E2 Flashcards
Levels of strategy?
Corporate
Business
Functional
Areas of strategy?
Financial
Investment
Competitive
A smart objective will perform what?
Prime
Planning Responsibility Integration Motivation Evaluation
3E’s
Economy
Effectiveness
Efficiency
Weaknesses of the strategic planning model?
Too rigid. -does not allow us to go backwards and amend strategy.
Based on imperfect knowledge and tries to guess the future. Allowing flexibility reduces stability.
Managers declare strategy after event. Not created in advance, but emerges over time.
People in an organisation choose strategy, not the organisation. Based on dominance of internal groups.
Stately setters are not the same as strategy doers. Management do not understand issues on the front line.
Strategy is not formal, it should be adapted and based on action. Senior management may get too involved with strategy “paperwork”
Porters three generic strategies?
Cost leadership
Differentiation - exploit product everyone believes is unique.
Focus - restrict activities to part of the market (segment).
A. Cost focus-
B. Differentiation focus
The above but just to that segment.
Logical incrementalism characteristics?
A learning process
Managers have some notion of where the organisation should be.
Managers deliberate keep their decisions small scale.
How to you analyse the Macro environment?
Use LoNGPESTEL
Porters diamond?
Factor Conditions (countries competitive advantage)
Demand conditions (Consumer demand in home country, encourage global approach?)
Related and supporting industries
(Available support for industry?)
Firm strategy, structure
and rivalry
(Countries culture management help or hinder?)
Forms of FDI?
Foreign direct investment
-acquisition
-greenfield investment
Setting up new facilities in developing nation
Order stakeholders bargaining strength
?
Weak:
Dictated by company
Consultation and considération of their views
Negotiation
Participation and acceptance of their views
Democratic voting by stakeholders
Command/dictation by stakeholders
Diff between risk and uncertainty?
Risk is quantifiable and uncertainty isn’t.
Porters diamond-purpose?
Competitive advantage of a nations industry.
Techniques for resolving stakeholders conflicts?
Weighting and scoring
Composite measurements
Non mathematical approaches to stakeholder conflict?
Satisficing
Sequential attention
Components of rivalry
No or slow Market growth
Cost structure- (high fixed costs=more competitive on price as want to cover FC)
More competitive if easy to switch supplier (coca vs Pepsi)
Capacity -may need high volume for unit cost reduction
Uncertainty- if uncertain about competition, then more strategic planning is put in place.
Strategic importance- of success is a key objective, then they will be more competitive.
High exit barriers- more competitive.
What’s does porters diamond help understand?
The competitive advantage of a nations industry.
Elements of porters diamond?
Firm structure, strategy and rivalry
Factor conditions
Demand conditions
Related and supporting industries.
Factor conditions of porters disons- what are they?
They are the countries endowment (funding,quality,ability) of inputs and production.
Human Resources (skill,motivation)
Physical resources (land,minerals)
Knowledge (education,know how)
Capital (amount available for investment)
Infrastructure (transport,communication,housing)
Factor conditions - main types?
Basic factors - natural resources, (little investment required)
Advances factors - modern digital communications, research labs etc
What are Demand conditions?
The home market affects how firms operate.
Good if:
No cultural impediments to communication
Segmentation, if other world markets are similar to the home market
buyers are sophisticated and know what they want.
Anticipatory-people needs here predict what other people will want.
Rate of growth-fast
Early saturation- move on quickly to exporting
Big home market creates economies of scale.
Related and supporting industries. What is it?
Part of diamond.
How does related and supporting industries help he diamond?
Domestic industry help foreign suppliers because they are close, know the culture.
Firm structure strategy and rivalry, advantage to diamond?
Structure. Certain contries will prefer a type of company structure.
Strategy -different funding needs and time horizons. How they raise capital and wether they choose to innovate or diversify.
Domestic rivalry- lots of domestic rivalry, then export
Competitiveness- strengthens company.
Each rival learns new strategies .
Mintzbergs -managerial role- what are they?
There are three
Interpersonal-leader: figurehead, leader, liaison
Informational-monitor, spokesperson, dissémination of information.
Decisional
Entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, negotiator
Fayols 5 functions of management.
Planning- determine objectives, strategies policies
Organising- structure of tasks, to achieve goal, grouping into jobs, delegating authority, providing systems of information.
Commanding- give instructions to subordinates
Co-ordinating - harmonising goals for shared goal.
Controlling - measuring and correcting activities so as to accord with plan.
Fayols 14 general principles of management.
Division of labour Authority and responsibility Discipline Unity of command -one manager Unity of direction- one leader and goal. Subordination of individual interest to org interest/rémunération of personnel. Centralisation Scalar chain Order Equity and equality Stability of workforce Initiative Esprit de corps
According to peters and waterman. What two things are excellent companies good at?
Producing commercially viable new products
Responding to changes in the environment.
Eight characteristics of Peter and waterman “excellence”?
Passcash
Productivity through people.
Autonomy and entrepreneurship
Stick to the knitting-compétences were built on.
Simple structure-few layers of management
Close to the customer
Action based. Innovate instead of follow.
Simultaneous loose-tight (autonomy and centralisation)
Hands on and value driven.
Harrison’s, dif cultures? What are they and characteristics?
Zeus-power culture. Shaped by one individual.
Apollo- role culture.
bureaucratic and shaped by rationality, rules and procedures
Athena- task culture.
Team based, get the job done. Focus on output.
Dyonisis- personal culture.
Shaped by interest of individuals.
Robert Anthony’s managerial activities, what are the levels and what do they mean?
Strategic management:
Direction setting, policy making and crisis handling. (Deciding and setting. Goals and objectives
Tactical Management: ways to get there. Controlling resources and innovating. (Thinking “how” planning)
Operational management: routine activities. (Just doing/no thought)
Define control.
Process
goals and standards are defined.
Performance is monitored and measured
Corrective action is taken
Effective controls system criteria?
Acceptability-fits culture and expectations
Accessibility easy to understand/do
Adaptability to changing conditions and demands
Action oriented déviations trigger action
Appropriateness circumstance and skills
Affordability cost of control needs to be cheaper then letting it go out of control.
How do you build relationships to create a collaborative culture?
Tapent programmes: identify professionals from different functions who posses desired skills needed for the futures success. Programmes involve bringing them together
Multi functional teams:
Where Finance professionals increasingly work with others on a range of projects.
Job rotation: more collaborative culture to allow Finance professionals to interact with others on a longer basis.
Coaching and mentoring programmes:
Gives opp to develop close and personal constructive working relationships.
Blanchard and Peale question in ethical dilemma?
Is it legal?
Is it balanced? (Fair)
Is it right?
Mintzberg how to craft a strategy?
Manage stability Detect discontinuity Know the business Manage patterns Reconcile change and continuity
Reaction/Response profiles to competition according to Kotler?
A
Laid back competitor does not respond
Tiger competitor responds aggressively to all opposing moves
Selective competitor reacts to some threats in some markets but not all.
Stochastic competition is unpredictable.
Miles and snow cultural types and strategies they support?
Defenders
Prospectors
Analysers
Reactors
Hofsted national cultures dimensions?
High low:
Power distance.
Uncertainty avoidance.
Individualism
Masculinity
Communication barriers
Distortion Noise Misunderstanding Nonverbals that contradict message Failure to give or seek feedback Overload Perceptual selection Differences in background Poor communication skills
Additional difficulties in communication?
Status Jargon Priorities selective reporting Use Timing Opportunity Conflict Cultural values
Project vs BAU
Beginning and end Resources allocated specifically Unique and done once Follow plan to clear end result Cut across functional lines
Feasibility study? What is it and what areas does it cover?
Decides wether a project will do its job within constraints:
Financial feasibility
Social feasibility
Technically feasible
Ecologically feasible
Tuckman’s stages of group development?
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Support activities - in porters value chain
Firm infrastructure
Human Resource management
Technology Development
Procurement
Primary activities in Porters value chain.
Inbound logistics Operations Outbound logistics Marketing and sales Service
6 types of asset specificity?
Physical asset (like raw minerals)
Dedicated asset (man made for one application)
Site (based on location)
Human asset (skills and knowledge relevant to single org)
Temporal (time based, like landing slot)
Brand name (brand equity)
Two types of FDI and what they are?
Acquisition
purchasing existing company in developing nations
Greenfield investment
Setting up new facilities in a developing nation
What techniques have successful emerging nations used? And description.
Export of national commodities, selling oil metals or land. (Generating income and investing that)
Import substitution
Create import taxes or tarifs to protect national economy
Export led industrialisation
Devalue currency to make exports cheaper and imports expensive
Hersey and Blanchard situational leadership?
Delegating Able confidence Participation Able not confident Selling Unable confident Telling Unable not confident
Types of power by French and Raven?
Coersive Reward/resource Legitimate/Position power Expert power Referent/Personal power (charisma) Negative Power (power to disrupt)
Trompenaars Elements of culture?
(Observable)
Behaviour-how people are/customs and rules.
Artefacts-stuff around/role models/stories
Rituals-events/ways of doing things
Symbols-logos and brand image
(Unobservable)
Value and beliefs
Assumptions
Industrial Relations, what are the different approaches?
Adversarial-employees exercise power through refusing to cooperate
Traditional- good day to day, employees reacts through elected delegate.
Partnership-involves employees in policy writing, but retains power to manage.
Power sharing-employees involved in day to day and strategic decisions.
Other types:
Avoidance strategies-not recognise unions and relocation.
HR management strategies, make everyone individual and single status.
Causes of horizontal conflict?
Difference in goals Difference in personality types Task interdependence Scarcity of resources Power distribution Uncertainty -in times of change Reward system -if rewards one department penalising another
Causes of vertical conflict?
Resource Distribution- (between owners and workers) how will wealth be shared?
Power
Alienation -workers have Boeing repetitive jobs and don’t feel part of organisations .
Politics
