Strategy is the most important factor in leading a business. Business Strategy is defined as “the intelligent allocation of limited resources through a unique system of activities to outperform the competition in serving customers” (Horwarth 28). In Rich Horwath’s book “ Deep Dive” he provides us with key principles and concepts of strategic thinking. The three disciplines of strategic thinking consist of 1) Acumen: which is generating general insights through a step-by-step evaluation of your business and environment 2) Allocation: focusing your limited resources through strategic trade-offs and 3) Action: implementing a system to guarantee effective execution of strategy at all levels of your organization.
In order to formulate a strategy
We must now execute the strategy. Companies tend to lose productivity when they are not familiar with their purpose of their work and the strategy for achieving their goals and unleashing their maximum potential” (Howarth 29). The third discipline in strategic thinking is Action. Howarth describes Action as implementing a system to guarantee effective execution of strategy at all levels of your organization. He proposes the strategy formula to ensure that managers have a framework to communicate the strategy to their subordinates. The strategy formula guides the process of “channeling strategy from mind to paper” (Howarth 129). There are four components to the strategy formula; what + how + who + impact 1) What: The activity representing the purpose of the strategy 2) How: The general means or method of accomplishing the strategy 3) Who: The audience the strategy is defined to reach and 4) Impact: the desired result of developing and executing the strategy. I feel this is a method that should be implemented in all organizations. I would use this method in my company by ensuring every employee has a copy of the company’s strategy formula. It would be displayed in various areas in the company and I would make a pocket sized card with the information as well. I will constantly question employees to make sure they are familiar with the company’s strategy. The goal is to make everyone acquainted with the company’s strategy and how we plan on going from our current state to a future desired
This paper will further address: For strategic drive to be successful on both levels, each level should begin to have an understanding of why things are done in certain ways and how their work impacts others within their system; Organizations need motivators to improve strategic direction of the system; and Performance towards strategic ...
For any strategic plan to be successful there should be effective communication between the management and the employees. The department heads and managers should communicate to their subordinates the significance of their input in the development of the strategic plan for the company.The management should engage the staff in all the phases of the strategic plan as their perspective is valuable to the company. Employees will then be allowed to offer their input through different platforms, such as focus groups, surveys or questionnaires. This communication and engagement within the organization will give the management a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the company. For the strategic plan to be successful, both the management and the employees of the company should be involved in the implementation process.
Referring back to the IKEA’s example, when the company has a mission and purpose, it gives the employees a sense of purpose as well, and believes in themselves that they are able to make a difference. I think that a great manager help employee to understand the company’s mission and purpose that is directly related to the individual’s responsibility, and assists employees find a connection between company’s value and their own. Hence, a good strategy supports company’s purpose and makes the corporation became a company that
In their pursuit of effectiveness, all organizations must engage in the process of determining what goals and objectives they wish to achieve. Establishing what is important to your organization allows you to invest your resources wisely while avoiding squandering them on trivial matters. Though determining what is important is essential, understanding how you will go about accomplishing those matters is of equal consequence. Without clear strategies to accomplish organizational objectives, team members will work aimlessly. An objective without a strategy is much like taking a road trip with only a destination in mind: the process can be aggravated with wrong turns, wasted gas, lost time, and arguments between travel companions.
Companies utilize various strategies to maintain their relevancy and profitability in a competitive marketplace. However, the initial strategies are crucial for businesses seeking success and longevity by allowing the company to create the framework for what the company looks to achieve. The desired outcome or company’s vision is only one aspect of planning, which requires coordination through other means such as missions, goals, and objectives to allow for the best probability of achieving the company’s apparitions.
Numerous definitions of strategy exist, in most circumstances strategy can loosely be explained as an overall plan of deployment of resources to ascertain a favourable position within a market (Zablah, Bellenger and Johnston 2004; Grant 1994, p 14). Further, imbedded in many successful organisations are strategies, the importance of which is to remain relevant in the market, and successful in the various attributes of business; profiteering, employee motivation, maintaining sustainable core competencies, effectiveness in operation, or efficiency in the conduction of operations. Therefore challenges involved in the formulation and implementation of a strategy can revolve around the overall external market, as well as internal
Strategic management is the ongoing process of ensuring a competitively superior fit between the organization and its ever-changing environment (Kreitner, G13). Strategic management serves as the competitive edge for the entire management process. It effectively blends strategic planning, implementation, and control. Organizations that are guided by a coherent strategic framework tend to execute even the smallest details of their mission in a coordinated fashion. The strategic management process includes the formulation of a strategy/strategic plans, implementation of the strategy, and strategic control. A clear statement of the organizational mission serves as the focal point for the entire planning process. People inside and outside the organization are given a general idea of why the organization exists and where it is headed. Working from the mission statement, management formulates the organization's strategy, a general explanation of how the organization's mission is to be accomplished. Then general intentions are translated into more concrete and measurable plans, policies, and budget allocations. Implementation is the most important part of the strategy. Strategic plans must be filtered down to lower levels to be success. Strategic plans can go astray, but a formal control system helps keep strategic plans on track. In the strategic management process general managers who adopt a strategic management perspective appreciate that strategic plans require updating and fine-tuning as conditions change. Given today's competitive pressures, management cannot afford to let strategic plans sit as is. A strategic orientation encourages farsightedness. Sun Microsystems Inc. is one company that developed a strategy to become the competitive leader and become the most reliable in the net business. I will explain how Sun's strategy integrates their marketing, management, technology, and service functions into one effective strategy. First I'll discuss who Sun is and what encouraged them to develop their strategy.
Strategy implementation involves establishing programs and tactics to create a series of new organizational activities, budgets to allocate funds to the new activities, and procedures to handle the day-to-day details (Wheelen, Hunger, Hoffman, & Bamford, 2015). Essentially, after a company determines the direction of their program, it is the how that particular direction will be accomplished. It also answers the question of what resources must be moved or sold to meet the allocated budget. For example, Ford Motor Company set up a program with the sole purpose of discovering alternatives to the foam that was being used in the manufacturing of car seats (Ford Motor Company, n.d.). While this program has a great deal of potential, there are different aspects that would have to be measured and verified before it can be considered a successful course of action by the company.
Thompson, A. A., Strickland, A. J., & Gamble, J. E. (2008). Crafting & executing strategy: The quest for competitive advantage (16th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
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).
The lack of success at Omega, Inc. rested in the hands of an incompetent sales staff who were not informed of the company’s mission statement and goals. The staff received limited training on the jobs they were to perform. Omega was faced with the challenge of getting the employees to achieve their sales quotas. According to (Aguinis, 2007), “There are two important prerequisites required before a performance management system is implemented: knowledge of the organization’s mission and strategic goals and knowledge of the job in question.” The benefit of superior knowledge of the organization combined with clear and agreed upon mission and strategic goals of their unit would afford employees the opportunity to make contributions that will have a positive impact on the organization as a whole. In addition, one must possess the knowledge of the job in question to execute the tasks necessary to be done and how they should be done. This knowledge is obtained through a job analysis. Omega failed to implement strategic planning throughout all the franchises. According to Aguinis (2007), “Strategic planning allows an organizati...
The two phases of strategic thinking are (1) the understanding of mental functioning principle and how to produce a mental change in ourselves. The regular practice of strategic thinking which is the strategic pattern, from understanding to strategy and then from strategy to self-improvement, systematically improve our lives.
Strategy formulation is the process of establishing the firm's mission, goals, and choosing among alternative strategies or plans; it involves and implies that preparing the best approach to respond to the circumstances of a firm's environment, whether or not its conditions are known in advance; being strategic and tactical, then, means being clear about the management's aims; being aware of the company's resources, and incorporating both into being consciously responsive to a dynamic environment (SM, 2010). As nearly all businesses have limited resources, top leaders and management must determine which alternative plans or strategies will do well to the organization most; strategic management requires attention to the big picture and the motivation to adapt to circumstances, and consists of the following aspects:
That reminded me from the case study the director how to plays round of the company to succeed this Colombian Memorial Hospital. External control view of leadership, situations in which external forces where the leader has limited influence determine the organization 's success. Strategy, the ideas, decisions, and actions that enable a firm to succeed. competitive advantage firm 's resources and capabilities that enable it to overcome the competitive forces in its industries. Operational effectiveness, Performing similar activities better than rivals. Intend strategy, strategy in which organizational decisions are determined only by analysis. Realize strategy, strategy in which organizational decisions are determined by both analysis and unforeseen environmental developments, unanticipated resource limitations, and changes from managerial preferences. Strategy analysis studies of firms ' external and internal environments, and there with organizational vision and goals. Strategy formulation, decisions made by firms regarding investments, commitments, and other aspects of operations that create and sustain competitive advantage.
Strategic management is the “identification of one or more sustainable competitive advantages a firm has in the markets it serves (or intends to serve), and allocation of resources to exploit them” (Business Dictionary, 2016). In order for industries and organizations to thrive, they must have strategies in place and strategic management processes to stay competitive, profitable, attractive to stakeholders, and to sustain advantages that set them apart from other competitors (Barney & Hesterly, 2015). The strategic management process involves a set of procedures that lead to choosing a strategy that will eventually lead to competitive advantage (Barney & Hesterly, 2015). The six steps of the strategic management process involves defining