MODULE 3

Strategy implementation is the translation of chosen strategy into organizational action so as to achieve strategic goals and objectives. Strategy implementation is also defined as the manner in which an organization should develop, utilize, and amalgamate organizational structure, control systems, and culture to follow strategies that lead to competitive advantage and a better performance. Organizational structure allocates special value developing tasks and roles to the employees and states how these tasks and roles can be correlated so as maximize efficiency, quality, and customer satisfaction-the pillars of competitive advantage. But, organizational structure is not sufficient in itself to motivate the employees

Follwoing are the main steps in implementing a strategy: Developing an organization having potential of carrying out strategy successfully. Disbursement of abundant resources to strategy-essential activities. Creating strategy-encouraging policies. Employing best policies and programs for constant improvement. Linking reward structure to accomplishment of results. RESOURCE ALLOCATION

Creating a supportive culture

No longer just a glib, feel-good piece of advertising hype, the phrase, employees are our most important asset, is beginning to have a nice ring to it a ring of authenticity. Its a good time for a new work-life strategy. A study of executives by The Conference Board last year found talent is now seen as critical to success and its management integral to all aspects of the business. And one after another, futurists are saying that companies must be sure their organization has an employer of choice position, meaning theyre respected as one of the best companies in their industry. It will be the only way to survive, they say, during the approaching labor shortage. An invitation to create a flexible, supportive work environment True or not, the predictions are an invitation to create a strategy for a flexible, supportive work environment, one that will be comprehensive and lasting, that will transform your culture and serve the needs of both employee and employer. Theres no one-size-fits-all plan to ensure success; any effort must be tailored to a companys needs and culture. But we believe there are steps that will increase the chances of success. Be clear about managements goals Even if youve been handed a directive from top management to work toward the transformation of your culture and create a work-life effort, its wise to invest time, energy and research into building a solid base of support for your efforts. In order to do so, you will have to link them to the companys goals. Take the time to interview leaders in every area of the company to get clear about their goals and what they believe it will take from the workforce to achieve them. Do they believe the current level of talent is sufficient? Do they see employees as fully engaged and willing to go the extra mile? What do they think could be done to increase that level of engagement? Whats being done currently and how do they think its working? What would they need to know in order to approve new budget items, programs and practices? Most important, whats keeping them up at night? Create a task force A representative task force will help solicit buy-in, add credibility to your recommendations, divide the work and give more people a sense of responsibility for the outcome. We suggest keeping it to 12, including some people with influence (research skills will be helpful) and making sure unions are

represented as well as management and non-management employees. Their job: devise questions and participate in management interviews, help create and administer an employee survey, run employee focus groups, benchmark, explore community resources, analyze data, determine needs and solutions, put together a business case and create recommendations. Benchmark Its a good time to be collecting information about best practices. It can be as easy as digging out the October issue of Working Mother magazine at the library or downloading our 26-page report, Best Practices, 2003/2004. A Google search using the keywords best practices work-life or best companies to work for produces literally several million opportunities for research. Your management will want to know what those in your own industry are doing, particularly those companies seen as competitive for both customers and talent, and the information will be an important part of the business case. Analyze current internal conditions Ask human resource staff if they believe your organizations policies treat employees as responsible, trusted adults. Which programs are and are not fulfilling expectations? Is the goal simply to cut costs or to recruit, retain and motivate employees? What would they like to see done differently? An employee survey will determine whats keeping employees from being fully committed and engaged, and what would make a difference. It can explore sources of stress and distraction from work, level of commitment and engagement, awareness of and alignment with the mission, supervisory relationships, awareness, use and satisfaction with current offerings, and the need for future offerings. Results can be crosstabulated so as to determine the experience of employees who are highly committed and engaged, and compare them with those who are not. Focus groups for managers can be mutually educational, not only exploring what may be keeping them from accomplishing their organizations goals, but focusing their attention on what the company could do to make its employees more loyal and committed. Employee groups can answer the same question from their perspective, and consider what would motivate them to put themselves out for the organization. Explore resources, analyze data Use the task force to investigate community resources (or national and international resources if your organization has global employees) and establish connections with those that may be able to help your workforce with everyday issues. Build a resource bank of services that can be valuable both in the creation and implementation of your recommendations. Then make a list of the goals youve gathered from senior leaders, begin to isolate the issues and needs that have emerged from your study, and list them. Now look at each need and decide whether its presence could be impeding your companys progress toward any of its goals, or if alleviating that need could hasten progress. Brainstorm solutions Then brainstorm solutions, using your benchmarking data for suggestions. Is supervision inconsistently supportive? Suggest manager training, regular employee assessment of manager supportiveness, performance evaluations that include the results, and rewards for success. Is a lack of backup childcare

causing absenteeism? Company-wide implementation of emergency telecommuting is one low-cost solution and a subsidized in-home backup care pro-gram is another, with a proven payoff. Is work overload a problem? Work redesign may be the solution. Seminars on time and stress management may help, along with serious implementation of flexible work arrangements. Other possibilities: more health and wellness initiatives; financial and retirement counseling; mentoring, dependent care resource and referral; services of a geriatric care manager. Link recommendations to goals, concerns In your final report, stress the link between the data gathered, including senior management goals and concerns, and your recommendations. You might create a long-term and short-term plan, including the slam-dunks in the short-term plan and the more drastic measures to be implemented gradually, after some management training and preparation. Suggest a pilot project for anything that may seem too radical or threatening. You can treat it as an experiment, control the size, set goals and regularly monitor and report progress. If the program isnt cost-effective, doesnt fulfill its goals or simply isnt liked by a majority of those involved, it can be tweaked or discarded. Presenting recommendations Meet with as many senior leaders as you can gather together, and involve the entire task force, if possible, empowering each member to answer specific questions. Learn about your audience and tailor your presentation to what has worked with them in the past. Offer concrete facts about goals, solutions, proof, dollars and productivity; use visual aids, but rehearse with a non-presenter who will handle the machinery. Remember, these are human beings; compliment them on the positives that emerged from your study. Youre a salesperson with a remarkable product: Employer of choice status, a workplace that will foster loyalty, commitment, engagement, focus and even creativity, and timing that couldnt be better. RESOURCE ALLOCATION In strategic planning, resource allocation is a plan for using available resources, for example human resources, especially in the near term, to achieve goals for the future. It is the process of allocating resources among the various projects or business units. The plan has two parts: Firstly, there is the basic allocation decision and secondly there are contingency mechanisms. The basic allocation decision is the choice of which items to fund in the plan, and what level of funding it should receive, and which to leave unfunded: the resources are allocated to some items, not to others. There are two contingency mechanisms. There is a priority ranking of items excluded from the plan, showing which items to fund if more resources should become available; and there is a priority ranking of some items included in the plan, showing which items should be sacrificed if total funding must be reduced

What is Operations Management?

Operations Management deals with the design and management of products, processes, services and supply chains. It considers the acquisition, development, and utilization of resources that firms need to deliver the goods and services their clients want. The purvey of OM ranges from strategic to tactical and operational levels. Representative strategic issues include determining the size and location of manufacturing plants, deciding the structure of service or telecommunications networks, and designing technology supply chains. Tactical issues include plant layout and structure, project management methods, and equipment selection and replacement. Operational issues include production scheduling and control, inventory management, quality control and inspection, traffic and materials handling, and equipment maintenance policies.

Research and Development (R&D) Issues

Research and development (R&D) management can plays part in strategy implementation. New products and improvement of existing products that allow for effective strategy implementation OR New products and improvement of existing products that allow for effective strategy implementation These individuals are generally charged with developing new products and improving old products in a way that will allow effective strategy implementation. R&D employees and managers perform tasks that include 1. Transferring complex technology, 2. Adjusting processes to local raw materials, 3. Adapting processes to local markets, 4. Altering products to particular tastes and specifications. Strategies such as product development, market penetration, and concentric diversification require that new products be successfully developed and that old products be significantly improved. But the level of management support for R&D is often constrained by resource availability: Technological improvements that both affect consumer and industrial products and services shorten product life cycles. Companies in virtually every industry are relying on the development of new products and services to fuel profitability and growth. Surveys suggest that the most successful organizations use an R&D strategy that ties external opportunities to internal strength and is linked with objectives. Well-formulated R&D policies

match market opportunities with internal capabilities and provide an initial screen to all ideas generated. R&D policies can enhance strategy-implementation efforts to: 1. Develop robotics or manual-type processes. 2. Spend a high, average, or low amount of money on R&D. 3. Perform R&D within the firm or to contract R&D to outside firms. 4. Use university researchers or private sector researchers. 5. Emphasize product or process improvements. 6. Stress basic or applied research. 7. Be leaders or followers in R&D. There must be effective interactions between R&D departments and other functional departments in implementing different types of generic business strategies. Conflicts between marketing, finance/accounting, R&D, and information systems departments can be minimized with clear policies and objectives. Table gives some examples of R&D activities that could be required for successful 141 implementation of various strategies. Many American utility, energy, and automotive companies are employing their research and development departments to determine how the firm can effectively reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Research and Development Involvement in Selected StrategyImplementation Situations TYPE OF ORGANIZATION STRATEGY BEING IMPLEMENTED R&D ACTIVITY Cosmetic Manufacturer Concentric diversification Add face wash for the user in addition to other make-up items. Plastic container manufacturer Market penetration Develop a biodegradable container. Electronics company Market development Develop a telecommunications system in a foreign country. Pharmaceutical company Product development Develop a procedure for testing the effects of a new drug on different subgroups. Many firms wrestle with the decision to acquire R&D expertise from external firms or to

develop R&D expertise internally. The following guidelines can be used to help make this decision: 1. If the rate of technical progress is slow, the rate of market growth is moderate, and there are significant barriers to possible new entrants, then in-house R&D is the preferred solution. The reason is that R&D, if successful, will result in a temporary product or process monopoly that the company can exploit. 2. If technology is changing rapidly and the market is growing slowly, then a major effort in R&D may be very risky, because it may lead to development of an ultimately obsolete technology or one for which there is no market. 3. If technology is changing slowly but the market is growing fast, there generally is not enough time for in-house development. The prescribed approach is to obtain R&D expertise on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis from an outside firm. 4. If both technical progress and market growth are fast, R&D expertise should be obtained through acquisition of a well-established firm in the industry. There are at least three major R&D approaches for implementing strategies. 1. First firm to market new technological products 2. Be an innovative imitator of successful products 3. Low-cost producer of similar but less expensive products The first strategy is to be the first firm to market new technological products. This is a glamorous and exciting strategy but also a dangerous one. A second R&D approach is to be an innovative imitator of successful products, thus minimizing the risks and costs of start-up. This approach entails allowing a pioneer firm to develop the first version of the new product and to demonstrate that a market exists. Then, laggard firms develop a similar product. This strategy requires excellent R&D personnel and an excellent marketing department. A third R&D strategy is to be a low-cost producer by mass-producing products similar to but less expensive than products recently introduced. Perhaps the most current trend in R&D management has been lifting the veil of secrecy whereby firms, even major competitors, are joining forces to develop new products. Collaboration is on the rise due to new competitive pressures, rising research costs, increasing regulatory issues, and accelerated product development schedules