Journal Critic

A requirement for MMBA 204

Strategic Management
Second Semester AY 2018-2019

Submitted by: Corine Joy S. Tapo

Submitted to: Dr. Harrison T. Villanueva
FORMAT FOR JOURNAL ARTICLE CRITIQUE

1. Brief description of the authors

2. Problems
 What kind of problems is the author or are the authors concerned with describing or
explaining?
3. Objectives of the study
 What is/are the objective(s) of the study?
4. Methodology
 By what methods do they think such knowledge can be acquired or applied?
 What is the research design?
 What/who are the source of information/data?
 What is the data gathering method?
5. Key concepts
 What are the key concepts applied?
 In terms of identification of variables
 In terms of data gathering method
 In terms of data analysis and interpretation
 In terms of relationships among variables
6. Findings
 What kind of data do they collect?
 What are their major contributions?
 More descriptive information about a phenomenon
 A new conceptual scheme (useful way of thinking) for investigation and research,
improved practice, or both?
 A new method or a refinement of an old one?
 New findings (empirical generalizations, correlations, statements that a significant
relationship exists between X and Y, causal relations?
 A new theoretical explanation for the finding?
7. Weaknesses of the study
 What are the weaknesses of their work?
 How might these weaknesses be addressed?
8. Possible future researches
 From the article, what possible future researches can be drawn out?
The Implementation of Authentic Sustainable Strategies: i-SITE Middle Managers,
Employees and the Delivery of 100% Pure New Zealand

1. The authors are Jeremy Morrow and Simon Mowatt. Jeremy is a lecturer at Auckland
University of Technology Business School while Simon Mowatt is the Head of
Department for International Business, Strategy and Entrepreneurship and leader of the
Business and Labour History Group within the New Zealand Work Research Institute.

2. The authors wanted to examine the processes by which 100% Pure New Zealand is
translated into action by middle managers and employees at the point of contact with
consumers at i-SITEs.

3. The objective of the study is to investigate how is the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign
translated into authentic sustainable management strategies at i-SITEs and to examine
how the i-SITE management and front-line employees understand, engage with and
implement the strategy.

4. The research employs interpretivist and qualitative data collection and analysis to capture
the viewpoints of the individual managers and employees. Two approaches were made, a
primary approach is using multiple case studies employed semi-structured interview
frame. It was constructed to create consistency between interviews, allowing for a high
degree of focus and the avoidance of data overload. The second approach is through the
observation of i-SITE buildings, where the tourists interact with the 100% Pure brand, to
examine the physical embodiment of sustainability practices that demonstrated the
relationship between the aspiration and obtainment of Qualmark Enviro awards. Four (4)
i-SITEs within the top ten (10) regions by tourism expenditures in the North Island were
chosen using typical sampling. A purposeful sample selected the i-SITE manager and two
(2 )or three (3) front-line employees, resulted to 10 employees in total, with homogenous
job description of information consultant.

5. This study was conducted to examine the processes by which 100% Pure New Zealand is
translated into action by middle managers and employees at the point of contact with
consumers at i-SITEs. Four (4) i-SITEs within the top Ten (10) regions by tourism
expenditure in the North Island where chosen using typical sampling. Ten employees
where interviewed. Thematic, interpretivist and qualitative data collection and analysis
was employed.

6. The researchers discovered that the councils are the one who administer i-SITE budgets
and managers and one of the council blocked the process inside their i-SITE for
suggesting, creating and implementing sustainable strategies, resulting in some
participant indicating a workplace feeling of apathy and lack of responsibility. This
 indicated that barriers to sustainability strategies emanate from unclear communication
and limited opportunities for participation to embed sustainable policies.

7. The weakness of the study is that they only interviewed four (4) i-SITEs with a total of
ten (10) respondents. It would be more accurate if they increased the number of i-SITEs
and gathered respondents from other location instead of focusing only on the North
Island.

8. The possible research that can be drawn out from the article is: The Process by which
Authentic Sustainable Strategies is Translated into Action by Middle Managers and
Employees in Solano.
Management Framework Guiding Strategic Thinking in Rapidly Changing Markets

1. The authors are David W. Cravens, Nigel F. Piercy and Artur Baldauf. David is the
professor of Marketing and the Eunice and James L. West chair of American Enterprise
at Texas Christian University. His research has primarily focused on international or
global marketing strategies, new products and sales force performance. Nigel F. Piercy is
a consultant and independent researcher, who was previously professor of marketing and
strategy associate dean at the University of Warwick. His current research focuses on
strategic sales management and the development of new distribution models and Artur
Baldauf is a professor of management at the University of Bern. He has focused on two
fundamental research qustions: What does it take to continue to build successful
organizations? And what is required for leaders to continue to be successful? Answering
these questions led Artur baldauf to develop several frameworks that guide organizations
and individuals.

2. The researches wanted to develop a management framework to guide strategic thinking in

rapidly changing markets.

3. The objective of the study is to be able to develop a revised conceptual framework to

guide strategic thinking in rapidly changing markets.

4. The researchers collected data through research from different published researches,
books and journals. No survey was conducted.

5. This journal article was conducted to develop a revised conceptual framework to guide
strategic thinking in rapidly changing markets. The data was gathered through thorough
research from published books, journals and researches conducted by other authors.

6. The researchers were able to develop a new conceptual framework to guide strategic
thinking in rapidly changing markets from the data gathered from different areas of the
conceptualization.

7. The weakness of the study is that the framework that was developed wasn’t tested in a
real market situation. The framework’s effectivity would be proven if it was tested in a
real market condition by different business in different industry.

8. The possible research that can be drawn out from this study is: The Effectiveness of the
Management Framework Guiding Strategic Thinking in Rapidly Changing Markets in
Bayombong.
Strategies for Managing Hospitality in a Turbulent Environment: Nigerian Experience
1. The authors are Austin O. Oparanma, Donald I. Hamilton and Seth Accra Jaja. Austin O.
Oparanma is a senior lecturer in Rivers State University of Science and Technology,
Department of Management and a Departmental PGD Coordinator with years of broad
experiences in Nigeria and USA businesses. Donald I. Hamilton is a professor of
business policy and strategy and dean of the faculty of management sciences in Rivers
State University. Seth Accra Jaja is a professor of management and former dean in
faculty of management science. He is adjunct professor of University of Port Harcourt
and external examiner to several universities.

2. The researchers wanted to test if there is no significant relationship between business

organization and its environment of operation, and if the impact of the external
environment has no significant relationship with business strategy.

3. The objective of the study is to examine strategies involved in managing a business in a

turbulent environment in the hospitality industry.

4. Data were obtained through survey questionnaires. The respondents are two hundred
forty (240) informed hotel workers from popular five-star hotel namely: Hotel
Presidential, Novotel, Protea, and Franklin suites. Sixty (60) respondents from each
named hotel was chosen in a random manner. A total of 200 questionnaire was retrieved
and data gathered were organized and tabulated using percentages and tables.

5. The study was conducted to test the hypothesis regarding the relationship between
business organization and its environment, and the impact of external environment in
business strategy. Survey questionnaires was given to 240 hotel workers in 4 five-star
hotel but only 200 was retrieved. The questionnaire that was retrieved was 200. Data
gathered were organized and tabulated using simple percentages and tables.

6. The findings state that hospitality industries can be operated in any form of environment
with analysis of external environment is necessary to determine the strategy to be used to
be successful in the operation on businesses in hospitality industry.

7. The weakness of the study is that the respondents’ position in the business are not
identified. The respondents should be the people who are responsible in formulating,
implementing and evaluating of strategies in the hospitality industry.

8. The possible research that can be drawn out from the study is: The impact of Rice
Tariffication Law on the Rice Farming Business in Solano.
 Business Strategic Decision Making: The Role and Influence of Directors

1. The authors are James Kelly and John Gennard. James Kelly is a Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineer and a senior lecturer in the department of human resource
management at the University of Strathclyde while John Gennard is an emeritus professor
of University of Strathclyde. He served as dean of Strathclyde Business School and
published widely in the field of industrial relations, publishing over dozens of books as
well as numerous journal articles.

2. The author wanted to examine the role and influence of directors in business strategic
decision making.

3. The objective of the study is to examine the locus of strategic decision making in an
organization and the role and influence of directors in business strategic decision making.

4. The data was gathered through semi-structured interviews conducted with 72 directors
employed in 49 organizations. 50 directors operated at the headquarters of the
organization and a further 22 at divisional or business unit levels. Out of the 72 directors,
30 were Human Resource Directors, 21 were Finance Directors and 21 were Marketing
Directors. 10 Human Resource Directors were employed in the manufacturing sector and
20 were employed in the service sector. The Finance Directors and Marketing Directors
were employed equally in the service and manufacturing sectors.

5. This study was conducted to examine the locus of strategic decision making in an
organization and the role and influence of directors in business strategic decision making.
In doing so, 72 directors were interviewed. The research is a qualitative study and the
interviews obtained data on the job title, tasks and responsibilities of the interviewee, the
location of strategic decision-making forums within their employing organizations, the
membership of such forums and the focus of the forums if they are business or
management function centered.

6. It is stated in the findings that business strategies are normally formulated, integrated and
implemented at the Chief Executive Officer Group level (CEOG) and not in the main
board. The role of the Directors is to question, amend or approve the strategy formulated
by CEOG. Senior executives are not members of the board or the CEOG but there are
number of informal channels through which they can influence the formulation of an
organization’s business strategy. These informal channels could include direct access to
the CEO, having and office proximity to the CEO or by invitation from the CEO.

7. The weakness of the study is that out of 72, only 26 of the respondents were members of
the organization’s of the board of directors. 24 operated at the apex of the organizations
 but were not on the board of directors and the remaining 22 were employed in the most
senior level or management at the divisional business unit level. The data gathered would
be more accurate if all the interviewees were part of the board of directors.

8. The possible research that can be drawn out from the study is, The level of Influence
Made by Senior Executives to Chief Executive Officer through Informal Channels in
Formulating Business Strategies.