...Strategic Alignment and Core competencies Strategic alignment refers to how an organization can create sustainable competitive advantage by linking its business strategy to its core competencies. This shows how an organization can achieve superior performance by gaining alignment between its environment, strategy, core competencies and Organization structure. There are several frameworks, which can be leveraged in this process to assist a manager in building a high performance organization. The case highlighted how Singapore Airlines(SIA) navigated through the various challenges faced by the airlines industry such as over capacity, commoditization of offering and proliferation of low cost carriers through the execution of its business strategy and dispel the notion that competition advantage can only be created either by Cost leadership strategy or a differentiation strategy. The case show that SIA made a clear strategic choice of giving priority to profitability over growth and leveraged related diversification along with its operational practices, such as continuous people development and rigorous service design as drivers to achieve its strategic choice. SIA had unique challenges of competing solely on international routes due to the absence of domestic routes which acted as a catalyst in driving its goals of being just a little better than its competitors in the value chain and to achieve its strategic choice. The analysis of this case provides an insight into the...
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...CC-307-017 Dynamic Strategic Alignment This reference note was prepared by Professor Steven White to introduce basic concepts and a framework for discussing strategic management. Copyright © 2009 by CEIBS (China Europe International Business School). No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the permission of CEIBS The CEIBS Case Centre is sponsored by McKinsey & Company. Dynamic Strategic Alignment CC-307-017 Dynamic Strategic Alignment This note introduces the concepts and frameworks that are commonly used in strategic analysis, integrating them within an on-going process of creating and improving strategic alignment. 1. FUNDAMENTALS The objective of strategic management is to create alignments—within the firm and between the firm and its environment—that give the firm competitive advantage and enable it to achieve its goals. Strategic change, therefore, is fundamentally a decision about what changes to make in order to create or improve alignment that moves the firm closer to its goals. Managers may increase alignment and performance by a) changing elements of the firm, b) changing features of the environment in which operate, or c) shifting to another environment. There will usually be multiple options, and managers must decide which changes are necessary, possible and worth the effort required. When making...
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...A Summary of “Strategic alignment: Analysis of perspectives” by Tiago Reis de Almeida Preston Coleman and Raymon Papp’s paper hub on strategic alignment model. Furthermore, how it has been operationalized to enable assessment of an organization’s business and technology strategies into one of twelve defined alignment perspectives using a web-based model. The authors emphasise that the first concept of strategic alignment remains actual and usable to corporate executives looking to achieve alignment of their business and technology strategies. This model is presented as a combination between four quadrants, which one constituted by three components and it’s divided into two distinct areas: business and information technology (IT). Each area has two quadrants that define that part of the business. Focusing on the business area, the two quadrants are business strategy and organization infrastructure. Business strategy has three different components: business scope, distinctive competencies and business governance component. The first component links everything that might effect the business environment, such as markets, products, services). Distinctive competencies cover all items responsible to create market’s success, like brand, research, value chain. The last component is Business governance that relates to the existent relationships between stockholders and the directors board, governmental regulations and relations with other strategic partners. The other quadrant...
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...ALDI ------------------------------------------------- Strategic Management and Employee Management Alignment ALDI ------------------------------------------------- Strategic Management and Employee Management Alignment Executive Summary ALDI is a German company that is a global leader in the retail grocery industry with over 7000 stores worldwide. The company has a good reputation for their high quality products with low pricing. The purpose of this assessment is to investigate how well ALDI align their human resource strategies to the overall business strategy. The report commence with a presentation of the company’s main features, where it started and how it has developed to be an international leader. Further on, the assessment contains an explanation of what business strategy ALDI has in the organisation and what the people management processes and practices look like in the company. Lastly it identifies actual examples of people management processes and how well they are applied into the organisation. Improvements are highlighted as a way for the organisation to improve and be able to remain competitive on the international market. Key findings of this report are that the current business strategy is a cost leadership approach. The strategic management of ALDI at present is one of expansion and growth. The employee management reflects this as ALDI is participating in a period of recruitment and employee training and development. The marketing...
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...Problem: Competition was shifting as traditionally Nypro ahead of others by offering high precision moulds which not only satisfied but delighted the customers. But in recent times completion has caught up and have started similar producing moulds which needed high precision. Decision: Gordon Lankton has decided to incorporate an innovative product called NovaPlast. But due to the structure of the organization with 21 plants globally he has to take a call as how to introduce the product. Alternatives: Lankton has three alternatives in front of him on the issue of leveraging the capability of NovaPlast: 1. Build a new plant employing only NovaPlast machines: The advantage of having all the NovaPlast machines in a single plant is engineering efficacy. The Centralized development would facilitate personal oversight of project. Also the senior management is all in favour. However this option does not align with Nypro’s close-to-customer strategy. It will result into longer delivery time which is the most critical factor determining customer demand and satisfaction in the current competitive market scenario. 2. Install 2-3 machines in each plant: Having NovaPlast machine in each plant will help Nypro in quoting shorter delivery time and capture more market share. It aligns with the company’s close-tocustomer manufacturing policy. There could be however opposition from plant employees to adoption of an unproven technology and standardized employment of NovaPlast in...
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...Early Supplier Involvement Q1 – What is the logic behind pursuing early supplier design involvement with suppliers? 1. Improvement in product quality 2. Stronger communication between firms 3. Decrease in process time and production cost 4. High utilization of sources 5. Decrease in cycle-time leading to shorter time-to-market 6. Improvement in manufacturability 7. Innovative products and ideas 8. Increase team work 9. Alignment of technology roadmaps/strategies 10. Cross-functional training Q2 – If a buying company has an objective of involving suppliers early during product development, what type of questions should the buying firm ask a supplier during evaluation and selection? 1. Is the supplier willing to have a long-term commitment? 2. Does the supplier’s roadmap & policies align with those of the buyers? Do they share buyer’s vision? 3. Is supplier flexible to vary production on a need-by basis and flexible to changing demands (quantities, timeframe)? 4. Is supplier willing to share technical expertise and process knowledge to improve Product Development efficiency? 5. Is the Supplier willing to share Accounting records to compare actual cost v/s estimated cost? 6. Is the supplier willing to continuously evaluate cost reduction opportunities? 7. Is the supplier willing to share expertise to develop and share cost improvements and eliminate any costly processes? 8. Does the supplier share your same values and commitment...
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...Strategic Alignment Worksheet: Human Resources NAME: Overview Use this Strategic Alignment Worksheet (SAW) to help you complete the sections listed below. As you progress through the course, you will be instructed to complete and submit section(s) of the SAW. Once you have all of the sections completed, you are to incorporate the sections into the larger Atha Execution Plan, which is your final project deliverable (to be submitted in Unit 5). Sections of the SAW * Goals and Activities (Unit 2) * Interview Questions (Unit 3) * Department Purpose Statements (Unit 4) * Performance Standards (Unit 4) Checklist for Human Resources Area Mary Atha, CEO, has provided this checklist of overall organization goals for the human resources area. Read the checklist and use it as a point of reference for your development of this SAW. 1. Ensure staffing requirements are met. 2. Retain existing staff. 3. Hire and train new staff. 4. Plan, organize, lead, and direct the human resources of the company to meet the goal of growing the business by 100%. 1.0 Goals and Activities. Develop goals and activities for the human resources Area. Submit this section in Unit 2. Goals | Activities to support this goal (add more rows if needed) | 1.1 Retain existing employees. | What are the supporting activities? | How will this activity achieve the goal? | What is the achievement deadline? | | | | | | | | | | | | | ...
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...Value Alignment for PepsiCo For organizations to attain a competitive advantage in today’s business environment they are employing a diverse and multicultural workforce. This diversification permits organizations to focus on developing products and services that reach numerous cultures. This diversification also allows various cultural and ethical standards to be integrated into their strategic plans. It is the duty of top level executives in an organization to impart ethical, moral, and the company vision to its employees. Executives must “walk the talk.” In this brief analysis, Learning Team D will examine the origin and subsequent evolution of both PepsiCo’s workplace values and personal values. An explanation of how individual values drive actions and behaviors will be reviewed along with an analysis of the degree of alignment between PepsiCo’s stated values and their plans and actions. Finally Team D will explain the differences and analyze the degree of alignment between our values and PepsiCo’s values as reflected in their plans and actions. Evolution of Personal and Workplace Values Most individuals derive attitudes relating to personal responsibility through their upbringing and family interactions. Many value concepts learned early in life influence individual perceptions and subsequently affect (through demonstrated traits) ‘learned’ behaviors that relate to speech, personal beliefs (faith), work environments, and interpersonal activities (Davis, & Keyser,...
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...resolution ,Classification and pub med citation from PDB Structure data base. 4.Find the disease pathway ,drug target enzymes and drug molecules used for a given disease by using KEGG database. 5.For a given protein/enzyme find its EC number ,its location and Km, K cat/Km values by using BRENDA/KEGG database. 6.Find the pair wise sequence alignment for a given protein/DNA sequence by using Dot matrix method Dot helix and comment on the results inverted repeats ,palindromes. 7.For a given Protein sequence find the homolog sequences and Study the obtained output critical statistical parameters, the % identity, %similarity ,p ,E-value by using BLAST. 8.For a given Protein/DNA sequence find the pblast ,nblast ,psi blast ,phi blast ,blast, tbalstn and analyze the obtained results obtained results for each blast method. 9.For a given Protein sequence find the pair wise sequence alignment by using the FASTA algorithm and compare the results obtained with those from other methods. 10.Find the optimal alignment for the given protein sequence by using Dynamic programming –LALIGN method. 11.For a given FASTA sequence find the multiple sequence alignment by using the Clustal W/T-coffee and find the conserved regions ,motifs and profiles. 12.Find the motifs/domains for a given protein sequences by using Web logo program. 13.Construct the Phylogenetic Trees for the given sequences using MEGA. 1) Distance based method. 2)Maximum Parsimony method. 3)Maximum Likelihood...
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... or lack of space in loaded trucks. The project below is meant to specifically address this issue of informal shipment size tracking. Project Description The proposed project is an automated system for tracking the weight and dimensions of packages, integrated with the information about warehouse and truck capacity in order to ensure that trucks can be loaded to full capacity without fear of turned away shipments. The warehouse employees would use the system for inputting shipments size and dimensions, while dispatchers would use the information to choose appropriate trucks for the shipment. Additionally, dispatchers could use the gained information to choose appropriate warehouses for delivery, based on current capacity. Strategic Alignment The shipment size tracking system aligns directly with business strategies previously outlined by Wobbly Wheels. The project aligns with the business strategy of accurately tracking shipments in...
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...Summer Price ENG-111 26H January 26, 2016 Taking Flight I will never forget the day my life changed forever. I know a lot of people say that about a lot of things. I’m sure you’ve heard many earth-shattering stories about death and despair – but mine is different. You see, on this day, I was thrown into the unknown. Alone, scared, and extremely clueless about why this was happening to me. Everything in my life became utter chaos -- quite literally, overnight. It was a Tuesday. Or maybe a Wednesday? A week day, for sure. I was supposed to be getting up for school. Seventh grade, not necessarily my favorite. Usually Sabine would come in right at 6am, throw my blinds wide open, unlock the window and slide it up to let the cool morning air in. She did this to wake me up, which is to this day the most effective way to tear me out of bed. But not this morning. Today, Sabine flung the door open and flipped a switch. I awoke blinking at my ceiling light. As I rolled over and glanced at my alarm clock, I saw that it was 4am. 4am? What in the world? “What’s going on?” I asked, sleepily, confused. No answer. Sabine was my stepmom; she had married my dad when I was four and then blessed me with my little brother, Michael, when I was six. She is your typical German woman: Tall. Long, dark hair. Not big, per-say, but strong, and endlessly intimidating. But she had one weakness; her face always told her heart. On this crisp January morning, she was blank. I remember watching her, straight-faced...
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...Developing a Mission & Vision Statement that Aligns to the Church’s Strategic Plan A church’s strategic plan provides structure, accountability, and directional oversight as the church reaches out to church members and to those within their community. A church is most effective in planning, executing, and evaluating the success of its ministry when it is actively operating under the clear understanding of its mission, vision, and purpose statements. “Being strategic [in ministry] means having a carefully devised plan of action to achieve a goal,” and the best way for a church to develop a strategic plan is through adherence to their mission statement (Browning, 2009, p. 45). In some cases, this may require developing or revising the current mission statement. Developing or revision of a church’s mission statement is a critical aspect of the strategic plan, and it is vital that it reflect the current mission and vision of executive leadership and the church. At times, it may be necessary to make minor changes to the current mission statement to eliminate wordiness or unclear objectives. A great key to developing a concise mission’s statement is to keep it simple, and to “streamline the organization so it can shed deadweight and achieve greater” impact within the church and community (Browning, 2009, p. 167). A strong mission statement will enable executive leadership to stick to the primary mission and purpose of the church and church membership. Although a church may...
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...2-23-2006 Using the Balanced Scorecard to Achieve Sustained IT-Business Alignment: A Case Study Qing Hu Florida Atlantic University, qhu@fau C. Derrick Huang Florida Atlantic University, dhuang@fau Follow this and additional works at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/cais Recommended Citation Hu, Qing and Huang, C. Derrick (2006) "Using the Balanced Scorecard to Achieve Sustained IT-Business Alignment: A Case Study," Communications of the Association for Information Systems: Vol. 17, Article 8. Available at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol17/iss1/8 This material is brought to you by the Journals at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been accepted for inclusion in Communications of the Association for Information Systems by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contact elibrary@aisnet.org. Communications of the Association for Information Systems (Volume 17 2006) 181- 204 181 USING THE BALANCED SCORECARD TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINED IT-BUSINESS ALIGNMENT: A CASE STUDY Qing Hu C. Derrick Huang Department of Information Technology & Operations Management Florida Atlantic University qhu@fau.edu ABSTRACT High levels of investments in IT and related products and services by firms over the last several decades produced only mixed results. Research shows that one of the most significant determinants of successful IT investments is the alignment between IT and the competitive strategies of a firm. Yet it is largely...
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...1. What is Strategic Account Management? * Strategic account management is a systemic process for managing key interactions and relationships with critical accounts * 20% of customers generate 80% of the revenue/profit * Strategic accounts tend to provide a disproportionate share of a firm’s revenue/profit * Must manage account relationships, and be accountable for ongoing and long-term financial growth 2. 3. What are the benefits of Strategic Account Management? * Strategic account management can offer a competitive advantage, the key to greater loyalty, and the road to higher profitability * A well-designed and well executed strategic account management program can minimize, or in some cases, eliminate competition 4. What are the challenges of implementing Strategic Account Management? * Programs falter when firms underestimate the time, resource requirements, and complexity of rolling out the program * Creating a systemic way to manage strategic accounts is a little like putting down the road as you’re driving on it * You must maintain your firm’s financial performance while reinventing the way it serves its most critical customers. This is perhaps the greatest challenge in implementing strategic account management. 5. Create cross-functional executive leadership * This leadership helps create and communicate the urgency that ensures organizational commitment to strategic account management * These cross-functional...
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...Strategic alignment Strategic Alignement: A model for organisational transformation through technolgy By: J. Henderson N. Venkatraman Outline What is strategic alignment ? Strategic alignment mode Four alignment perspectives What is strategic alignment ? Strategic Alignment Model external internal Business Strategy Business Scope • Covers that affect the business environment e.g. markets, products, services, customers/clients etc. • Make business a success in market place i.e. core competencies like brand, research, manufacturing and product development • Covers relationships between the stockholder of the company and senior management Distinctive Competencies Business Governance Business Infrastructure Administrative Structure •Covers how organization runs its business e.g. questions regarding centralization, decentralization, matrix, geographic and functional organization type. Business Process •Covers all activities and how they operate e.g. value added activities and process improvement Human Skills •Hire/fire •Motivation •Train and education Information Technology Strategy Technology Scope • Covers all the essential information applications and the technologies that business uses • Capabilities that set IT services apart from the rest i.e. how much access business has to information that is important to business’s strategies. • Make up the authority and how resources, risks and responsibility, are distributed between...
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