (David, 2009). In the following sections, this study will focus on and examine the nature of strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation activities, and analyze the potential pitfalls or risks in using a strategic-management approach to decision making.
Environmental analysis is a strategic tool. It is a process to identify all the external and internal elements, which can affect the organization’s performance. The analysis entails assessing the level of threat or opportunity the factors might present. These evaluations are later translated into the decision-making process. The analysis helps align strategies with the firm’s environment. The importance of Environmental Analysis lies in its usefulness for evaluating the present strategy, setting strategic objectives and formulating strategies.