Factors That Influence Effective Strategy Implementation in Organizations - Research Proposal Example

Factors that Influence Effective Strategy Implementation in Organizations Factors associated with making strategy work: a research proposal on the factors that influence effective strategy implementation in organizations. Abstract Technological inventions have provided firms with new business opportunities and at the same time exposed them to new challenges of competition in the market. The problem has forced many firms to invest enormous resources in different research fields in order to preserve their business competitiveness. Economic survival is, therefore, the main goal in the new business environment. In order to survive economically, firms have come up with strategic plans. Most management studies published acknowledge that strategies frequently fail because the strategy implementers fail to carry out adequate strategy formulation. Effective strategy implementation has received less attention and less research (Floyd & Wooldridge, 27). In this research proposal, the factors that facilitate effective strategy implementation are analyzed. The proposal reviews factors that are associated with effective strategy implementation. Effective strategy for a firm involves four phases. They include environmental scanning, strategy implementation, strategy formulation, and strategy evaluation. Effective strategy implementation is a critical management issue. It has prompted many researchers to come up with tactics in planning and strategy implementation in management (Mazzarol, 2004). Research Problem Kodak was a case of disruptive innovation. In 1975, the group invented the first digital camera but failed to put it into production. Kodak was aware that digital photography could potentially replace its film business. It, however, underestimated the impacts of the new technology. When Kodak invented the digital camera, it had sufficient time to prepare for the transition from film to digital technology. There were no other capable companies that could immediately commercialize the new technology. The company’s management also thought that when digital technology is implemented, it will disrupt its profitable chemical-based film business. The failure to adopt the new technology made Kodak lose its market share. In 2007, it filed for bankruptcy protection because it was no longer competing favorably in the photography market (Paul and Mui, 2009). Strategic management has two important stages: formulation of strategies and implementation of the formulated strategies. Formulation of a business strategy involves the development of the business’ mission. Business mission describes what the business does and what it intends to achieve. The implementation state puts the formulated strategies into action. In this stage, the management sets up a framework for implementation. It involves setting an organizational structure, stating business ethics, and developing business culture. When setting up a business structure, the management informs all employees about their roles within the company. Business culture will develop alongside the implementation of strategies. Employees will learn how to relate with one another and how to perform organizational tasks. In high-tech firms, competition is very high. Many disruptive technologies evolve without prior notices. To cope with these business threats, high-tech firms follow six competitive strategies when formulating their business tactics. They include customer-focused innovation, human capital acquisition and retention, improvement focus, supply-chain management, sustainability, and global engagement. Customer-focused innovation involves developing new products that meet the customers’ needs. The rate of developing such market products should be faster than the pace of business competition. Human capital acquisition involves recruiting, developing and retaining talent that gives the firm a competitive advantage over its rivals. Improvement focus involves analyzing the firm’s annual production and quality gains. Supply-chain management is the development of partnerships that can deliver performance that exceed the competition. Sustainability is securing business advantages such as partnerships and quality systems capable of competing globally (Brandt and Taninecz, 2009, 1). There are some factors that lead to effective implementation of strategies in an organization. They include translating ideas into action, tracking systems, clarifying roles and responsibilities, rewarding achievements, changing programs, and reality checks (Dlodlo 2011). Translating ideas into action entails subdividing strategies into small chunks that are easy to understand. If an organization fails to subdivide strategic ideas, the employees will find it hard to achieve. Tracking systems help in monitoring the progress of implementation of the formulated strategies. The management of an organization should set tracking measures that can monitor and evaluate the performance of employees. Clarifying roles and responsibilities in an organization helps in effective execution of duties. The management has to clearly define the roles of individual employees and also state what the company expects from them. If the management fails to do this, employees will lack specific direction to follow. As a result, the formulated strategies will fail. Rewarding and recognizing employees who stick to the required strategies motivates them. They will go the extra mile in performing their duties. Change of programs creates awareness about new strategies among employees. In an institution, employees usually see the implementation of new procedures as a separate entity from their day-to-day activities (Dlodlo 2011). The management should, therefore, come up with an internal awareness campaign of employees’ collaboration. Reality checks clarify the relevance of plans that an organization is undertaking. In an organization, culture provides order, determines who has the power, stipulates what is right and what is wrong, and determines the institutional structure. Some of the benefits of good culture include high productivity and employee performance, talent retention, and better facilitation of changes. Strategy and culture are strongly related in any institution. In an organization with a well-respected culture, employees have high levels of trust in the management. The trust in management enhances open communication between the policy makers and workers. Open communication facilitates the implementation of company’s goals that lead to growth. A good culture recognizes any individual creativity that exceeds expectation. In such a scenario, creative employees will remain in the firm. The institution will have achieved its strategy of retaining good talent. A good culture also emphasizes employee inclusiveness in decision making. Workers will feel that the institution recognizes their contributions. An institution with a well-respected culture gives its workers chances of career progression. If workers learn that they have long-term contracts with the employer, they concentrate more on their roles rather than seeking new opportunities elsewhere. In so doing, the organization will reduce its staff turnover and protect its reputation. A good organizational culture enhances high accountability of workers. Accountability improves efficiency in production (Barry et al. 2012). The role of leadership is to ensure innovation within the institution. In order to achieve this, the leader should provide the necessary resources for innovation. In an organization, the leader is a care taker. The leader looks after the firm. The leader also ensures the effectiveness of every department in the institution. The leader also develops and executes the institution’s strategies so that the vision and mission can be achieved (Azhar et al, 34-36). Leader analyzes every situation to check if there are gaps between the present and the desired states. In case there are gaps, the leader should formulate proper plans that can fill the gaps in order to fit the desired state. In general, the leader should scan the firm’s environment carefully. A leader should organize and streamline the institution’s operations such as the formulation of strategies. Once the system is organized, the difficulty of carrying out the management tasks reduces. Disorganized leaders, therefore, cannot manage to lead an institution effectively. A Leader should also provide strategic direction in an institution. They lead the workers by showing them what they should do. They also show them how they should do it right. A leader states the guide aimed at achieving the institution’s strategic vision (Azhar et al 34-36). A leader should motivate all employees so that they can understand the institution’s desire for strategic development. If workers fail to get motivation from leaders, they become ineffective in their duties. A leader should develop the company’s culture and structure. The developed culture must match with the goals of the institution. A Leader should facilitate the process of strategic development within the organization. The facilitation can be done by adhering to the formulated plans for the business (Azhar et al, 34-36). If that is done, the workers will have a clear roadmap that can lead to the attainment of business mission, vision and goals. Apple Computer came up with a Balanced Score Card (BSC) that evaluated its long and short-term strategies, market share and return on equity. The committee, which was familiar with the company’s operations, carried out the BSC. The BSC concentrated on Customer Satisfaction, Core Competencies, Employee Commitment and Alignment, Market Share, and Shareholder Values. In customer satisfaction, the committee found out that the survey was still at the introductory stage. The company, however, is known for making high quality consumer products capable of competing in the market. In core competencies, the company’s executives want employees to focus on creating powerful software, developing user-friendly interfaces, and creating efficient systems of distribution. The measurement of competencies along these lines is difficult. The company, thus, is looking for new ways of quantitative measurements. In the category of employee commitment and alignment, Apple Computer carries out comprehensive surveys after every two years. The company, however, does random employee surveys frequently. The study questions focus on how well the workers understand Apple’s strategy. The company categorizes the final results according to the level of each employee (Kaplan and Norton, 2000). In the category of market share, Apple’s executives focus on achieving substantial market share. Acquiring a significant market share is crucial to the executives because it enables them to retain talented software developers. In the category of shareholder value, Apple used to emphasize growth of sales and gross margin. The introduction of BSC shifted focus to invest that can generate future growth. Apple uses the BSC for its strategic plans, for example, adjusting corporate performance. The company also realized that the BSC provides measurable outputs (Kaplan and Norton, 2000). Literature review A recent study on the success and failure of business leaders revealed that the majority of them fail not because of bad strategies but because of poor execution methods. The study also indicated that most leaders from different companies admitted having the best strategies but only a few thought that the strategies were being implemented in the best way. In the same study, most firm managers admitted that they have strategic visions but only a few have gained significant achievements in strategic implementation success. For example, in the United Kingdom, only a third of the companies in existence achieve strategic success (Floyd & Wooldridge, 28). Any firm can successfully implement its strategies when leaders motivate workers. Motivational leadership concentrates on positive reinforcement on achievements of employees. It encourages personal and professional growth. Motivated workers have a higher productivity level. Any institution is supposed to have good leadership in order to survive in business competition and growth. Leaders should, therefore, focus mainly on the attainment of the business goals. The achievement of such goals can be realized through strategic planning. Any meaningful gain in the company will depend on the available leadership. The stakeholders expect leaders to perform to the best of their abilities. Great leadership facilitates an effective strategy implementation in any business. Engaging the staff to participate in effective strategy implementation requires personal efforts from the management team. There is a need for leaders in an organization to involve employees in planning and decision making processes. Research methods The research method that the proposal used is quantitative analysis. The research used well-laid questions that were not confusing. Data that was already available was also used. Implication of the research The research found out that there are quite a number of issues involved in the effective implementation of strategies in business. It implies that business leaders must learn all the strategies in order to acquire relevant skills. The success of business depends on the available leadership. Great leadership is, therefore, necessary for business success. The research also found out that in the high-tech industry, a simple mistake can lead to catastrophic consequences. An example is the case of Kodak, a company that dominated photography and late went bankrupt. In order to survive economically, firms have come up with strategic plans. Reference List Azhar et al. (2011), “The Role of Leadership in Strategy Formulation and Implementation” International Journal of Management & Organizational Studies VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 pg 34-36 Brandt John R. and Taninecz George. (2009) “Customer-Focused Innovation in High Tech Industries.” http://download.microsoft.com/download/C/7/8/C78013CE-1BA7-4EB9-BB2C-A2850D09DAD5/MPI_Report_High-Tech.pdf Carroll, Paul, and Chunka Mui. Billion-Dollar Lessons: What You Can Learn From The Most Inexcusable Business Failures of the Last 25 Years. Rev. pbk. ed. New York: Portfolio, 2009 Kaplan S. Robert and Norton P. David, (2000 September), Focus on Your Organization on Strategy – with the Balanced Scorecard, 2nd Edition, Harvard Business Review http://www.paca-online.org/cop/docs/Kaplan%2BNorton_Balanced_Scorecard_-_3_articles.pdf Sami L. Barry et al. (2012) Organizational Culture: A Fundamental Business Strategy http://www.helblingsearch.com/uploads/0bed6aac-a8fd-4934-8862-8bf206cb7c99.pdf Thobani Dlodlo. (2011, March) Factors Affecting Strategy Implementation and the Role of Middle Managers in Implementation. Stellenbosch University. http://hdl.hande.net/10019.1/8521 Read More