Unit-I: Concept of Strategy: The Term Strategy Is Derived From A Greek Word
Unit-I: Concept of Strategy: The Term Strategy Is Derived From A Greek Word
Role of Strategists
Strategists are individuals or groups who are primarily involved in the
formulation,
implementation, and evaluation of strategy. In a limited sense, all managers
are strategists.
There are persons outside the organization who are also involved in various
aspects of strategic
management. They too are referred to as strategists. We can identify nine
strategists who, as
individuals or in groups, are concerned with and play a role in strategic
management.
1. Consultants
2. Entrepreneurs
3. Board of Directors
4. Chief Executive Officer
5. Senior management
6. Corporate planning staff
7. Strategic business unit (SBU) level executives
8. Middle level managers
9. Executive Assistant
Definition of Business Policy
Business Policy defines the scope or spheres within which decisions can be
taken by the subordinates in an organization. It permits the lower level
management to deal with the problems and issues without consulting top
level management every time for decisions. Business policies are the
guidelines developed by an organization to govern its actions. They define
the limits within which decisions must be made. Business policy also deals
with acquisition of resources with which organizational goals can be
achieved. Business policy is the study of the roles and responsibilities of top
level management, the significant issues affecting organizational success
and the decisions affecting organization in long-run.
Features of Business Policy
An effective business policy must have following features1.
Specific- Policy should be specific/definite. If it is uncertain, then the
implementation will become difficult.
2.
Clear- Policy must be unambiguous. It should avoid use of jargons and
connotations. There should be no misunderstandings in following the policy.
3.
Reliable/Uniform- Policy must be uniform enough so that it can be
efficiently followed by the subordinates.
4.
Appropriate- Policy should be appropriate to the present organizational
goal.
5.
Simple- A policy should be simple and easily understood by all in the
organization.
6.
Inclusive/Comprehensive- In order to have a wide scope, a policy must
be comprehensive.
7.
Flexible- Policy should be flexible in operation/application. This does
not imply that a policy should be altered always, but it should be wide in
scope so as to ensure that the line managers use them in repetitive/routine
scenarios.
8.
Stable- Policy should be stable else it will lead to indecisiveness and
uncertainty in minds of those who look into it for guidance.
Difference between Policy and Strategy
The term policy should not be considered as synonymous to the term
strategy. The difference between policy and strategy can be summarized
as follows1.
Policy is a blueprint of the organizational activities which are
repetitive/routine in nature. While strategy is concerned with those
organizational decisions which have not been dealt/faced before in same
form.
2.
Policy formulation is responsibility of top level management. While
strategy formulation is basically done by middle level management.
3.
Policy deals with routine/daily activities essential for effective and
efficient running of an organization. While strategy deals with strategic
decisions.
4.
Policy is concerned with both thought and actions. While strategy is
concerned mostly with action.
5.
A policy is what is, or what is not done. While a strategy is the
methodology used to achieve a target as prescribed by a policy.
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Strategic management is defined as the art and science of formulating,
implementing, and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable the
organization to achieve its objectives." Generally, strategic management is
not only related to a single specialization but covers cross-functional or
overall organization.
Strategic management is a comprehensive area that covers almost all the
functional areas of the organization. It is an umbrella concept of
management that comprises all such functional areas as marketing, finance
& account, human resource, and production & operation into a top level
management discipline. Therefore, strategic management has an importance
in the organizational success and failure than any specific functional areas.
Strategic management deals with organizational level and top level issues
whereas functional or operational level management deals with the specific
areas of the business.
Top-level managers such as Chairman, Managing Director, and corporate
level planners involve more in strategic management process.
Strategic management relates to setting vision, mission, objectives, and
strategies that can be the guideline to design functional strategies in other
functional areas
Therefore, it is top-level management that paves the way for other
functional or operational management in an organization
Definition:
The determination of the basic long-term goals & objectives of an enterprise
and the adoption of the course of action and the allocation of resources
necessary for carrying out these goals.
-Chandler
Strategic Management Concepts
Although the term strategic management is bantered around a lot in the
businesses world, it is not understood very well by most people. Essentially
strategic management answers the questions of where do you want your
business to go (goals), how is your business going to get there (strategy)
and how will you know when you get there (evaluation). A strategic
management analogy is taking a trip during your vacation. First you decide
where you want to go the natural beauty of Yellowstone or the bright lights
of Las Vegas. Then you develop a strategy of how to get there take an
airplane (which flights), drive your car (which highways), etc.
This will be influenced by the amount of money, time and Other resources
you have available. Then you monitor your trip to see if your strategy takes
you to your destination and how your strategy worked (missed Flights, poor
road conditions, etc.). Below are concepts to help expand your understand of
strategic management for a business. These will help sharpen your focus for
using Strategic Management for a Value-added Farm Business.
1) Strategic management involves deciding what is important for the longrange success of your business and focusing on it.
2) Strategic management asks, How should I position my business to meet
management and business goals?
3) A business strategy is a series of business decisions that lead to achieving
a business goal.
4) Strategic management involves the big picture of your business.
5) Strategic management involves planning, analyzing and implementing a
business strategy.
6) Strategic management is most effective if you can step back far enough
and say all things are possible.
7) The essence of strategic management is matching business resources to
market opportunities.
8) Strategic management involves seeking and identifying opportunities and
threats in the market and industry and the outside world in general.
9) Strategic management is based on the premise that all businesses are
not the same.
10) Strategic management involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses
of your business.
11) When assessing strengths and weaknesses, personal skills and abilities
are likely to be more important than business assets.
12) Strategic management involves looking into the future rather than
dwelling on the past.
13) Strategic management is proactive rather than reactive.
14) Strategic management involves anticipating change and taking
advantage of it.
15) Strategic thinking involves assessing how decisions made today will
affect my business in the future.
16) Strategic management is more of a state-of mind than a rigid process.
17) A military connotation of strategic management is it hasnt won every
war, but it has avoided a lot of ambushes.
18) Strategic management is most useful for businesses with unique or
differentiated products for niche, specialty or differentiated product Markets.
19) Strategic planning comes before business planning. Strategic planning is
used to identify and assess alternative business strategies. Business
planning is used to implement a business strategy.
20) Strategic planning is more words and less numbers than business
planning.
21) A strategic plan is a living document that changes as your goals and
resources evolve.
a) STRATEGIC INTENT
Strategic intent takes the form of a number of corporate challenges and
opportunities, specified as short term projects. The strategic intent must
convey a significant stretch for the company, a sense of direction, which can
be communicated to all employees.
It should not focus so much on today's problems, but rather on tomorrow's
opportunities. Strategic intent should specify the competitive factors, the
factors critical to success in the future.
Strategic intent gives a picture about what an organization must get into
immediately in order to use the opportunity. Strategic intent helps
management to emphasize and concentrate on the priorities. Strategic intent
is, nothing but, the influencing of an organizations resource potential and
core competencies to achieve what at first may seem to be unachievable
goals in the competitive environment.
b) Environmental Scan
The environmental scan includes the following components:
Analysis of the firm (Internal environment)
Analysis of the firm's industry (micro or task environment)
Analysis of the External macro environment (PEST analysis)
The internal analysis can identify the firm's strengths and weaknesses and
the external analysis reveals opportunities and threats. A profile of the
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is generated by means of
a SWOT analysis
An industry analysis can be performed using a framework developed by
Michael Porter known as Porter's five forces. This framework evaluates entry
barriers, suppliers, customers, substitute products, and industry rivalry.
c) Strategy Formulation
Strategy Formulation is the development of long-range plans for the effective
management of environmental opportunities and threats, in light of
corporate strengths & weakness. It includes defining the corporate mission,
specifying achievable objectives, developing strategy & setting policy
guidelines.
i) Mission
Mission is the purpose or reason for the organizations existence. It tells what
the company is providing to society, either a service like housekeeping or a
product like automobiles.
ii) Objectives
Objectives are the end results of planned activity. They state what is to be
accomplished by when and should be quantified, if possible. The
achievement of corporate objectives should result in the fulfillment of a
corporations mission.
iii) Strategies
Strategy is the complex plan for bringing the organization from a given
posture to a desired position in a future period of time.
d) Policies
A policy is a broad guide line for decision-making that links the formulation of
strategy with its implementation. Companies use policies to make sure that
employees throughout the firm make decisions & take actions that support
the corporations mission, objectives & strategy.
d) Strategy Implementation
It is the process by which strategy & policies are put into actions through the
development of programs, budgets & procedures. This process might involve
changes within the overall culture, structure and/or management system of
the entire organization.
i) Programs:
It is a statement of the activities or steps needed to accomplish a single-use
plan.
It makes the strategy action oriented. It may involve restructuring the
corporation, changing the companys internal culture or beginning a new
research effort.
ii) Budgets:
A budget is a statement of a corporations program in terms of dollars. Used
in planning & control, a budget lists the detailed cost of each program. The
budget thus not only serves as a detailed plan of the new strategy in action,
but also specifies through Performa financial statements the expected impact
on the firms financial future
iii) Procedures:
Procedures, sometimes termed Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) are a
system of sequential steps or techniques that describe in detail how a
particular task or job is to be done. They typically detail the various activities
that must be carried out in order to complete
e) Evaluation & Control
After the strategy is implemented it is vital to continually measure and
evaluate progress so that changes can be made if needed to keep the overall
plan on track.
This is known as the control phase of the strategic planning process. While it
may be necessary to develop systems to allow for monitoring progress, it is
well worth the effort. This is also where performance standards should be set
so that performance may be measured and leadership can make
adjustments as needed to ensure success.
Evaluation and control consists of the following steps:
i) Define parameters to be measured
ii) Define target values for those parameters
iii) Perform measurements
iv) Compare measured results to the pre-defined standard
v) Make necessary changes
STAKEHOLDERS IN BUSINESS
1.
Strategic Intent
An organizations strategic intent is the purpose that it exists and why it will
continue to exist, providing it maintains a competitive advantage. Strategic
intent gives a picture about what an organization must get into immediately
in order to achieve the companys vision. It motivates the people. It clarifies
the vision of the vision of the company. Strategic intent helps management
to emphasize and concentrate on the priorities. Strategic intent is, nothing
but, the influencing of an organizations resource potential and core
competencies to achieve what at first may seem to be unachievable goals in
the competitive environment. A well expressed strategic intent should
guide/steer the development of strategic intent or the setting of goals and
objectives that require that all of organizations competencies be controlled
to maximum value.
Strategic intent includes directing organizations attention on the need of
winning; inspiring people by telling them that the targets are valuable;
encouraging individual and team participation as well as contribution; and
utilizing intent to direct allocation of resources. Strategic intent differs from
strategic fit in a way that while strategic fit deals with harmonizing available
resources and potentials to the external environment, strategic intent
emphasizes on building new resources and potentials so as to create and
exploit future opportunities.
later stage the company can make its mission as 'Making money work for the
people' when they also include the non-traditional unit linked investment
products.
TOYOTA
Vision
-Toyota aims to achieve long-term, stable growth economy, the local
communities it
serves, and its stakeholders.
Mission
-Toyota seeks to create a more prosperous society through automotive
manufacturing.
IBM
Vision
Solutions for a small planet
Mission
At IBM, we strive to lead in the invention, development and manufacture of
the
industry's most advanced information technologies, including computer
systems,
software, storage systems and microelectronics.
We translate these advanced technologies into value for our customers
through our
professional solutions, services and consulting businesses worldwide.
Objectives
An organizations mission gives a framework or direction to a firm. The next
step in planning is focusing on establishing progressively more specific
organizational direction by setting objectives. An organizational objective is a
target toward which the organization directs its efforts. Objectives in
organizations, as shown in Figure exhibit a hierarchy.
The Board of Directors are more concerned with mission, purpose and overall
objectives. Middle managers are involved in key result areas (KRAs), division
and department objectives. At the lower level, group personal objectives are
set. The objectives can be top down or bottom up taking the initiative from
lower management.
Easily measured
Tangible
Objectives must meet certain criteria to be worthwhile and useful. One
method for developing and selecting objectives is the SMART approach.
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Timely
Role of Objectives
Objective define the organizations relationship with its environment.
Objectives help an organization pursue its vision and mission.
Objective provide the basic for strategic decision making.
Objective provide the standard for performance appraisal.
Characteristics of Objectives
Objective should be concrete and specific.
Objectives should be understandable.
Objectives should be related to a time frame.
Objectives should be measurable and controllable.
Different objectives should correlate to each other.
Objectives should be set within constratints.
Issues in Objective setting
Specificity
Multiplicity
Periodicity
Verifiability
Reality
Quality
Objectives of IOC
To serve the national interests in oil and related sectors in accordance and
consistent with Government policies.
To ensure maintenance of continuous and smooth supplies of petroleum
products by way of crude oil refining, transportation and marketing activities
and to provide appropriate assistance to consumers to conserve and use
petroleum products efficiently.
To enhance the country's self-sufficiency in crude oil refining and build
expertise in laying of crude oil and petroleum product pipelines.
Objectives of TATA Motors
TATA said that the initial target production volume would be 250,000 cars per
annum on two shifts, expandable to 350,000 per annum on three shifts.
In earlier media interviews, Ratan Tata talked about a one million production
target by 2010
Consumer focus
reports that the car conforms with environmental protection, and will have
the lowest
emissions in India.
Product focus
Model versions
The basic Tata Nano Std priced at 123,000 Rupees has no extras;
The deluxe Tata Nano CX at 151,000 Rupees has air conditioning;
The luxury Tata Nano LX at 172,000 Rupees has air conditioning, power
windows, fabric seats and central locking
Tata Motors will offer a version of the Nano with these safety-features,
Including an airbag system in its electric version. The Nano has an all sheetmetal body made from
Japanese and Korean steel, with safety features such as crumple zones,
intrusion-resistant doors, seat-belts, strong seats and anchorages, and the
rear tailgate glass bonded to the body. Tires are tubeless
Introducing the car with an artificially low price through government
subsidies and tax-breaks
Critical Success Factors
Critical success factors (CSFs) have been used significantly to present or
identify a few key factors that organizations should focus on to be successful.
As a definition, critical success factors refer to "the limited number of areas
in which satisfactory results will ensure successful competitive performance
for the individual, department, or organization (Rockart and Bullen, 1981).
Goals should be:
Derived from the mission statement,
time sensitive goals should be set with a timeframe for achievement,
formulated to achieve the mission and vision,
broad in scope, but easily understood, clear and concise,
realistic and achievable based on the resources,
measurable, so they can be tracked and evaluated as to whether they have
been achieved,
goals should be outcomes focused.
Developing objectives to achieve goals is essential for several reasons:
provides the target at which to aim so that all activities and efforts will be
focused on achieving the objective,
gives participants direction to where theyre going,
provides a step-by-step guide to reaching the goal,
provides means to evaluate the progress of achieving a goal,
motivates leaders and teams to successfully complete an objective,
because it is measurable.