Implementation of Strategy and Power Politics - Annotated Bibliography Example

The manager can take a position and then support or resist the implementation efforts. Middle managers are even known to form coalition groups if it increases their leverage. In such a situation it is imperative to recognize the importance of middle management support. We can use political tools such as equanimity and satisficing to encourage commitment. Reducing management resistance can be accomplished through inducement, persuasion, obligation, and coercion. Upper management can realize that middle-level managers may be right in their assumption that the organization cannot achieve the plan.

Where confidence is lacking, upper management can provide the impetus through training and reward inducement. In cases of the hard sell, coercion and appeal to obligation might be necessary. Not heeding the interests of middle management only works to the organization’s detriment. Middle management can sabotage, delay or reduce the quality of the implementation of a new project that does not serve their self-interests. Markus, M.L. ‘Power, Politics, and MIS Implementation’. Communications of the Association for Computer Machinery.

Volume 26, Number 6, June 1983. Print. The author uses Kling’s six distinct theoretical perspectives of Rational, Structural, Inter-actionist, Organizational Politics, and Class Politics. While the first three have been classified under Systems Rationalism, the last three come under Segmented Institutionalism. As regards types of resistance, they can be classified into People Determined Factors and System Determined Factors. However, though a pragmatic application of Interaction theory, many of the causes can be addressed successfully.

Interacting with the people being affected would be one way. Interacting with the political and power systems would be another. In some instances, even the culture of the organization would need to be addressed. The author gives his comments on the case study of implementing a Financial Information System (FIS) at the Golden Triangle Corporation (GTC). Both human and technical design factors can lie at the base of dissatisfaction of a new MIS and must be looked into. McGrath, M.G. ’An Implementation of a Data-Centered Information Systems Strategy: A Power/Political Perspective’.

Failure & Lessons Learned in Information Technology Management, Vol. I, pp. 3-17. 1997. Print. Arguing that even the task of change in MIS reporting can have political implications within an enterprise, the author discusses the implementation of MIS at Gigante Corporation. The objective of the SISP project was to flatten the organizational structure, reduce management and reporting levels, but hold management more accountable in a clearer and less bureaucratic landscape. Prior to this, no less than 10 different strains of DBMS were being used in the organization.

This resulted in excessive cost and over-reporting issues. There were departmental tussles and power plays between ISD and CIT. In the proposed new SISP system, all data was to be owned by CIT. The project progressed from DBMS standardization to Applications Architecture Specification, to the Corporate Data Model to Integrated Product Orders System to Executive Management Reporting System. However, in the process, the CIT department encountered much resistance particularly from the ISD department, the contractors and some workers themselves.

The author suggests that looking for a champion of change, predicting and resolving conflict groups and areas and addressing these prior to the implementation of change will go a long way in ensuring compliance. The use of interim checkpoints and a final completion deadline will help give further credence and success to the outcome. Managing structural and power play decisions between groups in an enterprise becomes important for even IS projects. Parsa, H.G. ‘Interaction of Strategy Implementation and Power Perceptions in Franchise Systems:An Empirical Investigation.

’ Journal of Business Research, Volume 45, pp 173–185. 1999. Print.The author discusses power, politics and decision making in the context of franchise systems, with special reference to the Quick Service Restaurants in the USA. Stating that the available literature has focused more on strategic planning than strategy implementation, he uses Bourgeois and Brodwin’s 1984 model as the basis for discussing how a firm implements the strategy as it moves through various stages of a life cycle.

These are (1) Commander (2) Change (3) Collaborative (4) Cultural and (5) Crescive. The role of a CEO would change from highly intrusive and dominating under the first to merely a facilitator of change under the last. A proper match between desired outcomes and implementation methods is essential. He who holds the power dominates how the strategy is being implemented. Satisfaction resulted from both revenue and profit generation. Cultural aspects and values and traditions were also important.

It had a direct effect on the employee’s level of satisfaction. Obviously some methods of implementation are more favorably regarded than others. But on the whole, as long as the implementation was successful and contributed to favorable outcomes, it resulted in an increase in employee satisfaction. The research has been strongly backed by empirical evidence from a variety of service industries.