Leading and Managing People in Chaos and Complexity - Coursework Example

REFLECTIVE REPORT: LEADING AND MANAGING PEOPLE IN CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY Name Institution Professor Course Date Reflective Report: Leading and Managing People in Chaos and Complexity Introduction The purpose of this report is to offer a reflection about strategy development and implementation for a large corporation. In the 21st century, organizations and corporations continue to face exciting, as well as dynamic challenges. Globalization forces companies to adopt strategic thinking because of the influence of good corporate strategies in enhancing the image and reputation of the corporations, as well as strategic competitiveness in the globalized economies. From this perspective, value-creating strategies are valuable in enabling organizations and corporations to achieve sustained or sustainable competitive edge against other operators in the market of transactions. Other competitors fail in their attempts to duplicate these unique value-creating strategies. The corporate strategy must incorporate and integrate commitments, decisions, and actions in pursuit of strategic competitiveness and increased profitability at the end of each fiscal period. Dimensions of Corporate Strategies In the development and implementation of strategies, large corporations have the obligation to enhance their understanding of strategic management through establishing the dimensions of strategies. There are more than ten separate schools of thought relating to the development and implementation of strategies in large corporations. According to Frery, strategy tends to incorporate three critical strategies (2006). In the first instance, strategy in the large corporation should facilitate and sustain value creation from the shareholders and customers’ perspectives. From this perspective, it is valuable for such organizations to consider in the adoption and implementation of appropriate strategies and mechanisms in the course of defining the type of value, expectations, and communication of the value in the strategy. Business entities and corporations tend to have diverse goals and objectives in the adoption and implementation of their strategies (Burgelman, & Grove, 2007). This makes it valuable to adopt and integrate ideal strategies, which will enable the firm to improve and sustain the value in agreement with the expectations and demands of the shareholders, stakeholders, and consumers. In the process of making decisions on the strategy, certain corporations focus on short-term goals while others engage in forming their strategies in agreement with the long-term expectations (Frery, 2006). On the other than, there are corporations, which engage in formulating their strategies aligned with the mission and vision statement. This is through exclusive concentration on the best value for the target audiences or consumers rather than financial results as targets. In most cases, this approach might lead to numerous threats regarding the long-term survival of the corporation when the company accomplishes effectiveness rather than efficiency in handling the demands and expectations of the target audiences (Ansoff, 1991). Secondly, Frery (2006) notes that the development of strategies in large corporations must relate to the concept of imitation. For instance, large corporations continue to engage in the development of strategies such as benchmarking, core competencies, institutionalization, competitiveness, and dynamic capabilities. These concepts have the tendency to relate to prevention, implementation, and maximization of imitation. Integration of new strategies has zero value if competitors can duplicate their elements. From this illustration, achievement and sustainability of success within the large corporations depend on the ability to adopt and utilize unique strategies in addressing the demands and expectations. Categorically, imitation is the central theme in the strategy development and implementation, thus, the platform for the organizations to build and defend sustainable competitive advantage, which relates to avoidance of imitation (Benn, Todd, & Pendleton, 2010). Thirdly, Frery (2006) demonstrates the fact that strategic decision-making must incorporate the perimeter of the innovative strategy. Strategists in large corporations have the obligation of shaping the perimeter of the institutions, thus, the platform for defining and setting limits or the scope of the innovative strategy. In most cases, policymakers or strategists make decisions on diversification, vertical integration, positioning, outsourcing, and internationalization while considering realization of profitable perimeters. Strategy perimeters focus on addressing issues relating to diversification against the concept of refocusing. Eventually, consideration of imitation, value, and perimeter or scope has valuable influence in the course of vetting the strategic decisions in the case of the large corporations in the globalized economy. For instance, executives in the large corporations have the potentiality of judging strategies through their modification of value, prevention of invention, and redefinition of the scope or perimeter of the innovation. Effective and efficiency corporate strategies have the obligation to reside at the intersections of the three dimensions: value, imitation, and perimeter (Caldwell, Karri, & Vollmar, 2006). Strategy Formation/Formulation According to Mintzberg and Lampel, there are various schools of thought regarding the formulation of the strategy in the context of various corporations (1999). In the first, practitioners, before the 1970s, focused on viewing strategy formulation from the design school of through, thus, the establishment of strategy as an achievement or accomplishment of the essential fit relating to the internal factors. These factors relate to the strengths and weaknesses against opportunities and threats. In such instances, executives focus on formulating clear, simple, and unique strategies in deliberate processes and procedures. The second school of thought in the formulation of strategy is the planning school, which seeks to integrate strategy in the formal process (Cooper, 2010). This is through decomposing strategy formulation into distinct steps, checklists, and supportive techniques in agreement with the programs, budgets, and operating plans. The third school of thought in the formulation of strategy in an organisation is the positioning school, which was highly influential in the 1980s (Mintzberg and Lampel 1999). This school of thought focused on the exploration of strategy formulation as an analytical process rather than formal or essential fit (Cooper, 2010). The first three schools of thought did provide the platform for the development of the entrepreneurial school, which was a visionary process while focusing on the chief executives and aspects of mysteries in the intuition. The approach was essential in providing a shift of the strategies from the designs and plans to the visions, as well as broadly desired perspectives for the maximization of the revenues and profit levels at the end of each fiscal period. This school of thought sought to focus on specific contexts such as start-up and market segments in agreement with the demands and expectations of the target audiences (Slattery, & Ganster, 2002). The fourth school of thought regarding formulation of strategy is the cognitive school, which sought to examine strategy development as a mental process. This did provide the platform for the development of the learning school, which focused on the expression of strategy development as an emergent process. The school of thought did perceive strategies as emergent, thus, evident throughout the organization, which makes interconnection between the formulation and implementation of the innovation. There is also the power school aiming at viewing strategy formulation as a process of negotiation between micro and macro powers within the context of the corporation (Hill, & Jones, 2013). Micro power focused on perceiving development of strategies as essentially political within the organization, thus, the need for bargaining, confrontation, and persuasion among the relevant stakeholders (Mintzberg and Lampel, 1999). On the other hand, macro power perceives the institution or corporation as an entity with the ability and potentiality to use its power against others, thus, the platform to negotiate or integrate the development of strategies in agreement with the mission and vision statements. There is also the cultural school of thought in the formulation of the strategies, which perceive the innovative development of strategies as social processes and procedures (Jaques, 1997). This school of thought focused on utilization of culture as a critical issue in the decision-making process because of the influence of globalization in the contemporary society (Mintzberg and Lampel 1999). The authors (Mintzberg and Lampel 1999) also integrated the environmental school of thought, which was essential in the evaluation of strategy formulation as a reactive process. The final school of thought in this category is the configuration school, which was essential in the perceiving formulation strategy as a process of transformation. This perspective integrates the role of leadership in the formulation and integration or implementation of the strategies in the context of large corporations (Kahane, 2012). Strategy Development and Management Models There proves to be no best model for the strategic planning, which might be appropriate for every large corporation in the globalized economy. From this perspective, it is appropriate for each institution to consider customizing the best approach in agreement with the culture of the members, existing situation, and internal/external factors of the institution. Large corporations have the opportunity to adopt and implement appropriate strategies in addressing their demands and expectations (Menguc, 2010). Conventional Strategic Planning One of the most common approaches for the large corporations is the conventional strategic planning, which is ideal for the formulation and implementation of strategies in specific business entities or corporations. The approach proves to be valuable for the corporations with sufficient resources to facilitate the pursuit of highly ambitious goals and visions in the midst of relatively stable external environments. This model tends to have six phases regarding the development and implementation of the strategies in agreement with the diverse needs and expectations of the organizations. These phases include the development of the value statements, evaluation of the internal and external environments, formulation of multi-year strategies and objectives, integration of the action plans, establishment of the associated plans, and organization of the items into the strategic plan and operational plan (Fréry, 2006; Schooley, Renner, Allen, 2010). Issues-based Strategic Planning The model proves to be effective and efficient for the institutions or organizations with limited resources, as well as several issues to address in the midst of little success regarding the accomplishment of ambitious goals (Schooley, Renner, and Allen, 2010). The model tends to integrate three critical phases in the development and implementation of the strategy. The first phase associates with the identification of the essential issues affecting the corporation in pursuit of its goals and targets at the end of the fiscal period. This phase is valuable in the determination of the desired status or needs of the corporation in the highly competitive industry. The second phase is crucial in the establishment of the action plans towards addressing each issue during the stated period of implementation (Fréry, 2006). The final phase is vital in the development and integration of the information in the strategic plan to facilitate execution in accordance with the stated objectives. The implementation of the issues-based plan is essential in enabling the corporations to resolve its issues before embarking on the more ambitious conventional model (Schooley, Renner, and Allen, 2010). According to diverse practitioners, this model proves to be internal development planning rather than strategic planning (Porter & Kramer, 2011). On the other hand, scholars believe that the model is strategic because of the influence to place an institution for more successful outward looking for further planning. Organic Strategic Planning Planning aims at the realization of the goals in the midst of long-term vision for numerous people such as large corporations and communities (Porter & Kramer, 2011). The organic model relates to the long-term vision through collective handling of the needs and expectations of the corporation (Porter & Kramer, 2011). From this perspective, each stakeholder has the responsibility of executing his or her duties towards the collective vision. The model focuses on integrating four valuable phases. In the first phase, there is need to focus on collecting information from numerous people in the articulation of the long-term vision before communicating this vision to the target audience in the delivery of quality outcomes (Jacobides, 2010; Weick, Surcliffe, & Obstfeld, 2005). The second phase of this strategic planning process is adoption or capturing this visioning perspective among the target audience until the next meeting. The third phase demands consistent reporting of actions for further clarifications of the vision during the eventual meetings. The final phase relates to integration of the intended and manifested actions in the strategic plan for the implementation and execution in addressing the demands and expectations of the target audiences (Mintzberg, & Lampel, 1999). Real-Time Strategic Planning According to the perception of this strategic planning model, corporations tend to change too rapidly for the long-term, thus, the need to integrate detailed planning for the realization of the goals and targets of the organizations (Porter & Kramer, 2011). Strategic planning in this context is continuous or real-time. The model is beneficial for the organizations in the changing environments because of the influence of globalization. The model starts with articulation of the mission, values, and vision. In the second phase, there is need for the strategic planning to engage in assigning planners to the external environment in the identification of the opportunities and threats affecting the operation of the organization (Kaplan, & Norton, 2001). The third phase relates to presentation of the findings to the board members for strategic thinking and evaluation. The fourth phase relates to identification and exploration of the internal environment of the strengths and weaknesses before presentation of the issues to the board of directors and executives for further discussion. The final phase will relate to the documentation of the findings into the strategic plan for the maximization of the goals and targets, as well as profitability at the end of each fiscal period (Kaplan & Norton, 2006). Alignment Model of Strategic Planning The objective of this model is to adopt and integrating strong alignment relating to the internal operations of the corporation in pursuit of the overall purpose such as increasing productivity and profitability while integrating the new-cross-functional system like the computing system (Porter & Kramer, 2011). The phases of this model must start with the establishment of the goal or desire for the alignment. The second phase will focus on evaluation of the internal operations before establishment of the goals for effective and efficient alignment of the operations to facilitate achievement of the overall goal (Martin, 2010). Leadership in Strategic Management As a leader in the corporation, it is valuable to prepare for change while dealing with planned initiatives, volatile industries, and unexpected situations. Change proves to be inevitable. Leaders have the obligation to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts of strategic development and implementation in the context of large corporations. Leadership proves to be critical in the formation and implementation of strategies (Kaplan & Norton 2001). Absence of effective leadership limits the potentiality of the strategy to achieve its goals and targets with reference to the case of the large corporations (Kaplan & Norton, 2006). The role of leadership is essential understanding the concept of strategic leadership, which refers to the potentiality of the leader to express or illustrate a strategic vision for the organization in the course of persuading and motivating others to acquire the collective goal (Burgelman, 1994). Leadership aims at facilitating realization of the strategic productivity (Porter & Kramer, 2011). Similarly, leaders have the obligation of creating an environment in which employees are able to engage in the realization of the goals and targets of the business entity. This is through acquisition of the role of motivating and inspiring employees to adhere to the ideas of the leader through utilization and exploitation of the reward and incentive system for the encouraging productive and development of the quality workers. These employees will engage in the provision of better services and performance for the improvement of competitiveness and efficiency of the organization. Strategic leaders have the influence and capabilities to oversee and comprehend the working environment under the influence of objectivity and holistic perception (Kotter, 2006). From this unit, I have been able to transform my leadership perceptions and capabilities through adoption or acquisition of appropriate strategies of an effective strategic leader. For instance, I have been able to demonstrate the essence of loyalty to the vision of the words and actions, which are critical elements of the strategy in diverse business entities. Similarly, I continue to engage in accessing information to understand what is happening in the industry of interest, as well as organization (Brown, 2008; Terziovski, 2010). The course of has been essential in enabling me to adopt and utilize holistic or wider perspective to express the knowledge about numerous things in the environmental context of the operations of the corporations in the globalized economy. The critical component of leadership is the development or integration of vision (Kaplan & Norton, 2006). The objective of the leader is to create the business entity to engage both imagination and potentialities of the target audiences. An effective leader knows the obligatory task of leadership towards creation and maximization of the human energies and vision (Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, & Lampel, 1998). Personal Skill Development Personal skill development is highly valuable in the course of developing and implementing the strategies among the corporations in the market and industry of operations. From this perspective, personal skill development is valuable in the establishment of the purpose or direction determining the development of the strategy. Secondly, personal skills are crucial in the identification of the need for development. As a leader, it is ideal to identify the personal skills and competencies to succeed in the initiation of change and management of the implementation process (Mauboussin, 2009). Identification of the personal skills is ideal in the course of analysing the strategic direction of the company, as well as strategic skills for the success of the organization in pursuit of competitive advantage and sustainability in the globalized economy. Personal skills are available in the illustration of the relationship between the strategy and the leader initiating change. The approach proves vital in aligning the development with the strategic directions, thus, the platform for the stakeholders and shareholders to understand their organizational culture and purpose. Understanding of the personal skills will be valuable in the course of executing the individual gap analysis in accordance with the expectations of the target audiences (Porter, & Kramer, 2011). Conclusion Finally, the report focused on presenting a reflection about strategy development and implementation for a large corporation. Corporate strategy engages in integration and incorporation of commitments, decisions, and actions in pursuit of strategic competitiveness and increased profitability at the end of each fiscal period. There are more than ten separate schools of thought relating to the development and implementation of strategies in large corporations. According to Frery (2006), strategy tends to incorporate three critical strategies: value, imitation, and perimeter. Categorically, consideration of imitation, value, and perimeter or scope has valuable influence in the course of vetting the strategic decisions in the case of the large corporations in the globalized economy (Senge, 1993). Engagement in this unit has been essential in enabling me to acquire motivational and inspirational leadership attributes, which will be valuable in the maximization of the image and reputation at diverse business entities and corporations. From the above reflection, it is essential to note that development of viable strategies are essential in the course of enhancing competitiveness of the organizations in the highly competitive industries and markets in the contemporary society. This is because of the increasing influence of globalizations and technological advancements affecting the operations and contributions of the large corporations. List of References Ansoff, H I 1991, ‘Critique of Henry Mintzberg’s The Design School: Reconsidering the Basic Premises of Strategic Management’, in Strategic Management Journal, September, pp 449-461 Benn S, Todd L & Pendleton J, 2010, Public Relations Leadership in Corporate Social Responsibility in Journal of Business Ethics, 96:403-423 Brown T; Design Thinking; in Harvard Business Review; June 2008, p 86 Burgelman R & Grove A 2007, Let Chaos reign then reign in Chaos, in Strategic Management Journal, Issue 10 Burgelman, R.A., 1994. 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