STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Course Description:
This course emphasizes the value and process of strategic management. This is
designed to explore an organization’s vision, mission, examines principles, techniques
and models of organizational and environmental analysis, discuss the theory and
practice of strategy formulation and implementation such as corporate governance and
business ethics for the development of effective strategic leadership.

General At the end of the course, the students should be able to

Objective demonstrate knowledge of the interrelatedness of local, global,
international, and intercultural issues, trends, and systems.
Specific At the end of the course, the students should be able to:
Objectives 1. develop a clearer sense of strategic vision;
2. analyze, synthesize and anticipate the effects of strategic
choices;
3. realize how decisions impact individuals and teams in the
organization;
4. demonstrate the knowledge and abilities in formulating
strategies and strategic plans; and
5. analyze the competitive situation and strategic dilemma in
dealing with dynamic global business environment, market
trends and technological advancement.

MODULE 1

Title : Strategy, Business Model and Competitive Advantage

Period : 3 hours

I. Objectives:
At the end of the period, the students should be able to:
1. Define strategic management;
2. identify each of the components of strategic management process and its
corresponding outcome;
3. identify the strategic management model;
4. explain the meaning of strategic planning;
5. formulate a sample company vision, mission statement, and company
goals and objectives; and
6. Compare organization climate and organizational culture.
II. Subject Matter

1. Topics
1.1. A strategic management model
1.2.Challenges in the external environment
1.3.Challenges in the internal environment

2. Educational Resources
Parnell, John A. (2014). Strategic Management: theory and practice, 4th edition.
Los Angeles, California: Sage Publications, Ltd 

Perreault, W., Cannon, J. & McCarthy J. (2015). Essentials of Marketing:

marketing strategy planning approach 14th edition. USA: McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc.

3. Materials
3.1. Course syllabus
3.2. Handouts
3.3. Worksheets

4. Values Focus
Effective allocation of time and resources to identified opportunities. Likewise, it
also integrate the behaviour of individuals into a total effort and provides a basic
for the clarification of individual responsibilities.

III.Learning Procedures and Strategies

a. Preparatory Activity

Before we begin, let’s understand the concept of strategy:

According to The Economist, a leading publication on business, economics,

and international affairs, “In business, strategy is king, Leadership and hard
work are all very well and luck is mighty useful, but it is strategy that makes or
breaks a firm.” Luck and circumstance can explain why some companies are
blessed with initial, short-lived success. But only a well-crafted, well executed,
constantly evolving strategy can explain why an elite set of companies
somehow manages to rise to the top and stay there, year after year, pleasing
their customers, shareholders, and other stakeholders alike in the process.
Companies such as Apple, Samsung, Disney, Emirates Airlines, Microsoft,
Alphabet (formerly Google), and southwest Airlines come to mind.
 Note: Students should have a clear idea of why the tasks of crafting and
executing strategy are core management functions and why excellent
execution of an excellent strategy is the most reliable recipe for turning a
company into a standout performer over the long term.

b. Lesson Proper

Now, let’s understand what is meant by a company’s strategy.

A company’s strategy is the set of actions that its managers take to

outperform the company’s competitors and achieve superior profitability. The
objective of a well-crafted strategy is not merely temporary competitive success and
profits in the short run, but rather the sort of lasting success that can support growth
and secure commitment to a coherent array of well-considered choices about how to
compete. These include choices about:

1.2.1. How to create products or services that attract and please

customers;

1.2.2. How to position the company in the industry;

1.2.3. How to develop and deploy resources to build valuable competitive

capabilities.

1.2.4. How each functional piece of the business (R&D, supply chain
activities, production, sales and marketing, distribution, finance, and
human resources) will be operated; and

1.2.5. How to achieve the company’s performance targets.

1.3. Let’s take a look about the relationship between a Company’s Strategy
and Business Model.

1.3.1. Closely related to the concept of strategy is the concept of a

company’s business model.
Company’s strategy sets forth an approach to offering
superior value.
A company’s business model is management’s blueprint for
delivering a valuable product or service to customers in a
manner that will yield an attractive profit.
The two elements of a company’s business model are (1) its
customer value proposition and (2) its profit formula.
The heart and soul of any strategy is the actions and moves in
the marketplace that managers are taking to gain a
competitive edge over rivals.
 Five of the most frequently used and dependable strategic
approaches to setting a company apart from rivals and
winning a sustainable competitive advantage are;
1. a low-cost provider strategy-achieving a cost-based
advantage over rivals.
2. a broad differentiation strategy-seeking to differentiate
the company’s product or service from rivals’ in ways that will
appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers.
3. a focused low-cost strategy- concentrating on a narrow
buyer segment (or market niche) and outcompeting rivals by
having lower costs than rivals and thus being able to serve
niche member at a lower price.
4. a focused differentiation strategy-concentrating on a
narrow buyer segment and outcompeting rivals by offering a
customized attributes that meet their tastes and requirements
better than rival’s products.
5. a best-cost provider strategy-giving customers more
value by satisfying buyers’ expectations on key
quality/features/performance/service attributes, while beating
their price expectations.

1.4. Evaluating Company’s External Environment

1.4.1. Thinking strategically about a company’s industry and competitive

environment entails using some well-validated concepts and
analytical tools to get clear answers to seven questions:

Do macro-environmental factors and industry characteristics

offer sellers opportunities for growth and attractive profits?

What kind of competitive forces are industry members facing,

and how strong is each force?

What forces are driving industry change, and what impact will
these have on competitive intensity and industry profitability?

What market positions do industry rivals occupy-who is

strongly positioned and who is not?

What strategic moves are rivals likely to make next?

What are the key factors of competitive success?
Does the industry outlook offer good prospects for profitability?
Analysis-based answers to these questions are prerequisites for a
strategy offering good fit with the external situation.
1.4.2. Let’s look how environmental scanning work!
Organizations exist to survive. Given their vision and mission
statements and set goals and objectives, it is for the organizations
to conduct themselves clearly, deliberately, and strategically.

Below are the creative and cutting-edge strategies:

Environmental scanning- the study and interpretation of the

forces existing in the external and internal environments.
Conducting environmental scanning- both easy and difficult.
According to Aguilar (1967), there are four ways of environmental
scanning:

Undirected viewing- individual is exposed to information with

no specific informational need in mind.
Conditioned viewing- individual directs viewing of information
to specified facts and data to be able to assess their general
impact on the organization.
Informal search- individual actively looks for information to
increase knowledge of a particular issue.
Formal search- the effort exerted by the individual is deliberate
and planned.

1.4.3. Next, let’s see how the external environment work!

The external environment today is highly complex. Nations possess
different levels of growth and development. At the same time, it
also presents varying forces that influence organizational direction
and strategic decision-making.

Social Forces
Changing social structures
Aging population/demand for health services
Sophisticated lifestyles of people
Cross-cultural diversity

Political Forces
Political independence/changing governments
Terrorism/suicide bombings
Chemical and nuclear threats
Global alliances
Economic Forces
Globalization
Competitors and suppliers
Fall of financially stable organizations
Increasing oil prices
Economic trade agreements
 Emerging markets
Rise of China
Technological Forces
Communication technology
Computer-integrated business
E-banking
E-learning
Digital medicine
E-security
Environmental Forces
Climate change/use of biodegradable materials
Environmental waste management
Preservation of rainforest and marine life

1.5. Challenges in the Internal Environment

While the external environment plays an essential role in the survival and
competiveness of an organization, the internal environment presents a more direct
impact on how organizations should conduct themselves towards success.

In fact, there are variables considered as essential if one has to conduct

their organization successfully;

1.5.1. Government;
1.5.2. Culture;
1.5.3. Stakeholders;
1.5.4. Competitors;
1.5.5. Suppliers;
1.5.6. Customers; and
1.5.7. Community.
MODULE 2

Title : Strategy Formulation

Period : 4 hours

I. Objectives :
At the end of the period, the students should be able to:
1. Understand why it is critical for a company managers to have clear strategic
vision of where a company needs to head and why;
2. Explain the importance of setting both strategic and financial objectives;
3. Recognize what a company must do to achieve operating excellence and to
execute its strategy proficiently.

II. Subject Matter

1. Topics
1.1.Business strategies
1.2. Corporate strategies

2. Educational Resource(s)
Parnell, John A. (2014). Strategic Management: theory and practice, 4th edition.
Los Angeles, California: Sage Publications, Ltd 

Perreault, W., Cannon, J. & McCarthy J. (2015). Essentials of Marketing:

marketing strategy planning approach 14th edition. USA: McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc.

3. Materials
3.1. paper
3.2. Worksheet Exercises

4. Values Focus
Practice complex decisions by analysing both risk and value of available options and
mapping out a plan of action.

III.Learning Procedures and Strategies

a. Preparatory Activity
Because of the volatility of the environment, business survival has become more
challenging than ever, it has also shaped the demand for an honest review of
functional activities. Presented are the value chain analysis and different types of
business strategies.
1. Value chain analysis- a general term that refers to a sequence of
interlinked undertakings that an organization operating in a specific
industry engages in.
2. Supply chain analysis- a broad continuum of specific activities
employed by a company.
3. Supply management- a popular term used for purchasing which was
formerly termed as procurement.
4. Inventory management- its role includes all purchased materials and
goods, partially completed materials and component parts, and finish
goods.
3.1. Business strategies.
Business strategy primarily concerned with building competitive
advantage in a single business unit of a diversified company or
strengthening the market position of a non-diversified single business
company.
1. Growth strategies-a mode adopted by an organization to achieve its
main objectives of increasing in volume and turnover.
2. Competitive strategies- essentially long-term action plans prepared
with the end goal of directing how an organization will survive and
compete.
3. Life cycle strategies-refers to the lifespan that a commodity/service
undergoes from its introduction stage to its growth, maturity, and
decline stages.
4. Stability strategies- adopted by the firms that are risk averse, usually
by the small scale with its performance and is satisfied with the
performance and won’t make any changes in its business operation.
5. Retrenchment strategies- it is used by corporations to reduce the
diversity or the overall size of the operations of the company.

3.2. Corporate strategies.

Corporate strategy is orchestrated by the CEO and other senior
executives and establishes an overall game plan for managing a set of
businesses in a diversified, multi-business company.
Michael Porter espoused the following corporate strategies:
1. The Boston consulting group model- a share paradigm started to
make its impact on corporate strategy in the early 1970’s.
2. The generic electric model- used to assess the strength of a
strategic business unit of an organization.
 3. Global strategies- in particular, companies treats or considers the
world as a whole, one market and one source of supply with slight local
variations.

3.3. The basis of Strategy: Structure

All organizations have some form of structure, based on the established
pattern of relationships among the individuals, groups and departments within
it. Correspondingly, there are two structures:
1. Vertical structure- structure of authority and responsibility
where clear limits of financial authority exist; and
2. Horizontal structure-groupings of activities designed to use
the resources towards goal-attainment.
Note, that in most organizations, structure will be illustrated in the form of a
chart.
3.3.1. Functional structure
This is the most common form of structure, it divides the
organization up into its main activities or functions (production,
sales, accounting and so on) in which all similar specialist activities
are grouped together into interdependent departments.
Like other circumstance, functional structure has advantage and
disadvantages;
Advantages of a functional structure
1. Specialized resources are used efficiently.
2. Quality is enhanced by other specialists from the same functional area.
3. Opportunities exist for extensive division of labor.
4. A career structure enables people to advance within their functional
specialist.
5. It fosters communication between specialists and enhances
development skills and knowledge.
Disadvantages of a functional structure
1. Inefficient coordination of functional departments.
2. Responsibility for overall outcomes in unclear.
3. Interdepartmental conflicts.
4. Little creativity and innovation.
5. Difficulties in identifying profitable and unprofitable products.

Divisional structure
It can help overcome the limitations of the holding company and/or
a functional structure, as it contains within it functional specialists
but groups its activities around products or geographical regions.
 Product structure
In this structure, people and resources are grouped accordingly to
an organizations’ products.

Geographical structure
This is where organizations have fewer products, such as IBM, they
may group activities according to sales area and be literally closer
to the customer.

Matrix structure
This is the result when divisionalization adapted to include formal
mechanisms in promoting closer inter-divisional collaboration.

3.4. The levels and formulation of strategy

There is a need in modern times for strategies to achieve agreed
goals and objectives, giving a sense of purpose and direction to the
organization, because of recent technological and social changes and
competition from rival organizations.

3.4.1. Process of strategy

Strategic management is the organized development of the
resources of functional areas: financial, manufacturing, marketing,
technological and manpower in the pursuit of its objectives.

A sequence of developing plans that move from general to specific

and intent to action would create several levels of planning, which
could be identified below.

Mission- every organization will have a purpose for its continued

existence, it also expresses their purpose and can be therefore
be a brief statement. Likewise, it also links with the idea of
vision-how managers interpret the mission for their colleagues.
Objectives- it does not only represent the end point of planning
but are the ends towards which management activities and
resource usage is directed. They therefore provide a sense of
direction and a measure of success achievement.
Strategies- relating to a broad areas of an enterprise’s
operations. Its purpose is to furnish a framework for more
detailed tactical planning and action.
Tactics- these are the actions carried out to put into effect all the
details of a strategic decisions, it also can be seen as the
detailed implementation of a strategy.
Actions, programs and roles- the operational practices that will
translate the intention of the tactics into action by individuals
and are therefore detailed, short term and subject to
immediate control.
 3.4.2. Levels of strategy
Corporate strategy
Competitive or business strategy
Operational or functional strategies
Strategies may come about in different ways which described
below.
3.4.3. Types of strategy
Planned intended and deliberate strategy
Emergent strategy
Opportunistic strategy
Imposed strategy
Realized and unrealized

3.4.4. Other types of strategic formulation

Muddling through
Logical incrementalism
Crafting
Adaptive mode

MODULE 3

Title : Strategy Implementation

Period : 4 hours

I. Objectives :
At the end of the period, the students should be able to:
1. Recognize what managers must do to build an organization
capable of good strategy execution;
2. Explain why resource allocation should always be based on
strategic priorities;
3. Understand why policies and procedures should be
designed to facilitate good strategy implementation;
4. Discuss different types of organizational structure;
5. Recognize the role of information and operating systems in enabling company
personnel to carry out their strategic roles proficiently;
6. Explain how and why the use of well-designed incentives and rewards can be
management’s single most powerful tool for promoting operating excellence.
7. Recognize what constitutes effective managerial leadership in achieving
superior strategy execution.

II. Subject Matter

 1. Topics
4.1. Managerial Components of Strategy Execution
4.2. Building an Organization Capable of Good Strategy Execution: Three Key
Actions
4.3. Allocating Resources to Strategy-Critical Activities
4.4. Instituting Strategy-Supportive Policies and Procedures
4.5. Using Rewards and Incentives to Promote Better Strategy Execution
4.6. Leading the Strategy Execution Process

1 Educational Resource(s)
Parnell, John A. (2014). Strategic Management: theory and practice, 4th edition. Los
Angeles, California: Sage Publications, Ltd 

Perreault, W., Cannon, J. & McCarthy J. (2015). Essentials of Marketing:

marketing strategy planning approach 14th edition. USA: McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc.

2 Materials
3.1. Handouts
3.2. Worksheet Exercises

3 Values Focus
Follow the same rules, establish the same norms, develop mutual respect, and
have similar tolerances.

III.Learning Procedures and Strategies

a. Preparatory Activity
Students are instruct to make a functional organizational structure
Managing the implementation and execution of strategy is easily the most
demanding and time-consuming part of the strategic management process.
Good strategy execution entails that managers pay careful attention to how
key internal business processes are performed and see to it that employees’
efforts are directed toward the accomplishment of desired operational
outcomes.

Executing strategy entails figuring out the specific techniques, actions, and
behaviors that are needed to get things done and deliver results. The exact
items that need to be placed on management’s action agenda always have
to be customized to fit the particulars of a company’s situation.
 Note: Students should be able to understand that in order to achieve
excellence in strategy implementation, it is important to recognize what the
company must do.

c. Lesson Proper

Now, let’s see the managerial tasks crop up repeatedly in company efforts to
execute strategy:

1. Building an organization with the capabilities, people, and structure

needed to execute the strategy successfully;
2. Allocating ample resources to activities critical to good strategy
execution;
3. Ensuring that policies and procedures facilitate rather than impede
effective strategy execution;
4. Adopting process management programs that drive continuous
improvement in how strategy execution activities are performed;
5. Trying rewards and incentives directly to the achievement of
performance objectives;
6. Creating a company culture and work climate conductive to successful
strategy execution; and
7. Exerting the internal leadership needed to propel implementation
forward.

4.2. Building an Organization Capable of Good Strategy Execution: Three Key

Actions.

Proficient strategy implementation depends heavily on competent personnel,

better-than-adequate competitive capabilities, and an effective internal
organization. Building a capable organization is thus always a top priority in
strategy execution.

Three types of organization building actions are paramount:

1. Staffing the organization- putting together a strong management

team, and recruiting and retaining employees with the needed
experience, technical skills, and intellectual capital;

2. Acquiring, developing, and strengthening strategy-supportive

resources and capabilities- accumulating the required resources,
developing proficiencies in performing strategy-critical value chain
activities, and updating them to match changing market conditions
and customer expectations; and
 3. Structuring the organization and work effort- organizing value
chain activities and business processes, establishing lines of
authority and reporting relationships, and deciding how much
decision-making authority to push down to lower-level managers
and frontline employees.

To successfully implement the strategies of the organization, its structure

must support its unique system while the entire machinery of the company
must be aligned to the direction where it wants to go. In fact, organizational
structure refers to the system or mode by which a group of individuals is able
to achieve its desired goals.

4.4.2. Types of organizational structure

Functional organizational structures- organizations adopt a

specific structural arrangement for a reason.
Territorial organizational structure-in this system, the target
market is divided into geographical units according to certain
criteria.
Product organizational structure-coordinated product
information.
Market-centered organizational structure-describes the wide
range of structural forms that center on a group of customer
needs rather than a region, product line, or function
SBU organizational structure-it raises the issue of whether any
marketing functions should be performed at the corporate staff
level.
Matrix organizational structure-it is efficient for establishing
specialist resources but is best for integrating functions.

4.4.3. Choice of an organizational structure

Some factors which may influence the firm’s decision to adopt the
type of organizational structure appropriate to its needs includes:
Size of the firm-indicates the complexity of its organization
The products- another factor that influences the choice of an
organizational structure
The market- characteristics of the market like geographic
dispersion, income class, and buyer behavior need to be
considered in organizing the marketing unit.
Competition- a firm may find it necessary to organize its
marketing efforts following the requirements of competition.
Philosophy of management- a final factor that affects the
structure of an organization is the management philosophy
prevailing in the company.
4.4.4. Evaluation of an organizational structure
A number of criteria may be used in evaluating organizational
structure. This criteria include the ability of the organizational
structure to facilitate control, draw coordination among the
employees, provide information, compute for the costs involved,
and adopt culture of flexibility.
Facilitating control
Coordination
Providing information
Cost of the system
Flexibility

4.4.5. Organizational components

Organization is an entity composed of people that is structured
and managed in such a way that it is able to achieve its set goals
and objectives.
4. Management- refers to the administrative supervision of an
organization which includes leadership, the organization’s
vision-mission, goals, and objectives o attain organizational
success.

5. Employees
The people who work, support, and earn profits for the
organization. Generally, management expects employees to
experience and graduate through three levels of relationships;
Employee satisfaction
Employee involvement
Employee commitment

6. Facilities and equipment

Another important component of the organizational environment is
the facilities and equipment. On the other hand, organizations
with sufficient capitalization use the most sophisticated and the
latest machinery and technology which includes:
Management of building and site maintenance;
Management of machinery;
Management of facilities and
Application of technology.

7. Financial resources
 It determines the direction the organization will take and affect
its capability to realize its set business goals and objectives.

8. Organizational policies
The organizational milieu and company policies, which are
the lifeblood of an organization. They put organizational
structure and system in place.

4.3. Allocating Resources to Strategy-Critical Activities

Early in the process of implementing a new or different strategy, top
management must determine what funding is needed to execute new
strategic initiatives, to bolster value-creating process, and to strengthen the
company’s capabilities and competencies.

This includes:
Careful screening of requests for more people and new
facilities and equipment
Approving those that hold promise for making a contribution to
strategy execution and turning down those that do not.
4.3.1. A company’s ability to marshal the resources needed to support new
strategic initiatives has a major impact on the strategy execution
process. Too little funding slows progress and impedes the efforts of
organizational units to execute their pieces of the strategic plan
proficiently.

4.3.2. A change in strategy nearly always calls for budget reallocations and
resource shifting. Previously important units having a lesser role in the
new strategy may need downsizing. Units that now have a bigger
strategic role mat need more people, new equipment, additional
facilities, and above-average increases in their operating budgets.
Strategy implementers have to exercise their power to put enough
resources behind new strategic initiatives to make things happen, and
they have to make the tough decisions to kill projects and activities
that are no longer justified.

4.4. Instituting Strategy-Supportive Policies and Procedures

A company’s policies and procedures can either assist or become a barrier
to good strategy execution. Anytime a company makes changes to its business
strategy, managers are well advised to carefully review existing policies and
procedures, and revise or discard those that are out of sync.

Well-conceived policies and operating procedures act to facilitate

organizational change and good strategy execution on three ways:
1. Policies and procedures help enforce needed consistency in how
particular strategy-critical activities are performed.

Standardization and strict conformity are sometimes desirable

components of good strategy execution

2. Policies and procedures support change programs by providing top-down

guidance regarding how certain things now need to be done.

Asking people to alter established habits and procedures always upsets

the internal order of things. It is normal for pockets of resistance to
develop and for people to exhibit some degree of stress and anxiety about
how the changes will affect them.

3. Well-conceived policies and procedures promote a work climate that

facilitates good strategy execution.

Managers can use the policy-changing process as a powerful lever for

changing the corporate culture in ways that produce a stronger fit with the
new strategy.

4.5. Using Rewards and Incentives to Promote Better Strategy Execution

To create a strategy-supportive system of rewards and incentives, a company
must emphasize rewarding people for accomplishing results related to creating
value for customers, not for just dutifully performing assigned tasks.

Focusing jobholders’ attention and energy on what to achieve as opposed to what

to do makes the work environment results-oriented. It is flawed management to tie
incentives and rewards to satisfactory performance of duties and activities instead
of desired business outcomes and company achievements.

4.5.1. Motivation and Rewards System

It is important for both organization units and individuals to be properly
aligned with strategic priorities and enthusiastically committed to executing
strategy. To get employees’ sustained, energetic commitment, management
has to be resourceful in designing and using motivational incentives-both
monetary and nonmonetary. The more a manager understands what
 motivates subordinates and is able to use appropriate motivational
incentives, the greater will be employees’ commitment to good day-out-
strategy execution and achievement of performance targets.

4.5.2. Guidelines for Designing Monetary Incentives System

Guidelines for creating incentives compensation systems that link employee
behavior to organizational objectives includes:

1. Make the performance payoff a major,

not a minor, piece of the total compensation package- The payoff for
high-performing individuals and teams must be meaningfully greater than
the payoff for average performers, and the payoff for average performers
meaningfully bigger than for below-average performers.

2. Have incentives that extend to all

managers and all workers, not just top management-Lower-level
managers and employees are just as likely as senior executives to be
motivated by the possibility of lucrative rewards.

3. Administer the reward system with

scrupulous objectivity and fairness- If performance standards are set
unrealistically high or if individual/group performance evaluations are not
accurate and well documented, dissatisfaction with the system will
overcome any positive benefits.

4. Tie incentives to performance outcomes

directly linked to good strategy execution and financial performance-
Incentives should never be paid just because people are thought to be
“doing good job” or because they “work hard”. An argument can be
presented that exceptions should be made in giving rewards to people
who have come up short because of circumstances beyond their control.

5. Make sure the performance targets that

each individual or team is expected to achieve involve outcomes that the
individual or team can personally affect-The role of incentives is to
enhance individual commitment and channel behavior in beneficial
directions.

6. Keep the time between achieving the

target performance outcome and the payment of the reward as short as
possible-Weekly or monthly payments for good performance work much
better than annual payments for employees in most job categories.
Annual bonus payouts work best for higher-level managers and for
 situations in which target outcome relates to overall company profitability
or stock price performance.

Once the incentives are designed, they have to be communicated and

explained. Everybody needs to understand how their incentives
compensation is calculated and how individual/group performance
targets contribute to organizational performance targets.

4.5.3. Nonmonetary Rewards

Financial incentives generally head the list of motivating tools for trying to
gain hearted employee commitment to good strategy execution and operating
excellence. But most successful companies also make extensive use of
nonmonetary incentives
Some of the most important nonmonetary approaches used to enhance
motivation are listed here:
1. Provide attractive perks and fringe benefits- The various options include
full coverage of health insurance premiums; college tuition
reimbursement; paid vacation time; onsite child care; onsite fitness
centers; telecommuting; and compressed workweeks (four 10-hour days
instead of five 8-hour days).

2. Adopt promotion-from-within policies- This practice helps bind workers to

their employers and employers to their workers, plus it is an incentive for
good performance.

3. Act on suggestions from employees-Research indicates that the moves

of many companies to push decision making down the line and empower
employees increase employee motivation and satisfaction, as well as
boost productivity.

4. Create a work atmosphere in which there is genuine sincerity, caring,

and mutual respect among workers and between management and
employees- A “family” work environment in which people are on a first-
name basis and there is strong camaraderie promotes teamwork and
cross-unit collaboration.

5. Share information with employees about financial performance, strategy,

operational measures, market conditions, and competitors’ action- Broad
disclosure and prompt communication send the message that managers
trust their workers.

6. Have attractive office spaces and facilities- A workplace environment

with appealing features and amenities usually has decidedly positive
effects on employee morale and productivity.
4.6. Leading the Strategy Execution Process
For an enterprise to execute its strategy in truly proficient fashion and approach
operating excellence, top executives have to take the lead in the
implementation/execution process and personality drive the pace of progress.

Leading the drive for good strategy execution and operating excellence calls for
three actions on the part of the manager:
1. Staying on top of what is happening and closely monitoring progress;
2. Putting constructive pressure on the organization to execute the strategy
well and achieve operating excellence; and
3. Initiating corrective actions to improve strategy execution and achieve
the target performance results.

4.6.1. Staying on top how well things are going

One of the best ways for executives to stay on top of strategy execution is by
regularly visiting the field and talking with different people at many different
levels. A technique often labeled managing by walking around (MBWA).

4.6.2. Putting constructive pressure on organizational units to achieve good results

and operating excellence

Managers have to be out front in mobilizing the effort for good strategy
execution and operating excellence. Part of the leadership requirement here
entails fostering a results-oriented work climate in which performance
standards are high and a spirit of achievement is pervasive.

Successfully leading the effort to foster a result-oriented, high- performance

culture generally entails such leadership actions and managerial practices
as:
5. Treating employees with dignity and respect;
6. Encouraging employees to use initiative and creatively in
performing their work;
7. Setting stretch objectives and clearly communicating an
expectation that company personnel are to give their best in
achieving performance targets;
8. Focusing attention on continuous improvement;
9. Using the full range motivational techniques and
compensation incentives to reward high performance; and
10. Celebrating individual, group, and company successes.
While leadership efforts instill a spirit of high achievement into the culture
usually accentuate the positive, there are negative reinforcers too. Low-
performing workers and people who reject results-oriented cultural
emphasis have to be weeded out or at least moved to out-of-the –way
positions. Average performers have to be candidly counseled that they have
limited career potential unless they show more progress in the form of
additional effort, better skills, and improved ability to deliver good results. In
addition, managers whose units consistently perform poorly have to be
replaced.