strategy Archives

01 Nov 2022

Control Systems for Business and Decision Support

Management, StrategyControl Systems, strategy

Decisions in business are better taken with evidence, data and notion about the risks and opportunities involved. Period. There is no workaround for this. Control systems in our business helps see and appreciate options that makes us aware what is going on, both in our internal and external environment. Let's read about this topic and how we can apply to our work. Evolution of Computerised Decision Support to Analytics Evolution of computerised Decision Support to Analytics. Respectfully borrowed from Sharda et al., 2018. The focus we have today on analytics and data science has deep roots in the past century…

26 Oct 2022

By juditova

Change management how to approach to solutions

Management, StrategyChange, Product Life Cycle, strategy

Everything is in constant change, particularly the external environment of the companies which is constantly and rapidly changing. Understand and predicting change is difficult and sometimes almost impossible. So, how do we have an effective change management? Nevertheless, being able to manage change is key. Industry/product life cycle Industry/product life cycle. Respectfully borrowed from Grant, 2018 As you recall from the corporate strategies section, the product life cycle is linked with the growth rate and sales and is key to decide when there is a need to redefine strategy. As products have life cycles, the same logic can be applied…

20 Oct 2022

By juditova

Strategic control

Management, Strategystrategy

Once a strategy is selected it is crucial to control for its proper implementation and detect problems. Strategic control fulfills this role and can be defined as: concerned with tracking a strategy as it is being implemented, detecting problems or changes in its underlying premises, and making necessary adjustments (Pearce at al., 2009). Strategic control differs from operational control (taken at functional or business levels) as the second deals with day-to-day activities and the achievement of objectives. For example, if a factory is experiencing a high level of defects in production, the operational control might take measures as retrain the employees and…

20 Oct 2022

By juditova

Innovation Management

Management, Strategystrategy

Innovation is closely linked to competitive advantage as the search for competitive advantage stimulates innovation. At this stage it is important to clarify two concepts according to Grant, 2018: (1) invention: is the creation of new products and processes through the development of new knowledge or from new combinations of existing knowledge. Most inventions are the result of novel applications of existing knowledge; (2) innovation: is the initial commercialization of an invention or an idea in the form of a new product or process. Innovation might result from a single invention (i.e.: pharmaceutical drugs) or it might be the combination of several inventions (i.e.:…

19 Oct 2022

By juditova

Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) and Ethics

Management, Strategystrategy

The main purpose of a company is to be profitable and satisfy its shareholders. However, business must be done in a sustainable and responsible way. Companies should be responsible for their actions and develop their business according to standards which allow them to thrive respecting all the stakeholders and the environment. For example, a company should be responsible to produce their goods in the most environmentally friendly way possible, to assure the future of our planet. What is CSR? Having these ideas in mind, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility appeared: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to the awareness, acceptance and…

13 Oct 2022

By juditova

External Environment in Strategy and Corporate Development

Management, Strategyinternal and external environment, strategy

The external environment is composed by forces outside the firm and outside its control. These forces also influence the firm and can be sources of market opportunities as well as competitive advantages. At this stage it important to distinguish between industry and market: “the term industry tends to refer to a fairly broad sector, whereas a market refers to the buyers and sellers of a specific product” (Grant, 2018). Therefore, the packaging industry comprises several markets such as steel cans, aluminum cans, paper cartons, and many others. Environment analysis The profitability of the companies may largely depend on the industry…

13 Oct 2022

By juditova

Internal Environment in Strategy and Corporate Development

Management, Strategyinternal and external environment, management, strategy

In this chapter, we will focus on the internal environment of the company and on how this could be crucial to its success. Therefore, resources and capabilities are sources of competitive advantage. First of all, it is important to notice that there is a clear distinction between the concepts of resources and capabilities. One can think about the resources as money derived. A company might invest some money and immediately obtain a resource. Capabilities must be developed over time. Put generically: resources refer to what an organization owns, capabilities refer to what the organization can do. For instance, if money is invested in…

09 Oct 2022

By juditova

Fundamental Concepts of Strategy and Corporate Development

Management, Strategyinternal and external environment, management, strategy

Management is both a universal human activity and a distinct occupation. We all manage in the first sense, as we organize our lives and deal with family and other relationships. As employees and customers we experience management in the second sense, as members of an organization, or as one with which we deal (Boddy, 2020). Nowadays, data is an essential part of the management activity in order to make good decisions, supported by facts and not merely opinions. As the management thinker and influencer Peter Drucker once stated: you can only manage what you can measure. You can only manage…