... 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 long been...
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...strategy Strategic management (strategy) is thinking into the future (e.g. strategic plan usually has a 3-5 year time horizon) Some cultures think strategically on a very long term (e.g. Asian countries 50 to 100 year plans) * Think about the context and the industry we operate to determine that time horizon INPUTS (organisational purpose) (e.g. material, people) - Has to be efficient, effective PROCESS / THROUGHPUTS (strategy process) OUTPUTS (strategy content) Strategically, the input relate to the purpose of the organisation (Why the strategy should be achieved?). The process is the strategy that will be used to develop the plan, to organise (How should the strategy be achieved?)). Finally, the output is the result of all that strategic activity, where the organisation wants to be in 3-5 years from now (What is the strategy sought to achieve?). Every strategy is happening in an environmental context (e.g. political, technological) and has constraints, therefore impacting the strategic system. Situational improvement is a desire of a strategic philosophy of continuous improvement. If there is a good communication then the strategy will affect all levels of the business /organisation. Being ahead of the game, develop initiatives, innovate. Problem solving is more reactive, it’s about having tools and framework to strategically help solving the problem. Strategic management may be seen as finding a compromise between 2 options (often results in a less favourable...
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...Think Strategically This page intentionally left blank T H I N K STRATEGICALLY Xavier Gimbert Associate Professor, Business Policy Department, ESADE Business School © Xavier Gimbert 2011 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and...
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...questions to take notes while watching the video. 1. What does the author say the “core of strategy” is? The core of strategy is to focus on how to achieve goals. 2.What is a “kernel”? What is it composed of? Kernel is a good strategy; it’s the central of the strategy growth. It is composed of guiding policy, diagnosis, coherence action. 3.What is wrong with the statement “Bad strategy is the absence of good strategy.”? Bad strategy is not the absence of strategy, it’s an active force, a mistaken belief, and how we think strategically and how to create strategies. 4.What are the hallmarks of a good strategy? Of a bad strategy? 1. Bad strategy is a too high expected goal; 2. It’s fluff, it’s vaporous concept. Bad strategy is like an ostrich put its head under the ground. 5.What does the story of David & Goliath indicate? 6.What is the power/the lesson to be learned from the Andy Marshall story? 7.What is “bad strategy”? Bad strategy is not the absence of strategy, it’s an active force, a mistaken belief, and how we think strategically and how to create strategies. 8.What are “blue sky” objectives? Why are they bad for strategy? 9.Why does bad strategy flourish? 10.What is the “kernel”? Explain the three elements. It is composed of guiding policy, diagnose, coherence action. Guiding policy is how we solve the problems. Good strategy would try to find diagnosis that suggests something for us to change. Coherence action is about coordination...
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...the management issues need to be maintained and stable at all times. Do you know that the power in an organization lies in the management aspect? Having looked at various security techniques, principles and basic software security systems, this topic should be a no brainer. Why because if you set up a security technology and you develop your software secured. We should know that unsettled issues could cause interruptions or hinder a project from reaching its goals. The next thing to do is to set up a management system. The main objective of a security project manager is to ensure that the system is being protected and the process in which it is protected. And according to research, people tend to focus more on the former aspect and ignore the latter, a lot of people worry about what is and never think about what if or what would be, and that is where the managerial aspect of security comes in. the core purpose of a business is to make a profit, with security it is easy to establish a fine line between profit and loss or risk and reward, before we go any further lets quickly compare these two key terms Issue and Risk. Risk according to and so managing and securing a company’s security system can give you a balance and create rewards for your business which are profit, if there is no threats and no system malfunction due to in (CDC, 2006) “Risk is an uncertain event, that if occurs, has a positive or negative impact on the project. While on the other hand Issues is a point or matter...
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...with what we say to be the most significant aspect of leadership, “Self Awareness.” Sometimes they prove me right and sometimes they prove me wrong. In the case of insight 13.1 My Personal Vision and insight 14.1 my scores I feel, are correct for me. Being a coach I always tried the think out side of the box and go against status- quo. I can honestly say most of the times it worked well but other time it put me at risk of being fired. To understand your personal vision you must first understand what vision actually means: “A vision is an attractive, ideal future that is credible, yet not readily attainable. A clear and powerful vision links the present and the future by showing how present-day decisions and actions can move the organization toward its long-range goals. Vision energizes employees.” (Kiaser study notes) The goal of visionaries are to become Effective Leaders, to be an effective leader, one both dreams big and transforms those dreams into significant strategic action and effectively execute the vision and strategy. This is what we call Strategic leadership. Strategic leadership means the ability to anticipate and envision the future, maintain flexibility, think strategically, and work with others to initiate changes that will create a competitive advantage for the organization in the future. Strategic leadership and defining a Vision is not always easy for leadership to do, communicating an image of the future that draws others in, can be a real struggle...
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...1. Why do you think is it important for HR to be a strategic partner to the business? Strategic partners (also called strategic allies) are two or more companies that work together in joint ventures. Strategic partners often share long-term relationships and all parties within the partnership strive towards similar goals. Partners also do not get in the way of each other. Instead, they reinforce one another in order to obtain their set business objectives. For an HR department to be a strategic partner for a business, they must understand the strategic plan of that business, and vice-versa. Strategic planning produces fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why it does it. It requires broad-scale information gathering, an exploration of alternatives, and an emphasis on the future implications of present decisions. Planning simply improves decision-making. And, all levels of management and partnership engage in planning. It is important for an HR department to be a strategic business partner because it allows them to be able to work in (and with) every other department in an organization. There’s even a strong need for the HR function to adopt a more strategic and business-like approach too. Due to this type of involvement, workers at all stages of employment will become familiar with, and trust, the HR team. Some corporations may even find it beneficial having HR members present in corporate business meetings, so that...
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...Communicating Strategically In the first chapter, we examined the changing environment for business over the last half century. In this chapter, we explore how these changes have affected corporate communication and why it has become imperative for modern companies to communicate strategically. Strategic communication can be defined as “communication aligned with the company’s overall strategy, [intended] to enhance its strategic positioning.”1 An effective strategy should encourage a company to send messages that are “clear and understandable, true and, communicated with passion, strategically repetitive and repeated, [and] consistent (across constituencies).” We begin this chapter with a summary of the basic theory behind all communication, whether individual or organizational in nature. We will also briefly discuss influential models in modern communication theory. Although many communication experts have adapted these theories to help leaders communicate in writing and speaking, few have looked at how these same basic theories apply in the corporate communication context—that is, the way organizations communicate with various groups of people. Communication, more than any other subject in business, has implications for everyone within an organization—from the newest administrative assistant to the CEO. Thanks in part to important strategy work by academics such as Michael Porter, Gary Hamel, and C. K. Prahalad, most managers have learned to think strategically about...
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...Communicating Strategically In the first chapter, we examined the changing environment for business over the last half century. In this chapter, we explore how these changes have affected corporate communication and why it has become imperative for modern companies to communicate strategically. Strategic communication can be defined as “communication aligned with the company’s overall strategy, [intended] to enhance its strategic positioning.”1 An effective strategy should encourage a company to send messages that are “clear and understandable, true and, communicated with passion, strategically repetitive and repeated, [and] consistent (across constituencies).” We begin this chapter with a summary of the basic theory behind all communication, whether individual or organizational in nature. We will also briefly discuss influential models in modern communication theory. Although many communication experts have adapted these theories to help leaders communicate in writing and speaking, few have looked at how these same basic theories apply in the corporate communication context—that is, the way organizations communicate with various groups of people. Communication, more than any other subject in business, has implications for everyone within an organization—from the newest administrative assistant to the CEO. Thanks in part to important strategy work by academics such as Michael Porter, Gary Hamel, and C. K. Prahalad, most managers have learned to think strategically about...
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...and its sales. Since we have our data stored in a data warehouse, it is easily accessible and responds quickly to our data request. Consider each of the following: · What judgments can you make regarding the placement of each type of product being considered? Answer - I think that we are more likely to place those items that are in higher demand by customers and those items that the company wants to generate the greatest profit from on the shelves that have the best sales · What is the consequence of making the wrong choice? Answer - Profit decreases, inventory doesn’t turn over · What types of products do you think each of the product groupings represent? Answer - Most likely to sell/greatest profitability to least likely to sell/lowest profitability · What target markets can you associate with each product group? Answer - ? Problem 2: Market Basket Analysis: Association Analysis Example 1: Our data mining program has performed association analysis and has generated a listing of items that are typically purchased together. Two sets of items currently have your attention: o Peanut Butter, Crackers o Peanut Butter, Vanilla Wafers How can you use this information? Answer - You can use this information to predict sales. If products are complements (as in this case), when the price of a complement goes up, the sales of...
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...Strategically managing employees is the practical management of the people. It gives broader viewpoint to the employees and also can help them to give better understanding of their job. It can relate employees to understand that how their job fits in plan and with the other member of an organization. Strategic human resource management is designed to help an organization to meet the need of their employees in such a way and in along with it achieve company's goals. To strategically manage the employees, a company needs to think ahead and plan to meet the needs of the employees and for them to better needs of the company. They can effectively face the environmental changes in the organization as well as evaluate the impact of it on their job. The three primary human resources activities are: 1.Recruitment and selection: Recruitment and selection is the first phase of human resource management. Managers of different other department work with HR department to fill in the vacant position in an organization. It involves the process such as specifying the job description and reach out to the candidates with the help of advertisement of Job in local newspaper, social media networking, consultant etc. Selection of right candidate for the position will be done by company's own methodology i.e. Personal interview, examination, experimental etc. 2.Placement and Training: The next step of human resource activities is placement and training in which the selected candidate...
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...Namaste Solar Case Study 1. What is the mission of Namaste Solar? How does the mission reflect the company’s values? Explain. The mission statement of Namaste Solar is “to propagate the responsible use of solar energy, pioneer, conscientious business practices and create holistic wealth for our community which benefits all stakeholders equally- customers, employees, investors, and the environment.” The mission statement reflects the company’s values because they direct explain how the values or linked the mission statement. The company has five core values. The first value is “care for the earth.” Namaste Solar Company’s core activity was designing and installing solar energy systems.” Namaste Solar even went so far and got there building to be LEED-gold certified. The second company value is “to care for the customer.” Namaste Solar cares for the customers by offering them a 10-year warranty on all of their residential installations. Namaste Solar also reimbursed customers for their lost energy production when equipment was out of service for repairs. The third company value is “to care for the community.” Namaste Solar has chosen to donate 1% of its revenues in the form of solar system installations to nonprofits communities. The forth value is “to care for the company.” Namaste Solar care for the company by choosing to create a collaborative and equitable culture. They support and stand for a company that is open-management, democratic decision-making, and a meritocratic...
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...Introduction: success is defined as a favorable or desired outcome (“success”, 2013). Many people wonder how they can become successful or what does it take to make it in this world, in this competitive economy. In this paper, I will discuss the habits, knowledge, and mindset necessary for success in life, college, and career. Reflect on life Motivation, consistency, and patience are necessary for success in life. According to the article, “Self-motivation is taking responsibility for doing whatever is necessary to get the job done”( Macpherson,2006 p.26). Motivation and consistency are my strengths because of my five month old daughter. When she was born it motivated me to be all I could be, and to be a role model for her. She helps me stay consistent even when I’m having a bad day because I know she is looking up to me to provide for her. I can look at her and smile and know that everything I’m doing in my life is not in vain, and will motivate me to ensure she has the life I never did growing up. Patience is my biggest challenge because I can’t wait for things to be done later, they have to be done at that moment even if I have a thousand things to do. For example, I have math class on Tuesday and homework is assigned, by me not being patient and pacing myself I try to complete all the homework that night and not go to bed until it’s finished instead of doing some problems here and there because I know it won’t be due until that following Tuesday. I can work on being patient...
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...UVA-BC-0158 THINKING STRATEGICALLY ABOUT COMMUNICATION Emerging technology has had a profound impact on the workplace and how we communicate. It has enhanced our ability to maintain closer contact with our constituencies and to cultivate relationships with new clients and customers, but it also demands more effective communicators who are skilled at crafting clear and concise messages within tight deadlines. That requires thinking strategically about communication and recognizing that repairing communication mishaps is costly and time-consuming, if at all possible. Strategic communication involves four elements: knowing your purpose; understanding your audience; selecting an appropriate message structure strategy; and identifying the appropriate channel. This sounds simple. So why do we often hear the refrain, “the problem around here is communication?” Knowing Your Purpose When faced with a writing or speaking task, many people obsess first about what they want to say. They may spend hours staring at the computer screen to craft that perfect opening paragraph, often to no avail. A strategic approach to the task forces you to first think about the purpose and to ask why are you writing or speaking. Then consider whether your purpose will be clearly understood by your readers or listeners. Will they wonder why they received the message and need to scroll through it to determine what you want them to do? Most of us, confronted with such material, will put...
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...The business sector in today's society is increasing rapidly, and with this increase comes the need for more people to manage and lead the growing companies, but this growing need also raises some potential questions: Can anyone become a leader or a manager? Is there a difference between the two? Can people be trained to become leaders or a managers? Just like many other questions that might be asked in business; these questions have no one, definite answer. Let's begin first by acknowledging the definitions of the two root words; the word manage means to handle, where as the word lead means to go. Similarly as the two words have different definitions, they also have different purposes. To help individuals increase their potentials in business, an internationally recognized motivational speaker by the name of Marc Sanborn has developed certain "theories" that, much like in science or art, prove some things to be more true than others by providing supporting facts to prove the validity of certain ways of thinking. Many of Marc's theories validate the fact that in general, good managers tend to be good leaders, but good leaders are not always good managers. It is said, Any company that cannot imagine the future won't be around to enjoy it. Therefore before any manager or leader can affect changes in their business they have to do what Marc describes as visioning; they must mentally "look" into what they want to see as the potential outcome of any given situation. Managers are concerned...
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