The Roles of Operation Strategy in Business

(8) In the 21st century, the environment changes faster than ever, new technology evolves day-by-day. The organizations are uncertain in this world as multinational companies might collapse disappear in short time. New competitors may appear at any time in this globalized world. Thus, the role of the strategy is more important than ever before.

There are different versions of definition for strategy, but (1) most of the definition of strategy emphasize that it involves with the overall direction in which the business is developing. (8) Strategy is defined as the plan used to achieve the long-term goals of the organization. (1) According to Johnson and Scholes, strategy is defined as the direction and long-term scope of an organization; which this definition is more towards the concept of development direction. (3) Mintzberg defined strategy in five different ways which consists of: plan (rules leading to a goal), ploy (trick to beat competitors), pattern (way of behaving), position (safe place) and perspective (vision or sets of assumption). (2) The business strategy is defined in the context of market positioning by Michael Porter, which comprised of differentiation, overall cost leadership, and focus on gaining competitive advantage. Andrew and Barney defined strategy as gaining competitive advantage with the available resources and capabilities. (8) For example, when Disney from cartoons to the entertainment industry, he needs to plan his strategies in order to achieve the goal.

(1) Strategic management and planning are important for the following reasons: (i) it provides a clear sense of direction for the business enterprise to establish a clear set of objectives and goals, (ii) when the company has expanded and grown more d...

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...eveloping capabilities).

In today’s world, operations are becoming more and more complex and time also became an issue. In order to survive in this challenging world, company should take into account during strategic planning the continuing strengthening of the global competition, the constantly changing environment, shortening life-cycles and the growth risks. It is recommended that company to build core competencies which are hard to copy for the competitors in order to achieve competitive advantages. Another possible solution of this is to increase the size of the company by acquisitions or internal growth and to joint strategic alliances. A successful company should not only be efficient with the complex use of the operation management methods, but should also continuously improve their effectiveness and also including the use of new methods and technologies.