Summary
Summary Strategy&Organisation - Reading Notes Week 6
- Course
- Institution
An extensive summary containing the academic articles for week 6 from the requested reading list in the Strategy and Organisation Pre-Master course.
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
eeania
Reviews received
Content preview
Readings week 6Readings week 6
Article 1: Having trouble with your strategy? Then map it - Kaplan, R.S. and D.P. Norton
(2000)
Article 2: Strategic implementation: Five approaches to an elusive phenomenon - Bourgeois,
L.J. and D.R. Brodwin (1984)
Article 3: Breakdowns in Implementing Models of Organization Change - Van de Ven and Sun
(2011)
Article 4: Reflecting on the strategy process - Mintzberg, H. and J. Lampel (1999)
1
,Readings week 6
Article 1 - Having trouble with your strategy? Then
map it
Kaplan, R.S. and D.P. Norton (2000)
● The key to executing your strategy is to have people in your organization understand it.
● Many executives only provide employees with limited descriptions of what they should
do and why those tasks are important when implementing the business strategy -> this
leads to failed strategy execution
● Strategy maps are tools that help communicate the strategy and the processes and
systems that will help the organisation implement the strategy.
○ A clear description of employees jobs and how they are linked to the overall
objectives of the organisation
○ Provide a visual representation of the company’s critical objectives and the
crucial relationships among them that drive organisational performance
○ They look at: objectives for revenue growth, targeted customers markets, value
propositions, the key role of innovation and excellence in products, services
and processes, investments required in people and systems
○ Show the cause-and-effect links by which specific improvements create desired
outcomes
○ Show how an organisation will convert its initiatives and resources (including
intangible assets such as corporate culture and employee knowledge) into
tangible outcomes
Why strategy maps?
● Industrial age:
○ raw materials -> finished products;
○ An economy based on tangible assets (factory, land, inventory) -> describe and
document the business strategy by using financial tools (general ledgers,
income statements, balance sheets)
● Information age:
○ create and deploy intangible assets (customer relationships, employee skills
and knowledge, information technologies) and a corporate culture that
encourages innovation, problem-solving and general organisational
improvements
○ Intangible assets -> sources of competitive advantage -> no tools exist to
describe them and the value they can create
○ That the value of intangible assets depends on their organizational context and
a company's strategy
■ Investing in only one of the intangible assets, or in a few but not all that
is needed for the success of the strategy -> strategy will fail
■ The value does not reside in any individual intangible asset. It arises
from the entire set of assets and the strategy that links them together.
2
,Readings week 6
● The balanced scorecard:
○ A tool that helps understand how organisations create value in the information
age
■ Describe and illustrate in clear and general language the objectives,
initiatives, targets; the measures used to assess its performance (such
as market share and customer surveys); and the linkages that are the
foundation for the strategic direction
○ It measures a company’s performance from four major perspectives:
■ Learning and growth: knowledge, skills and systems that employees will
need...
■ Internal process: ...need to innovate and build the right strategic
capabilities and efficiencies...
■ Customer: ...that delivers specific value to the market...
■ Financial: ...which will eventually lead to higher shareholder value.
● From the customer perspective, companies typically select one of three strategies:
○ Operational excellence
○ Customer intimacy
○ Product leadership
3
, Readings week 6
From the top-down - building a strategy map
● The best way to build strategy maps is from the top-down, starting with the destination
and then charting the routes that will lead there.
○ First: Review the mission statement (why the company exists) and the core
values (what it believes in)
○ Second: develop a strategic vision (what a company wants to become)
■ A clear picture of the company’s overall goal
○ Third: define the logic of how to arrive at that destination -> the map
Financial perspective
● Start building the map with a financial strategy for increasing shareholder value.
● Two basic levers for their financial strategy:
○ Revenue growth, with two components:
■ Build the franchise with revenue from new markets, new products and
new customers
■ Increase value to existing customers by deepening relationships with
them through expanded sales (i.e. cross-selling products or offering
bundled products instead of single products)
○ Productivity, with two components:
■ Improve the company’s cost structure by reducing direct and indirect
expenses
■ Use assets more efficiently by reducing the working and fixed capital
needed to support a given level of business
● Productivity -> generally, it yield results sooner than the growth strategy
● A strategy map helps highlight the opportunities for enhancing financial performance
through revenue growth, not just by cost reduction and improved asset utilisation
○ Balancing the two strategies helps to ensure that cost and asset reductions do
not compromise a company’s growth opportunities with customers
Customer perspective
● The core of any business strategy is the customer value proposition.
● Value proposition:
○ Describes the unique mix of product and service attributes, customer relations,
and corporate image that a company offers.
○ Defines how the organization will differentiate itself from competitors to attract,
retain, and deepen relationships with targeted customers.
○ It is crucial because it helps an organization connect its internal processes to
improve outcomes with its customers.
○ It is chosen from three differentiators:
■ Operational excellence: excel at competitive pricing, product quality and
selection, speedy order fulfilment and on-time delivery
■ Customer intimacy: quality of its relationship with customers,
exceptional service and the completeness of the solution it offers -
objectives are specific and focused on the company’s strategy
■ Product leadership: functionality, features and overall performance of its
products and services.
4
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller eeania. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $8.33. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
82871 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now