Strategy of a company
Consider your organization or an organization you have worked for in the past. What is/was their strategy? Is/Was it a sound strategy? Do/Did they have a competitive advantage? Do/Did they have a sustainable competitive advantage? Is/Was the organization adhering to their strategy or deviating from it? Where are/were they strong? Where are/were they weak? If you were President of the organization, what recommendations would you make to ensure success with this strategy?
NOTE: I have often heard people say, we need a new strategy. It is IMPERATIVE to understand that changing the strategy is a LARGE and CUMBERSOME undertaking. What they really meant was we need to adjust our tactics in carrying out the strategy. It is important to understand the difference between tactics and strategy. Most of the time, organizations do not change their strategy, they just adjust their tactics. If they do change their strategy, it is not done is a couple of weeks. It usually takes up to two or three years to see the benefits.
Discussion Board 1
The strategy of a startup company I worked for 20 years ago was extremely narrow, and focused on a very niche market. The strategy was actually more emergent than intended as it was not the “result of careful deliberation” (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington, 2008, p. 400), but rather was the outcome of ideas and plans that developed over time. The intent of the company was to develop software for the hospital food service industry to assist in ordering goods, preparing menus, and maintaining real-time inventory. The strategy was not robust, and without in-depth development, it was not sustainable. The strategy did not include a plan for determining specific target customers, methods to penetrate the market, how to identify and establish relationships with Key Opinion Leaders who would beta test, adopt, support and/or provide feedback on the product. The strategy did not specify why the product would be desired by consumers; also, the need
NOTE: I have often heard people say, we need a new strategy. It is IMPERATIVE to understand that changing the strategy is a LARGE and CUMBERSOME undertaking. What they really meant was we need to adjust our tactics in carrying out the strategy. It is important to understand the difference between tactics and strategy. Most of the time, organizations do not change their strategy, they just adjust their tactics. If they do change their strategy, it is not done is a couple of weeks. It usually takes up to two or three years to see the benefits.
Discussion Board 1
The strategy of a startup company I worked for 20 years ago was extremely narrow, and focused on a very niche market. The strategy was actually more emergent than intended as it was not the “result of careful deliberation” (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington, 2008, p. 400), but rather was the outcome of ideas and plans that developed over time. The intent of the company was to develop software for the hospital food service industry to assist in ordering goods, preparing menus, and maintaining real-time inventory. The strategy was not robust, and without in-depth development, it was not sustainable. The strategy did not include a plan for determining specific target customers, methods to penetrate the market, how to identify and establish relationships with Key Opinion Leaders who would beta test, adopt, support and/or provide feedback on the product. The strategy did not specify why the product would be desired by consumers; also, the need
References: David, F. (2011), Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage Approach, Concepts and Cases, Pearson Prentice Hall 14th Edition. Fann, G., & Smeltzer, L. (1989), Communication attributes used by Small Business Owner/Managers for Operational Decision Making, Journal of Business Communication, 26 (4) p305-321. Worth, J. (2013), Growth spurts, Entrepreneur, 41 (4), p72-72.