Twin Peaks of Globalization and Technology - Assignment Example

1. Kim and Mauborgne highlight that blue ocean strategy is about “creating uncontested market space”. Discuss the feasibility of this given the hyper-competitive and dynamically changing conditions that organizations are operating in today. Give examples. Since the beginning of the industrial age, organizations have been occupied by cut-throat competition for profitable and sustainable growth. Companies have struggled for differentiation, fought over market share, and struggled to achieve competitive advantage. However, these characteristics of a competitive strategy have failed and are not the best way to establish a profitable and sustainable future growth. Companies try to outperform each other to acquire a greater portion of service or product demand. With time, the market space becomes overcrowded, and prospects for growth and profits are decreased. Given the present conditions today, companies can only attain competitive advantage in creating a market space that is unknown and not tainted by competition. These moves are referred to as value innovation, and this will render competitors obsolete. A blue ocean is created when a company attains value innovation, which creates value, for the organization and buyer at the same time. The blue ocean strategy establishes a systematic way of making competition inappropriate and proposes the tools and principles that any company can utilize in capturing and creating a market. 2. If a critical decision has to be made, give me a strong leader over a senior management committee any day!’ Do you agree or disagree? Discuss and give reasons for your answer. Making a critical decision is a tricky affair. When making a critical decision, having a strong leader means that the leader has the power to dictate the process of decision-making, and has the ultimate authority on the outcome of such a decision. However, I disagree with this approach because a senior management committee is better at making critical decisions. A senior management committee will make better decisions because the members will contribute individual ideas. The committee is also made up members with different skills that can be applied to the process of decision-making. The opinion of a strong leader can be affected or biased by the leader’s perspectives, however, in a committee there different perspectives. In addition, a management committee always means a better collective understanding of the procedure to be followed after making a critical decision. 3. Discuss the ‘twin peaks’ of globalization and technology. Globalization is the process by which regional cultures, societies, and economies have become incorporated through a universal network of transport, trade, and communication. In economic terms, it refers to the incorporation of a national economy into the international economy through capital flows, trade, and spread of technology, foreign direct investment, and migration. Technological change and diffusion in companies entail the overall process of innovation, diffusion, and invention of processes or technologies. A company should aim at improving its processes or technology continuously throughout its operations in order to maintain competitive advantage. Describe the changes, an organization should make in response to these ‘twin peaks’ and why. In responding to the ‘twin peaks’ an organization can implement an international corporate strategy to exploit business opportunities globally. This entails building complex and formidable systems that will enable the company to tap, transfer, and link global resources used in the production and marketing superior services and products for global markets. In technological matters, companies should encourage their workforce to engage in continuous innovation and invention of processes and innovation by providing a conducive environment for this. 4. ‘Leaders are born, not made.’ Discuss the validity of this statement. This statement suggests that leaders have natural and inborn set of characteristics that enable them to lead. According to the statement, for one to lead, one has to be able to influence others through persistence, enthusiasm, vision, and by example. One must also have a spirit of adventure, meaning that one has to have the urge to innovate, rebel against authority, risk rejection, challenge the status quo, break new ground, explore, and defend what you believe. Nevertheless, this statement is false in that anyone can be become an effective leader. Given a chance any person can become a leader provided an opportunity to make a difference is available. This requires a lot of commitment and the willingness to take a risk. Thus, leadership can be achieved by ordinary individuals who have extraordinary commitment and who are willing to take the necessary steps to deliver. A person can be come a leader by learning to develop people, being passionate about work, taking intelligent risks, empowering people, being able to influence others, develop one’s creativity, and having a clear vision. Therefore, in as much as people might think of leaders as born or unique, with appropriate training it is possible for individuals to learn the behavior of leaders. Day and Schoemaker in “Scanning the Periphery” consider “The biggest dangers to a company are the ones you do not see coming. Understanding these threats – and anticipating opportunities – requires peripheral vision.” 5. Discuss what future surprises could seriously hurt an organization. Before answering this question, an organization should first of all start by considering the future surprises that might have an impact on the organization in the same manner that crucial past surprises have had on the organization. For instance in financial services, what changes will be as enormous as the introduction of credit cards, or if one is in the home cooking business, what innovations could compete with the introduction of microwave or refrigerator? At times, managers imagine an ideal future and thus fail to envision the surprises that might occur in the future. The growing power of technology and emerging global marketplace are just some of the elements that threaten the traditional way of reasoning that concentrates on job responsibilities that are clearly defined, carefully established objectives, and detailed plans. These are the surprises that managers need to worry about and manage so as to turn them into benefits for a company. In the 1970s, Bell labs researchers were asked to envision a case where the entire phone system was damaged. They were then requested to imagine a future telephone with no limitations or constraints. They dreamed of features such as voice commands, automated dialing, call forwarding, and voice mail. In as much as people take these ideas for granted, they triggered the development of new capabilities. Such is the kind of thinking that managers need to have today. 6. What emerging technologies could change the game? Organizations are competent at following developments that are present in the existing technologies which could impact their business. However, this focus can divert their attention from the crucial technologies that are emerging which could be essential in the future. For companies to track such innovations, organizations should focus on the customer conditions which will promote their development. Such conditions will be indicated by the requirements of three key groups of customers. There are those who feel that they are over served and they feel that the present solutions are more than what they require, there are customers who are not fully served by the present conditions, and there customers who are on the border, they lack the resources, and skills to benefit from existing solutions. (Day & Schoemaker 2005, p.142) 7. Is there an unthinkable scenario? In any organization, there are unthinkable scenarios that may arise due to uncertainties and changes. Change and uncertainties are everywhere, and it is therefore, vital for any organization to carryout scenario planning. Scenario planning entails creating a probable future situation that can have an impact on the organization. It is forecast the future and enables an organization to prepare for the unthinkable. Unthinkable scenarios may involve demographic shifts, environmental changes, new technologies, entrance of new rivals, and new regulations. Managers need to focus on identifying such scenarios and how the organization can capitalize on such situations. Most managers are used to inferring on the information that is set before them, however, they should also learn to be able to identify when part of the crucial information is not present. Managers have to be able to imagine unthinkable situations that might arise in the future. Preparing for the unthinkable will give an organization early warning signs of any uncertainties and impending change. In addition, it will enable the organization to prepare for probable changes that might subject resources and capital to uncertain risks. Reference Day, G, S, & Schoemaker, P, H, 2005, ‘Scanning the periphery; business environment.’ Harvard business review, Vol. 83, no. 11, pp.135-148. Read More