...Strategy and Planning What is Strategy? The term ‘strategy’ proliferates in discussions of business. The term ‘strategy’ is derived from the Greek word ‘stratēgia’, which means the “art of the troop leader”: a plan, course of action, or a set of decisions creating a pattern or a common link. All the successful business enterprises today constantly take in new information about their markets, customers, and operating environments. Then, management uses that knowledge and data to shape new strategic directions, to reorganise how they respond to marketplace demands, and to ensure that their views regarding all aspects of the business are fresh and viable. Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long-term, which achieves advantage for the organisation through its configuration of resources within a challenging environment to meet the needs of markets and to fulfil stakeholder expectations. What is the difference between Tactics and Strategy? Strategy differs from tactics. Tactics are schemes for specific manoeuvres, whereas strategy is the overall plan for deploying resources to establish a favourable position. An organisation’s strategy consists of the combination of competitive moves and business approaches that managers employ to please customers and achieve organisational objectives. Strategy is a plan or course of action denoting a pattern which evolves a direction for the organisation. It relates to pursuing those activities which move an...
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...management, the set of decisions and actions that result in the design and activation of strategies to achieve the objectives of an organization. The chapter provides an overview of the nature, benefits, and terminology of and the need for strategic management. Subsequent chapters provide greater detail. The first major section of Chapter 1, “The Nature and Value of Strategic Management,” emphasizes the practical value and benefits of strategic management for a firm. It also distinguishes between a firm’s strategic decisions and its other planning tasks. The section stresses the key point that strategic management activities are undertaken at three levels: corporate, business, and functional. The distinctive characteristics of strategic decision making at each of these levels affect the impact of activities at these levels on company operations. Other topics dealt with in this section are the value of formality in strategic management and the alignment of strategy makers in strategy formulation and implementation. The section concludes with a review of the planning research on business, which demonstrates that the use of strategic management processes yields financial and behavioral benefits that justify their costs. The second major section of Chapter 1 presents a model of the strategic management process. The model, which will serve as an outline for the remainder of the text, describes approaches currently used by strategic planners. Its individual components are carefully...
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...Business Strategy Formulation: Theory, Process, and the Intellectual Revolution Anthony W. Ulwick QUORUM BOOKS Business Strategy Formulation Business Strategy Formulation Theory, Process, and the Intellectual Revolution Anthony W. Ulwick QUORUM BOOKS Westport, Connecticut • London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ulwick, Anthony W., 1957– Business strategy formulation : theory, process, and the intellectual revolution / Anthony W. Ulwick. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1–56720–273–X (alk. paper) 1. Strategic planning. I. Title. HD30.28.U44 1999 658.4'012—dc21 99–13714 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright ᭧ 1999 by Anthony W. Ulwick All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99–13714 ISBN: 1–56720–273–X First published in 1999 Quorum Books, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.quorumbooks.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Dedicated to my wife, Heather Lee, and our son, Anthony—my sources of love and inspiration. Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Intellectual...
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...INTRODUCTION: Strategy implementation is also referred to as strategy execution or strategy actualization. There is no universally accepted definition of strategy implementation. Reading through various scholarly works, one is able to identify three broad distinct conceptions of the term. Some authors view it as a sequence of carefully planned consecutive steps, a perspective which can be labeled a process perspective. The second approach treats strategy implementation as a series of concerted (but often parallel) actions and examines these actions from a behavior perspective. Some authors combine the process perspective and behavior or action perspective and form a third approach, which we label as a hybrid perspective. Under the process perspective, implementation is the process that turns plans into action assignments and ensures that such assignments are executed in a manner that accomplishes the plan’s stated objectives (Kotler, 1984). Strategy implementation is an iterative process of implementing strategies, policies, programs and action plans that allows a firm to utilize its resources to take advantage of opportunities in the competitive environment (Harrington, 2006). Under the behaviour perspective, implementation is the actions initiated within the organization and its relationships with external constituencies to realize the strategy (Varadarajan, 1999). Implementation is operationally defined as those senior-level leadership behaviors and activities that will transform...
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...ability to lead an organisation towards the achievement of its objectives. The tasks involved in exercising strategic leadership are typically to anticipate, envision, maintain flexibility and empower others to create strategic change as and when necessary. Strategic leaders are the lynchpin in the strategic management process. Among the strategic leaders, we have managers operating at different levels of an organisation: corporate-level, business-level, functional-level and operational-level. • Corporate-level managers include the chief executive officer (CEO), senior executives and the corporate staff. The corporate-level managers manage the strategic management process for the whole organisation. These managers may carry designations such as CEO, managing director, executive director or president. • Business-level managers are the strategic leaders at the business, division or SBU levels. These managers manage the strategic management process at the business-level. These may carry designations such as the general manager or vice-president. • Functional-level managers are the strategic leaders of a specific function such as marketing or operations. They are called marketing managers or operations managers. The functional managers manage the strategic management process at the functional level. • At the operational-level, there are managers who are responsible for the implementation of strategies within their assigned functional areas. They occupy positions such as deputy...
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...academia. Sometimes, strategic management is used to refer to strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation, with strategic planning referring only to strategy formulation. The purpose of strategic management is to exploit and create new and different opportunities for tomorrow; long-range planning, in contrast, tries to optimize for tomorrow the trends of today. Page: 5 102. Which stage in the strategic-management process is most difficult? Explain why. Strategy implementation is the most difficult stage in the strategic-management process because it requires personal discipline, commitment and sacrifice. Successful strategy implementation hinges upon managers’ ability to motivate employees, which is more of an art than a science. Page: 6 103. Explain the relationship between strategic management and competitive advantage for firms. How can a firm achieve sustained competitive advantage? Ans: Strategic management is all about gaining and maintaining competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is anything a firm does especially well compared to rival firms. When a firm can do something that rival firms cannot do, or owns something that rival firms desire, that can represent a competitive advantage. Getting and keeping competitive advantage is essential for long-term success of an organization. A firm must strive to achieve sustained competitive advantage by (1) continually adapting to changes in external trends and events...
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...leaders in strategic formulation and selection The role of leaders in implementing strategy The Naked CEO Preview Leaders are required to develop the strategy, drive the change and align the organisation’s structure, resources and culture with the strategy. There are various viewpoints about what actually constitutes the leadership, the qualities required and its level of importance. The purpose of this module is not to present and analyse these arguments, but to provide a practical approach based on the transformational leadership that focuses specially on the role of strategy and strategic leadership. Irrespective of the approach taken to strategic leadership, there exists an important distinction between leadership and management. A leader is primarily involved in: setting direction, aligning and communicating, and inspiring and motivating. A manager is primarily in charge of: planning and budgeting, organising and staffing, and controlling and problem solving. Objectives You should be able to: (1) describe the role of ethics and corporate social responsibility in leadership; (2) identify and discuss different approaches to strategy; (3) evaluate differences between leadership and management, and the importance of both in strategy; (4) examine and discuss the characteristics and attributes of leaders; (5) explain why leadership is important in strategy implementation; (6) describe the strategy nature of leadership, and its importance in the strategy process; (7) critically...
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...academia. Sometimes, strategic management is used to refer to strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation, with strategic planning referring only to strategy formulation. The purpose of strategic management is to exploit and create new and different opportunities for tomorrow; long-range planning, in contrast, tries to optimize for tomorrow the trends of today. Page: 5 102. Which stage in the strategic-management process is most difficult? Explain why. Strategy implementation is the most difficult stage in the strategic-management process because it requires personal discipline, commitment and sacrifice. Successful strategy implementation hinges upon managers’ ability to motivate employees, which is more of an art than a science. Page: 6 103. Explain the relationship between strategic management and competitive advantage for firms. How can a firm achieve sustained competitive advantage? Ans: Strategic management is all about gaining and maintaining competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is anything a firm does especially well compared to rival firms. When a firm can do something that rival firms cannot do, or owns something that rival firms desire, that can represent a competitive advantage. Getting and keeping competitive advantage is essential for long-term success of an organization. A firm must strive to achieve sustained competitive advantage by (1) continually adapting to changes in external trends and...
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...Business U n i v e r s i t y o f S o u t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a - L o s A n g e l e s, C A 9 0 0 8 9 – 0 8 7 1 (2 1 3) 7 4 0 - 9 8 1 4 FAX (213) 740-4354 http://ceo-marshall.usc.edu What Makes HR a Strategic Partner? Edward E. Lawler III Center for Effective Organizations University of Southern California 3415 S. Figueroa Street., #200 Los Angeles, CA 90089-0871 Tel: 213-740-9814 Email: elawler@marshall.usc.edu John W. Boudreau Center for Effective Organizations University of Southern California 1 What Makes HR a Strategic Partner? Edward E. Lawler III and John W. Boudreau Executive Summary For several decades, the HR function in corporations has been encouraged to become a strategic partner. Data from a longitudinal study of large corporations suggest that HR is not now a strategic partner and that little or no movement toward it becoming one has occurred. An analysis of what HR can do to become a strategic partner shows some clear actions that HR can take. These include talent development in HR, creating corporate centers of excellence, developing the right metrics and analytics, and perhaps most important, understanding how human capital management impacts business results. The results also show that there are a number of strategy activities that HR can be involved in and that to some degree, different factors influence how much HR is involved in each of them. 2 What Makes HR a Strategic Partner? Edward E. Lawler III and John W....
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...rdi resource development international Higher Nationals Module 8 Business Strategy © Resource Development International Consultants Ltd (RDI) All rights reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation, no part of this workbook may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, adapted, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior consent of one of the copyright owners. Initial enquiries should be addressed to RDI Consultants Ltd. The right of RDI as the authors of this workbook has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in 2003 for RDI Consultants Ltd RDI Midland Management Centre 1A Brandon Lane Coventry CV3 3RD rdi Business Strategy Contents How to use this workbook Introduction Unit 1 Strategic Planning Introduction Strategic contexts and terminology An evaluation of the strategy framework Differing approaches to strategy The planning process Strategic planning summary References 1.1 1.2 1.18 1.25 1.30 1.36 1.37 Unit 2 Strategy formulation Introduction Environment auditing Assessing current market position Strategic direction The internal audit The formulation of strategy Strategy formulation – summary References 2.1 2.2 2.7 2.24 2.34 2.49 2.52 2.53 Unit 3 Strategic implementation Introduction The realisation of strategic plans to operational reality Resource allocation Review and evaluation Unit summary Module summary References 3.1 3.2 3.14 3.25...
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...2 Strategic Management Strategic Management 2012 2012 1- Competitive Advantage When a firm sustains profits that exceed the average for its industry, the firm is said to possess a competitive advantage over its rivals. The goal of much of business strategy is to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Michael Porter identified two basic types of competitive advantage: * cost advantage * differentiation advantage A competitive advantage exists when the firm is able to deliver the same benefits as competitors but at a lower cost (cost advantage), or deliver benefits that exceed those of competing products (differentiation advantage). Thus, a competitive advantage enables the firm to create superior value for its customers and superior profits for itself. Cost and differentiation advantages are known as positional advantages since they describe the firm's position in the industry as a leader in either cost or differentiation. A resource-based view emphasizes that a firm utilizes its resources and capabilities to create a competitive advantage that ultimately results in superior value creation. The following diagram combines the resource-based and positioning views to illustrate the concept of competitive advantage: A Model of Competitive Advantage Resources | | | | | | Distinctive Competencies | | | Cost Advantage or Differentiation Advantage | | | Value Creation | | Capabilities | | | | | | ...
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...FROM WHOLESALE TO RETAIL: IMPROVING THE FORWARD VERTICAL INTEGRATION STRATEGY AT FRESHMARK (PTY.) LTD. A dissertation by BARTHOLOMEW CHARLES BENECKE Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER’S DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA) in the BUSINESS SCHOOL FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Supervisor: Prof. JA Watkins Co- Supervisor: V Naidoo May 2007 DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT “I hereby declare that this dissertation submitted for the degree Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) at the Tshwane University of Technology, is my own original unaided work and has not previously been submitted to any other institution or higher education. I further declare that all sources cited are cited or quoted are indicated or acknowledged by means of a comprehensive list of references” BARTHOLOMEW CHARLES BENECKE Copyright© Tshwane University of Technology 2006 ii DEDICATION “This study is dedicated to my God, and King, to whom I give praise for all the gifts and strength He has granted me, and to my love Jasmyn, for her steadfast support through this time. I will love you both forever.” iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I hereby wish to acknowledge the contribution of the following persons to the completion of this dissertation: ► To my parents for their love and support through all my years of study. Thank you for believing in me, even when I did not believe in myself. ► To Professor Watkins, for all his...
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...businesses Competitiveness: a companys ability to maintain and gain market share in its industry · Related to company effectiveness o Satisfies needs of stakeholders HRM help support business strategy and provide services the customers value. Value of a product: determined by its quality and how closely the product fits customers needs. HRM: policies, practices, and systems that influence employees behavior attitudes, and performance · “People practices” Strategic HRM consists of: HR Planning: analyzing and designing work, determining HR needs Recruiting: attracting potential employees · Interviewing, testing Selection: choosing employees Training and Development: teaching employees how to perform their jobs and preparing them for the future· Orientation, productivity enhancement Compensation: rewarding employees Performance Management: evaluating their performance Employee Relations: creating a positive work environment Effective HRM practices are strategic · enhances companies performance by contributing to employee and customer satisfaction, innovation, productivity Typically 1 HR employee for every 93 employees HR departments are considered a business within the company with three product lines: 1) Adminstrative Services and Transactions: o Compensation, hiring, staffing...
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...MCQ’S Chapter 1: Defining Marketing for the 21st Century 1. Good marketing is no accident, but a result of careful planning and ________. a. execution b. selling c. strategies d. tactics e. research Answer: a Page: 4 Level of difficulty: Medium 2. Marketing is both an “art” and a “science”—there is constant tension between the formulated side of marketing and the ________ side. a. creative b. selling c. management d. forecasting e. behavior Answer: a Page: 4 Level of difficulty: Easy 3. The most formal definition of marketing is ________. a. meeting needs profitably b. identifying and meeting human and social needs c. the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) d. an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering, value to customers, and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stake holders. e. improving the quality of life for consumers Answer: d Page: 6 Level of difficulty: Medium 4. Marketing management is ________. a. managing the marketing process b. monitoring the profitability of the companies products and services c. selecting target markets d. developing marketing strategies to move the company forward e. the art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping, and growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value Answer: e Page: 6 Level of difficulty: Easy 5. A transaction involves...
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...` Content Pg I. Introduction 1. Introduction 2 2. Objective 2 II. Executive Summary 3. Executive summary 2 III. Assignment 4. Task 1 Understanding the process of strategic planning 3 5. Task 2 Formulating a new strategy 11 6. Task 3 Approaching to strategy evaluation and selection 17 7. Task 4 Implementation a chosen strategy 20 IV. Conclusion and Reference 8. Conclusion 23 9. Reference 23 1. Introduction As Myanmar is at the time of third wave changing policy, the economy of Myanmar has increased massively very fast. So all the company, business and firms need to catch up with this and have to compete with the new comer foreign companies and business firms. " Star Engineering Group Company, Ltd " is also one of them and is being engaged with some problems within it. They are encountering with staff confusions, wastages, delays works, lack of motivation and conflicts. And expected sales and profit are often less than what corporate management wants to be. However, they take no interest in any audit and pay no attention to strategic planning of the organization. So I have to discuss with the corporate management how important is the business strategy, how to formulae a strategy, how to adopt approaches to strategy evaluation and how to implement it. 2. Objective * To understand...
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