...10/15/07 14:23 Page 93 The Strategic Position 3 Strategic Capability LEARNING OUTCOMES After reading this chapter you should be able to: ➔ Distinguish elements of strategic capability in organisations: resources, competences, core competences and dynamic capabilities. ➔ Recognise the role of continual improvement in cost efficiency as a strategic ➔ Analyse how strategic capabilities might provide sustainable competitive advantage on the basis of their value, rarity, inimitability and nonsubstitutability. ➔ Diagnose strategic capability by means of value chain analysis, activity mapping, benchmarking and SWOT analysis. ➔ Consider how managers can develop strategic capabilities of organisations. Photo: Glyn Kirk/Action Plus Sports Images capability. ECS8_C03.qxd 94 10/15/07 CHAPTER 3 3.1 14:23 Page 94 STRATEGIC CAPABILITY INTRODUCTION Chapter 2 outlined how the external environment of an organisation can create both strategic opportunities and threats. However, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda all compete in the same environment, yet Tesco is a superior performer. It is not the environment that distinguishes between them but their internal strategic capabilities. The importance of strategic capability is the focus of this chapter. There are three key concepts that underpin the discussion. The first is that organisations are not identical, but have different capabilities; they are ‘heterogeneous’ in this respect...
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...Today’s knowledge and service-based economy offers innumerable opportunities for well-run companies to increase profits through strategic outsourcing.1 Emphasis is rapidly shifting from outsourcing parts, componentry, and hardware subsystems toward the even greater unexploited potentials that intellectually-based systems offer:2 Obtaining higher value, more flexible, and more integrated services than internal sources can offer. Improving the company’s capacities to stay current and to innovate by interacting with “best in world” knowledge sources. Achieving cross-divisional coordination and shareholder value gains that the company — for internal structural or political reasons — could not otherwise achieve. Outsourcing Knowledge-Based Services The drivers for these trends are formidable. As the service sector has grown to embrace 80 percent of all U.S. employment, specialized service firms have become very large and sophisticated relative to the scale and expertise that individual staff and service groups have within integrated companies — whether in services or manufacturing (see Table 1). These specialists can develop greater knowledge depth, invest more in software and training systems, be more efficient, and hence offer higher wages and attract more highly trained people than can the individual staff groups of all but a few integrated companies. Given this greater knowledge depth and wider range of customer interactions, they can also become much...
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...Case Analysis of Intel Corporation – Leveraging Capabilities for Strategic Renewal Dorothy Thornton Concordia University Portland Technology is a constantly shifting market and Intel is an organization which has adapted their corporate culture and vision to meet the demands of these changes. In the 1980’s Intel’s vision was a performance driven organization focused on new product development with action orientation from the front lines (Bartlett & Nanda, 1994). According to John P Kotter (1995), “A vision says something that clarifies the direction in which an organization needs to move” (p. 63). Intel frequently moved in different organizational directions in the 1980’s to meet the needs of the company. The emerging primary challenge for Intel in the 1990’s was deciding where to make a technological investment in the company. Intel had been successful in the past due to their ability to leapfrog with technology. Intel needed to identify and allocate resources to the products that would allow Intel to remain at the heart of the computer industry. Although Intel had was profitable making microprocessors, they were also investing in other new technology such as the flash chips which had the promise to replace discs and disc drives. Intel needed to determine what technology to invest in to stay ahead of its competitors. This idea is supported in That Used to Be Us which explains American success by staying ahead of the technology curve. Intel’s organizational...
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...Strategic Capacity Planning Capacity – upper limit on the load that an operating unit can handle - Design: Maximum obtainable output under ideal conditions - Effective: Max capacity given current product mix Actual output: rate of output actually achieved – often less than the effective capacity Efficiency = Actual Output/ Effective Capacity Utilization = Actual Output / Design Capacity Factors Influencing Capacity - Facilities and Machines – Floor Space, Layout, machine maintenance - Products/Services – The larger the # of products, increase changeover times, lower effective capacity - Human – Training, Skills, Experience - Planning & Operational - # of shifts per day, bottlenecks, inventory decisions, quality control, procedures, late deliveries, defective purchased material - External – Products standards (Quality & Performance), pollution standards, paper work required by government agencies Strategic Capacity Planning – deals with long term overall capacity levels - Process: Forecast demand 1-5 years ahead -> Determine capacity requirements -> Measure the capacity now and decide how to bridge the gap: (A) Generate feasible alternatives (b) Evaluate alternatives considering economic and non-economic aspects (c) choose best alternative & implement - Growth Patterns: Growth, Decline, Cyclical, Stable - Math – Calculate Annual Capacity, Total Processing Time needed/ Annual Capacity Break Even Analysis - P=TR-TC=Q*r-(FC+Q*v) - Q = (P+FC)/(R-v) – BEP is when...
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...BUSI650 Quiz 2 Click Link Below To Buy: http://hwcampus.com/shop/busi650-quiz-2/ • 2 out of 2 points Developing and evaluating solutions to reduce the gap between desired process performance and current performance is the final step in the six sigma DMAIC approach for process improvement. Answer • Question 2 2 out of 2 points Six Sigma is better applied on manufacturing than service operations. Answer • Question 3 2 out of 2 points Which of the following is FALSE about Quality Function Deployment (QFD)? Answer • Question 4 0 out of 2 points With respect to strategy maps and balanced scorecards, which of the following is FALSE? Answer • Question 5 0 out of 2 points Which of the following is NOT an original component of reengineering? Answer • Question 6 0 out of 2 points Which of the following characteristics makes it EASIER to measure the quality of a service, relative to that of a product or facilitating good? Answer • Question 7 0 out of 2 points Defects per million opportunities (DPMO) and Process Sigma are the most important tools for the Measure Phase of Six Sigma. Answer • Question 8 0 out of 2 points The following are shortcomings associated with analyzing problems “one factor at a time” (also known as OFAT and 1FAT) EXCEPT: Answer • Question 9 0 out of 2 points One...
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...survive and this zeal to improve require the innovation in processes and management which helps in reducing the cost or improving the productivity. Innovation is the only tool with the help of which the organization can maintain its position in the competitive market and stay one step ahead of its competitors. It is the only way that creates the differentiation with the customers. Moreover, customers prefer the products which make their life simpler and this is possible with the continual improvement in product or processes. Being first in the market with the new product gives the significant advantage in building the customer base. The term Operational Strategy is defined as, “the total pattern of decisions which shape the long term capabilities of any type of operations and their contribution to the overall strategy.” Thus, innovation in the method of producing goods being offered to the customers is the innovation in operational strategy. There are several operational strategies which make the company process efficient and effective such as adopting Just – In – Time approach and six sigma lean, implementing quality circle at...
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...must be in your own words—significant cut and paste from the text or other sources is not acceptable. (Points : 30) Some categories of measures of balance scorecard are: 1.-Measures Financial Performance Financial performance measures includes: Profitability such as ROI (return on investment), gross profit margin, asset turnover, etc Liquidity such as current ratio, quick ratio Financial performance measures, such as operating income and return on investment, indicate whether the company’s strategy and its implementation are increasing shareholder value. However, financial measures tend to be lagging indicators of the strategy. Firms monitor nonfinancial measures to understand whether they are building or destroying their capabilities—with customers, processes, employees, and systems—for future growth and profitability. Key nonfinancial measures are leading indicators of financial performance, in the sense that improvements in these indicators should lead to better financial performance in the future, while decreases in the nonfinancial indicators (such as customer satisfaction and loyalty, process quality, and employee motivation) generally predict decreased future financial performance 2.-Internal Operational Efficiency Time spent with focus groups to learn about knowledgeable customer preferences, product development lead time, peer review of new products in product development pipeline, number of new models or features introduced each year 3.-Customer perspectives...
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...Advances in technology can bring about dramatic changes in military operations, often termed revolutions in military affairs or RMAs. Such technology-driven changes in military operations are not merely a recent phenomenon: they have been occurring since the dawn of history, they will continue to occur in the future, and they will continue to bestow a military advantage on the first nation to develop and use them. Accordingly, it is important to the continued vitality and robustness of the U.S. defense posture for the DoD R&D community to be aware of technology developments that could revolutionize military operations in the future, and for the U.S. military services to be on the lookout for revolutionary ways in which to employ those technologies in warfare. This report examines the history of past RMAs, to see what can be learned from them regarding the challenge confronting the DoD today, when it has set out on a concerted effort to bring about a technology-driven transformation of the U.S. military to achieve the operational goals outlined in Joint Vision 2010. Among its many findings are three of particular note: * RMAs are rarely brought about by dominant players (such as the U.S. military is today). * For a dominant player to bring about an RMA requires a receptive organizational climate, fostering a continually refined vision of how war may change in the future and encouraging vigorous debate regarding the future of the organization; senior officers with traditional...
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...OM: Full Notes Lecture 1: Chapter 1 What is OM? Operations Management is the set of activities that creates goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs. Why is OM important? Text book lists four reasons: * To see how people organize themselves for productive enterprise * To understand how goods and services are provided * To understand what operations managers do * Because it is such a costly part of an organization Productivity Measurement: Outputs Produced Inputs Used Single Factor: One good over one input; ie Output/ Labour Multifactor: Output/(Labour +Material +Energy +Capital +Misc.) The controlled variables that go into productivity are: * Labour * Capital * Management Note: Quality Changes, External Elements, and a lack of Precise Units of Measure may also change productivity without managerial changes. Lecture 2: Hand Puppet Exercise Task Time: * time it takes to complete a given task Cycle Time: * time from the completion of one unit until the completion of the next unit Throughput Time: * time from the start of work at task one, until the completion of work at the final task. Realise that: A. The cycle time is a function of the bottleneck time, and therefore should be very similar in value B. Throughput time will include any wait times that occur for the product at the bottleneck C. Human nature will change the times and data D. It is the manager’s role to reduce bottlenecks...
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...Introduction In race to be a leader, most companies are realizing that traditional management, manufacturing processes, and other orthodox approaches, are not enough. More effective methods are needed: • Lean Manufacturing • Six Sigma Lean “Lean is a way to specify value, line up value-creating actions in the best sequence, conduct those activities without interruption whenever someone requests them, and perform them more and more effectively. In short, lean thinking is lean because it provides a way to do more and more with less and less – less human effort, less human equipment, less time, and less space – while coming closer and closer to providing customers with exactly what they want.”- Womack and Jones (1996). “Becoming ‘lean’ is a process of eliminating waste with the goal of creating value.” – Womack & Jones There are FIVE overriding principles to Lean. Identify Customers and Specify Value - The starting point is to recognise that only a small fraction of the total time and effort in any organisation actually adds value for the end customer. By clearly defining Value for a specific product or service from the end customer’s perspective, all the non value activities - or waste - can be targeted for removal. Identify and Map the Value Stream – The Value Stream is the entire set of activities across all parts of the organisation involved in jointly delivering the product or service. This represents the end-to-end process that delivers the value to the...
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...Executive Summery The benefits of lean manufacturing are evident in factories across the world. With a view to achieve performance improvement both the developed and developing countries are practicing lean. In this study nine garment manufacturing companies were selected as sample. A field survey with a semi-structured questionnaire, interviews and site visits were conducted to get necessary lean information from the respondent. These companies were selected purposively to ensure the best possible scenario of lean practices in Bangladesh. The focus of this study is to investigate the improvement of manufacturing performance through lean practice in the Bangladeshi garment industry. The findings indicate that the selected companies have adopted a wide variety of lean tools and techniques and gained many performance improvements. Findings also identified the business challenges that drive the companies to practice lean as well as the areas where changes have been made. It concludes with suggestions for further work. Introduction Today’s global supply chains are, in effect, highly complex networks. They are increasingly vulnerable to disruption which can have significant impact on profitability and shareholder value. Recent research at Cranfield School of Management has highlighted where the sources of risk in supply chains might lie and how that risk might be mitigated and managed by the application of ‘Six Sigma’ philosophies and procedures. [pic] As Supply Chain...
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...Intro • Seemed to not inspect quality that well • Preston plant was located Preston, Vancouver • The headquarters was in Massachusetts • The company coated papers for ink jet printers, majority of output • After coating the conversion department cut the coated rolls to the final size and packed the sheets in small cartons The curl problem • Hewlett – Packard, main customer, had problems with paper curling under low humidity o Reasonable Demanding, don’t trust you if they are testing your product, can be an incentive • Next 7-8 months they tried to fix the problem • They actually solved the problem in January 2000 • Then made revisions for a new improved coating formula • They were also making a loss of $2 million for the year Slipping out of control • Spring 2000, productivity, scrap and re-work levels = poor • Because of this the company increased the speed of the line and made a lot of changes to raise productivity o No discipline, concept of control o Only worried that product was shipped within specification • Hewlett – Packard (their main customer) analyzed the report, saw that they can make the product but they were wondering for future two ore three generation products • 2000 had 2 significant events o Hewlwtt = Packard asked plant to bid to supply a new ink – jet platform, known as vector, would secure healthy order for several yeasrs o The plant was acquired by Rendall • Hewlett – Packard attitude bewildered the management team o They saw...
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...editing disabled mbagroup5 Actions * Join this WikiJoin this Wiki * Recent ChangesRecent Changes * Manage WikiManage Wiki Navigation 1. Home 2. an article about a typical Japanese Entrepreneur I like 3. Deutsche Exec Summary guest · Join · Help · Sign In · Wikispaces Remove From FavoritesAdd To FavoritesDeutsche Exec SummaryProtected * pagesubmenu o Details and Tags o Print o Download PDF o Backlinks o Source o Delete o Rename o Redirect o Permissions o Lock * discussion * history * notify me Details last edit by willzhouchuan willzhouchuan Oct 10, 2006 8:26 pm - 23 revisions hide details Tags * none Protected COVERPAGE- NAMES, id#s AND NAME OF CASE(Please add your student number after your name/thanks) Professor: Dr. Giovani J.C. da Silveira Lodge Karen Koupal Ondrej Miller Alana Ogunsola Oluseun Will Chuan Zhou (328253) Name: Case Analysis of Deutsche Allgemeinversicherung Coverletter?- Addressed to kluck, from consultants If someone can find a sample cover letter for case analysis then I can make it longer Dear Mr. Kluck; We are a 5 member consulting team from University of Calgary, Haykayne Business School and we did a very comprehensive study on Deutsche Allgemeinversicherung's PMV project and its problems, including the problem's background, the competition the company is...
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...Resources: Project Management: Chapter 1 (Slide 5) Chapter 2 (Slide 67) Chapter 3 (Slide 120) Chapter 4 (Slide 186) Chapter 5 (Slide 231) Chapter 6 (Slide 276) Chapter 7 (Slide 321) Chapter 8 (Slide 402) Chapter 9 (Slide 450) 1 -2 Organization of This Text: Part II – Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Strategy and Design: Global Supply Chain Procurement and Distribution: Forecasting: Inventory Management: Sales and Operations Planning: Resource Planning: Lean Systems: Scheduling: Chapter 10 (Slide 507) Chapter 11 (Slide 534) Chapter 12 (Slide 575) Chapter 13 (Slide 641) Chapter 14 (Slide 703) Chapter 15 (Slide 767) Chapter 16 (Slide 827) Chapter 17 (Slide 878) 1 -3 Learning Objectives of this Course Gain an appreciation of strategic importance of operations and supply chain management in a global business environment Understand how operations relates to other business functions Develop a working knowledge of concepts and methods related to designing and managing operations and supply chains Develop a skill set for quality and process improvement 1 -4 Chapter 1 Introduction to Operations and Supply Chain Management Operations Management Roberta Russell & Bernard W. Taylor, III Lecture Outline What Operations and Supply Chain Managers Do Operations Function Evolution of Operations and Supply Chain Management Globalization and Competitiveness Operations Strategy and Organization of the Text Learning Objectives for This Course 1 -6 What Operations and...
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...|[pic] |SYLLABUS | | |OPS/571 | | |Operations Management | Copyright © 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Ontario Learning Center Course Description This course applies planning and controlling concepts to increase the value of the supply chain. Students learn to evaluate and improve processes. Other topics include process selection, process design, and theory of constraints, project implementation, capacity planning, lean production, facility location, and business forecasting. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have...
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