Implementation as the Most Difficult Aspect of Strategic Management - Example

Title: Strategic Management: It is often noted that implementation is the most difficult aspect of strategic management. With reference to your organization, how might this be the case? Dated: April 28, 2010 A work force capable of taking responsibility for its own continuous learning will prove a more precious national asset than countless new factories and equipment. -- Robert Reich Introduction: The organizations are implementing projects to attain their objectives within a specific time with optimum utilization of the available resources. During the project life cycles, the internal and external environment influences the implementation process, resulting in the deviation from the outlined objectives. Implementation of the designed plans, projects and programs is the most difficult part of the strategic implementation. The style and type of leadership will use the project tools, technologies and management principles with plausible strategies to cope with the emerging needs of their strategic plans for timely implementation of the project(Kazanijan et all,1986)(1). The adoption of project life cycle model, composition of the project team, constructive use of information as a strategic asset and input, and other resources like finances and technologies are regulated by the authorities through their leadership. The most striking aspect which the project proponents faced is the change management, which is a litmus test for the success of the whole process. The leadership and the project proponents give due focus on this core issue for ensuring timely implementation of the project, however, any deviation from the required parameters and the delivery schedule leads the project away from the normal course of implementation and delays are final outcome in the implementation strategy for the project /program implementation(Kennedy and Everest ,1991)(2). Organizational control is the systematic process of regulating organizational activities in an articulated and well focussed pattern to make them consistent with the expectations established in plans, targets and standards of performance. The project managers need to decide what is essential, how they will obtain that information, and use the same for implementation of the project as per activity chart of the project and through the promotion of teamwork within the organization. The existing practices by the organizations are being modified to cope with the emerging needs, both social and economic of the societies (Maznevski et al 2000) (3). The leadership of the organizations is emphasizing on the fulfillment of the goals for smooth implementation of the projects as per their objectives. Any deviation from these principles would result in derailing the whole implementation mechanism. Strategy development in the organization for implementation as a part of the strategic management: The projects are implemented through the development of a viable strategy for the implementation of the projects /plans within the stipulated timeframe. The strategies are designed through the processes of planning, coordinating, leading and evaluation of the whole project cycle management with the utilization of resources both physical and human as input for the completion of the project. The implementation of the approved projects/ plans need trained human resources as in the form of teamwork for the achievement of the desired results within the specified time period. Teamwork is defined as “the activity of working well together as a team” toward a common goal. It is a joint function in which each team member harmonizes his/her contributions and work towards a common goal. A team has the benefit of a shared pool of knowledge and expertise to device an effective solution. The characteristics of an effective team include team members with complementary skills who share a well defined common goal and have clear role within the team. Members of an effective team are not created equal in abilities, strengths, and experience, but the team members generally have qualities that complement weaknesses of the others. On the basis of structure and objectives, the team work can be attained through formal or in formal, vertical or horizontal, etc; team with the utilization of the democratic and consultative style of leadership by the top executives (Rosener et al,1991)(4). Each team member has a peculiar role to play at a specific time which may vary as the process passed through stages of teamwork cycle and the role of the leadership is to review the performance of each team member at regular intervals. Max Weber (1864-1920), a German theorist, introduced most of the concepts on bureaucratic organization. Weber believed that an organization based on rational authority would be more efficient and adaptable to change because continuity is related to formal structure and positions rather than to a particular person, who may leave or die. To Weber, rationality in organizations meant employee selection and advancement based on competence rather than on “whom you know”. The organization relies on rules and written records for continuity. The manager depends not on his or her personality for successfully giving orders but on the legal power invested in the managerial position. These managers need to apply their leadership skills for timely implementation of the project. Implementation of the projects as per approved project's plan depends on the configuration of the responsible organization along with job description for each member of project's team. Organizational structures and systems includes as set of tools that managers use to shape values and promote ethical behaviour throughout-the organization. Three of these tools are codes of ethics, ethical structures, and supporting whistle-blowers (LaFasto et al 1989) (5). A code of ethics is a formal statement of the company’s values concerning ethics and social issues; it communicates to employees what the company stands for. Code of ethics state the values or behaviours that are expected and those that will not be tolerated, backed up by management’s action (Walter, 2001) (6). A recent survey of Fortune 1,000 companies found that 98 percent address issues of ethics and business conduct in formal corporate documents, and 78 percent of those have separate codes of ethics that are widely distributed. When top management supports and enforces these codes, including rewards for compliance and discipline for violation, ethics codes can uplift a company’s ethical climate. The code of ethics at Lockheed Martin reflects the theme “Setting the Standard”. The scale of implementation is also influenced by the attitude of the project's employees towards the activities and assignments of the project along with its schedule. Douglas McGregor (1906-1964) had formulated his Theory X and Theory Y as signals for the workers attitudes. McGregor believed that the classical perspective was based on Theory X Assumptions about workers. He also felt that a slightly modified version of Theory X fit early human relations ideas. In other words, human relations ideas did not go far enough. McGregor proposed Theory Y as a more realistic view of workers for guiding management thinking. The managers need to promote theory Y and suppress the existence of theory X within the organization for timely implementation of the projects within their respective domains (Mills et al, 1985) (7). Diversity in the population, the workforce, and the marketplace is a fact of life no manager can afford to ignore today. All managers daily face the challenge of managing employee diversity. The management of employee diversity entails recruiting, training, and fully utilizing workers who reflect the broad spectrum of society in all areas gender, race, age, disability, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, education, and economic level. Workforce diversity means an inclusive workforce made up of people with different human qualities or who belong to various cultural groups. Acceptance of diversity is becoming important because of socio-cultural changes and the changing workforce and the same will help in the achievement of the desired results as are linked with the timely implementation of the projects as a segment of the strategic management. The organizations are emphasizing on the promotion of growth and its sustainability through adapting modern tools of management by the leadership. The entrepreneurial business passes through five distinct stages of growth, with each stage requiring different management skills. The size of company is directly proportional to the age of company and inversely proportional to the level of maturity. Five distinct stages include (a) start up, (b) survival, (c) success, (d) take off, and, (e) resource maturity. The tools of planning, organizing, leading and controlling are tuned up as per requirement at the stage and ensure sustainability of the project. The top management and leadership needs to acquire the business skills for smooth implementation of the projects (Dorsey, 2000) (8). The benefits and limitations of strategy implementation in the organization: The business strategies within the organizations provide necessary guidelines for the implementation of the projects with the utilization of all the resources as on optimum basis. The utilization of the strategy for the implementation of the projects has a set of benefits and limitations for the implementation of the projects and therefore serves as a contributory as well as discouraging business tool, simultaneously. The benefits and limitations of the strategy implementation are as under: A) Benefits 1. The utilization of the business strategy for the implementation of the projects provides a guideline for all the project proponents for its utilization as to achieve the objectives of the project through timely completion of the project. Project usually goes through typical stages that may have very different tasks, people involved, deliverables and challenges and the business strategy helps in the understanding of all these ingredients for the project implementation process. 2. The business strategy helps in the designing of the projects with all the necessary details including the crucial stages of the project management cycle. It is important for the project managers to recognize these phases of the project life cycle. Depending on the type and scope of the project, and on the management perspective, these phases may be defined differently, but still exhibited certain common pattern. The understanding of all the stages like conceptualization phase, planning stage with all the objectives and goals of the project as to fulfill the mission of the organization, the project execution or implementation stage with all the inputs including the human resources and termination stage of the project cycle management. 3. The strategy provides a direction for the implementation of the project as per activity chart and in accordance with the deliverables. Any deviation will serve as a signal for making necessary amendments in the business plan for the project. B) The limitations: 1. The strategy implementation has a number of limitations for the implementation of the plans as the implementation of the projects need a set of inputs in the shape of material, equipment, skilled manpower, and utilization of other business tools for the achievement of the objectives of the implementation process. These limitations relate to the scope of the strategy, lack of Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis as on timely basis. 2. The business strategies are designed well ahead before the implementation of the projects and the pace of changes in the technological fields have their negative influence on the implementation process, therefore ,the strategies hinder the project implementation process. 3. The strategies block free mobility in term of choices and the use of alternatives; therefore, restrict the powers of the project management and the executives for the utilization of resources including human resources as on competitive basis. 4. Project managers are the key figures for the execution of the project in accordance with its outlined parameters and the strategies restrict the operational domains of the project managers especially for change management. During implementation of the project, change management is one of the important tasks as change is inevitable in organizations. RECOMMENDATIONS: Organizations are run by the leadership to achieve the designed specific, measurable, assignable, and realistic and time bound (SMRT) objectives through designed projects with limited resources and time period. The leadership should be dynamic, transformational, visionary, passionate, creative, flexible, inspiring, innovative, courageous, imaginative, experimental, be able to manage change, and having sufficient knowledge of project cycle management, including process of directing project resources and efforts towards orderly and successful completion. The bodies of knowledge, techniques and competencies that enable or at least improve the chance of the success of the projects are also desirable assets for an effective leadership in an organization. Strength, weaknesses, opportunity and threat (SWOT) analysis and logical framework approach (LFA) guarantees the timely implementation of the projects. Observance of contracts, change management in proactive manner and flow of information among all the stake holders lead to the road of progress in the organizational setup. Every member of the project team should adhere to the responsibility chart for defying and assigning the responsibilities during the entire project life cycle period. The strategy implementation could be enhanced through the introduction of the concept of Management by Objectives for the implementation of the projects as a part of the implementation strategy. The concept will promote the process for the acquisition of necessary technical skills by the individual employees for the delivery of their respective assignment within the given time period. The following recommendations need to be adopted by the top executives for timely completion of the projects and to enhance the implementation of the strategies within the organizations. a) The top executives of the organizations need to design their missions as per the growing needs of the organizations. The mission of the organization sets the tone of the organization for the selection, training and utilization of the skilled manpower for the achievement of the targets of the organization. b) The projects are implemented with the utilization of skilled manpower as Input in the project implementation process as per required technical standards. The top executives need to impart necessary technical training to the staff members for up-dating their technical skills for their utilization in the implementation process (Odenwald, 1996) (9). The promotion of the skills will help in the formulation of strategic, business and technological goals of the organizations. These goals are necessary for the implementation of the projects as per their timelines/targets. The monitoring and evaluation of the projects on regular basis provides guidelines for the observance of the milestones as the implementation tools. Any deviation from the agreed targets will serve as whistle blower within the organization and therefore will necessitate for making necessary revisions in the business strategies and implementation plans for the projects(Keenan,2000)(1). c) The introduction of reward and punishment system within the organization helps in the promotion of healthy and productive competitive culture within the organization and all the members of the working team work for the achievement of the targets of the organizations(Katz,1974)(11). The top management and the senior executives need to cultivate the competitive spirit within the organization for the fulfillment of the strategies of the organizations (Pfeffer, 1995). CONCLUSION: The organizations are run by the leadership for execution of the projects to achieve outlined objectives with the use of inputs (men, machinery, material and money) in a specific time period. The success of the leadership depends on the selection of the organization type, recruitment of the requisite manpower, observance of critical pathway, constructive use of information, adoption of technology, exerting control over the project team by the leadership, signing of contracts (in time) and their observance, giving preference to McGregor’s “Y” theory over “X” theory and adopting transformational type of leadership rather than transactional leadership. The success of leadership always leads to replication of whole model for achieving similar results in change environment. The top executives need to utilize their consultative and democratic leadership style for the implementation strategies as to benefit all the stakeholders on win-win basis. The observance of the recommendations will help in the achievement of implementation plan as per timelines of the project and the model will serve as a model project in the field of implementation of the projects as essential component of the strategic management through optimum utilization of the resources for the achievement of maximum benefits as in favor of the organization. Major responsibility lies with the top executives and as the leader of the implementation process, the leadership needs to address the management issues as on regular basis for ensuring speedy implementation of the projects through the utilization of their managerial as well leadership skills. REFERENCES: 1. Jay R. Galbraith and Robert K. Kazanijan, Strategy implementation, Structure, Systems and Process, 2d ed (St: Paul, Minn: West, 1986) 2. J. Kennedy and A. Everest, “Put Diversity in Context”, Personnel Journal (September 1991). 3. Joseph J. Distefno and Martha L. Maznevski, “Creating Value with Diverse Teams in Global Management,” Organizational Dynamics 29, no.1 (Summer 2000), 45-63. 4. Marilyn Loden and Judy B. Rosener, Workforce America! (Homewood, Ill: Business One Irwin, 1991). 5. Carl E Larson and Frank M.J. LaFasto, Team Work (Newbury Park, Calif,: Sage, 1989). 6. Susanne G. G. Scott and Walter O. Einstein, “Strategic Performance appraisal in team based organizations” 2001, 107-116. 7. Andre L. Delbecq and Peter K. Mills, “Managerial Practices That Enhance Innovation,” Organizational Dynamics 14 (Summer 1985) 24-34. 8. David Dorsey, “Change Factory” Fast Company (June 2000) 210-224. 9. Sylvia Odenwald, “Global Work Teams,” Training and Development (February 1996) 54-57. 10. Faith Keenan, General Electric profile in “Giants Can Be Nimble” Business Week E.Biz (September 18, 2000). 11. Robert L Katz, “Skills of an Effective Administrator,” Harvard Business Review 52 (September-Octobe4 1974), 90-102. 12. Jeffrey Pfeffer, “Producing Sustainable Competitive Advantage through the Effective Management of People,” Academy of Management Executive 9, no.1 (1995), 55-69. Read More