conducting a strategic audit

Conducting a Strategic Audit http://www.albany.edu/~pm157/audit.html http://faculty.uwstout.edu/adekolaa/STRAMGT/powerpoints/Wal-Mart%20-%202000.ppt#256,1,Wal-Mart – 2000

One purpose of this course is to train you to assess an organization’s strategy. Part of your skill development is utilizing knowledge to address the real problems of a business organization. At the same time, technology is increasing your ability to obtain information rapidly from multiple sources. Being able to gather and use such information will become a competitive necessity for anyone in business and management. To prepare you for this, we used information technologies to analyze, discuss, and present business issues throughout the semester.

To achieve these, you will form a group. While some information may be obtained from library research, field work, or direct interviews, it is expected that you will extensively use the Internet to integrate the diverse information from a top-management perspective. Each team will present its findings and recommendations to the class during the final sessions. They may then make changes for their final written report. Please consider these eight dimensions in formulating a unified, comprehensive, and integrated set of decisions that attains organization purpose.

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Step 1: Situation Assessment

• What is our purpose? What is our "strategic intent"?

• How do we rank in our business and why?

• What is our fiscal condition and why?

• What is the relationship between the business strategy, organization environment, and overall performance?

• What is our sustainable competitive advantage? What core competencies do we posess?

• What are our strengths? Do we use these fully?

• What are our weaknesses? How can we solve or mitigate these?

• What are our opportunities? How can we exploit these?

• What are the threats to us? What can we do about them?

Step 2: Strategic Managers

• What is our strategic vision?

• Do the executives possess the right leadership skills and abilities?

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...; What are the expected fiscal results?

• What are the feasible alternatives to these activities?

Step 7: Implementation

• What resources will this action plan require from finance, human resources, marketing, operations, and other functional areas and departments?

• What changes will have to occur for us to be successful in 2 to 5 years?

• Are there other organizations or individuals we might collaborate with?

• What training is necessary?

Step 8: Performance Evaluation and Control

• When and how will we evaluate performance?

• What are the desired quantitative and qualitative measurements of success?

• Will this strategy justify the needed time and resources?

• Can we afford it?

• Realistically, can we implement this action plan?

• Have we included all supporting programs?

• Can we clearly establish accountability?