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Business A-level > Unit 10 > Flashcards

Unit 10 Flashcards

Managing strategic change

1
Q

Internal change

A

-employee attitudes
-change of leadership
-restructuring

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2
Q

External change

A

-changing consumer tastes and fashion
-political changes
-government action
-economic influences
-competition
-technological changes

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3
Q

What is disruptive change?

A

Involves radical change often rethinking or redesigning a business or project

May change the existing organisational structure and culture so is relatively high risk.

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4
Q

What is incremental change?

A

Involves introducing many small gradual changes in a business or a project.

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5
Q

What is Lewin’s force field analysis?

A

Addresses the issue of change according to the balance of driving and restraining forces.

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6
Q

What are the forces in Lewin’s force field analysis?

A

-those seeking to promote change (driving forces)

-those seeking to maintain the status quo (revisiting change)

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7
Q

Steps to conduct force field analysis

A
  1. Identify the current situation
  2. Identify the desired situation
  3. List all the driving forces
  4. List all the restraining forces
  5. Evaluate each of the driving forces and restraining forces, giving each one a value on a scale of 1-10 (1 = very weak, 10 = extremely strong)
  6. If change is viable, develop a strategy to strengthen the key driving forces and weaken the key restraining forces
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8
Q

What is the value of change?

A

-flexibility
-progress
-opportunities
-customer needs
-challenging current practices

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9
Q

Benefits of a flexible organisation

A

-competitiveness
-efficiency
-team building as culture changes, workforce is more likely to be engaged and motivated

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10
Q

What is restructuring?

A

Involves a fundamental internal organisational change that alters the roles and relationships of those involved

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11
Q

What is delayering?

A

The process of reducing the number of levels of hierarchy in an organisational structure

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12
Q

What are flexible employment contracts?

A

-part time
-temporary
-zero hours
-flexible hours

Helps to improve work life balance to motivate employees

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13
Q

What is an organic structure?

A

One that is decentralised with flatter, wider spans of control and is likely to be flexible and able to adapt easily to change.

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14
Q

What is a mechanistic structure?

A

One that is hierarchical and bureaucratic, with centralised authority and formal procedures and practices.

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15
Q

What can happen if knowledge is maintained?

A

-improved efficiency
-better marketing
-more effective control of finance
-new products being created more quickly
-increased revenue and profit

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16
Q

What are the barriers to change?

A

-employee resistance
-management behaviour
-inadequate resources
-organisational culture

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17
Q

What is organisational culture?

A

A system of shared assumptions, values and beliefs that govern how a business operates.

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18
Q

Why is an organisational culture important?

A

-identity
-direction
-loyalty
-competition
-attitude to change

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19
Q

What are the types of culture in Handy’s cultural model?

A

-task culture
-role culture
-power culture
-person culture

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20
Q

Characteristics of task culture

A

-job or project-orientated
-teams are formed to solve particular problems
-common in businesses with a number of different projects e.g advertising agencies
-provides flexibility but can be difficult to control

21
Q

Characteristics of role culture

A

-highly define structure and roles
-clearly delegated authority
-organisational structure is typically tall and detailed
-decision making slow and lacks flexibility

22
Q

Characteristics of power culture

A

-power radiates from centre and a few individuals
-found in entrepreneurial organisations
-few rules and little bureaucracy
-decision making swift

23
Q

Characteristics of person culture

A

-people believe themselves to be superior to the business
-common in firms of professionals
-business depends on keeping key personnel

24
Q

Influences on organisational culture

A

-leadership styles
-objectives of organisations
-nature of business
-employees

25
Reasons for culture change
-toxic culture -change of leader -change of ownership -changing market conditions
26
What is strategic implementation?
The activities used within a business to manage the execution of a strategic plan.
27
What can help with successful implementation?
-clear understanding of the circumstances -commitment -the willingness to change -the ability to monitor and measure progress
28
What is a functional structure?
Where a business is organised into smaller groups based on functional areas: marketing, operations, finance etc
29
Consequences of functional structure
-as day-to-day management is delegated in this structure, it gives senior management time to focus on strategic decisions and their implementation -narrow specialisation within functional areas may cause difficulties to arise in coordination, which could inhibit successful strategic implementation
30
What is a product based structure?
Based on a product or production line where all functions related to that product are delegated.
31
What is a regional structure?
A business has separate structures dependent on different regions or geographical areas.
32
What is a matrix structure?
Based around a major project or task, with specialists from the various functional areas being assigned to the project.
33
What is network analysis?
A method of planning projects in order to identify the most efficient way of completing them.
34
What do network diagrams consist of?
-activities: these require resources and time and are shown by arrows. Each activity is given a letter to denote the order (written above) and a duration (written below the arrow) -nodes: these are the start or finish of an activity and are represented by circles. Each node is numbered (in left hand segment) and also states the 'earliest start time' (EST) and 'latest finish time' (LFT)
35
What is the float and calculation for it?
Any spare time that may exist during a project and can be calculated using: float = LFT - duration of activity - EST
36
What is the critical path?
This shows the sequence of activities that must be completed on time if the whole project is not to be delayed.
37
Advantages of network analysis
-it encourages managers to undertake strategic planning which helps reduce risk of delays and other problems -the resources needed for each activity can be made available at the appropriate time, reducing costs and improving an organisation's cash-flow position -time can be saved by operating activities simultaneously - vital in industries where time is an important competitive weapon -if delays or problems occur, the network can ben a useful tool in finding a solution
38
Disadvantages of network analysis
-much depends on how accurately the durations of activities are estimated. These can be difficult to forecast and if wrong, the whole process may be of little value -complex activities may be difficult to represent on the diagram -the project still requires management after the initial network is drawn as external factors may change
39
Challenges of strategic decision making
-overall goals may not be sufficiently understood -could be a lack of capability of employees -leadership could fail to provide adequate direction -may be unforeseen events -implementation may take longer than expected
40
What is a planned strategy?
One that managers intend to implement using a carefully laid plan to achieve the desired position.
41
What is emergent strategy?
An unplanned strategy that develops over time and is based on the belief that change should not be seen as a series of linear events.
42
What does a planned strategy not do?
-assumes smooth change from current position to new position -assumes one type of approach to change is suitable for all organisations -involves laying down timetables and tends to ignore dynamic environment in which organisations operate -does not address the continuous need for structural adaptation and employee flexibility -assumes common agreement can be reach among all parties
43
What is strategic drift?
Occurs when a business responds too slowly to changes in its external environment with the result that the strategic plan is no longer appropriate.
44
What are the four phases of strategic drift?
phase 1: incremental change- the organisation remains competitive due to incremental changes in the strategy that are made in line with external environment phase 2: strategic drift- begins to appear as the incremental changes fail to keep up with faster rate of change in the external environment phase 3: flux- a state of flux in strategy now develops, where the management recognises the existence of drift due to poorer performance and tries to make strategic changes. However there is no clear direction and disagreements can occur, leading to poorer performance and increased drift phase 4: transformational change or demise- the organisation either fails completely or undertakes a transformational change to realign itself with the external environment
45
Causes for strategic drift
-technological environment -lagged performance -culture -lack of monitoring
46
What is a divorce of ownership and control?
The separation of ownership (shareholders) and control (elected board of directors) in a public limited company.
47
What is corporate governance?
A set of systems, processes and principles that ensures an organisation is governed in the best interest of all its stakeholders.
48
What is strategy evaluation?
The process determining the effectiveness of a given strategy in achieving the organisational objectives and taking corrective action when required.
49
What is contingency planning?
Planning for the unexpected such as natural disasters and loss of data.

Business A-level (12 decks)

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