Deck 9: Implementing the Strategy

Question 1

Which is more important - the formulation of a strategy or its implementation? (Either answer is correct as long as it is well explained.)

Answer 1

$\bullet$ Strategy formulation is more important because it involves more complex decisions among a much greater variety of possible strategic directions and plans that must take into account a very large mix of internal and external factors (the organization's resources and competencies, the markets in which it competes and the customers it tries to serve there, the competitors that are fighting with it for those customers, and a range of general environmental considerations). It is easy to make mistakes in the choice of strategies that have damaging effects on the business.
$\bullet$ Strategy implementation is more important because a well-implemented, poorly-formulated strategy has a better chance of succeeding than a poorly-implemented, well-chosen strategy. Efficient, thorough implementation can give powerful effect to the best elements of a strategy that has not been carefully conceived. Through its monitoring and adjustment functions, the implementation phase has an opportunity to correct misjudgments in the original formulation. It cannot, however, produce success from a strategy that was completely misguided from the beginning.

Question 2

What are the three broad categories of organizational tools and assets necessary to a successful implementation of strategy?

Answer 2

$\bullet$ The resources and competencies required to support the implementation.
$\bullet$ The sub-strategies within functional areas that will put into practice the organization-wide strategies.
$\bullet$ The specific decisions and actions that carry out the sub-strategies.

Question 3

List and briefly describe the types of resources and competencies that an organization will rely on in carrying out its strategies.

Answer 3

$\bullet$ Money in certain amounts
$\bullet$ Facilities in particular geographic locations
$\bullet$ Physical space of certain dimensions
$\bullet$ Particular types of equipment with certain capacities
$\bullet$ Specified numbers of people
$\bullet$ Certain skills, capabilities and competencies
$\bullet$ Control and reporting systems
$\bullet$ Qualities like attitude, intuition, and imagination

Question 4

In what ways could an organization's culture affect, positively or negatively, the success of its strategic plans?

Question 5

Describe the three basic forms of organizational structure and the strategic conditions to which they are best suited.

Question 6

Describe the three ways that personnel in functional areas can provide valuable inputs to the strategic planning and management process.

Question 7

Give three examples of functional area strategies that could be used to support an organization-wide strategy.

Question 8

Explain the several steps in the process by which a strategic plan is broken down into tasks and activities that can be performed by individual employees.

Question 9

Describe a multi-step process for allocating financial resources among several strategic projects, in addition to other non-strategic capital investment proposals.