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 awakened & kept moving until they find their place
strategic iniatives Strategic plan = cup that provides structure
Strategy deployment = act of filling the cup with whatever is
needed
Successful alignment Successful alignment Aligning individual behavior with strategic direction
of individual of organisational 5 tools:
behaviour with units with strategic 1. Recruitment process: employ people that support the
strategic direction direction
companies direction
2. Training & development: knowledge, skills & attitudes of
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.
RESOURCES AND CAPABILITIES IN STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION
An organisation’s strategy will require either to exploit existing capabilities, or to explore and develop new
capabilities, or to do both. A new strategy will undoubtedly require additional resources and capabilities − or a
reallocation of current resources from existing low-opportunity activities to new, potentially high-opportunity
activities and strategic priority areas. Planning and budgeting for additional resources and capabilities must
occur early in or concurrently with the strategy formulation process.
Resources and capabilities
Resources
Resources are grouped into 5 categories:
A. Financial capital: organizations ability to generate funds, internally or through loans & investments
B. Physical capital: operational & manufacturing equipment, location & access to raw materials
C. Human capital: knowledge, management & employee insight, intellect, relationships, training &
experience
D. Organizational capital: reporting structure & management, planning, coordinating, controlling &
networks
E. Technological capital: ICT systems
Tangible resources
These are physical, observable, quantifiable assets, equipment, money, structures, technology & patents. Can
also be any of the above 5
Intangible resources
Are subsets of the strategic resources of an organization & includes knowledge, intellectual-human-structural-
customer-organisational-innovation & process capital
3 types:
1. Human resources – knowledge, trust, managerial capabilities
2. Innovation resources – ideas, scientific capabilities, capacity to innovate
3. Reputational resources – brand name, reputation, perceptions, reliability
The human resources are the source of knowledge& this can be a valuable contributor to CA and uniqueness.
But some knowledge is public (private knowledge is valuable) Can be explicit or tacit
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 awakened & kept moving until they find their place
strategic iniatives Strategic plan = cup that provides structure
Strategy deployment = act of filling the cup with whatever is
needed
Successful alignment Successful alignment Aligning individual behavior with strategic direction
of individual of organisational 5 tools:
behaviour with units with strategic 1. Recruitment process: employ people that support the
strategic direction direction
companies direction
2. Training & development: knowledge, skills & attitudes of
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.
RESOURCES AND CAPABILITIES IN STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION
An organisation’s strategy will require either to exploit existing capabilities, or to explore and develop new
capabilities, or to do both. A new strategy will undoubtedly require additional resources and capabilities − or a
reallocation of current resources from existing low-opportunity activities to new, potentially high-opportunity
activities and strategic priority areas. Planning and budgeting for additional resources and capabilities must
occur early in or concurrently with the strategy formulation process.
Resources and capabilities
Resources
Resources are grouped into 5 categories:
A. Financial capital: organizations ability to generate funds, internally or through loans & investments
B. Physical capital: operational & manufacturing equipment, location & access to raw materials
C. Human capital: knowledge, management & employee insight, intellect, relationships, training &
experience
D. Organizational capital: reporting structure & management, planning, coordinating, controlling &
networks
E. Technological capital: ICT systems
Tangible resources
These are physical, observable, quantifiable assets, equipment, money, structures, technology & patents. Can
also be any of the above 5
Intangible resources
Are subsets of the strategic resources of an organization & includes knowledge, intellectual-human-structural-
customer-organisational-innovation & process capital
3 types:
1. Human resources – knowledge, trust, managerial capabilities
2. Innovation resources – ideas, scientific capabilities, capacity to innovate
3. Reputational resources – brand name, reputation, perceptions, reliability
The human resources are the source of knowledge& this can be a valuable contributor to CA and uniqueness.
But some knowledge is public (private knowledge is valuable) Can be explicit or tacit
