CHAPTER NINE
STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION:
STAFFING AND LEADING
ESSENTIALS OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
5TH EDITION
J. DAVID HUNGER THOMAS L. WHEELEN
9.1 Staffing
Executive types
• Dynamic industry expert
• Analytical portfolio manager
• Cautious profit planner
• Turnaround specialist
• Professional liquidator
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9.1 Staffing
Executive succession- replacing a key top
manager
- Issue: Insider versus outsider
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9.1 Staffing
Performance appraisal system identifies good
performers with promotion potential
Assessment centers evaluates a person’s
suitability for an advanced position
Job rotation- ensures employees are gaining a mix
of experience to prepare them for future
responsibilities
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9.1 Staffing
Downsizing:
Planned elimination of positions or jobs
– Can damage the learning capacity of an organization
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9.1 Staffing
Successful Downsizing
• Eliminate unnecessary work instead of making across
the board cuts
• Contract out work that others can do cheaper
• Plan for long-run efficiencies
• Communicate the reasons for actions
• Invest in the remaining employees
• Develop value added jobs to balance out job
elimination
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9.2 Leading
Managing Corporate Culture
• Strong cultures are resistant to change
• Optimal culture supports mission and
strategies
• Change in strategy should be followed by
change in culture
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9.2 Leading
Managing Cultural Change Through
Communication
• CEO and top management communicate the strategic
vision throughout the organization
• Current performance is compared to competition and
constantly updated
• Vision is translated into key elements needed to
accomplish the vision
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9.2 Leading
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9.2 Leading
Action plan - what actions are going to be taken, by
whom, during what time frame, and with what expected
results
1. Specific actions to be taken to make the program operational
2. Dates to begin and end each action
3. Person responsible for carrying out each action
4. Person responsible for monitoring the timeliness and effectiveness
of each action
5. Expected financial and physical consequences of each action
6. Contingency plans
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9.2 Leading
Importance of Action plans
• Serve as a link between strategy formulation and
evaluation and control
• Specifies what needs to be done differently from
current operations
• Evaluation and control processes appraise
performance and identify remedial actions
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9.2 Leading
Management by Objectives (MBO) - encourages
participative decision making through shared goal
setting and performance assessment based on
achieving stated objectives
1. Establishing and communicating organizational objectives
2. Setting individual objectives
3. Developing an action plan to achieve objectives
4. Performance review (periodic and annual)
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9.2 Leading
Total Quality Management (TQM) - philosophy that
is committed to customer satisfaction and continuous
improvement
Objectives:
1. Better, less variable quality of the product and service
2. Quicker less variable response in processes to customer needs
3. Greater flexibility in adjusting to customers’ shifting
requirements
4. Lower cost through quality improvement and elimination of non-
value added work
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9.2 Leading
Essential Ingredients of TQM:
• Intense focus on customer satisfaction
• Internal as well as external customers
• Accurate measurement of every critical variable in a
company’s operations
• Continuous improvement of products and services
• New work relationships based on trust and teamwork
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9.2 Leading
Dimensions of National Culture
1. Power distance
2. Uncertainty avoidance
3. Individualism-collectivism
4. Masculinity-femininity
5. Long-term orientation
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Discussion Questions
1. What skills should a person have for managing a business
unit following a differentiation strategy? Why? What should
a company do if no one is available internally and the
company has a policy of promotion from within?
2. When should someone form outside the company be
hired to manage the company or one of its business units?
3. What are some ways to implement a retrenchment
strategy without creating a lot of resentment and conflict
with labor unions?
4. How can corporate culture be changes?
5. Why is an understanding of national cultures important
in strategic management?
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PowerPoint created by:
Ronald Heimler
and
J. David Hunger
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