management

Harrington’s Process Breakthrough Methodology

Harrington’s Process Breakthrough Methodology is a technique developed by James Harrington that incorporates approaches such as business process re-engineering, benchmarking, new product innovation and design as well as focused business improvement to initiate a drastic change in the business processes of an organization. The process breakthrough methodology is used to examine the concept of business process management in improving the performance of an organization.

The Nature of BPM

The nature of business process management (BPM) refers to how business process management activities are used to improve the operations and performance of a business entity. It involves the use of technology and various concepts such as business process re-engineering and benchmarking to support the design, configuration and analysis of an organization’s business processes thereby improving it overall performance (Zairi 64).

Change Agents

Change agents within an organization are referred to as the people or processes that are responsible for facilitating change within the organization. Change agents who are people are usually knowledgeable about the theories that exist on change and they also have the relevant skills which they can use to assist other people within the organization to adapt to change.

With regards to processes, organizations that have established quality improvement systems usually provide ideas for improvement that can be used by organizations to improve their business activities and the overall performance of the employee (Griffin and Moorhead 512).

Specific reasons of resisting change

Change within an organization usually becomes a complex process when the various stakeholders of an organization find it difficult to change the performance of their work activities which is usually a requirement for process reengineering.

The reasons why employees resist change include the economic fears of losing job security, the inconvenience which is usually caused by change, the uncertainty that accompanies change as the end results are usually unknown, and the threat to interpersonal relationships where change within an organization disrupts the social relationships that exist within an organization (Griffin and Moorhead 513).

The Group Dynamics School of change Management

The group dynamics of change management refers to managing change at the group level of an organization. This school of thought is based on the premise that behavioral change is usually governed by group norms and value systems such as employee empowerment, open communication within the organization, continuous learning and facilitating employee ownership of the change process (Griffin and Moorhead 508).

Forces that act as stimulants to organizational change

There are various forces that act as a stimulant to change within an organizational setting and they are grouped into the external and internal forces. The external forces that lead to change are those that usually occur in the external environment of an organization and they include the economic environment, technological environment, government laws and regulations, the socio-cultural environment and the market place.

The economic environment stimulates change within an environment when the economy goes through a period of inflations and general fluctuations in the stock prices of major companies in the financial market. Such situations usually force companies to institute changes that will help the company deal with the economy such as downsizing or retrenchment during periods of economic recession or mergers and acquisitions when the economic environment is experiencing an upturn (Lunenburg 2).

The marketplace stimulates change within an organization by increasing the level of competition that exists amongst the various organizations in the market. Organizations change their products and services to ensure that they remain competitive in the market and they have an advantage over their competitors. The marketplace therefore necessitates change in the business processes and activities used in the production of goods and services.

Government laws and regulations bring about change within an organization when they require that an organization’s business practices have to conform to the laid down policies and laws enacted by the organization. The technological environment stimulates change within an organization when a company has to reengineer its business processes and technology to incorporate the latest technological equipment in the market (Lunenberg 3).

The socio-cultural environment brings about change especially in the labor market where the availability of human resources or employees to work within an organization affects its overall performance in the external environment. The various skills and talents that exist within the labor market affect how the role of an organization’s effectiveness and performance.

The internal forces that stimulate change within an organization include the administrative forces which refer to management strategies and initiatives that are meant to improve the performance of an organization and employee/people problems within an organization that force management to change the way an organization operates. Examples of people problems include bad management practices, poor working conditions, poor job morale, low job satisfaction and poor compensation benefits (Lunenberg 3).

Process management frameworks

Process management frameworks refer to the architectural networks that are used by an organization to evaluate the performance of the organization after business process reengineering activities. These frameworks provide a company with an efficient way to establish high-level process architecture that provides support services to the various business processes of an organization.

The use of process management frameworks is basically meant to create a set of standards that will be used by the managers and directors of an organization to define the type of business relationships that exist within the organization. There are various process management networks that are used to evaluate the performance of an organization and they include SCOR, VRM and ERP (Harmon 1).

The supply chain operations reference (SCOR) model refers to a business process framework that is used in the supply chain management activities of an organization. The SCOR reference model is used by organizations to address and improve the supply chain management operations practices within the organization by focusing on important aspects such as process modeling, performance measurements and the best practice of supply chain management.

The enterprise resource planning (ERP) process framework deals with the integration of the internal and external management information systems within an organization to ensure that there is the smooth flow of information between all the business units of an organization. The areas where ERP process frameworks are usually used within an organization include the finance and accounting unit, personnel, supply chain management, inventory and data services (Harmon 1).

The value reference model (VRM) as a process management framework supports the various processes that take place between individual chain networks within an organization so as to increase the level of outputs produced from the total value chain of the organization. The VRM model ensures that organizations can be able to develop global products and integrate supply networks into the strategic, tactical and operational processes of the organization (Value Chain Org. par 1-6).

Does training for business and industry costs pay in the end?

Given the ever changing global market, companies have been forced to undertake radical measures to ensure that they remain relevant in today’s dynamic global environment. RTA is no exception and it has begun to feel the pressure to conform and provide high quality services to its clients. The managers of the organization have come to the realization that the organization has to undertake business process reengineering activities to improve the quality, productivity and general business performance of the organization.

If RTA was to undertake performance improvement activities, then the first step would be to conduct training for all of its employees to ensure that their work duties and responsibilities have been improved for more problem solving activities. Employee training will be a worthwhile investment for RTA as improving the performance of employees will ensure that the business process systems within the organization have been adjusted accordingly to reflect new customer service operations.

Works Cited

Griffin, Ricky and Gregory, Moorhead. Organizational behaviour: managing people and organizations. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2010.

Harmon, Paul. Business Process Frameworks. Business Process Trends, Vol.1, No.5 2008.

Lunenberg, Fred. Forces for and resistance to organizational change. Administration and Supervision Journal, Vol. 27, No.4 (2010): 1-10.

Value Chain Org. The VCG framework is instituted to support the evolution of the business environment.

Zairi, Mohamed. Business process management: a boundary-less approach to modern competitiveness. Business Process Management Journal. Vol.3, No.1 (1997): 64-80.

Organization

Introduction

The core attributes of governments are critical in facilitating proper organizational leadership and development plans. The ideologies laid under this project seek to develop a strategic argument of institutional management and goal achievement. Most prevailing governance and leadership platforms are directed towards the attainment of a mission and organizational achievement to facilitate the flow of work. It dictates that all institutions must incorporate a strategic plan in which progress is measured against time. Essentially, institutional growth may harbor sufficient advantages about the flow of money and lack of any business models since they are created to foster development in a region (DuBrin, 2004). For instance, most governmental organizations have missions and visions to attain without necessarily making huge profits as income for governance.

The higher education institutions operate uniquely as compared to most business institutions where the aim is directed to attain education needs rather than specializing in money gains. Even when money gains are part of the organizational attainment, the key goals are directed towards educational achievement. The clear understanding of these aspects is conjoined with a study of institutional culture, characteristics, governance, principles, possible challenges, and future expectations among others. These aspects can be explored by paying attention to all the fundamental features mentioned within a real higher education organization. In a bid to implement this argument, this paper allows me to take a presidential role in an operating college to man and determine the proceedings, cultures, and associated strategic goals of the organization. The discussion lays the principles of institutional organization and governance, approaches to fight challenges, daily plans to foster development, achievement trends, as well as any associated failures.

Annotated Bibliography

Bass, B., & Riggio R. (2006). Transformational leadership. Mahwah: Erlbaum Associate Publishers.

The collection of information delivered to support various aspects of transformational leadership in institutions can convince readers about the vitality of change in governance. Bass and Riggio (2006) capture ideas critical in implementing change within the governance of institutions. The authors pay attention to vision implementation by assessing practice from national and world-class politicians, CEOs, and directors among other key governors of institutions. This book provides vital information regarding institutional governance and best practices applicable to implementing change. It is, therefore, critical in the study topic.

Bush, T. (2003). Theories of educational leadership and management. London: Sage Publications.

This book was written by Bush (2003) has particulate information regarding the governance of educational institutions. He presents an argument about the leadership in sections of institutional management. The information will create a base for leadership and organization of the critical aspects as reinforced by the best governance practices. These principles will be used to evaluate the governance of the college in this study.

Trompenaars, F., & Voerman E. (2009). Servant Leadership across Cultures Harnessing the Strength of the World’s Most Powerful Leadership Philosophy. Oxford: Infinite Ideas Ltd.

Trompenaars and Voerman (2009) combines various argument to deliver the idea that globalization has introduced new cultural dimensions in leadership. He points out that all leaders are subject to cultural differences in their area of work, which demands standard ways of handling governances. The resources play vital roles in the topic of governance and culture where higher education institutions harbor cultural diversity. The book provides insight on handling people with distinct backgrounds and solving disputes among them as well as a surviving dilemma.

Major Principles of Organization and Governance

Governance is a fundamental aspect that determines the success of both developing and developed companies. In this regard, it determines the cohesiveness, commitment, and incentive of employees in the organization. Although leadership is needed in both old and young companies, young companies require more superintendence than the old ones. In this case, startup companies do not have a well established organizational structure that could enhance the effective execution of roles. Most importantly, the young organizations lack coordination in the internal structure implying that they need much-dedicated leadership. Also, the leaders of these organizations do not have the experience to coordinate the internal and external environments of the organization. This implies that those leaders must assess their leadership skills, improve them, and apply them when executing their roles. Therefore, this paper will describe the requirements of good leadership, assess the good aspects of personal leadership, and illustrate a plan for developing leadership skills in line with the assessment.

Organization and Governance

Creating a Vision

The most fundamental requirement of good leaders is the power to create a vision for the companies. This requirement is based on the premise that an organization is formed based on a vision. The vision comprises of common objectives of the company which defines what all stakeholders should attain (Trompenaars & Voerman, 2009). Additionally, all roles of various stakeholders are based on a common objective of the company. This objective is regarded as a real factor of motivation because all employees aim at attaining that objective. This shows evidence that the vision defining the organizational objective is a core factor that determines the progress and success of the institution. The existence of this vision is even most important to a startup company whose structure is weak and coordinated. Good leaders can formulate, share, and help the stakeholders to implement the institutional vision.

Power of Influence

Power of influence is applied in various activities especially in a startup organization considering that the institutions do not have a defined procedural framework. First, leaders should need to influence the stakeholders when solving external and internal conflicts of the company. In this regard, conflicts paralyze the operations of the company substantially. It reduces the willingness of various stakeholders to work together, socialize, and settle their disputes harmoniously. As a result, the leader should have the capability to influence the victim of conflict showing the importance of reconciling and working in harmony. Leaders who cannot influence their subjects can hardly solve conflict among stakeholders because they do not pay tribute to him.

Team Building and Management

While managing an educational organization, building a team, and managing it are two important tasks that the leader must accomplish. Like other organizations, an institution has employees with different cultures, religions, and experiences. Also, they have diverse expertise that determines their roles. These factors play an important role in determining the success of a startup organization. However, they might act as dividing factors if they are not managed properly by the leaders. This implies that a leader should be capable of harnessing the diverse aspects to use them as opportunities rather than aspects of the division. It also means that the leaders have to unite the employees regardless of their cultural backgrounds, religions, and experiences (Bass & Riggio, 2006). This aspect ensures that the employees focus on the common organizational objectives rather than their difference.

Servant

Leadership theorists state that all people are leaders although there must be some people to take charge of the organizations. In this regard, all stakeholders are leaders only that the managers have been put in charge of the company. This implies that everybody is important and nobody is unnecessary in an organization. As a result, leaders should be servants rather than commanders and dictators. They should serve the customers, employees, and shareholders with humility to achieve the humanistic success which considers the welfare of all stakeholders. The aspect of serving is evident in the theory of servant leadership which is a core theory of management and leadership (Hammer, 2012).

Regarding the service, it states that leaders should exhibit six ideologies which include demonstrating authenticity, valuing and developing people, providing and sharing leadership, and building community. The aspect of authenticity ensures that the leaders exercise a practical approach while managing the organization. In this regard, leaders should accept their limitations, weaknesses, and ignorance to create a way for other people to use their strengths (Bush, 2003). This implies that leaders should not take on all roles. Instead, roles should be distributed to all the stakeholders of the organization. Also, it recommends that leaders should maintain a high standard of integrity in the organization by portraying trustworthiness, honesty, and accountability in all activities.

Organizational Responses to Future Challenges

Strength

This module has been a source of many lessons that form the basis of self-assessment. While conducting a personal evaluation, I noted that I have various attributes that could lead to successful leadership. In my leadership, I always lead by example by doing what I expect the juniors to accomplish. In this regard, I exercise participatory leadership where the leader participates actively in the activities of the team to help in analyzing the capabilities of the members to assign them with appropriate roles (Eunson, 2007). For example, I have been a leader in my academic group where we have been researching the qualities of a good leader. During the study, we interviewed various departmental heads in the university to obtain their opinions towards good leadership. During the interviews, I helped in the collection of data while my colleagues asked questions.

I assumed a minor role of recording the data rather than interacting with the heads orally. This allowed the group members to improve their interpersonal communication and oral skills. Also, the other group members could easily accomplish their roles because I set the pace for them. This was the perfect example of how leaders should lead by example. It was one of the ways that my colleagues learned about humility, dedication, and active participation. Secondly, I noted that I am a motivational leader who hardly gives up even when the situation is very tough. Regarding the study we conducted together with my colleagues, there were very many difficulties especially when making an appointment because the departmental heads are always busy. For instance, we could find the offices closed when trying to look for the lecturers in charge of the departments. However, I was always optimistic even if the situations were very difficult. I could persuade my colleagues to find an appointment despite the absence of those heads. This persistence could always bear fruits.

Leadership Development Plan

There are various practices that I will embrace to develop my leadership skills in line with my views of a good leader. In this regard, I will be aiming at developing the power of accommodating other people by appreciating, considering, and implementing their opinions. I understand that leadership is an art that can be practiced and learned by all people. Consequently, accommodativeness is a practice that can also be learned and practiced. As a result, when interacting with my colleagues, I will be slow at giving opinions about the issues that are discussed. By doing this, I will train to keep quiet, listen to other people’s opinions, and become less argumentative. This will provide a good opportunity for obtaining new knowledge about issues. Also, I will improve on my motivational skills to become proficient in inspiring my colleagues.

In this regard, I will be reading some books concerning leadership theories and principles to obtain vast knowledge on leadership. I consider these theories as crucial aspects of leadership although most people have dismissed the theoretical approach to leadership. Such people contend that a practical approach is the only basis that can develop proficient leadership skills (Eunson, 2007). However, we cannot live long to learn from our experiences only. Instead, we should read the theories that have been tested and proven through experimentation. It should be said that theories are the documentation of practical experiences. This implies that theories are developed from the practical implementation of the practices elucidated in the theoretical frameworks. As a result, leadership principles will be part of my leadership development plan. Lastly, I will work on my skills in solving conflicts between team members in line with the premise that a good leader should be capable of solving conflicts. It will be solved partly by studying theories about conflict management. Since the theories cannot work without practice, I will be trying to solve any conflicts by applying those principles.

Conclusion

Leadership is a fundamental aspect of managing an organization. Additionally, it cannot be disputed that startup organizations need intense leadership to superintend the activities of the organizations since they do not have firm procedural frameworks. Also, this discussion depicts that a good leader should have the power of influence, the capability of developing organizational vision, the willingness to accommodate other people and build effective teams.

References

Bass, B., & Riggio R. (2006). Transformational leadership. Mahwah: Erlbaum Associate Publishers.

Bush, T. (2003). Theories of educational leadership and management. London: Sage Publications.

DuBrin, A. (2004). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

Eunson, B. (2007). Conflict management. Milton: Wiley Publishers.

Hammer, D. (2012). Servant leadership. Sinaloa: Pacific Creek Books.

Trompenaars, F., & Voerman E. (2009). Servant Leadership across Cultures Harnessing the Strength of the World’s Most Powerful Leadership Philosophy. Oxford: Infinite Ideas Ltd.

Introduction

Drucker posits, “Operations managers play a critical role in harmonizing systems and guidelines across key business areas including technology, planning, and finance” (123). In spite of all the resources at their disposal, the managers encounter numerous challenges when dealing with employees and coordinating organizational resources. Heizer and Render allege, “The global market is characterized by its substantial size and dynamic makeup” (34).

Operations managers must understand this truth to sustain the best system performance in a changing global scene. Operations managers should be in a position to address what he calls planned and unplanned changes (Burke 145). The managers should be able to identify the essential systems and tools to utilize organizational resources proficiently.

Heizer and Render (37) assert that operations managers are responsible for value addition, and they guarantee that an organization meets consumer needs. The managers do not execute these duties without challenges. They come across innumerable challenges that include guaranteeing sustainability, competing practices, limited resources, social responsibilities, and corporate reporting, among others.

Operations managers are tasked with ensuring that all departments within an organization work together (Heizer and Render 41). Consequently, they are responsible for solving disputes that arise due to competing interests among the departments.

Moreover, as organizations realign themselves to suit the changing business environment, operations managers are faced with the challenge of organizational restructuring systems to satisfy the emerging needs. This paper will discuss the challenges facing operations management in the modern business world.

Competing practices

Organizations are made up of different autonomous departments, which work together to achieve organizational goals (Drucker 123). What’s more, the various departments maintain constant communication to update each other on their progress and what is to be done next. Operations managers require having precise knowledge of the tasks of each department and how information flows from one unit to another (Drucker 123). In many cases, there arises competition between the various departments due to conflicting practices.

For instance, the marketing department may choose to correspond through notes, while the supply unit chooses emails. Such competing practices may hamper organizational efficiency and affect the quality of the company’s goods and services. Operations managers are faced with the challenge of solving competing practices in their day-to-day life (Drucker 125). Such a problem becomes worse if the managers do not have a clear guideline of how information is supposed to flow within the organization.

Operations managers institute rules that cover the entire company to combat opposing practices. Even though the policies may help to solve the problem of competing practices, they lead to other setbacks, especially if one department feels that its interests were not adequately addressed in the policies.

At times, it becomes difficult for the operations managers to reach a common ground that favors all the departments affected. Consequently, some units decline to follow the laid down procedures because they feel that the procedures favor other departments at their expense.

Dynamic business environment

Apart from competing practices, operations managers encounter challenges when dealing with the ever-changing business environment. “Companies operate in a business environment characterized by regular changes in consumer needs, government regulations, technology, politics and financial market” (Drucker 127). Therefore, operations managers face a lot of challenges when addressing these changes. It is hard for operations managers to anticipate future changes in the marketplace (Krajewski and Ritzman 37).

For instance, the recent global financial crisis posed a significant challenge to operations managers. The managers are required to be innovative to overcome such crises. What’s more, they have to restructure their organizations, a move that lead to many employees fearing for their jobs. In the end, changes in the business environment result in operations managers incurring more cost in terms of system restructuring and hiring and training employees to suit the new job descriptions (Krajewski and Ritzman 75).

The changes come with a number of challenges, such as resistance by the employees to adopt the new changes. In most cases, employees opt to maintain the status quo because they perceive changes as a threat to their jobs.

Consequently, operations managers encounter resistance when trying to convince the employees to adopt the changes (Krajewski and Ritzman 77). Besides, it is hard for the managers to streamline operations in a business environment where employees are reluctant to embrace changes, thus negatively affecting organizational efficiency.

Globalization has led to stiff competition among the businesses. The current business environment allows organizations to open new branches in any part of the world. In return, organizations are opting to expand and look for unexplored markets to minimize risk, increase their profit, and remain competitive. Globalization has become an annoyance to operations managers (Birkinshaw, Hamel, and Mol 827).

It has not only altered business processes but has also made it hard for the managers to deal with their supply systems. An organization requires changing its service processes when investing in a foreign country. There is a slogan that states’ think global act local’. The slogan encourages operations managers to establish business procedures that best address the needs of the local market.

The managers find it difficult to learn the culture of the target market and to align the company activities with this culture. It becomes hard for the managers to implement the changes, particularly if the final decisions are not made within the organization.

The majority of the organizations with branches in foreign countries make their decisions in the parent company. Therefore, operations managers encounter find it hard to harmonize the decisions with the situation on the ground. The managers require aligning the business’s mission, vision, culture, and goals with the local needs. At the same time, they have to ensure that they do not contravene the overall objectives of the shareholders (Birkinshaw, Hamel, and Mol 831).

Many times, such changes put the operations managers into problems with the shareholders. Apart from aligning business goals with the local demands, organizations require the managers to strike a balance between “cultural practices of local business units and global control” (Cole 67). To strike a balance, the managers are forced to create global strategies to help in dealing with international trade. Failure to establish global strategies weakens organizational performance, and mainly for the companies operating in foreign countries.

Social responsibility

Birkinshaw, Hamel, and Mol allege, “In many ways, social responsibility is related to sustainability. However, this function of the operation manager looks specifically at how the business engages with its local community, trying to get consumers to buy its products” (838). Numerous organizations participate in corporate social responsibility projects like sponsoring local schools or cleaning the cities.

Even though operations managers face challenges when preparing for the projects, the business’s participation makes the public to believe that the company is not out to make a profit. It shows that the organization cares for the needs of the community. Additionally, participating in corporate social responsibility (CSR) helps to market a company’s brand (Cole 69). While operations managers are responsible for organizing and coordinating CSR projects, they are also responsible for increasing the company’s returns.

The shareholders expect the managers to raise the company’s profit and turnover. The managers have to achieve these expectations without engaging in activities that can affect the social environment or society (Cole 70). Therefore, they are required to offer quality products and services without hiking the prices. What’s more, the managers are expected to ensure that the business does not engage in activities that threaten society in a bid to increase its returns.

Top management in any organization holds the operations managers accountable for the budget related to business operations. The management needs the managers to utilise the available resources with minimum wastage (Johnston 1299). Therefore, the operations managers encounter problems in the attempt to maintain the service cost at a minimum, while at the same time to increase the profit. Because of such an environment, the managers result in making tough decisions, some of which are hard to bear.

For instance, operations managers are compelled to cut down on the number of employees to reduce operations costs. Employee reduction leads to the managers facing lawsuits, which consume most of their time and affect their performance (Johnston 1301). Occasionally, managers prefer to enhance machine efficiency to increase productivity. Even if the enhancement may help the operations managers to meet the top management’s demands, it times it overworks the machines leading to their breakage.

Ultimately, the managers end up spending more money to repair the machines instead of reducing the expenses. Normally, operations managers have to guarantee that the money they need to run their department will yield returns. It becomes a problem if the managers fail to fulfill their pledge.

Corporate reporting

Many organizations assign responsibility for business reporting to operations managers. Additionally, the managers compile performance and financial records for the organization (Johnston 1304). These responsibilities leave the operations managers as the only people who can clarify the records to the shareholders. Corporate reporting becomes a challenge to the managers if the business does not keep truthful and up to date records. Operations managers end up manipulating their records to appease the management.

They risk losing their jobs if the top management learned about their actions. For the case of small enterprises, “record-keeping can sometimes take a back seat to more pressing concerns like meeting customer demands or keeping production levels high” (Johnston 1307). It is hard for the operations managers to present such data if the business is not performing. Giving the data amounts to self-incrimination on the side of the managers because the top management entrusts them with the enterprise.

Sustainability

Organizations assign the operations managers the task to create lasting employee and consumer policies that put into consideration the company’s effects on the cultural, social, and fiscal environment (Ritchie and Brindley 305). Numerous enterprises have opted to engage in environmental conservation projects as a component of their sustainability aspiration. Such policies seek to curb pollution and to keep the company away from engaging in activities that affect the well-being of the customers.

Formulating business rules that engender transparency is as well an element of sustainability goal. The goal can be challenging to operations managers who work in small enterprises because “their work environments tend to be more insular than that of larger corporations” (Ritchie and Brindley 309).

Establishing sustainable business policies in small businesses affects the enterprise’s relationship with customers and staff. Operations managers find it hard to guarantee business sustainability without affecting either employees or customers.

Ritchie and Brindley argue, “A growing number of organizations fall squarely in the information-intensive new economy” (319). To these organizations, the perceptions, tools, and theories of traditional operation management are mainly immaterial. They have to come up with approaches that are tailored to the theories and realities of their world. The work becomes even composite because of two extra truths of their world. First, since modern enterprises are information-intensive, their employees are different from those of the past enterprises.

Not only are the workers’ remunerations high, but it is also difficult for the operations managers to measure their output. What’s more, the employees do not allow operations managers to measure their performance. Some years back, organizations used financial incentives to motivate their employees (Storey et al. 756).

Workers were rewarded based on their performance, and the reward promoted competition within the company. However, modern employees do not consider financial incentives as a motivating factor. For this reason, it is hard for operations managers to retain their skilled workforce if they do not understand what incentives motivate the workforce.

Some of the operations managers deal with employees whose skills are unique and highly demanded by many institutions. Such employees keep moving from one enterprise to another. For instance, the managers who work in hospitals encounter a lot of challenges dealing with doctors who move from one hospital to another (Storey et al.755). It is difficult for the managers to control the doctors in fear of losing them.

Many of the modern companies are expanding exponentially (Storey et al.756). This growth poses a challenge to the operations managers because they are not able to tell how and where to alter the company’s system to cope with the rapid growth.

Moreover, the managers find it hard to motivate and retain their existing workforce, and to recruit others to occupy the emerging job opportunities. It is hard for operations managers to coordinate all these changes, and at the same time to recruit new customers and to run incessant changes in goods and services.

Ethical challenges

Operations managers are tasked with guaranteeing safety at workplaces. They ensure that employees use the available resources accordingly and comply with the established safety procedures. It is hard for the managers to guarantee safety at workplaces when employees work under the influence of drugs or alcohol (Storey et al.756). Even though companies prohibit their employees from working under the influence of drugs or alcohol, some staff still violates the laws.

In such a case, it becomes hard for managers to guarantee the safety of their employees. In the service sector, the operations managers encounter an ethical predicament of addressing setbacks associated with the technological field. The challenge becomes severe if it entails computer scam in which employees steal an enormous amount of money from the company (Storey et al.756). The majority of computer crimes are not detected immediately.

A company can lose a lot of money before the scam is noticed. In such a case, operations managers may not be in a position to explain to the top management about how the theft happened. To cope with these ethical predicaments, operations managers end up spending a lot of money to install system security.

Conclusion

Operations managers are critical leaders in any organization. Their daily activities determine the success of the business. The managers encounter numerous challenges as they execute their day-to-day obligations. One of the challenges that they face is solving conflicts between departments. It is hard for the managers to come up with a structural system that satisfies all the departments. Globalization has opened foreign markets to business enterprises.

In return, it has put the operations managers in problems with employees because the managers try to restructure the company’s systems to suit the global market. Operations managers are responsible for corporate reporting and social responsibility. The managers are unable to report on business performance if the company does not keep precise and up to date records. Moreover, the managers have the duty to ensure that the company does not make a profit through dubious means.

The managers determine the survival of an enterprise. Hence, they are asked to lay down business policies that engender transparency and accountability. Some operations managers deal with employees who have unique and highly demanded skills. Therefore, it is hard for the managers to control the workers due to fear of losing them.

Another problem that operations managers face is guaranteeing the safety of employees at workplaces. What’s more, some staff might conspire to defraud the company without the knowledge of the operations managers.

Works Cited

“Management Challenges for the 21^st Century”, By: Peter Drucker, Elsevier Ltd, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7506-8509-2.

“Management theory and practice”, By: Gerald Cole, Thomston, 6^th Edition, 2004, ISBN 1-84480-088-1.

“Operations Management: Process and Value Chains”, By: Lee L. Krajweski and Larry P. Ritzman, Pearson – Prentice Hall, 8^thEdition, 2005, ISBN-10: 013187294X.

“Operations Management”, By: Jay Heizer and Barry Render, Prentice Hall, 10^th Edition, 2011, ISBN- 10: 0136119417.

Birkinshaw, J., Hamel, G., Mol, M., “Management innovation”, Academy of management Review, 33/4, 2008, pp. 825-845.

Burke, W., “A perspective on the field of organization development and change: The Zeigarnik effect”, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 47/1, 2011, pp. 143-167.

Johnston, R., “Service operations management: from the roots up”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 25/12, 2005, pp.1298-1308.

Ritchie, B., Brindley, C., “Supply chain risk management and performance: A guiding framework for future development”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 27/3, 2007, pp.303-322.

Storey, J., Emberson, C., Godsell, J., Harrison, A., “Supply chain management: theory, practice and future challenges”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 26/7, 2006, pp. 754-774.

Introduction

Quality refers to the standard of a product or service as compared to other similar products or services. It is only through quality products and services that a company can be assured of earning satisfactory revenue through sales. Customers compare different commodities before deciding which ones to buy. They usually consider factors like product differentiation, safety, etc.

Quality control is a combination of all regular technical processes that are aimed at measuring and controlling the quality of an output. These processes take place in several stages in the development of a product. Some of them are put in place right from the manufacturing stage while others may be employed at the packaging and delivery stages.

Quality control emphasizes three main aspects namely: control elements, competence, and soft elements. To start with, control elements address issues like identification of records, job management, etc. On other and hand competence addresses issues like skills, knowledge, and qualifications. Soft elements address issues such as motivation, organization culture, quality relationship, and team spirit. A company must observe these three aspects for the sake of maintaining quality assurance since deficiency of any of these poses a great risk to the quality of the output (Wheeler & chamber, 1992). The use of quality control procedures also helps in the detection of defects in products which will then be reported to the management. In instances of defective output, the management puts in place remedial measures to ensure that production remains on course as planned.

Application of statistical quality control in business

Statistics involves collecting and organizing a given data for purposes of interpretation and focusing the future behavior or outcome. Statistics are widely used by almost all businesses. Companies use various statistical methods to predict the trend of certain variables like revenues cash flows, expected defective rates of products, provision for contingent liabilities, etc. Also, they use various statistical methods to measure the degree of risk involved in undertaking a certain project or entering a certain industry. Companies still use statistics to gauge their positions in the market while comparing themselves with their competitors (Shewhart, 1931).

Importance of statistical quality control

Statistical quality control is a way in which companies apply various statistical methods so to monitor and control various processes involved in the production of a product. The aim of this is to ensure that organizations operate at their full capacity and that the products conform to the required standards of quality, safety, quantity, etc. Companies can operate predictably through the usage of statistical quality control techniques. Companies can predict the level of output at various stages of production.

Statistical quality control can examine a process and the origin of deviations. That way, it is possible to detect weaknesses and failures in the systems and look for remedial measures promptly (Render, Stair, & Hanna, 2011). This will help in reducing the chances of passing on problems to customers. Some of the key statistical quality control tools include control charts which essentially focus on continuous improvement of certain processes. Statistical quality control also helps companies to reduce the time needed in the production of a certain product or service. Therefore, it is viewed as an important tool from both customer satisfaction and cost reduction standpoint.

Conclusion

It is only through statistical quality control that companies can produce high-quality products at minimal costs that satisfy customers’ various needs. This plays a great role in maintaining customer’s loyalty.

Reference

Render,B,Stair R., &Hanna.(2011).Quantitative Analysis for Management Edition,(11^th ed.).Upper Saddle River, NewJersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Oakland,J. (2002) Statistical Processes Control ISBN0-7506-5766-9.

Shewhart,WA. (1931). Economic Control of Quality of Manufactured product ISBN0-87389-0ono76-0.

Wheeler, D. J., &Chambers, D. S. (1992).Understanding Statistical Processes Control ISBN0-945320.

Introduction

This paper contains a research study on the concept of quality management systems (QMS). It highlights its main dimensions and shows its importance to organizational performance. Key tenets of this report also demonstrate how organizations could implement the QMS approach and emphasize the importance of having quality policies in an organization. However, before delving deeper into these details, it is pertinent to understand the origin and evolution of the QMS concept.

Evolution of QMS

The QMS concept started as a term coined by the Naval Air Systems Command Unit to describe unique Asian-styled quality control measures for different organizational processes (American Society for Quality, 2016). At its inception, it included the principles and practices of behavioral sciences, economic theories, process analysis, and the analysis of quantitative and non-quantitative data (Rocha-Lona, Garza-Reyes, & Kumar, 2013). The evolution of the QMS concept has occurred through five different periods that spread from the 1920s to date.

In the 1920s, many facets of the United States (US) economy started adopting the concept of QMS, as a management philosophy (American Society for Quality, 2016). However, this process created a problem among workers who were affected by the change because they lacked the power to influence the conditions and functions of their work. Such problems led to the Hawthorne experiment, which showed how managers could increase the productivity of workers through their increased participation in organizational processes (Rocha-Lona et al., 2013).

In the 1930s, researchers, such as Walter Shewhart, started to develop scientific management principles of quality management (American Society for Quality, 2016). In the 1950s, QMS entered a new phase where other researchers started to teach these new methods of quality control to different groups of professionals. For example, Edwards Deming taught statistical management tools to Japanese Engineers (Rocha-Lona et al., 2013).

Some people consider this period at the start of the QMS movement (Sebastianelli & Tamimi, 2002). Other researchers that were actively involved in the promotion of the concept during this period included Joseph M. Juran, Armand V. Feigenbaum, and Philip B. Crosby (Rocha-Lona et al., 2013). They taught different concepts of promoting quality and paved the way for promoting quality improvements in different companies.

In the late 1960s, Japanese companies started inculcating the concept of quality improvements in their business management practice (American Society for Quality, 2016). The incorporation of the QMS concept in Japanese business practice largely explains why the country is a leader in this regard. Today, pundits largely consider the QMS concept a broad and systemic approach for managing quality issues in an organization (Rocha-Lona et al., 2013).

Dimensions of Quality and their impact on an organization

The consensus among researchers is that eight main dimensions of quality influence an organization’s performance. They include

Performance: This dimension of quality refers to an attribute of a product or service, that would be instrumental to its operating characteristics. Mostly, these attributes are measurable; however, in cases where they are intangible, researchers use objective assessment methods of performance (Garvin, 1987). Performance affects organizations by varying their resource requirements for production.

Features: This dimension of quality refers to auxiliary attributes of a product, or service (Garvin, 2016). Stated differently, it refers to additional characteristics of a product, or service, that make it appealing to customers. Features could affect the functionality of an organization’s outputs.

Reliability: The reliability of a product, or service, is more of a guarantee to a customer that a specified product, or service chain, would not break down within a specified period. This dimension of quality is important to customers who are particular about the workings of a product. Organizations that produce reliable products benefit from improved competitiveness, as customers shun their rivals who produce inferior products (Garvin, 2016).

Conformance: There are different quality standards set by different local and international quality agencies. Conformance is a dimension of quality that refers to the precision with which specific products and services meet the quality standards laid out by the quality organizations (BridgeValley Community & Technical College, 2016). This quality dimension could lead to a redefinition of organizational processes to conform to the set standards of operation.

Durability: The durability of a product refers to its shelf life. However, when products are subject to repair, the concept of durability often varies. In other words, it becomes difficult to estimate the durability of a product this way. By understanding the concept of durability, it is easy for users to understand when to sell a product because there is a time when the repair costs could surpass the value of using the same product. This dimension of quality could affect the kinds of raw materials and operational processes that organizations use in making goods (Garvin, 1987).

Serviceability: This dimension of quality refers to the ease at which users could repair a product when it breaks down (Sebastianelli & Tamimi, 2002). It also refers to the competence and character of the person, or organization, which will service the product. This dimension of quality could affect the business relationships of an organization because it could have to collaborate with other organizations to offer after-sale services, or introduce a new department within the organization to offer the same services.

Aesthetics: Aesthetics are individualistic. This aspect of quality control refers to a user’s personal experience with a product, or service, particularly, in the sense of how it looks or feels. Organizations often strive to outwit each other based on this quality dimension because they want to provide the most appealing products, or services (Garvin, 1987). Therefore, this dimension of quality may improve a company’s competitiveness.

Perceived Quality: The Indirect measures of a good, or service, could easily determine how people rate the quality of a product or service. This is the basis for the determination of a product’s perceived quality. Here, it is important to point out that perceived quality may not necessarily highlight the “real” quality of a product or service. Nonetheless, organizations that produce products that have a perceived low quality are bound to suffer from low sales.

Importance of Having Quality Policies within an Organization

It is important to have a quality management policy within an organization because it promotes different aspects of a company’s processes and business relations. For example, many customers today require organizations to have a quality management policy, as a surety that the services they would get from the organization would meet high-quality standards (BridgeValley Community & Technical College, 2016).

Alternatively, they need the same quality statement as a surety that the company would deliver a product, or service, within a specified time and according to a predetermined quality. This is why many prequalification questionnaires have a quality management statement. Nonetheless, it is not a legal requirement for businesses to have a quality management statement, but best business management practices demonstrate the importance of having an internal quality control and use of resources to serve the same purpose (BridgeValley Community & Technical College, 2016).

Businesses could enjoy the multiple benefits of having a quality management policy. Such benefits include increased customer loyalty, repeat businesses, flexible responses to market opportunities, improved ability to create value for customers, and improved competitive advantages through improved organizational capabilities (Rocha-Lona et al., 2013).

Integrating QMS into a Business System Approach

There are different approaches to implementing QMS. The main strategies include the QSM implementation approach, the guru approach, the organization model approach, the Japanese total quality approach, and the award criteria approach (American Society for Quality, 2016). The award criteria approach focuses on using quality management to meet the criteria for winning an award. Although some researchers question its effectiveness, most of them say it has led to significant quality improvements in organizations (American Society for Quality, 2016).

The Japanese total quality approach uses strategies employed by Deming Prizewinning companies to implement QMS. The Florida Power and Light Company used this strategy to implement QSM, successfully (American Society for Quality, 2016). Lastly, the organizational model approach involves organizations learning from industry leaders on the implementation of QSM. Success stories include companies, which received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards in the 1980s (American Society for Quality, 2016).

Conclusion

This paper has highlighted the importance of QSM in organizational processes and the improvement of product quality and service delivery. Policy implementation is an important tool in the implementation of this management policy, but the realization of some of its benefits, as described in this paper, requires the full commitment of the organization’s leadership to make it work. Nonetheless, although it is vital to have a QSM policy in organizations, there is no one solution for implementing QSM approaches in organizational processes.

References

American Society for Quality. (2016). Total Quality Management Implementation and Systems.

BridgeValley Community & Technical College. (2016). Introduction to Quality Management Systems ISO 9001 and Beyond.

Garvin, D.A. (1987). Competing on the eight dimensions of quality.

Garvin, D. (2016). Dimensions of Quality.

Rocha-Lona, L., Garza-Reyes, J., & Kumar, V. (2013). Building Quality Management Systems: Selecting the Right Methods and Tools. New York, NY: CRC Press.

Sebastianelli, R., & Tamimi, N. (2002). How product quality dimensions relate to defining quality. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 19(4), 442 – 453.

Introduction

The area of team leadership attracts a lot of attention in the modern world because of the need to assemble and deploy diverse teams for the completion of projects. The future of many corporations relies more and more on the kind of team leadership they have for their projects. This paper explores a number of facets that constitute effective team leadership.

Definition

There are certain essential elements that constitute the definition of leadership. It may refer to the totality of an organization’s top direction-giving functionaries, or the actions applied in providing direction that enables the organization or team to move forward towards a goal. In reality, there are very diverse definitions of leadership depending on the context.

Grint’s (2010) summary of leadership definitions that includes the position, the person, the results, and the process, provides a comprehensive view of leadership. While not absolute, this view covers much of the areas where there is consensus on the definition of leadership.

Concept of Leadership

The concept of leadership arises out of the need for cooperative action by human beings to achieve certain goals. Leadership seeks to identify and deploy the groups’ pooled resources to tackle problems in order to achieve set objectives.

While human beings are independent and capable of individual action, there are many situations in real life that require dependence on one person or a small group of people who have a broad view of the intervening issues enabling them to direct the actions of the rest of the individuals. The degree of success from this effort is a measure of the leadership skill present within a team.

Characteristics of Leadership

All leadership, formal or informal, will have at least the following three characteristics. The first characteristic is that leadership emerges to address a certain challenge. Secondly, leadership develops a vision and sells it to the followers, which thereafter, serves as a rallying cry and becomes the means of keeping the group together.

This vision attracts would-be followers to join in the effort to alleviate the challenge. Thirdly, it is characteristic of leadership to possess the skills required to harness the resources that a group brings together and to apply those resources in alleviating the challenge in order to deliver the vision.

Importance of Leadership

Without leadership, a team lacks direction and cohesion. Leadership is there to solve challenges associated with teamwork and to insure the attainment of the main objective of the team effort. Leadership reduces the risks associated with a project.

This happens because the person or team providing direction for the project do not get involved in detailed implementation freeing them to see the big picture from which they identify and reduce or eliminate risks. Leadership increasingly means the difference between a successful project and a failed one despite the availability of resources. This is because of the role leadership plays in the effective allocation of resources to achieve the projects objectives.

Impact of Leadership in an Organization

On organization is the legacy of its past leaders. This means that all decisions a leader made while in charge live on through the systems he established, the opportunities he seized, and the mistakes he made. In team leadership, the outcome of the team effort depends on the skill the leader possesses empowering the team to wade through difficult terrain. In many cases, the difference between two organizations with similar resources is difference in the quality of their leadership.

Leadership and Communication

There are four reasons why communication is a critical element of leadership. It is through communication that a leader passes on the vision and attracts followers to participate in its attainment. Secondly, through communication, a leader is able to keep everyone informed on issues that require their attention to ensure they fulfill their mandate effectively. If team members fail to understand the intent of their task, their motivation to undertake it suffers (Lai, Chi, & Yang, 2010).

Thirdly, through communication, a leader provides and receives feedback from all members thereby providing opportunity for adjustments to strategy to ensure that the whole team is on course. Finally, a leader uses communication to reach out to external parties as the voice of the team. This becomes important when there is a need to interact with parties who have an interest or can influence the outcome of the project.

Leadership and Motivation

It is the duty of the team leader to keep the team members motivated. This requires that the team leader understands the personal goals of the team members. Many times, before anyone joins a team, they assess how the overall team goal interacts with their personal goals and the greater the degree of congruence, the stronger their resolve to join and stick with the team. As part of keeping the team motivated, the leader requires a reward system that recognizes and rewards top performers.

However, every member of the team will require some form of personal motivation to remain focused on the attainment of the team’s objectives. In addition, the performance of team members relies on their leader’s confidence in them (Silver & Silver, 2006). Their performance compares to the level of expectation and confidence their leader has in them.

Theories of Leadership

Several theories seek to explain the phenomenon of leadership. The trait theory focuses on personal traits a person has as the benchmark for good leadership. Behavioral theory takes the view that leadership is a set of teachable behaviors that anyone can learn. Contingency theory embraces situational leadership, which says that different circumstances dictate leadership requirements, and a leader should be able to fit in. ”

This theory suggests that the best action of the leader depends on a range of situational factors, including motivation and capability of followers” (Frawley, 2009). Other theories focusing on the nature of leadership include transformational leadership, which brings far-reaching changes to an organization.

Lopez-Zafra, Garcia-Retamero, and Landa (2008) contend that this type of leadership has a close relationship with emotional intelligence. There is also the theory of invitational leadership. Here, the leader presents an amicable front. Finally, there is transactional leadership that focuses on systems and processes and how to make them more efficient.

Types of Leadership Styles

Three major leadership styles come out in the discussion of team leadership. There is autocratic leadership where the leader reserves the power to make decisions and normally seeks very little input from the team members. It is useful during emergencies where loss of time may mean loss of life or opportunities.

On the other extreme, there is the Laissez-faire leadership where the team has no centralized control whatsoever. This works well in places requiring where high levels of creativity. Between the two, there is the more popular democratic style, which attempts to balance input and control between the team leader and the team members.

Important Keys to Leadership

There are two important keys for all leaders. One of them is the source of authority that they exercise over the team members. It is better to exercise relational authority as opposed to positional authority because in many instances, “Leaders often lack the authority that usually comes with a position” (Parker, 2009).

People respond better when persuaded by the leader as opposed to when they receive directions to carry out a task. The second key is a steady focus on the team’s objectives. As a leader, it is very easy to wander from the key objectives of the team effort especially driven by the personal goals of more influential and persuasive members of the team.

How to be an Effective Team Leader

Effective leadership is a learned process. The commitment to improve over time is the single most important way of becoming a more effective leader. After the assignment of the goals and the resources of a project, the results will depend on the effectiveness of the leader. There are two parts of leadership.

There is the technical side that requires good management skills on areas such as finances, planning, and evaluation. The other part is the relational side that requires a good understanding of people and determines the leader’s capacity to inspire and motivate. A commitment to grow continually in these two areas will make any leader effective.

How to Build Teamwork and Avoid Conflict with Coworkers

When a leader understands the stages through which a team grows, he will have an easier time building teamwork and in the process, he will minimize conflict among team members. When the team is forming, the leader needs to concentrate on the building of trust among team members because by then, conflicts will be fewer. When the team reaches the storming stage, the team leader needs to allow for open disagreements, but always guide them through to compromises between team members.

At the norming stage, the team leader’s focus should be on clarifying the objectives of the team effort and ensuring all the team members fully understand their role in the team effort. Finally, when the team gets to the performing stage, the team leader’s role becomes one of motivation and performance measurement.

Conclusion

In conclusion, every team leader will do well to always bear in mind that, “people are a valued resource and understanding and developing them is essential for good leadership” (Jones, 2006).

Reference List

Frawley, J. (2009). Intercultural and Sustainable Leadership. Journal of Leadership Studies , 39-46.

Grint, K. (2010). Leadership: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Jones, K. W. (2006). Impact Leadership. Longwood, FL: Xulon Press.

Lai, J.-Y., Chi, H.-J., & Yang, C.-C. (2010). Task Value, Goal Orientation, and EMployee Job Satisfaction in High-Tech Firms. African Journal of Business Management , 75-77.

Lopez-Zafra, E., Garcia-Retamero, R., & Landa, J. M. (2008). The Role of Transformational Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, and Group Cohesiveness on Leadership Emergence. Journal of Leadership Studies , 37-49.

Parker, G. (2009). Team Leadership: 20 Proven Tools for Success. Amherst MA: Human Resource Developement.

Silver, L., & Silver, D. (2006). Role of Implicit Personality Theory in Leadership Research. Journal of Business and Leadership:Research, Practice and Reaching , 108-115.

Knowledge of strategy and success of business

Knowledge of strategy would help in being successful in business in the following ways.

Knowledge of strategy enables the firm to define the organization goals and missions i.e. strategy enables a business to the general objectives and purposes that it intends to pursue. Mission and goals differentiates a firm form another in such aspects as market focus, products ideas e.t.c. Knowledge of strategy thus enables the firm to know the purpose for which it exist, the firm’s uniqueness, principle customers, principle products and the economic concerns to community and company.

Knowledge of strategy contributes to the success of business thorough proper allocation of resources i.e. it enables a firm to evaluate as to whether or not it have adequate resources as well as the technology so as to compete effectively in the market.

Adequate knowledge of strategy is important to the success of a business as it enables departmentalization and designing of the firm’s processes. This thus helps to define boundaries and in turn encourage mutual working relationships.

Also, adequate knowledge of strategy enables a firm to analyze its internal and external environment. This is important as it helps the firm to determine its strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities along the value chain. Strategy in this case enables a firm to determine its core competencies that provides it with real advantage e.g. the core competence of Microsoft is often enshrined in the technical know-how.

Business Model of Microsoft

The business model of Microsoft Corporation owns the computer application standards. Microsoft business model of owning computer application enabled it gain competitive advantage and thus triumph as opposed to its rivals such as the VisiCorp.The Microsoft thus concentrates on a business model of owning the operating systems and application programs such as the Excel and Word. It has adopted a business model that is largely dependent on software’s’ licensing access.

Microsoft has adopted such strategies as litigation and patent procurement which plays an important role of protecting its licensing programs as well as intellectual property. This business model coupled with growing market has made Microsoft to wrung huge profits over the years.

Business Model of McDonald

McDonald business model lies on the individual workers, the suppliers of goods and services and the franchisers. This business model has enabled the company to make huge profits as it continue to provide the clients with food services. The franchisers are the one who manage the MacDonald’s restaurants while the suppliers are concerned with providing food as well as packaging. The McDonald’s employees on the other hand provide the necessary support and facilitate delivery of food across the globe.

Competitive Advantage of Toyota

Competitive advantage entails the firm’s unique performance over its rivals and it is often termed as sustainable when the competitors are not able to duplicate for a long time. The vehicle industry is usually very competitive as it is associated with high profits and revenues and therefore, Toyota adopts a broad differentiation business strategy that is aimed at making a wide variety of cars so as to optimize value for various customers.

Toyota Company also maintains a relatively low cost structures as well as vehicle-pricing options aimed at generating maximum profits due to the fact that there is intense competition in the vehicle industry Toyota also partners with the suppliers particularly in developing countries thereby reducing the manufacturing cost and this has helped the company to deal with stiff competition from such firms as Honda.

Strategies

Strategy entails the scope and direction of a firm over long term which help to accomplish the firm’s advantage through its resources’ configuration within a dynamic environment so as to meet the expectations of all the parties. Most organizations fail because they don’t set clear strategies on how their long-term objectives will be realized.

Strategy is usually non-routine and it is concerned with value creation. Strategy addresses the total business and it’s concerned with the long-term nature of a business. This implies that it requires to be first developed and then, the company should devise ways of implementing it.

Importance of strategy to an individual

Strategy usually acts as a guideline upon which an employee’s behavior is monitored. Strategy thus helps an individual to act within the organization’s accepted boundaries. Employees require to clearly understanding the strategy so as to enhance business growth. Strategy is important to an individual in an organization as it enhances forward-focused thinking. It helps individuals to understand and predict the changes in market conditions as well as customer needs.