, MNG3702: Strategic Implementation
Learning unit 1: Introduction to strategy implementation
TRANSLATING LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES INTO ANNUAL OBJECTIVES
FUNCTIONAL STRATEGIES AND TACTICS IN STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION
Strategy deployment
Aligning organizational units with strategic direction
Corporate, business & functional dimensions all need to be aligned &
support eachother for success
Successful Mobilization: corporate, business & functional dimensions are
implementation of
strategic iniatives
awakened & kept moving until they find their place
Strategic plan = cup that provides structure
Strategy deployment = act of filling the cup with whatever is needed
Aligning individual behavior with strategic direction
5 tools:
Successful Successful 1. Recruitment process: employ people that support the
alignment of alignment of companies direction
individual organisational
behaviour with units with 2. Training & development: knowledge, skills & attitudes of
strategic direction strategic direction employees match the direction of the business
3. Policies & procedures: changes might need new policies to
replace old ones
4. Cascading objectives: used as a framework for setting
objectives lower down the organization
5. Reward systems: tailored to reward behaviors & achievements and support strategic direction
Strategic initiatives
↘ key projects focused on achieving specific objective or improving performance in order to achieve a performance
target
Enablers of strategy deployment
SD is underpinned by 3 enablers:
Communication of strategy
4 main objectives:
I. Ensure everyone knows what the strategy is & how it will affect them
II. Resolve ambiguity & uncertainty
III. Explain assumptions & judgements that were made during the analysis process & explain decisions made
IV. Ensure coordination
Ability to learn & adapt
Strategic direction is developed, implemented & repeatedly and continuously modified in response to changes in
environment
Success comes from having necessary discipline to change when it’s not working & change the strategy without
abandoning the vision of the business
Experimenting is a key to making adjustments successful
3basic components:
a) Conducting the experiment
b) Studying the success or failure of the experiment
c) Transferring lessons learnt to the business
Allocation of resources
When requesting funds, business must take the following into account:
o Extent to which the proposed resources contribute towards the mission & objectives
o Extent to which they support strategic direction & key initiatives
o Risk associated with the proposal
,ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AND LEADERSHIP IN STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION
Organizational culture
↘ collection of values & norms shared by people & groups who work together
Culture can be conceived by different layers:
o Values: Beliefs, traits & behavioral norms that management has determined should guide the pursuit of its
vision & mission
o Beliefs: reflect someone’s sense of what ought to be & can typically be discerned in how people talk about
issues
o Behaviors: day-to-day ways the business operates
o Taken-for-granted assumption: when a solution to a problem works repeatedly & gets taken for granted
*pg198* example!
OC serves important functions in an organisation that include serving:
• the vision and strategy of the organisation
• the means through which to attain strategic objectives
• an individual’s role orientation
• quality assurance
• common language and effective communication
• the means for corrective actions and interventions.
Strategic leadership
Leaders of organisations play a critical role in ensuring that their
organisations pre-emptively and successfully adapt to dynamic and changing
environments. Leadership occurs at all levels of an organisation, but top-
level executives are ultimately responsible for the success & sustainability of
the organisation.
Leaders: people able to influence others and who possess managerial
authority. Leadership is about influencing the behaviour of other people. To
be successful, top-level executives need to demonstrate strategic leadership
(think strategically; be emotionally intelligent; have a range of behaviours at
their disposal and have the wisdom to apply the right combination of
behaviours at the right time)
Good strategic leaders have the following characteristics:
• Vision, eloquence, consistency
• Articulation of the business model
• Commitment
• Being well informed
• Willingness to delegate and empower
• Smart use of power
• Emotional intelligence
The following six principles allow for better understanding of the skills required to be a strategic leader and how these
skills can be mastered in a way that allows strategic leaders to think strategically and navigate the unknown effectively.
I. Strategic leaders are future orientated and anticipate change
A leader needs to look beyond the present and anticipate change to help them see opportunities before competitors do.
Effective leaders are constantly scanning the environment and are focused on uncovering opportunities inside and
outside the organization. They consider the complex and unpredictable nature of the future and develop broader
networks to gain insights into the perspective of customers, competitors and partners. Leaders know the importance of
formalizing the collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of market and business intelligence (learning skills
can be developed to identify and take advantage of opportunities). Active participation and leadership is required to find
out what works and recognize achievements of performers and reward those who come up with innovative ideas and
practices.
II. Strategic leaders get things done
Strategic leaders implement the best solutions to make a difference, they talk about what they might do and do it.
Actions are based on careful reflection and examination of a problem through many lenses.
, III. Strategic leaders open new horizons
To uncover possibilities beyond the mundane and open new horizons and directions for their firms, strategic leaders are
expected to look beyond the obvious to see patterns, interpret different events and synthesize various outputs to gain
new insight. These leaders will work with all stakeholders and understand how their work interweaves with that of their
colleagues and relevant stakeholders to create opportunities for innovative practice. Opening new horizons means
helping others see beyond established orthodox means and experimenting with new, exciting and more effective ways
of meeting customer needs.
IV. Strategic leaders reach out to stakeholders
Strategic leaders value the input of stakeholders and understand their importance when it comes to implementing new
strategies so they use proactive communication and frequent engagements to build trust and get their support. They are
sensitive to different cultures and cross-cultural issues, and respectfully confront issues and have perspectives that may
differ from dominant thinking. Strategic leaders need to be skilled at managing conflict positively and at framing
dynamic relationships in ways that are productive.
V. Strategic leaders are fit to lead
Strategic leaders are confronted by various obstacles and environmental changes that pose threats and risks for the firm.
These changes create increased levels of anxiety and stress so to deal with this they need to be flexible, reliable and
resourceful. Being fit to lead is also about being mentally prepared to exploit opportunities which arise expectantly, to
cope with uncertainty and make things happen with limited resources. Strategic leaders need to manage their physical
and mental wellbeing.
VI. Strategic leaders do the ‘next’ right thing and learn from experiences
Strategic thinkers need to insist on multiple options and should not get locked into simplistic yes/no choices. They
recognize the importance of balancing precision with speed, consider the tradeoff involved and take both short and long
term goals into account. Successful leaders recognize the importance of organizational learning and consider lessons
learned from both successful and unsuccessful goals to be important for future decisions.
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION
Organisational design: process of deciding how an organisation should create, use and combine organisational structure,
control systems & organisational culture to pursue its business model and long-term objectives.
Organisational structure: the means through which a company assigns employees to specific tasks and roles and
specifies how these tasks and roles are linked together to increase efficiency, quality, innovation & responsiveness .
The purpose of organisational structure is to coordinate & integrate the efforts of employees at all levels − corporate,
business and functional – and across an organisation’s functions and business units so that all levels work together in a
way that allows the organisation to achieve its long-term objectives.
Structures traditionally adopted by organisations, depending on their specific requirements:
Simple organisational structure- includes an owner & a few employees, in which management tasks, responsibilities and
communication are highly informal.
Functional organisation structure- necessary to have different people handling different tasks (marketing, finance,
operations), thus working in functional groups which are relatively more formal and require formal planning,
organisation, coordination and control.
Divisional structures- occur when an organisation diversifies its product or service lines, and serves a number of
geographic areas and heterogeneous customer groups, resulting in functional structures becoming inadequate.
Matrix organisational structures- characterised by dual channels of authority, performance responsibility, evaluation
and control, and are largely adopted by large, project-oriented organisations.
POLICIES, SYSTEMS AND PROCEDURES IN STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION
Policies: specific guidelines, methods, procedures, rules, forms and administrative practices established to support and
encourage work toward stated goals
Policies are characterised by setting boundaries, constraints and limits on all kinds of administrative actions. They clarify
what can and cannot be done in pursuit of an organisation’s objectives, simplify decision-making, and promote
delegation of decision-making to appropriate managerial levels. Policies can either assist or block good strategy
implementation.
