The firm performance is a complex term which may include different shadows of meaning as long as it relates to organizational performance, functioning of the firm and outcomes of its operations. Normally, the firm performance implies the organizational performance, including manufacturing of products and services, functioning of different units of the firm, performance of its employees and outcomes of their work in total. At the same time, the firm performance can be viewed in a broader context as a part of the business development of the firm. What is meant here is the fact that the business development mirrors the firm’s performance and allows to assess the extent to which the organizational performance is effective. At this point, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the firm’s performance is basically measured in terms of efficiency of the firm’s operations. In fact, the more effective the firm’s operations Continue reading
Strategic Management Concepts
Using Information Technology to Achieve Competitive Advantage
The world has grown more than enough in the context of information technology in such way that organization work more efficiency to enhance and maximize their daily productivity. Storage devices, data protection, cloud application and faster communication are the main advantages that information technology can provide to businesses. IT/IS has big impact in computer application on which nearly every work environment is dependent, therefore, since those applications are computerized and widely used, it is advantageous to incorporate IT into business. Information technology is categorized into major three group known as operation, financial and strategic system. If the operation and financial system are well integrated may result strategic system for other enterprises, however, it depends on the core business objective of the enterprise. For instance, cloud application and cloud storage are advance technology where most of the organizations are not aware of it, organization don’t consider much about technology even though Continue reading
Four Levels of Uncertainty – Strategic Planning Under Uncertainty
Even the most uncertain business environments contain a lot of strategically relevant information. First, it is often possible to identify clear trends, such as market demographics, that can help define potential demand for future products or services. Second, there is usually a host of factors that are currently unknown but that are in fact knowable-that could be known if the right analysis were done. The uncertainty that remains after the best possible analysis has been done is what we call residual uncertainty. Hugh G. Courtney, Jane Kirkland, and S. Patrick Viguerie in their article Strategy Under Uncertainty have developed a useful framework for dealing with various uncertainties in strategy formulation. Four Levels of Uncertainty The authors present four levels of uncertainty: 1) A predictable future, 2) Alternate futures 3) A range of futures 4) True ambiguity. Level 1: Clear Enough/Predictable Future This would apply to situations where sufficiently precise predictions Continue reading
The Role of Intelligence in Strategy Formulation
Strategic management is that ideas and injunctions that enable the organization achieve its objective or long-term target to perform a better performance. The purpose of strategic management is to seek the opportunities for better future of the organization. Generally, good strategic management practices can improve the organization performance and achieve the organization target objectives. The strategies on an organization are made by the management itself to ensure the successful of the organization. The strategic management process consists of three stages which are strategy formulation, strategy implementation and strategy evaluation. Strategy formulation want to ensure that the organization achieve the objectives that they have been made. Strategy formulation includes the decision on what business to conduct, how to allocate the resources, and whether want the business join or enter to international market. Besides, strategy formulation phase includes developing a vision and mission, identifying an organization external opportunities and threats, determining internal Continue reading
How Innovation Contributes to Competitive Advantage?
From competitive environment, products within the same marketing from each provider are quite similar and difficult for customers to realize the difference. Innovation capability is the key productivity that creates competitive advantage by perceiving or discovering the new or better way to compete in an industry and launch them into the market. One of success factor depends on innovation’s relative advantage. Innovation has become the most important asset that creates competitive advantage for company, and the first mover advantage when getting magnitude of market acceptance. In the long run, maintaining product innovation is the way to sustain competitive advantage and drive the growth of productivity for further competitiveness of the company. However, product innovation always comes along with new process technology. Around half of the Fortune 500 in 1980s was disappeared from the list in 1990s because of three fundamental forces; wealth, fashion and invention. From this information, it showed Continue reading
Organization Design
Designing organizations is a complex exercise. Organization Design involves making choices about how to group individuals and structure their tasks. According to Harvard Business School professor Robert Simons, in his article “How Risky is your Company?”, organization design must take into account the company’s strategy, competitive environment, stage of the life-cycle and various other factors. In short, it is a fine balancing act. In the early days of an organization, organization design receives little attention. But over time, problems emerge as the charisma of the founders becomes insufficient to manage a larger enterprise. Systems and processes become important. This is when a functional structure is typically chosen. After some time, the functional structure becomes inadequate to respond to the needs of the market place because of centralized decision making. At that point, a divisional structure becomes necessary. But with time, a divisional structure leads to fiefdoms. Coordination becomes difficult, resources Continue reading