Managing Strategic Implementation 3.10.3 Flashcards
What steps should a firm undergo to implement a strategy effectively
The firm must identify the component activities that will need to be accomplished to implement the strategy.
They must identify how these tasks will be carried out.
Which employees will be Assigned the tasks
In what time period must the tasks be completed
To implement a strategy effectively manager will need to direct and motivate staff to make sure the managers plans will be put into action
what are the values of leadership in strategic implementation
To ensure that the pressures of change are understood
To construct a clear vision about what the future of the firm will look like
To appoint the right managers to handle each aspect of the change
provide motivation and direction to staff at the start of the change
the value of communications in strategic
implementation
the communication needs to be efficient and effective, this needs to be done to insure standards are and met and so there is no confusion in staff knowing what is expected of them, improves co-ordination and insures everyone is working to the same goal so that the implementation of the strategy is more effective
why might you need to change organisational structure in strategic implementation
a firms organisational structure describes how a firm is set up and how it operates so a change in structure could be needed to ensure that the organisational structure operates in a way to follow the strategy.
what is functional structure
The business organises employees by splitting them up into specialised departments, where each departments have specific roles (production, marketing, finance, HR)
This kind of structure increases productivity due to all the people of the same skills working in the same area. The drawbacks of this is that it can lead to destructive departmental rivalries.
what is product based structure
This structure is used by multi product businesses. In this type of structure a firm splits up into divisions where each division specialises in producing a product, each decision would have its own specialised departments to work with functional issues (marketing, HR, production)
what is regional structure
the company is devised in to different divisions of their geographical location. Each branch employs its own teams of functional specialists
This is effective as it means you can better satisfy the varying needs of consumers around the world but can lead to increased costs as efficiency could drop and the Independence of each branch could lead to a drop in quality
what is matrix structure
A matrix type of organisational structure combines the traditional departments seen in functional structures with project teams. In a matrix structure, individuals work across teams and projects as well as within their own department or function.
This is a good way of sharing resources across departments – which can make a project more cost-effective. Also Likely to result in greater motivation amongst the team members. Although they are Difficult to co-ordinate as well as Members of project teams may have divided loyalties as they report to two line managers. Equally, this scenario can put project team members under a heavy pressure of work.
what is the critical path
It is a project analysis and planning method that allows a project to be completed in the shortest time. It shows the order that the activities should be completed and how long each stage should take. It is used to calculate EST (Earliest Start Time) LFT (Latest Finishing Time) for each activity and the float time for activities
what is float time
float time is the amount of time an activity can be delayed and still be done in time for the next stage of activities to start on time. activities on the critical path have a float time of 0 as they are the activities that take the longest at each stage and there dictate the float times of the other activities of their stage.
float time = LFT-duration-EST
or
duration of critical activity at that stage - duration of activity
what are the advantages and disadvantages of network analysis in strategic implementation (critcal path)
advantages:
makes the project done as efficiently as possible in the smallest time scale (reduces costs)
careful planning reduces the mistakes or delays in the launch of a new project
Delays cash outflows as resources aren’t ordered until just needed
Disadvantages:
doesn’t work for highly complex activities as the diagram becomes too confusing
drawing a diagram doesn’t ensure that a project will be successful, staff must be committed to it .
why is it important to complete a task as quick as possible
It’s cheaper, if the project can be completed quickly it will carry out a smaller share of the organisations fixed costs. In addition it will improve customer satisfaction
why is it important to calculate EST and LFT
This will ensure specialists staff are only hired when needed, reducing the fixed costs of hiring these staff as you as you make sure they are not there longer than needed.
