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MNG3702 STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION Q AND A
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- University Of South Africa (Unisa)
MNG3702 STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION Q AND A
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Study Unit 1Explain what you understand by the term organisatonal culture. How can organisatonal culture
support and enhance strategy implementatonn
Organisational culture is the way in which members of an organisation relate to each other, their
work and the outside world in comparison to other organisations. It is a patern of shared basic
assumptions learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal
integration, which has worked well enough to be considered as valid and, therefore, to be taught to
new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems.
Organisational culture can also be defned as the taken-for-granted assumptions and beliefs that are
shared by members of an organisation, ofen expressed as “the way we do things around here”. It is
these assumptions that determine how groups of people respond and behave in relation to issues
they face.
In an organisational context, culture refers to a collection of values and norms shared by people and
groups that work together. Organisational culture varies widely but all companies aim to create a
culture that atracts and retains outstanding people.
Culture can be conceived by 4 diferent layers, namely:
The values of an organisation are the beliefs, traits and behavioural norms that management has
determined should guide the pursuit of its vision and mission.
Beliefs reflect someone’ss sense of what ought to be and can typically be discerned in how people
talk about issues the organisation faces.
Behaviours are the day to day way in which an organisation operates, including work routines, and
how the organisation is structured and controlled.
Taken-for-granted assumptons can be described as, when a solution to a problem works
repeatedly, it becomes taken for granted. Such assumptions then become the core of an
organisation’ss culture as they defne what to pay atention to and what action to take in various
situations.
Strong culture companies have the following characteristics:
1. They have values and principles that atract and retain outstanding people.
2. There is clear employee allegiance to what the organisation stand for and how things are done.
3. Employees do not only view their jobs as only a way to make a living and their organisation as
merely a place to work. and because thereof, there are traditions, beliefs, values and norms that
management can use as leverage to mobilise commitment to the execution of the strategy.
There are three key considerations that are benefcial to strategy implementation.
, Matching the organisational culture with the requirements of the strategy execution efort.
This action can focus the atention of employees on what is most important to successfully
implement the strategy.
Using strong group norms to create culture induced peer pressure which can shape
employee behaviour to do things in a manner that aids the cause of good strategy
implementation.
Accepting that an organisational culture that is consistent with the requirements for good
strategy execution can energise employees, deepen their commitment and enhance worker
productivity.
Leaders transmit and shape organisational culture by way of certain embedding mechanisms,
structural mechanisms, symbolic and substantive actions that they take and planned change
programmes.
Management should understand how to transmit and to shape a culture that supports the
organisation’ss chosen strategy. That will most likely result in good strategy implementation.
- Explain the importance of efectve leadership in strategy implementaton.
- What do you think are the consequences of poor leadershipn
- Can you give a practcal example (of an existng organisatonn practcing efectve
leadershipn
Successful and sustainable strategy implementation depends on all parts of the organisation being
aligned to the strategy and working together as a whole to support the implementation of the
strategy.
Leaders therefore needs to consider all the factors in the external environment such as stakeholder
groups and internal organisational factors including organisational culture to ensure successful
strategy implementation.
Determining a strategic direction for the organisation is the strategic leadership action that is
perceived to play the most important role in efective strategy implementation. The development of
human capital and the exploitation and maintenance of core competencies also play an important
role in strategy implementation. In turn, the development of social capital is the strategic leadership
action that is perceived to play the least important role in efective strategy implementation.
Strategy implementation is perceived as an important but difcult component of the strategic
management process, and the failure of change initiatives is largely due to poor implementation of
strategy. Strategic leadership plays a critical role in efective strategy implementationn strategic
leaders are responsible for efective strategy implementationn and strategic leadership can be the
basis for creating a sustainable competitive advantage. Strategic leaders are therefore perceived to
play an important role in South African organisations.
Strategy implementation is perceived to play an important role in organisational success. A level of
uncertainty and doubt is evident with regard to the efectiveness of strategy implementation and
whether formulated strategies are actually implemented to their full potential.
, A poor understanding of the strategy among the workforce and inefective communication of the
strategy to the workforce are the most important barriers to efective strategy implementation.
Strategic leadership is not perceived to be a major barrier to efective strategy implementation.
Strategic leadership is perceived as the most important driver of strategy implementation from the
given list of factors. Strategic leadership contributes positively to the efective implementation of a
strategy within an organisation.
How does short-term objectvess annual objectves and functonal tactcs support and contribute
to the strategy implementaton processn
Strategy implementation occurs at all organisational levels and the planning for implementation as
well as the planning related to required resources, capabilities and competencies for
implementation should be done concurrently with the overall strategic planning process.
All levels of management should be involved both in strategy formulation and in the strategy
implementation process.
The entire workforce should know, the overall direction of the organisation as well as what needs to
be done on a daily, weekly and monthly basis in order to achieve the strategic goals.
Short term objectves are defned as measurable outcomes achievable or intended to be achieved in
one year or less.
Short term objectives aid strategy implementation in the following ways:
It operationalise long term objectives. Agreement on short term objectives, throughout the
organisation could be a strong force and means of avoiding conflict and disagreement. Short term
objectives serve as standards for measuring progress and outcomes, providing opportunity to take
corrective action where needed and ensuring that strategy implementation stays on track.
Long term objectves are atained by achieving successive year-on-year short term objectives.
Annual objectves aid to strategy implementation in the following ways:
They serve as guidelines for action, directing the eforts and activities of the organisation’ss members.
They provide a source of legitimacy by justifying activities to stakeholders. They serve as
performance standards and source of employee motivation. They provide employees and managers
with the incentive to perform and they also provide a basis for designing an appropriate
organisational structure.
Functonal tactcs are detailed statements of the means or activities that will be used by an
organisation to achieve short term objectives and establish competitive advantage.
They ensure that all departments work to achieve the same goal and they focus the atention of
functional managers on what is critical and needs to be accomplished to ensure successful strategy
implementation.
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