Research Topics: Strategy Implementation And The Winning Formula

Strategy implementation and the winning formula

5. TEACHING PROCESS   The instructor might follow the following steps: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> The class could begin with an assessment of the strategic position of BGD. This should be discussed in relation to its external environment and its internal strengths and weaknesses. Or this discussion might follow a discussion of the nature of the strategy as a way of assessing its future viability. </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> Students might then discuss the strategy of BGD, especially its international strategy. (The domestic strategy is not described sufficiently in the case for close analysis; the favourable development on the domestic market is due mainly to developments in the market for soft drinks.) This is especially useful to generate a discussion on the nature of focused differentiation strategies. </li> </ul>     <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> Students may then discuss the implementation of strategy, which will include choice of partners, channels of distribution, investment in advertising, etc. It may also involve the internal organisation (separation of brewing and marketing, staffing with ‘non-brewing professionals’ in the sales organisation, present vulnerability and plans for future staffing etc). </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> This discussion could move on to the sustainability of a strategy of international expansion. </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> Finally, the students might discuss whether changes in strategy might be proposed. Possible ideas may be the introduction of more brands (perhaps some locally produced), concentration around fewer markets, how to handle the upcoming need for more production capacity (perhaps solved by acquiring other small Danish breweries). </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> There is a video de-brief of BGD available. This comprises an interview with Claus Nielsen that covers: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> His views on the reasons for success of the strategy </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> Insights into problems in implementing it </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> Developments in BGD </li> </ul> </li> </ul>   The video can be used to compare student views with those of Claus Nielsen. The addendum to the case can then be used to consider what happened and what further issues this raises.   6. CASE ANALYSIS   6.1 The strategic position of BGD The strengths of BGD include: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> A distinctive position in its market and the knowledge of how to maintain such a position </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> A strong position in relation to exported Danish beer (building on the reputation of Danish beer) and to ‘ethnic’ beer (especially malt beer) </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> A small, flexible sales organisation </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> Its partnership relationship with agents, with BGD as sole supplier of beers, and thus the absence of internal brand competition in the distribution channel </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> A division of work between ‘professional’ brewers in production and ‘professional internationalists’ in sales, with an emphasis on maintaining high quality in both arenas. </li> </ul>   The weaknesses might be: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> Small production capacity </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> Modest financial capital </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> Vulnerability due to rapid expansion (e.g. can the sales organisation keep pace with growth?) </li> </ul>   Students may see Claus Nielsen as critical to the success of this firm. If they have seen the video they will know that he travelled upward of 200 days a year ensuring the success of the company’s strategy. They may argue that his personal perseverance and skills in setting up the network of agents and ensuring the management structure to deal with it are essential to the success of this firm. This then raises the question as to whether this is a strength or a weakness from the company’s point of view. Arguably it has served them well historically, but more perceptive students may raise the following questions: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> What if Claus Nielsen were to leave? Would that jeopardise the strategy? Of course the addendum to the case makes it clear that he did, indeed, depart, and it did not result in the demise of the company’s fortunes; though it does appear that it had the effect of changing the strategy somewhat. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> Have the aspirations of Claus Nielsen led to undue risks in the pursuit of the strategy? Students may argue that the move into Russia is a ‘move too far’, potentially ‘betting the company’ on high volumes at enormous risk. </li> </ul>   The strengths and weaknesses might be related to market trends such as growing income levels, growing interest of beer consumption in some markets while declining in others, growing emphasis on premium and strong beers, emphasis on brand image, international over-capacity in production. It might also be interesting to question whether the dominant position of Carlsberg in Denmark provides a spur to the success international strategy of BGD; arguably it has forced the company to take an international dimension to its strategy.   6.2 The BGD strategy   BGD is a good example of focused differentiation on an international scale. Management has recognised that it cannot hope to compete locally with Carlsberg; nor can it compete on a global scale with major beer producers. It has therefore opted for a strategy that requires the careful identification of geographical segments in the beer market particularly suited to its own offering (i.e. high-quality branded Danish beer). The important point to note, however, is that none of these markets is identical. The market in Russia is different from China, which in turn is different from Brazil and the Baltic States and so on. Focused differentiation does not mean offering exactly the same product or service to each segment, but rather ensuring that the product or service offering is tailored to the particular needs of that segment. In this sense the core competences underpinning the BGD strategy are much more to do with the know-how and experience that have been built up in delivering this strategy than in product or technology. A useful question to ask students is the extent to which they believe other brewing companies could have readily followed the same path (i.e. imitated) BGD. The BGD case therefore also relates to the issue of market segmentation. In assessing a market segment the crucial question is not only how big the segment is, but also how distinctively it may be exploited so that it is differentiated from other segments, and how interesting the segment may be to other breweries. Imported Danish beer is also an important component of the strategy. Instead of just offering one more taste in the beer market the emphasis on imported beer opens up developments paralleling those within the wine market. There the prices range from the lowest level to prices 10 times as high, which require a guarantee of ‘origine controllé’ and a selective system for distribution. BGD is attempting to obtain a price premium, but beer is subject to fiercer local competition than is the case of wine, and so far the differences in beer taste are not recognised as much as differences in wine taste. Furthermore, local production enjoys considerable savings on transportation. On the other hand, the high prices of imported beer and the modest demand are exactly the major elements that make such market segments uninteresting to the multinational breweries but manageable for BGD. The big breweries want volume, and will embark on local production and mass advertising. To preserve the distinction BGD emphasises sales and promotion in better bars and restaurants.   6.3 Strategy implementation and the winning formula   Evidently BGD has achieved a good deal of success with its strategy. A useful approach in considering why is to ask students to relate the content of the strategy to the way in which BGD is implementing it. Focused differentiation arguably requires a quite different approach to managing the business than would, for example, broader-based differentiation. The winning formula seems to be built on: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> The focused differentiation approach discussed above </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> A concentration on the segments at the top end of most markets (though note own label beers and malt beer are exceptions) </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> Considerable attention given to the identification of such market segments not only by Claus Nielsen at the centre but also in partnership with local agents and management </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> The careful choice of partners so that BGD’s products are dominant in their portfolio and not competing with other beers. </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> The use of indigenous agents as channels of distribution </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> The insistence on branding and point-of-sale advertising to underpin the brand </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> Sales organisation such that local managers are held responsible for local operations, but Claus Nielsen and the head office sales organisation retain an overarching brief for the international strategy </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> The considerable personal dedication and time of Claus Nielsen to coordinating this strategy </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> The separation of the technical aspects of brewing from the sales and marketing activity internationally; </li> </ul>   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-autospace: none"> The determination and persistence to find ways of affecting an approach to succeeding in given markets (e.g. Brazil, China and, at least initially, Russia). </li> </ul>     6.4 Capability to continue international expansion   This question can be addressed in two ways. First, in the context of the first case study, the question could be asked as to whether the strategy being followed by Claus Nielsen could be continued in its present form. In other words could more and more niche markets be opened? The video discussion with Claus Nielsen suggests that he, himself, feels that this is not possible. The company infrastructure simply would not stand a situation where more and more agents were being managed on the basis of imported beers. The coordination problem between Denmark and outlying agents would simply become too complex – let alone his own time travelling rounds the world. The result would need to be a more formalised structure with layers of management and less personal influence by Nielsen himself.   Had the Russian market taken off, then it would almost certainly have raised a problem of capacity too in Denmark. However, even without such required capacity the question might be raised as to whether the insistence on Danish home-produced beer as a basis of the strategy is sacrosanct. This could provoke an interesting debate in the class. Some will argue that it is the cornerstone of the strategy; others might argue that it would make more sense (particularly in large markets) to produce within the market, especially where the beer is not being sold at a premium price (as in the UK).   Can the sales and management organisation of BGD sustain the growth that is being followed? The sales organisation has been developed so that each major market has a person responsible for export to that market. Yet it may take some time before these employees really can relieve the international sales director of the major responsibility. Is it possible to continue to open up new segments with the same reliance on localised management? How soon will the organisation become victim to the trans-national problem that faces other organisations? And what would happen if Claus Nielsen left BGD as indeed, he did in 1998? So there can be an interesting debate about how the strategy should be developed based on the first case. A second way of pursuing the same issue is to use the addendum to the case. This shows what happened after the departure of Nielsen. Arguably it represents a period of change, but without a clear direction of future strategy. There is evidence that there is less reliance on home-produced Danish beer; and the beginnings of local production in local markets. But is this a clear change in strategy? The company has also been forced to pull out of Russia. Does this indicate a return to a focus on smaller niche markets? There appears to be some increasing confusion as to whether the brands are sold as premium beers or as commodity beers. For example, in the UK they were sold largely as own label products (though this appears to have received a set back); in Italy they were sold as premium beers. Is this a defensible position?         The Brewery Group Denmark (Case Study & Video)   This session brings together some of the key issues that have emerged in the discussion about the alternative approaches to the search for sustainable competitive advantage.  Applying both the positioning and resource-based approaches can insights to be made into the strategy followed by Brewery Group Denmark and Brasseries Kronenbourg discussed in the previous session.   Outline and assess the strategy followed by the Brewery Group Denmark.   The main strengths of the strategy followed by BGD include: §         A distinctive position in each of its markets “imported Danish beer” and the know-how to maintain this position; §         Small, flexible and innovative sales organisation; §         Partnership relationships with “non competitive” agents to act as sole suppliers of BGD’s beers, so preventing internal brand competition within the distribution chain; §         Strong position in markets selected; §         Division of work between “professional” brewers in production and “professional internationalists” in sales, with an emphasis on high quality in both.   Possible weaknesses include: §         Small production capacity; §         Modest financial capital; §         Vulnerability from rapid expansion – can they keep up the pace?   Overall, the strategy relies upon the impression of high quality implicit in the “imported Danish beer” approach, largely sold in smaller, lucrative markets which are less prone to competition from the major suppliers, like Carlsberg.   How has the company chosen to position itself against its competitors?   Both Porter’s generic strategy framework and the strategy clock point to a focused differentiation approach on an international scale.   The success of such a strategy depends upon clear market segmentation that identifies opportunities based less on the size of the market than how it might be exploited differently from other segments.  The segments need to be favourable to their own offering and not be subject to the intense competition that can come from the bigger global players.   Most importantly, the strategy is tailored to the requirements of each individual marketplace and its needs, particularly in terms of the channel management and distribution policy.  It is in this way that their strategy is different from a broad scope differentiation approach.   It is also useful to use Porter’s later work on positioning to identify some of the ways in which the segments may well be protected:   §         Needs-based positioning – appeal to premium customers interested in the “imported Danish” appeal of the product; §         Variety-based positioning – a limited product range with the focus upon high quality, premium beers; §         Access-based positioning – the choice of smaller markets, less attractive to the global players, and the use of non-competitive channels contribute a key dimension of the strategy’s sustainability.   What are the strategic capabilities of the Brewery Group Denmark and to what extent are they unique?   Product quality clearly depends upon the capabilities of the organisation to brew and maintain the distinctive qualities of their premium beers.  Note how the story about switching production highlights the importance of physical resources (such as the breweries and their raw materials, including water) and the clearly focused competencies of the brewers contribute to this overall capability.   Similarly, the capability of the organisation to quickly internationalise, exploiting new market opportunities and building partnerships with their channels are critical to their rapid expansion.  Note how much of this expertise comes from outside the brewing industry.  Note the stress on “possibilities” and “opportunities” in the video.   A critical issue raised by the video is the ability of the organisation to sustain and develop its strategy in the future – an issue of resource gaps and how these can be addressed.  Will the strategy need to change to reflect these limitations? Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Strategy implementation and the winning formula

5. TEACHING PROCESS The instructor might follow the following steps: The class could begin with an assessment of the strategic posi...

MBA PAPER

Strategy is Implementation This paper discusses the problems that Harrison-Keyes. Inc. faces. The paper tries to find solutions to the identified problems by relating them to the approach of other companies and identifying how the various level of an organization approach the same kind of problems. The paper also presents the risks on the suggested solutions to the problems identified.             The research aims to present concepts for effective strategy implementations based on theories and on companies that have effectively implemented their strategies.              Harrison-Keyes, Inc. is a leading global publisher of technical, scientific, business books and journals, professional and consumer books, textbooks and educational reading materials since 1899. The company holds about 22,700 active titles and publishes about 2000 new titles each year. In recent years, the company has felt the competition from low-cost retailers and other publishing industry players.                           To address the issue on competition, the company launched e-book publishing about six months ago. In six months time, the company was not able to meet even half of the projected sales from e-book strategy. As a result, the CEO who initiated the e-publishing strategy was fired and replaced by a new CEO who has little high-tech experience and preferred traditional publishing than e-book publishing. The management that started the e-publishing except from the CEO comprises of the same people, from the CFO, CIO, up to the production manager. It is very clear, from the fact that Harrison-Keyes did not meet the projected sales, that there are existing problems with the implementation of the strategy.             Generally, the problems with Harrison-Keyes are problems in implementing the strategic plan. These problems are ineffectively coordinated activities and poorly defined tasks to employees as well as unanticipated problems and uncontrollable external factors such as the problem with Asia Digital, the company they outsourced for the digitalization of books and the low sales on e-books. The company also has problems due to inadequate information systems as well as lack of capabilities of some employee like the company’s CIO.   Lack of communication is the first problem of the company. The strategy was not communicated and interpreted well to the employees thus confusion arose. E-publishing requires outsourcing to convert traditional books to digital form. The idea of outsourcing gives the employees the perception that there will be possible layoffs as e-publishing continues. Confusions about job functions also arose because of the lack of knowledge and awareness of employees about the e-publishing strategy. Because of these, employees now feel uncomfortable working with Harrison-Keyes; some of them already left the company and transfer to other publishing company. If this confusions among the lower level of the organization continue, Harrison-Keyes might loss some of their potential employees that has been in the company for years.             It is the role of the middle management to communicate the strategy to its subordinate; it is the duty of the middle managers to make sure that the strategy is effectively implemented by all the members of the organization. According to (1998), strategy is defined as 5 P’s: a plan, a ploy, a pattern, a position and a perspective. Plan is a guideline to deal with the situation; ploy means a scheme intended to outwit the competitors; pattern is the consistency in behavior over time. Strategy as a position looks outside an organization, seeking to locate the organization in a market while as a perspective, strategy looks inside the organization which includes not only the upper management but as well as the employees in lower level of the organization, all of them sharing one goal and vision.             At Harrison-Keyes, only the upper management seems to understand the strategy while the lower level of the organization finds it difficult to adopt with the strategy, resulting to poor implementation of e-publishing strategy. The middle managers only apply the strategy as a plan and a pattern, failing to apply strategy as a perspective.                Middle managers play key role in implementing strategy. The four main roles that are expected from middle managers are championing alternatives, synthesizing information, facilitating adaptability, and implementing deliberate strategy (, 1992). With these four roles, the middle managers serve as the interface between the lower level employees and the top levels of management. They are the one responsible for the implementation of the strategies or changes generated by top managers (2000). Implementing deliberate strategy involves communicating the organization’s goals, to plan the required actions as well as scheduling and control. The challenging part of this role is communicating the strategy effectively so that subordinates will find the strategy important and motivating them to perform their job effectively.   Facilitating adaptability means that the middle manager act as facilitator of change, removing obstacles like contradictory goals, and ensured the required resources. It involves empowering personnel. Harrison-Keyes should therefore train current employees for them to gain technical knowledge necessary for e-publishing. It is important that most of the company employees appreciate the e-publishing strategy so that they can implement the strategy effectively.             For Harrison-Keyes, it is necessary that the middle managers understand first the concept of e-publishing strategy so that they can communicate the strategy well to the employees, making them understand the importance of such strategy for the good of the entire organization. In that sense, not only the top management will be enthusiastic with the new strategy, as well as the employees at the lower level of the organization. The middle managers should also give employees the assurance that they can keep their job because the company will still continue the traditional way of publishing despite of e-book publishing.             It is important that middle managers clearly defined each employee’s task after the changes brought about by the strategy. Their tasks and activities should be well coordinated and are align with the newly implemented strategy.               Another problem of Harrison-Keyes is unanticipated problems brought about by the uncontrollable external factors. Due to flood in Asia that affected the outsourcing company that provides Harrison-Keyes the primary services needed in e-publishing, the company has missed deadlines in production causing delay on the release of their products. The management has never anticipated this kind of problems thus it has no back-up plans. From the beginning of the project, the company has already encountered problems with Asia Digital and yet the management did not prepare for solutions in case of problems with the outsourcing company. It is important to understand that in every plan, problems and hindrances may arise.   The company could have had another back-up outsourcing company in cases like this. Also, they could have started acquiring knowledge and equipments so that they can start some preparation and formatting within the house so that they will outsource only those functions related to e-books that can not be done in the company.  If only the company has a more knowledgeable and capable CIO that can effectively support high-tech projects like e-book publishing, then the problem will not be as big as what Harrison-Keyes has now.   In formulating a strategy, problems caused by external factors such as the suppliers, the customers, the mass media and the competitors that can not be controlled by the company should be anticipated and resolved in the formulation period rather than in the implementing stage to avoid delay or cancellation of the strategy. Major problems that can be brought by the strategy should be identified beforehand to provide alternatives even before the problems occur.               Moreover, the marketing strategy of Harrison-Keyes seems to be not effective to attract more customers that cause their projected sales to be much lower than as expected. This is another problem caused by external factors; the company used the standard and traditional marketing techniques to campaign for the e-books. The company should have realized that with the introduction of e-books, the company expands its operation and enters a new market. New market often requires new marketing messages and better understanding of the market. It requires careful study, market research and test marketing (2002).             Generally, the problems faced by Harrison-Keyes have something to do with strategy implementation. Strategy implementation is a stage in strategic planning. For effective strategy implementation, the strategy should be translated into more detailed policies that can be understood at the functional level of the organization. The functional level includes marketing, research and development, procurement, production, human resources and information systems (2006). At these functional levels, issues and problems that were overlook at the higher level of the organization might be visible for the people who really implement the strategy are at this level. Implementation stage of strategy also involves identifying the required resources and putting into place the necessary organizational changes.             There are some key ingredients for effective strategy implementation (2002). These are: people, organizational, structure, control systems, and culture. In implementation of new strategy, a company should position the right people for a certain task. For example, e-book publishing requires intensive knowledge in information technology but the CIO of Harrison-Keyes has outdated knowledge and skills in technology; as a result, the project seems to be failing because of lack of support of someone knowledgeable on technology. It is also necessary to design the organizational structure to enable and support implementation (1962). The CEO of Harrison-Keyes was replaced but the entire management team remains the same. Harrison-Keyes must try to reorganize its management, putting more capable people that can bring the strategy into action. The use of controlling systems to monitor and control implementation (1977) is also needed to deal with uncertainties. Control systems can be classified into customer related, operations related, employee related and financial related systems (, 2002). The culture of Harrison-Keyes will also definitely be affected because of the transition from traditional publishing to a technology-driven company; culture needs to be shaped to suit and complement the strategy.                                     One good example of a company that reorganized and underwent major changes is the Ford Motor Co. After some of failures with their ‘world car’, the company decided to reorganize to make the ‘world car’ strategy effective. When Ford launched Ford 2000 (1999), a strategy that addresses global competency by marketing the ‘world car’, the company underwent organizational change, from a centralized type of organization to matrix type which created synergism through shared responsibility on functional departments. With the new type of organizational structure, Ford has been flexible and can response rapidly to the changes (1998) and uncertainty in the automotive industry.             Another example of company that has implanted its strategy effectively is the UCB, a biopharmaceutical company based in Belgium. As a pharmaceutical company and to adapt to global competitiveness, it should be innovative and has extensive research and development team. To address these issues, its CIO created globalization strategies for its Information system (2004); the company upgraded all their systems and included a web portal that provides access to company information. The company also teamed up with a call center company that entertains queries of clients across the globe. In choosing the right call center for the company, they conducted a bidding to determine the most capable call center for the needs of the company. Through IT, the company has met the expectation of the public by providing the people innovative products that can compete in the global market. With UCB’s Management Information System strategy, the company has improved its information and intelligence sharing for its research and development Conclusion and Recommendation             In six months, Harrison-Keyes has failed to implement the e-book publishing strategy. In my opinion, it is primarily because of the contradictions from some of the members of the management even during the strategy formulation. The members of the organization have different views on this strategy that contributes to the ineffectiveness of the strategy. Members of the organization, from the top level management to the lower level members should share the same goals and vision and focus on the same direction in order for a strategy to be successful.             To have the same goals and vision, the top management should educate and communicate the plans to the lower level of the organization through the middle managers. Through good communication among the members of the organization, employees of Harrison-Keyes will not be uncomfortable with the strategy but instead be supportive and optimistic about it.             Moreover, if the key ingredients for effective implementation of strategy mentioned above are met, the company can deal with uncertainties and uncontrollable external factors easily. If the formulated strategy is aligned with the organizational structure, control systems are in place, and there are competent managers, there should be no problems in implementation (1998).             With the case of Ford, it has aligned its strategy through organizational change while UCB has effectively implemented its global strategy through improved information system and determination of the most efficient call center company that is mot helpful for the company. The company should also adopt the strategic management tool called scenario planning which is designed to deal with major uncertain shifts in the firm’s environment (2006).             Harrison-Keyes should learn from Ford by strategic reorganization as well as from UCB by improving its information system and technology needed for e-book publishing. Because Harrison-Keyes is a leading publishing company, they can easily look for other reliable outsourcing company to do the digitizing of books; the company should have the ability to have good partnership with its external environment such as the suppliers and the customers through enhanced marketing strategies. Formulation of strategy is an important stage of strategic planning but will be useless if not implemented effectively therefore we can conclude that strategy is all about implementation. References:   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

MBA PAPER

Strategy is Implementation This paper discusses the problems that Harrison-Keyes. Inc. faces. The paper tries to find solutions to the id...

MBA paper

Strategy is Implementation This paper discusses the problems that Harrison-Keyes. Inc. faces. The paper tries to find solutions to the identified problems by relating them to the approach of other companies and identifying how the various level of an organization approach the same kind of problems. The paper also presents the risks on the suggested solutions to the problems identified.             The research aims to present concepts for effective strategy implementations based on theories and on companies that have effectively implemented their strategies.              Harrison-Keyes, Inc. is a leading global publisher of technical, scientific, business books and journals, professional and consumer books, textbooks and educational reading materials since 1899. The company holds about 22,700 active titles and publishes about 2000 new titles each year. In recent years, the company has felt the competition from low-cost retailers and other publishing industry players.                           To address the issue on competition, the company launched e-book publishing about six months ago. In six months time, the company was not able to meet even half of the projected sales from e-book strategy. As a result, the CEO who initiated the e-publishing strategy was fired and replaced by a new CEO who has little high-tech experience and preferred traditional publishing than e-book publishing. The management that started the e-publishing except from the CEO comprises of the same people, from the CFO, CIO, up to the production manager. It is very clear, from the fact that Harrison-Keyes did not meet the projected sales, that there are existing problems with the implementation of the strategy.             Generally, the problems with Harrison-Keyes are problems in implementing the strategic plan. These problems are ineffectively coordinated activities and poorly defined tasks to employees as well as unanticipated problems and uncontrollable external factors such as the problem with Asia Digital, the company they outsourced for the digitalization of books and the low sales on e-books. The company also has problems due to inadequate information systems as well as lack of capabilities of some employee like the company’s CIO.   Lack of communication is the first problem of the company. The strategy was not communicated and interpreted well to the employees thus confusion arose. E-publishing requires outsourcing to convert traditional books to digital form. The idea of outsourcing gives the employees the perception that there will be possible layoffs as e-publishing continues. Confusions about job functions also arose because of the lack of knowledge and awareness of employees about the e-publishing strategy. Because of these, employees now feel uncomfortable working with Harrison-Keyes; some of them already left the company and transfer to other publishing company. If this confusions among the lower level of the organization continue, Harrison-Keyes might loss some of their potential employees that has been in the company for years.             It is the role of the middle management to communicate the strategy to its subordinate; it is the duty of the middle managers to make sure that the strategy is effectively implemented by all the members of the organization. According to (1998), strategy is defined as 5 P’s: a plan, a ploy, a pattern, a position and a perspective. Plan is a guideline to deal with the situation; ploy means a scheme intended to outwit the competitors; pattern is the consistency in behavior over time. Strategy as a position looks outside an organization, seeking to locate the organization in a market while as a perspective, strategy looks inside the organization which includes not only the upper management but as well as the employees in lower level of the organization, all of them sharing one goal and vision.             At Harrison-Keyes, only the upper management seems to understand the strategy while the lower level of the organization finds it difficult to adopt with the strategy, resulting to poor implementation of e-publishing strategy. The middle managers only apply the strategy as a plan and a pattern, failing to apply strategy as a perspective.               Middle managers play key role in implementing strategy. The four main roles that are expected from middle managers are championing alternatives, synthesizing information, facilitating adaptability, and implementing deliberate strategy (1992). With these four roles, the middle managers serve as the interface between the lower level employees and the top levels of management. They are the one responsible for the implementation of the strategies or changes generated by top managers (2000). Implementing deliberate strategy involves communicating the organization’s goals, to plan the required actions as well as scheduling and control. The challenging part of this role is communicating the strategy effectively so that subordinates will find the strategy important and motivating them to perform their job effectively.   Facilitating adaptability means that the middle manager act as facilitator of change, removing obstacles like contradictory goals, and ensured the required resources. It involves empowering personnel. Harrison-Keyes should therefore train current employees for them to gain technical knowledge necessary for e-publishing. It is important that most of the company employees appreciate the e-publishing strategy so that they can implement the strategy effectively.             For Harrison-Keyes, it is necessary that the middle managers understand first the concept of e-publishing strategy so that they can communicate the strategy well to the employees, making them understand the importance of such strategy for the good of the entire organization. In that sense, not only the top management will be enthusiastic with the new strategy, as well as the employees at the lower level of the organization. The middle managers should also give employees the assurance that they can keep their job because the company will still continue the traditional way of publishing despite of e-book publishing.             It is important that middle managers clearly defined each employee’s task after the changes brought about by the strategy. Their tasks and activities should be well coordinated and are align with the newly implemented strategy.               Another problem of Harrison-Keyes is unanticipated problems brought about by the uncontrollable external factors. Due to flood in Asia that affected the outsourcing company that provides Harrison-Keyes the primary services needed in e-publishing, the company has missed deadlines in production causing delay on the release of their products. The management has never anticipated this kind of problems thus it has no back-up plans. From the beginning of the project, the company has already encountered problems with Asia Digital and yet the management did not prepare for solutions in case of problems with the outsourcing company. It is important to understand that in every plan, problems and hindrances may arise.   The company could have had another back-up outsourcing company in cases like this. Also, they could have started acquiring knowledge and equipments so that they can start some preparation and formatting within the house so that they will outsource only those functions related to e-books that can not be done in the company.  If only the company has a more knowledgeable and capable CIO that can effectively support high-tech projects like e-book publishing, then the problem will not be as big as what Harrison-Keyes has now.   In formulating a strategy, problems caused by external factors such as the suppliers, the customers, the mass media and the competitors that can not be controlled by the company should be anticipated and resolved in the formulation period rather than in the implementing stage to avoid delay or cancellation of the strategy. Major problems that can be brought by the strategy should be identified beforehand to provide alternatives even before the problems occur.               Moreover, the marketing strategy of Harrison-Keyes seems to be not effective to attract more customers that cause their projected sales to be much lower than as expected. This is another problem caused by external factors; the company used the standard and traditional marketing techniques to campaign for the e-books. The company should have realized that with the introduction of e-books, the company expands its operation and enters a new market. New market often requires new marketing messages and better understanding of the market. It requires careful study, market research and test marketing ( 2002).             Generally, the problems faced by Harrison-Keyes have something to do with strategy implementation. Strategy implementation is a stage in strategic planning. For effective strategy implementation, the strategy should be translated into more detailed policies that can be understood at the functional level of the organization. The functional level includes marketing, research and development, procurement, production, human resources and information systems (2006). At these functional levels, issues and problems that were overlook at the higher level of the organization might be visible for the people who really implement the strategy are at this level. Implementation stage of strategy also involves identifying the required resources and putting into place the necessary organizational changes.             There are some key ingredients for effective strategy implementation (2002). These are: people, organizational, structure, control systems, and culture. In implementation of new strategy, a company should position the right people for a certain task. For example, e-book publishing requires intensive knowledge in information technology but the CIO of Harrison-Keyes has outdated knowledge and skills in technology; as a result, the project seems to be failing because of lack of support of someone knowledgeable on technology. It is also necessary to design the organizational structure to enable and support implementation (1962). The CEO of Harrison-Keyes was replaced but the entire management team remains the same. Harrison-Keyes must try to reorganize its management, putting more capable people that can bring the strategy into action. The use of controlling systems to monitor and control implementation (1977) is also needed to deal with uncertainties. Control systems can be classified into customer related, operations related, employee related and financial related systems ( 2002). The culture of Harrison-Keyes will also definitely be affected because of the transition from traditional publishing to a technology-driven company; culture needs to be shaped to suit and complement the strategy.                                     One good example of a company that reorganized and underwent major changes is the Ford Motor Co. After some of failures with their ‘world car’, the company decided to reorganize to make the ‘world car’ strategy effective. When Ford launched Ford 2000 (1999), a strategy that addresses global competency by marketing the ‘world car’, the company underwent organizational change, from a centralized type of organization to matrix type which created synergism through shared responsibility on functional departments. With the new type of organizational structure, Ford has been flexible and can response rapidly to the changes (1998) and uncertainty in the automotive industry.             Another example of company that has implanted its strategy effectively is the UCB, a biopharmaceutical company based in Belgium. As a pharmaceutical company and to adapt to global competitiveness, it should be innovative and has extensive research and development team. To address these issues, its CIO created globalization strategies for its Information system (, 2004); the company upgraded all their systems and included a web portal that provides access to company information. The company also teamed up with a call center company that entertains queries of clients across the globe. In choosing the right call center for the company, they conducted a bidding to determine the most capable call center for the needs of the company. Through IT, the company has met the expectation of the public by providing the people innovative products that can compete in the global market. With UCB’s Management Information System strategy, the company has improved its information and intelligence sharing for its research and development Conclusion and Recommendation             In six months, Harrison-Keyes has failed to implement the e-book publishing strategy. In my opinion, it is primarily because of the contradictions from some of the members of the management even during the strategy formulation. The members of the organization have different views on this strategy that contributes to the ineffectiveness of the strategy. Members of the organization, from the top level management to the lower level members should share the same goals and vision and focus on the same direction in order for a strategy to be successful.             To have the same goals and vision, the top management should educate and communicate the plans to the lower level of the organization through the middle managers. Through good communication among the members of the organization, employees of Harrison-Keyes will not be uncomfortable with the strategy but instead be supportive and optimistic about it.             Moreover, if the key ingredients for effective implementation of strategy mentioned above are met, the company can deal with uncertainties and uncontrollable external factors easily. If the formulated strategy is aligned with the organizational structure, control systems are in place, and there are competent managers, there should be no problems in implementation (1998).             With the case of Ford, it has aligned its strategy through organizational change while UCB has effectively implemented its global strategy through improved information system and determination of the most efficient call center company that is mot helpful for the company. The company should also adopt the strategic management tool called scenario planning which is designed to deal with major uncertain shifts in the firm’s environment (2006).             Harrison-Keyes should learn from Ford by strategic reorganization as well as from UCB by improving its information system and technology needed for e-book publishing. Because Harrison-Keyes is a leading publishing company, they can easily look for other reliable outsourcing company to do the digitizing of books; the company should have the ability to have good partnership with its external environment such as the suppliers and the customers through enhanced marketing strategies. Formulation of strategy is an important stage of strategic planning but will be useless if not implemented effectively therefore we can conclude that strategy is all about implementation. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

MBA paper

Strategy is Implementation This paper discusses the problems that Harrison-Keyes. Inc. faces. The paper tries to find solutions to the id...

MBA paper

Strategy is Implementation This paper discusses the problems that Harrison-Keyes. Inc. faces. The paper tries to find solutions to the identified problems by relating them to the approach of other companies and identifying how the various level of an organization approach the same kind of problems. The paper also presents the risks on the suggested solutions to the problems identified.             The research aims to present concepts for effective strategy implementations based on theories and on companies that have effectively implemented their strategies.              Harrison-Keyes, Inc. is a leading global publisher of technical, scientific, business books and journals, professional and consumer books, textbooks and educational reading materials since 1899. The company holds about 22,700 active titles and publishes about 2000 new titles each year. In recent years, the company has felt the competition from low-cost retailers and other publishing industry players.                           To address the issue on competition, the company launched e-book publishing about six months ago. In six months time, the company was not able to meet even half of the projected sales from e-book strategy. As a result, the CEO who initiated the e-publishing strategy was fired and replaced by a new CEO who has little high-tech experience and preferred traditional publishing than e-book publishing. The management that started the e-publishing except from the CEO comprises of the same people, from the CFO, CIO, up to the production manager. It is very clear, from the fact that Harrison-Keyes did not meet the projected sales, that there are existing problems with the implementation of the strategy.             Generally, the problems with Harrison-Keyes are problems in implementing the strategic plan. These problems are ineffectively coordinated activities and poorly defined tasks to employees as well as unanticipated problems and uncontrollable external factors such as the problem with Asia Digital, the company they outsourced for the digitalization of books and the low sales on e-books. The company also has problems due to inadequate information systems as well as lack of capabilities of some employee like the company’s CIO.   Lack of communication is the first problem of the company. The strategy was not communicated and interpreted well to the employees thus confusion arose. E-publishing requires outsourcing to convert traditional books to digital form. The idea of outsourcing gives the employees the perception that there will be possible layoffs as e-publishing continues. Confusions about job functions also arose because of the lack of knowledge and awareness of employees about the e-publishing strategy. Because of these, employees now feel uncomfortable working with Harrison-Keyes; some of them already left the company and transfer to other publishing company. If this confusions among the lower level of the organization continue, Harrison-Keyes might loss some of their potential employees that has been in the company for years.             It is the role of the middle management to communicate the strategy to its subordinate; it is the duty of the middle managers to make sure that the strategy is effectively implemented by all the members of the organization. According to  (1998), strategy is defined as 5 P’s: a plan, a ploy, a pattern, a position and a perspective. Plan is a guideline to deal with the situation; ploy means a scheme intended to outwit the competitors; pattern is the consistency in behavior over time. Strategy as a position looks outside an organization, seeking to locate the organization in a market while as a perspective, strategy looks inside the organization which includes not only the upper management but as well as the employees in lower level of the organization, all of them sharing one goal and vision.             At Harrison-Keyes, only the upper management seems to understand the strategy while the lower level of the organization finds it difficult to adopt with the strategy, resulting to poor implementation of e-publishing strategy. The middle managers only apply the strategy as a plan and a pattern, failing to apply strategy as a perspective.               Middle managers play key role in implementing strategy. The four main roles that are expected from middle managers are championing alternatives, synthesizing information, facilitating adaptability, and implementing deliberate strategy (, 1992). With these four roles, the middle managers serve as the interface between the lower level employees and the top levels of management. They are the one responsible for the implementation of the strategies or changes generated by top managers (2000). Implementing deliberate strategy involves communicating the organization’s goals, to plan the required actions as well as scheduling and control. The challenging part of this role is communicating the strategy effectively so that subordinates will find the strategy important and motivating them to perform their job effectively.   Facilitating adaptability means that the middle manager act as facilitator of change, removing obstacles like contradictory goals, and ensured the required resources. It involves empowering personnel. Harrison-Keyes should therefore train current employees for them to gain technical knowledge necessary for e-publishing. It is important that most of the company employees appreciate the e-publishing strategy so that they can implement the strategy effectively.             For Harrison-Keyes, it is necessary that the middle managers understand first the concept of e-publishing strategy so that they can communicate the strategy well to the employees, making them understand the importance of such strategy for the good of the entire organization. In that sense, not only the top management will be enthusiastic with the new strategy, as well as the employees at the lower level of the organization. The middle managers should also give employees the assurance that they can keep their job because the company will still continue the traditional way of publishing despite of e-book publishing.             It is important that middle managers clearly defined each employee’s task after the changes brought about by the strategy. Their tasks and activities should be well coordinated and are align with the newly implemented strategy.               Another problem of Harrison-Keyes is unanticipated problems brought about by the uncontrollable external factors. Due to flood in Asia that affected the outsourcing company that provides Harrison-Keyes the primary services needed in e-publishing, the company has missed deadlines in production causing delay on the release of their products. The management has never anticipated this kind of problems thus it has no back-up plans. From the beginning of the project, the company has already encountered problems with Asia Digital and yet the management did not prepare for solutions in case of problems with the outsourcing company. It is important to understand that in every plan, problems and hindrances may arise.   The company could have had another back-up outsourcing company in cases like this. Also, they could have started acquiring knowledge and equipments so that they can start some preparation and formatting within the house so that they will outsource only those functions related to e-books that can not be done in the company.  If only the company has a more knowledgeable and capable CIO that can effectively support high-tech projects like e-book publishing, then the problem will not be as big as what Harrison-Keyes has now.   In formulating a strategy, problems caused by external factors such as the suppliers, the customers, the mass media and the competitors that can not be controlled by the company should be anticipated and resolved in the formulation period rather than in the implementing stage to avoid delay or cancellation of the strategy. Major problems that can be brought by the strategy should be identified beforehand to provide alternatives even before the problems occur.               Moreover, the marketing strategy of Harrison-Keyes seems to be not effective to attract more customers that cause their projected sales to be much lower than as expected. This is another problem caused by external factors; the company used the standard and traditional marketing techniques to campaign for the e-books. The company should have realized that with the introduction of e-books, the company expands its operation and enters a new market. New market often requires new marketing messages and better understanding of the market. It requires careful study, market research and test marketing (, 2002).             Generally, the problems faced by Harrison-Keyes have something to do with strategy implementation. Strategy implementation is a stage in strategic planning. For effective strategy implementation, the strategy should be translated into more detailed policies that can be understood at the functional level of the organization. The functional level includes marketing, research and development, procurement, production, human resources and information systems (2006). At these functional levels, issues and problems that were overlook at the higher level of the organization might be visible for the people who really implement the strategy are at this level. Implementation stage of strategy also involves identifying the required resources and putting into place the necessary organizational changes.             There are some key ingredients for effective strategy implementation ( 2002). These are: people, organizational, structure, control systems, and culture. In implementation of new strategy, a company should position the right people for a certain task. For example, e-book publishing requires intensive knowledge in information technology but the CIO of Harrison-Keyes has outdated knowledge and skills in technology; as a result, the project seems to be failing because of lack of support of someone knowledgeable on technology. It is also necessary to design the organizational structure to enable and support implementation (Chandler, 1962). The CEO of Harrison-Keyes was replaced but the entire management team remains the same. Harrison-Keyes must try to reorganize its management, putting more capable people that can bring the strategy into action. The use of controlling systems to monitor and control implementation (Hayes, 1977) is also needed to deal with uncertainties. Control systems can be classified into customer related, operations related, employee related and financial related systems (2002). The culture of Harrison-Keyes will also definitely be affected because of the transition from traditional publishing to a technology-driven company; culture needs to be shaped to suit and complement the strategy.                                     One good example of a company that reorganized and underwent major changes is the Ford Motor Co. After some of failures with their ‘world car’, the company decided to reorganize to make the ‘world car’ strategy effective. When Ford launched Ford 2000 (Penman, 1999), a strategy that addresses global competency by marketing the ‘world car’, the company underwent organizational change, from a centralized type of organization to matrix type which created synergism through shared responsibility on functional departments. With the new type of organizational structure, Ford has been flexible and can response rapidly to the changes (1998) and uncertainty in the automotive industry.             Another example of company that has implanted its strategy effectively is the UCB, a biopharmaceutical company based in Belgium. As a pharmaceutical company and to adapt to global competitiveness, it should be innovative and has extensive research and development team. To address these issues, its CIO created globalization strategies for its Information system ( 2004); the company upgraded all their systems and included a web portal that provides access to company information. The company also teamed up with a call center company that entertains queries of clients across the globe. In choosing the right call center for the company, they conducted a bidding to determine the most capable call center for the needs of the company. Through IT, the company has met the expectation of the public by providing the people innovative products that can compete in the global market. With UCB’s Management Information System strategy, the company has improved its information and intelligence sharing for its research and development Conclusion and Recommendation             In six months, Harrison-Keyes has failed to implement the e-book publishing strategy. In my opinion, it is primarily because of the contradictions from some of the members of the management even during the strategy formulation. The members of the organization have different views on this strategy that contributes to the ineffectiveness of the strategy. Members of the organization, from the top level management to the lower level members should share the same goals and vision and focus on the same direction in order for a strategy to be successful.             To have the same goals and vision, the top management should educate and communicate the plans to the lower level of the organization through the middle managers. Through good communication among the members of the organization, employees of Harrison-Keyes will not be uncomfortable with the strategy but instead be supportive and optimistic about it.             Moreover, if the key ingredients for effective implementation of strategy mentioned above are met, the company can deal with uncertainties and uncontrollable external factors easily. If the formulated strategy is aligned with the organizational structure, control systems are in place, and there are competent managers, there should be no problems in implementation (1998).             With the case of Ford, it has aligned its strategy through organizational change while UCB has effectively implemented its global strategy through improved information system and determination of the most efficient call center company that is mot helpful for the company. The company should also adopt the strategic management tool called scenario planning which is designed to deal with major uncertain shifts in the firm’s environment (2006).             Harrison-Keyes should learn from Ford by strategic reorganization as well as from UCB by improving its information system and technology needed for e-book publishing. Because Harrison-Keyes is a leading publishing company, they can easily look for other reliable outsourcing company to do the digitizing of books; the company should have the ability to have good partnership with its external environment such as the suppliers and the customers through enhanced marketing strategies. Formulation of strategy is an important stage of strategic planning but will be useless if not implemented effectively therefore we can conclude that strategy is all about implementation.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

MBA paper

Strategy is Implementation This paper discusses the problems that Harrison-Keyes. Inc. faces. The paper tries to find solutions to the id...

Making my business competitive

Part VII: Conclusion 7.1       Summary             The business and market analysis of PNS Superstore located in Hong Kong indicated that the retail company is encountering a number of internal and external pressures. These pressures include problems with its workforce, customers and competitors. For instance, the retail company and its stores lack the ability to deliver uniform and quality customer services. In terms of hygiene, the business is not as able in keeping the stores clean and safe at all times. Store floors in some areas are often left untidy; considering that the business mainly retails food product, this environment is unappealing for consumers. Moreover, slippery or wet floors can endanger the safety of the shoppers. Trolleys are also often left on main store entrances and exits, causing great inconvenience for the consumers.               The company’s work teams also lack efficiency due to communication and coordination issues. This problem makes it difficult for the company to handle and manage its subsidiaries. PNS is also encountering major issues with its human resources. For instance, cooperation among the staff is not as efficient. The lack of staff efficiency on the other hand affects the quality of services given to consumers. During non-peak store hours, the staff does not enthusiastically assist store shoppers. The cashier employees also show inappropriate customer transaction practices.             Aside from internal pressures, the retail company is also affected by its external business environment. Specifically, the retail industry in Hong Kong is very active; new business entrants are continuously growing in number, leading to a more intensive competition. Furthermore, technology is also making its ways to retail store improvement. While this is advantageous, competition from major retailers that can afford high end technology serves as a significant threat. Business rivals are also employing strategies similar to PNS, making it difficult to get the most out of its business plans. Expanding to other locations is also a challenge due to the expenses involved. Strategies related to cost reduction, market diversity and manpower management are also yet to be developed by the company.               These internal and external pressures in turn had affected the company’s overall performance. The business realized that in order to maintain the operations of the company for several more years, strategic changes would have to be developed and implemented. The company then developed a business plan with objectives that would help address its major concerns. These objectives include the creation of a better shopping experience for the customers, the development of highly skilled and knowledgeable staff, the empowerment of the employees, the reorganization of the staff structure for work distribution efficacy, the promotion of effective team-building and communication among the company personnel and the employment of proper measures in order to evaluate the progress of the implemented strategic changes.             The plan for strategic change of the company is comprised of various components. One of which is the conduction of trainings for the staff. These are focused on the development of the employees’ communication, leadership and team-building skills. During the process, participants went through workshops that involve seminars, classroom discussions and actual demonstrations. In addition to training programs, the company also carried out modifications on its existing policies and standard operations. Specifically, stricter observance of store policies had been enforced.   A clearer career ladder for both management and subordinate employees has also been developed. This has been integrated in order to optimize the potentials and skills of each organizational member. Opportunities for promotion, salary increases and incentives are also provided for the staff. Regular company gatherings are also to be conducted to recognize employees who have contributed greatly to the company’s development. Furthermore, store managers have also been trained on how to constantly motivate their staff.               The company believed that implementing strategic changes at PNS will result to significant business outcomes. Specifically, this plan may result to essential organizational and personal developments. On the organizational level for example, strategic change can help in enhancing PNS’s corporate culture. This change effect can help foster more productive behavior and attitudes among the employees. It can also direct the activities and efforts of the company members towards the achievement of a common goal. This effect can also broaden the understanding of the employees towards the people whom they serve. Leadership is also enhanced through organizational culture development. Better leaders are important in a business as they can help develop a mission and vision that are consistent, challenging but practical. They develop plans that are strategic in order to achieve the mission and cultural plans to achieve the vision.               The strategic plan of PNS mainly involves the intensive training of the managers and their subordinate employees. This could then lead to other important developments to the personnel level. For example, the quality and quantity of the services they provide for the customers can be enhanced considerably. The reduction of mistakes and errors as well as the emphasis on quality can be attained by means of training the employees. The amount of work employees can provide can also be improved through the same means.   In addition, employees can learn other skills that would make them more useful for the company. In particular, trained and highly-skilled workforce are the key in anticipating possible company problems, eliminating bottlenecks, developing new products, avoiding production shutdowns and ensuring quality. The development of their social and communication skills through training can also enable the employees to participate in group meetings as well as contribute in organizational tasks that require decision-making and leadership skills.             The strategic change at PNS also can result to significant personal developments. For example, this could help develop my abilities to interact and manage people. As a store manager, this personal development can help in making me a better company employee. Through this, I can learn new ways on how to handle different forms of interaction as well as personalities without causing major conflicts. I would be able to understand the needs and issues of other employees; this will be helpful in preventing unnecessary work disruptions or conflicts between employees. Enhancing my leadership potential can also help the company in ensuring that the employees are doing their jobs well. Through enhanced leadership skills, I can become a more effective mentor to my colleagues.               Aside from this, my creativity and productivity level can also be enhanced through strategic change. As the business plan of the company aims to empower employees through appropriate training, the staff will be more involved in the company’s different projects and decision-making activities. Empowered employees can provide unique and varied business ideas, which could enhance creativity. This can be useful for a number of company needs like designing new customer marketing strategies, organizing product line presentation and creating store campaigns.   The changes and training involved in the company’s plan can also help in making myself more productive as a PNS employee. Specifically, the skills I will develop will be useful in making more efficient in accomplishing my tasks. The organizational changes will also help me more effective in budgeting my time and available resources. During the training process, I will be able to learn important things regarding the company’s operations, products and services. Through this I will be able to contribute my learnings to increase the competitiveness of the company.   7.2       Conclusion             The implementation of strategic change at PNS resulted to a number of important changes to the company and to the personnel. Among the important achievements of the business include the establishment of better customer relations, development of more competent staff, increased employee satisfaction as well as the enhancement of overall store operations. The change also made the management sector more aware of the different pressures affecting the business. Another important development in the company brought about by change is that it made the company more adaptable, resourceful and creative. In terms of human relations, designing a change project that is directed for the customers and employees made the company more people-oriented, which is an important feature in today’s business sector.               While the change has resulted to positive effects to PNS, the project also led to some negative issues particularly on the personnel. The introduction of change in the company for instance, has been difficult at first due to the resistance of some employees. The employees believe that change in the company will only take valuable resources such as funds, time and energy. They also believe that changing their work routines will only lead to work disruption. This in turn affected the training programs conducted during the change implementation phase as some employees would refrain to participate in the said programs. PNS realized that its planned changes for the company will encounter resistance from some employees. Thus, the company also developed some measures to address this issue.               Despite the resistance of the employees, important developments among the company personnel, particularly in the top management sector, had been achieved. These include the enhancement of their ability to manage conflict and lead the employees. Furthermore, the gap between the lower level employees and the company management was reduced; this has been attributable to the improvement of the managers’ ability to communicate and deal with their staff employees. The employees also gained significant developments from the change project. Their level of productivity, sense of discipline and responsibility as well as their communication skills were improved through change.               Personally, I was also able to attain significant development though PNS’s strategic changes. One of which was the enhancement of my ability to communicate with different types of people. With my responsibility as the store manager, this personal development allowed me to work more efficiently with my staff as well as with the customers. With better working relations, problems happening daily in the store are now more easily relayed to me by my subordinates. As I motivate the staff, my working relations with them had also improved considerably. The change project also allowed me to learn how to effectively manage conflicts in the store. The trainings I have attended in the process taught me the different means of handling different store concerns and issues. In addition, I was also able to develop communication and listening skills, which had been helpful in conflict management.   Going through major changes in the company also made me encounter some problems. In order for me to handle my enhanced responsibilities, considerable time and energy would have to be allotted in order for be to fully adjust. Initially, the adjustment process was difficult for me as I still have to support my staff employees who were also undergoing the same challenge. Helping the company to introduce and observe the strategic changes had been a tedious and stressful experience. Nonetheless, the process increased my adaptability to changing work environments.               In conclusion, there are three important observations from the experience of strategic change at PNS. One of which is that change can bring about both positive and negative effects to the organization. Although strategic change is designed in order to bring important advantages to the company, it should be considered that risks and issues should be expected. For this reason, companies implementing change should always prepare countermeasures to overcome the negative effects. Another important observation is that the progress or outcome of change should be monitored and assessed. This helps in ensuring that the change project is going in accordance to the original plan.   Moreover, this help in determining the possible problem areas brought about by change. Immediate action on these problem areas can help prevent the issues from worsening. In the case of PNS, although the company is gradually achieving its set objectives through change, it will still have to employ other strategies including those that would improve its marketing efforts as well as strengthen its relations with the customers. This is related to the last important observation and that is, change should be a continuous process in order for the business to overcome current and future pressures.   7.3             Recommendation In order to assess the outcome of the change project at PNS, the company made use of the balance scorecard system wherein both financial and non-financial indicators were used. Through this performance measurement system, the company management was able to conclude that the skills of the employees as well as the sales of the company had improved by means of its change project. However, the company also noted some areas that would need further changes. In particular, the company is in need of strategies that would enhance its current marketing strategies as well as strengthen the relation it has formed with its customers. For this reason, it is recommended that the company adopt continuously develop new strategies and implement further changes.   The improvement of its marketing strategies is necessary in order for the company to overcome the pressures brought about by its business competitors. In order to do this, strategies such as the implementation of the integrated marketing communication (IMC) approach, may be appropriate. This tool enables the integration of various marketing systems and channels, resulting to wider coverage and optimized marketing outcome. Aside from public relations and the use of various communication media, the IMC approach utilizes internet technology, which makes the marketing process more interactive. As this is presently the common trend in the retail industry, an interactive marketing approach can help the company reach out to the customers more.   It is also recommended that PNS does not only generate better relations with the customers. It is also important that this relation is strengthened as well. For this purpose, customer relationship management (CRM) strategy may be useful. This strategy had long been recognized by companies worldwide, including non-retail businesses. This strategy can help the company can learn more about its markets’ characteristics and demands. Gaining more information about the customers can not only help PNS manage its diversified markets but also identify new ones. The CRM strategy can also help the company maintain its customers as well as promote loyalty. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Making my business competitive

Part VII: Conclusion 7.1 Summary The business and market analysis of PNS Superstore located in Hong Kong indicated that...