QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
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, LESSON 1
INTRODUCTION TO STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION
AND CONTROL
Define the term strategic management
Strategic management is the process for planning, implementing and controlling strategy
for the organisation.
The purpose of strategic management is to ensure that the organisation applies four key
elements, namely:
1. A clear and consistent long-term strategic direction in terms of what the organization
wants to achieve in future
2. A profound understanding of the external environment to ensure that the
organisation is able to align itself with opportunities and to deal with threats as
effectively as possible
3. An objective knowledge of the key resources, capabilities and weaknesses that the
organisation possesses as well as their value to allow the organisation to build on
these and develop a distinct competitive advantage
4. A proper alignment of organisational strategies, structure, systems, culture, and
functional and operational management (collectively referred to as organizational
architecture) to ensure the effective implementation of strategic plans, portfolios,
programmes, projects and initiatives
Demonstrate an understanding of where strategy implementation and control
fits into the strategic management process
Strategic management refers to the process for planning, implementing and controlling the
strategy of the organisation. It therefore consists of three components, namely strategic
planning, strategic implementation and strategic control.
Strategic implementation- its the doing part where both human and non-human
factors in the organisation are applied to ensure that the strategy is executed in line
with the devised plans. It consists of three elements namely change management,
organizational learning and resource allocation
Strategic control- entails control measures ensuring that strategies are on track. It
reviews and provides feedback to the formulation and implementation phases
, LESSON 2/CHAPTER 8
STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION AS CHANGE
MANAGEMENT
Explain the various barriers to successful strategy implementation
Kaplan and Norton (2001) identified the following four main barriers to successful strategy
implementation:
1. The people barrier- Organisational management does not link incentives to strategy
implementation, which is indicated as a people barrier.
1062.
2. The vision barrier- Organisational management does not ensure that its workforce
has a thorough understanding of the strategy that the organisation intends to
implement in order to realise its vision, which is indicated as the vision barrier.
10
3. The management barrier- Executive teams do not spend sufficient time managing
organisational strategy, which is indicated as the management barrier.
4. The resource barrier- Organisations do not link sufficient resources to strategy
execution, which is referred to as the resource barrier.
Explain the principles in overcoming the barriers to strategy implementation
Kaplan and Norton (2001) highlight five principles, which they call the “principles of a
strategy-focused organisation”:
Principle 1: Translate the strategy into operational terms- The first principle refers to the
translation of the corporate strategy into the logical architecture of a strategy map and
balanced scorecard (BSC) to specify the details of the critical elements of the corporate
strategy.
Principle 2: Align the organisation to its corporate strategy- Organisations consist of
various sectors, business units and functional departments, each with its own operations and
often, each with its own strategies.
Principle 3: Make strategy everybody’s job- Senior management and other strategists
cannot implement strategies on their own – they need the actions and ideas from everyone
in the organisation.
Principle 4: Strategy as a continual process- The fourth principle introduces strategic
management as a double-loop process, which integrates the management of tactics with the
management of strategy.
Principle 5: Mobilise leadership for change- Principles 1 to 4, focus on the BSC tool,
framework and the processes that support it. Becoming a truly strategy-focused organisation
requires more than tools and processes. Firstly, it requires ownership and involvement of the
executive team. Secondly, it requires change from virtually every part of the organisation.
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