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.
In Cynthia Montgomery’s the book “The Strategist”, she explains that becoming a strategist is an essential component of a leader, and this book provides a strategic framework where it is easy to understand. Throughout the book, she emphasizes that a good strategy starts with a strategic leadership, a compelling purpose, and a system of value creation, and she believes that a leader and a strategist in inseparable. I agree with this because a leader guides the company to find its purpose and mission, and this is what a strategist is good at as well. Therefore, a leader should be a strategist who apply strategic management in its corporations or organizations. Throughout the book, Montgomery illustrates many real life examples regarding to the importance of strategy plays in the success of a business, such as Masco’s failure in its expansion through furniture manufacturing. She also emphasizes that a strategist or a leader must understand the purpose of a company exist in order to success. Then, she analyzes practical models such as five forces to help the reader understand how these model connect to strategy as a whole. Her “Strategy Wheel” framework is a viable tool that could help the business leader in developing their strategies. Through many business cases that Montgomery explains such as Masco, Ikea, Walmart and Gucci, these cases are an excellent
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.
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).
Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach offers the following actions to help you learn how to think strategically. #1 Critically assess and examine the existing situation or the "status quo. " In order to acquire strategic thinking skills you must closely examine how things have always been done and then determine if that is the way things should be done. Strategic thinkers always are willing to look outside of the "status quo" or the "we've always done it that way" mindset to discover more efficient and creative ways of finding solutions, reaching goals and getting things
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 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.
Additionally, understood the strategy implementation, actions made by firms that carry out the formulated strategy, including strategic controls, organizational design, and leadership. environmental
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
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...