Departmentalization is the grouping of activities and responsibilities by sub-units of the organization. These sub-units are called departments. The division of labor or degree of departmentalization is driven by the need for specialization whether by process or purpose within an organization. The most common way of process departmentalization is the division of the firm into business functions, such as purchasing, manufacturing, sales, accounting, etc. Departmentalization specifies how employees and their activities are grouped together. It is a fundamental strategy for coordinating organizational activities, because it influences organizational behavior in the following ways: Departmentalization establishes the chain of command – the system of common supervision among positions and units within the organization. It frames the membership of formal work teams and typically determines which positions and units must share resources. Thus, departmentalization establishes interdependencies among employees and subunits. Departmentalization focuses people around common mental models or ways of thinking, such as Continue reading
Strategic Management Concepts
Strategy Diamond – The Five Elements of Strategy
All organizations have strategies. The real question for a business is not whether it has a strategy but rather whether its strategy is effective or ineffective, and whether the elements of the strategy are chosen by managers, luck, or by default. You have probably heard the saying, “luck is a matter of being in the right place at the right time”–well, the key to making sure you are in the right place at the right time is preparation, and in many ways, strategizing provides that type of preparation. Luck is not a bad thing. The challenge is to recognize luck when you see it, capitalize on luck, and put the organization repeatedly in luck’s path. The strategy diamond model was developed by strategy researchers Don Hambrick and Jim Fredrickson as a framework for checking and communicating a strategy. The strategy diamond framework can be used systematically to examine a Continue reading
Strategy Evaluation allows an Organization to take a Proactive Stance towards Shaping its own Future
In this modern era of 21st Century, it is really hard to imagine any result-orientated or business-orientated organizations to remain in static-quo. Usually those organizations are easily prompted to influences or changes from external environment elements. Based on PESTEL analysis, those external environment elements shall include political environment; economical environment; social environment; technological environment; environmental environment & legal environment. However, the impacts of each environment elements differ from time to time and in order to ensure the sustainability of an organization, it is important for an organization to constantly review their objectives and goals from time to time. Organization constitutes of a group of structured and organized people and with a specific purpose or goal to achieve in mind for the entity. Due to that, strategy plays a very important part in determine the success or failure of an organization. Carl Von Clausewitz once said, “Tactic is the art of Continue reading
Learning Organization – Characteristics, Benefits and Limitations
The phenomenon of globalization has turned the business world into a global dynamic village for business exchanges. Indeed, competition is becoming increasingly fiercer and simultaneously using Learning Organization as a strategy has become a MUST for companies’ success and development. Adopting such strategy helps organizations to innovate and acquire knowledge in order to survive and thrive in the current rapid changing environment. Some key definitions by distinguished writers on Learning Organization are as follows: “The essence of organizational learning is the organisation’s ability to use the amazing mental capacity of all its members to create the kind of processes that will improve its own”- Nancy Dixon “A Learning Organization is one that consciously manages its learning processes through an inquiry-driven orientation among all its members”- Kim D. “A Learning company is an organization that facilitates the learning of all its members and continually transforms itself”- M. Pedley, J. Burgoyne and Continue reading
Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM)
Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) is a strategic management tool used in the evaluation of strategic options and determination of relative attractiveness of strategies. The QSPM technique determines which of the selected strategic options is feasible, and it actually prioritizes these strategies. A basic tenet of the QSPM is that firms need to systematically assess their external and internal environments, conduct research, carefully evaluate the pros and cons of various alternatives, perform analyses, and then decide upon a particular course of action. The Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) consists of three stages that are used in the strategies formulation process. The first step is to define key strategic factors. Then, once this has been determined, a SWOT analysis, or other similar form of analysis, is performed to objectively weigh the pros and cons of each strategic factor in numerical form. Finally, based on the information found in the analysis, a Continue reading
Business Tactics – Meaning and Types
Business Tactics are specific operating plans which are part of and fit into the larger strategic plan. In warfare, tactics are plans made to fight and win battles. Strategy is the larger set of plans to win wars. Similarly business tactics can be viewed as short term plans to achieve smaller goals – also called targets- and are part of a larger strategic plan to achieve long term goals. A useful way of viewing tactics is to consider them as linking elements between strategy formulation and strategy implementation. There are two types of primary tactics viz. Timing Tactics and Market Location Tactics. Timing refers to the order in which a firm makes market moves in relation to its competitors. A firm may choose to be first in the market with a product or new features to an existing product. This is known as a first mover tactic. Usually a firm Continue reading