... Multiple Choice Questions 1. | Managers in all types of businesses must address the central strategic question A. | Where are we now? | B. | Where do we want to go from here? | C. | How are we going to get there? | D. | When will we know we are there? | E. | All of these | | 2. | A company's strategy consists of A. | actions to develop a more appealing business model than rivals. | B. | plans involving alignment of organizational activities and strategic objectives. | C. | offensive and defensive moves to generate revenues and increase profit margins. | D. | competitive moves and approaches that managers have developed to grow the business, attract and please customers, conduct operations, and achieve targeted objectives. | E. | its strategic vision, its strategic objectives, and its strategic intent. | | 3. | The competitive moves and business approaches a company's management is using to grow the business, compete successfully, attract and please customers, conduct operations, respond to changing economic and market conditions, and achieve organizational objectives is referred to as its A. | strategy. | B. | mission statement. | C. | strategic intent. | D. | business model. | E. | strategic vision. | | 4. | A company's strategy is most accurately defined as A. | management's approaches to building revenues, controlling costs, and generating an attractive profit. | B. | management's...
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...strategies of all the SMEs were classified into the following four: * Modularizing * Appending * Innovating * Following After the responses were computed, it was found out that modularizing and appending does not really exist, but there is another one which has been prevailing the manufacturing SMEs. It is known as Customer Oriented Strategy. So, now there is three types in total which are COS, INS and FOS. The results did not show any correlation with modularizing and appending and hence, were dropped off. Lessons Learnt: * Activities within the supply chain must be Customer Based. SMEs should be Customer Oriented. They should try to satisfy the customer needs. * Understanding customers’ need knowing how to satisfy them, is a key. * Every supply chain must have a Customer strategy. But this is going to be different for every supply chain company because every company is going to adopt a different approach. Article 2: Open Innovation in Practice: An Analysis of Strategic Approaches to Technology Transactions Summary: This article examines the two major strategic approaches towards technology transactions mentioned below: 1. Closed Innovation: where the company creates and manages its own technology internally, not relying on external sources 2. Open Innovation: where the...
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...PART I THEORY, SCHOOLS AND PRACTICE 1 Schools of Thought in Strategic Management: Fragmentation, Integration or Synthesis Tom Elfring and Henk W. Volberda Over the last thirty years, strategic management has become established as a legitimate field of research and managerial practice (Shrivastava, 1986: 363). In the evolution of strategy research, a diversity of partly competitive and partly supplementary paradigms have emerged. To provide an unequivocal definition would mean ignoring the versatility of strategic management. The choice of a definition and the application of specific strategic management techniques is greatly dependent on which paradigmatic schools of thought in strategic management one prefers. In this book, we will therefore review the various schools of thought and their contribution to the theory and practice of strategy. A school of thought is understood to be the range of thought of a specific group of researchers, which has crystallized within the field of strategic management (Brown, 1993). In other words, a school of thought can be seen as an institutionalized paradigm. Besides reflecting on the variety of schools in strategy, we will also sketch out new promising directions in strategy research and practice. Although some strategy scholars have argued that the achieved multiformity in schools of thought signifies an enrichment of the research within the field of study (cf. Mahoney, 1993), other scholars from related disciplines complain about...
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...Strategic management, corporate responsibility and stakeholder management Integrating corporate responsibility principles and stakeholder approaches into mainstream strategy: a stakeholder-oriented and integrative strategic management framework Takis Katsoulakos and Yannis Katsoulacos Takis Katsoulakos is a Director at INLECOM Ltd, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, UK. Yannis Katsoulacos is a Professor at Athens University of Economics and Business, Athens, Greece. Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this article is to establish a strategic management framework that supports the integration of corporate social responsibility principles and stakeholder approaches into mainstream business strategy. Design/methodology/approach – A top-down and bottom-up approach was used to develop the proposed framework. The top-down approach focused on analyzing the main strategic management theories including social responsibility movements to identify complementary concepts and create a relevant topology. The bottom-up approach was based on empirical research on the views of business companies on corporate social responsibility, a review of best practices and case studies mainly in Greece. Findings – The paper describes a stakeholder-oriented integrative strategic management framework linking the main strategic management theories across value, responsiveness and responsibility dimensions. A mathematical model is presented describing the synergistic development of advantage-creating knowledge and...
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...practices and procedures found in both manufacturing and service delivery firms. It will focus on those business processes and procedures used to transform various inputs into finished goods and services. The value added aspects of Operations Management such as purchasing, material requirements planning, inventory control and project management are also covered. 3. Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of the module the students will be able to: describe how organisations can reduce waste and improve quality. explain the impact and importance of the customer-supplier-competitor relationship within business operations. apply quantitative tools and techniques for planning, predicting, measuring and monitoring operations. base strategic decisions on information derived from these tools and techniques. understand the relationship between operations and each of the other major business functions such as Marketing, Human Resources, Finance. describe how operations strategies can enhance the effectiveness of the business. recognise the importance of accurately predicting demand and adjusting capacity in response to demands 4. Indicative Content • Design of production and information systems • Just-in-time/lean production...
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...workplace and to demonstrate your strategic skills to the CEO. You will share some of the essential strategic and administrative steps for this important function of Human Resources and will include metrics for which to evaluate the recruitment and selection approach that will be implemented. The situation: Suppose that you are the new HR Director at HSS (the case study presented in our Course Resources under modules) and you have already made a presentation to the CEO and the Board of Directors on the need for HR planning and and enhanced strategic role that HR must play in the organization. After that presentation, and having read the research on managing human resources strategically that you have presented (assignment 2 literature review), the CEO confides that she has been thinking about how the senior staff in the organization are recruited and selected. As a result, she has asked you to propose new recruitment and selection methods for the senior level employees. Deliverable: The CEO's directive to you is to prepare a short (approximately five-page double spaced) proposal that includes at the least: 1. A cover memo to the CEO providing an overview of the task assigned and a summary of your proposal 2. A description of at least three recruitment approaches that could be considered 3. A description of at least three selection approaches that could be considered 4. A cost/benefit analysis and comparison of the approaches of both the recruitment and selection...
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...Abstract Strategic human resource management (SHRM) has emerged as a significant issue in tandem with the increasing focus being given by the companies to strategy. Faced with an accelerating changing and unsteady environment, the response of the corporation has been to attempt to create a sound internal configuration that includes human resource management (HRM) systems. The key to providing an effective response is to have an HRM system attuned to strategic requirements. The philosophical and academic bases for SHRM, proposed during the past three decades, have followed differing paths. This project attempts to bring together the differing approaches to SHRM and presents a consolidation and evaluation of these viewpoints. A discussion highlights the problem of semantics and pinpoints the controversies and contradictions implicit in the different viewpoints. This project underscores the emerging area of agreement viz. the increasing emphasis on the strategic nature of HRM and considering human resource as a strategic resource to be used to create and sustain a competitive edge for organizations. Definition Strategic Human Resource Management is essential to every firm and organization to define its plans and strategies on how the company vision and goals should be aligned and attained through people. It is founded on the following propositions: 1- Human resources is a key source of competitive advantage 2- Employees are those who implement the strategic plans 3- A...
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...Strategic Management (BUSM 3200) – Oct 2013 Exam Questions Review – Key Points and References (Part A) (Prepared by Geoffrey da Silva) ------------------------------------------------- Note: this set of notes is provided as guidelines as to how you should go about to prepare YOUR OWN set of study notes for exam revision. Remember these are just GUIDELINES or short bullet points advising you what could be the approach to answering the questions and the sources you can extract the information from – BOTH the text and the lecture notes (GDS version only). You have ALREADY been advised by the course coordinator that these questions are just samples and are NOT to be construed as spotted questions for the coming examination. These are just good “practice questions” that you should use for purposes of revising your topics. Please make sure that you study widely around the chapter topics and DO NOT assume that the questions below will be set directly as they are in the coming examination. Remember this – study the topic but never study the question. The questions below could be set differently but topics could be similar. Blank spaces are provided under each of the drafts so that you can add in your own research and examples. Good luck in your preparations. Note: these are brief points; use this word document to work with your team/groups to insert your own points and examples. I provide the template only! 1. Describe the four ways of strategic thinking (or lenses). Give examples...
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...learning in the other three compulsory segments, Ethics and Governance, Financial Reporting and Strategic Management Accounting. In the increasingly complex business environment in which organisations operate, characterised by change, uncertainty and escalating competition, the disciplines of strategy and leadership have become critical to successful organisational performance. The aim of this segment is to link the knowledge of management and financial accounting to the concepts of strategy and leadership. Accountants use a variety of technical information to make decisions for the future of the business within an ethical framework of operation. This segment shows that accounting information, ethics, strategy and leadership are applicable to accountants working throughout the world in diverse organisations. As discussed in Ethics and Governance, accounting as a profession is respected internationally and CPAs are employed worldwide. The segment materials address the needs of candidates operating in different international markets in varying roles. This segment builds upon knowledge gained in the other three compulsory segments of the professional level. The concepts of professional ethics and good governance underpin the segment. Candidates who have previously undertaken the Advanced Audit and Assurance or Strategic Management Accounting segments will be familiar with the use and application of Porter’s five forces model. Those candidates who have studied Strategic Management Accounting...
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...Chapter 8 Strategic Planning and Ten–Ten Planning To be strategic is to have plans of action that provide directions for operating in an uncertain world. In this section, our focus is on developing strategic plans to compete in a world characterized by monopolistic competition. Notice that the emphasis is on plans of action and not on a single plan. There is no single plan or single planning approach that can deal with the complexity of contemporary markets. What is needed is a continuous process for churning out new plans, for differentiated products and services, in order to compete in a dynamic environment. This chapter presents a brief overview of the various approaches to strategic planning and provides an overview of the planning literature. There is a lot of material to slog through, but each approach to planning has something to offer. This overview will set the stage for presenting the Ten–Ten planning process in the next chapter. The next chapter will integrate the various planning approaches and present a simplified, yet robust approach to planning called the Ten–Ten planning process. The key benefit of the Ten–Ten planning process is that it can be used for developing business plans in a very short time span. 8.1 Planning Concepts There are two generic planning strategies that a business can pursue.Michael Porter originally identified three generic strategies. He noted that a business can also focus on a market that is not very competitive. Most people consider...
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...Strategic Human Resources Management What is meant by a strategic approach to HRM? How can a strategic approach to HRM be a source of competitive advantage to an enterprise? Illustrate your view by reference to relevant literature and case studies drawn from GSN406 course materials. “The most powerful of the strategic configurations of power remains people... you must work on developing an organizational espirit de corp that aligns the hearts and minds of your staff with the aims of the business”. (Boar 1997, p. 196) Acronyms used in this paper: HR Human resources HRM Human Resources Management SCA Sustainable Competitive Advantage SHRM Strategic Human Resources Management Student: Jason D Bingham Student no.: Unit: GSN406 HR Management Issues Assessment: 1 (15% weighting) Word limit (( 1000) 1047 (excl. list of references etc.) Lecturer: Due date: Friday 25 May 2001 Table of contents 1.0 Introduction 1 2.0 Definitions 1 2.1 Human Resource Management 1 2.2 Strategic management 1 2.3 Competitive advantage 1 3.0 Strategic approaches to HRM 1 4.0 How SHRM can provide competitive advantage 2 5.0 Validation of SHRM: Case studies of successful firms 3 ...
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...Rochford California State University San Marcos Abstract The article “Making the Most of Foreign Factories”, written by Kasra Ferdows discusses how companies can and should obtain the full potential of their factories abroad. She begins by stating that there are two approaches to manufacturing and a factory’s importance to the company is based on the approach the manager of the factory takes. She also exclaims how she thinks the gap between companies that treat their foreign factories as a source of competitive advantage and those that do not is widening. Next, Ferdows discusses the three current realities of global business. She follows by illustrating the six categories that foreign factories fall into and the strategic matrix, which is used to help manager’s move factories along the matrix. Then she describes the managerial approaches used to upgrade the strategic roles of factories. She exclaims how choosing the right type of manager at each kind of factory is extremely important to the growth of that factory. She ends her article by describing the obstacles and temptations that stand in the way of a factories proper growth. Ferdows begins her article by arguing that companies take two approaches when handling their foreign factories. The company either views manufacturing as a competitive advantage or they do not. She begins by stating that most companies do not utilize the full potential of their factories in other countries. These factories were constructed mainly...
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...for the best paper of the decade in Strategic Management Review (A resource-based view of the firm, 1984). Considering the fortune of the article among practicing managers (Wernerfelt, 1995), he admitted that such a fortune had been leveraged by the 1990 article of Prahalad and Hamel in Harvard Business Review (“The Core Competence of the Corporation”). Directly addressed to people in management and strategy, this article was clearly prescriptive as to the best way to set winning strategies for the firm, especially as to diversification and the abusive use of SBUs (Strategic Business Units) in highly decentralized profit centres. “In the 1990s, top executives will be judged on their ability to identify, cultivate, and exploit the core competencies that make growth possible”. Since the 1990s, the resource based view (RBV) and the core competence approach (CCA) became very attractive for many researchers and consultants. Such interest was well supported by what seemed to be a clear and superior way of setting strategies by large Japanese groups which frequently served as a benchmark case of core competence management. The strong and pervasive trends for continuous technological innovation and for technological alliances created also a rich context for the use of RBV and CCA to strategy. Analysis and theory were tempted to move from transaction costs to resources or competences or capabilities sometime in a fuzzy way in interpreting strategic moves in the context of alliances and...
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...different alignment approaches, with the aim of discovering similarity, maturity, and capability to measure, model asses and evolves the alignment level existing among business and technological assets of an enterprise. The top research issue for currently is the alignment between business processes and supporting software system. For the first time the issue was mention in the 1970 and then several studies and researches were conducted focused the alignment concerns. Actually this paper is aiming to review a proper analysis which considering the alignment topics. From the view of the business and technological alignment, it focuses on the degree of the information technology mission, objectives and plans, support and is supported by the business mission, objective and plans. To looking how the organization can achieve alignment, the traditional approaches have been used, however only a little contribution about how to identify and correct misalignment. To complete the alignment strategies, the modeling and measurement is a must. The phase of modeling is about the various entitled the alignment concept and the links between business and IT entities. Measurement of the alignment degree existing between the chosen assets for establishing if there is any improvement. The alignment is supported by an automatic support where it’s all the processes. There is several approaches was proposed to address issue from modeling to measurement. The approaches are Strategic Alignment Model (SAM)...
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...Articles Building a Culture That Encourages Strategic Thinking Ellen F. Goldman1 and Andrea Casey1 Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies 17(2) 119–128 © Baker College 2010 Reprints and permission: http://www. sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1548051810369677 http://jlos.sagepub.com Abstract The ability to think strategically is critical for leaders and managers at multiple organizational levels. Specific work experiences can contribute to the development of an individual’s strategic thinking ability. Culture, among other organizational factors, can either encourage or limit those contributions. Leaders, as culture constructors and transformers, can act to maximize the relationship between organizational culture and the process of learning to think strategically. A cadre of formal training, developmental activities, and self-directed learning initiatives can provide leaders with the skills to enhance the strategic thinking of those they lead. Keywords strategic thinking, management learning, leadership development, organizational culture “Culture eats strategy for lunch.” This management truism is linked to examples of how strategy failed, acknowledging that actions attempted were inconsistent with the organization’s values, beliefs, and assumptions (Weeks, 2006). The strategy-eating potential of culture has been used as the basis for recommending that leaders initiate large-scale change efforts to align culture with strategy. However, it has...
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