A corporate entity needs a vision because “where there is no vision, the people perish”(Proverb 29:18). This quotation from the holy writ aptly captures the essence of vision both at individuals and corporate level. Vision is important in that it guides and perpetuates corporate existence. Vision is viewed as a mental picture of a compelling future situation. It originates from creative imagination, the act or power of perceiving imaginative mental images or foresightedness. Corporate vision could be thought of as related to intuition. This is, however, not to eliminate other sources of corporate vision. Corporate vision can be associated with external agencies imposition of strategy or vision and, they can be deliberately formulated as part of strategic planning process. Notwithstanding the process leading to the emergency of vision, from strategic management perspectives, corporate vision creates a picture of a company’s destination and provides a rational for going there – Somewhat Continue reading
Strategic Management Concepts
Organizational Development Through Management by Objectives (MBO)
Management by Objectives (MBO) program begins with the top management providing clear statement of organizational purpose or mission so that individual member can align their goals with critical organizational objectives. This statement can then serve as a guide for developing long range goals and strategic planning. Departmental and individual goals can then be derived from organizational goals. Organizational Development through MBO approach generally involve the following stages: Formulating Long Range Goals: Guided by the organization’s mission statement, senior management defines critical long term objectives and determine how available resources will be used to accomplish these goals. This process then leads to strategic planning activities which describe how the organization will cope with its changing environment. Developing Specific Objectives: In this step, broad organizational objectives are translated into specific measurable outcomes with clearly stated time-frames Although organizational objectives may include areas such as profitability, market share, and quality, Continue reading
Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
Value stream mapping is a framework that could be used by the line-managers to identify the types of wastages in a value chain. The goal of value stream mapping is to identify, demonstrate and decrease the waste. Value stream mapping identifies the non value adding activities in a process and eliminates wastage due to non-value adding activities. It focuses on visual maps the flow of materials and information from the time products come in the back door as a raw material through all manufacturing raw materials. In this frame work, the line-manager could be able to track the process flow and value addition to the product in every activity. Whenever a non value adding activity is identified then it is called as waste. 1. Value stream mapping to identify the type of wastage Value-adding steps are drawn across the center of the map and the non-value-adding steps be represented in Continue reading
Case Study: Restructuring Process of Volkswagen
As western automobile markets reached saturation, automobile giants like Chrysler and Volkswagen resorted to restructuring. Volkswagen had concentrated on its portfolio restructuring since early 90’s. Volkswagen acquired Skoda in 1991. Volkswagen helped Skoda to emerge out of bankruptcy and Skoda soon became “U.K.’s best loved car”. This in turn helped Volkswagen, whose profits were declining around the same time. It gained access to the little penetrated car market of Eastern Europe. In 2009, it acquired 49.9% stake in Porsche. During recession, Porsche plunged into debts. Volkswagen used this opportunity to gain from its rival, who had a respected brand name globally. Even though the car market has matured in western parts of the globe, Volkswagen has been using strategic acquisitions to grow further. The financial restructuring process of Volkswagen, called as ‘ForMotion’ is well-known. This restructuring process began in 2004. With the commencement of ‘ForMotion’, a number of workers lost Continue reading
The Importance of Core Competencies in Strategy Formulation
Strategy allows an organisation to deliver its vision. To develop a deliberate strategy which could potentially increase the sustainability of an organisation clearly requires the identification of core competencies but often a single strategy is not the answer. Organisations require a headline strategy to fit a brief which resonates the vision but several strategies are required over many departments such as research and development, production and marketing to deliver the main strategy. The process of strategy development is complex and methodology depends on several factors including the availability of resources and the external environment. The first step in strategy development is the identification of core competencies then followed by the the process of leveraging resources so they can be exploited for maximum benefit. Strategy development is a crucial step in attaining competitive advantage but a strategy is only as successful as its implementation. The process of leveraging core competencies therefore Continue reading
Intuition and Analysis in Strategic Decision Making
In the global marketplace, intuition and rational process both play a crucial role in effective strategic decision making. In various firms, intuitive process is used under the strategic management to develop effective decisions for attaining organizational goals and objectives. Intuition indicates to solve the problem with the help of using sensing and without using rational process. It can be discussed as a process to reach at the conclusion with the help of fewer information those are required for taking appropriate decisions. It is a built-in capacity that is used by the individuals to reach at the solution of the problem effectively. At the same time, it is negatively related with the stable competitive environment. Intuition is used as a business tool in many organizations to conduct and run the business successfully. Intuition is a psychological function supports to individuals for using her/his experiences and knowledge to isolate and integrate the Continue reading