SM Lecture Four : Strategic Purpose, Culture and Strategy

Strategic Management BUSM 3200

These Lecture Slides summarize the key points covered in the respective chapters in your

recommended text; these slides do NOT substitute, at all, the required reading of the assigned

chapter from the text. These slides also may contain additional supplementary material extracted

from other texts and sources outside your text book.

4-1 BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (Jan 2013) GDS

This lecture carries two chapters from the book

Chapter 4: Strategic Purpose

Covers issues on purpose of the organization: values, vision, mission, and objectives

Corporate governance

Corporate responsibility and ethical issues

Stakeholder analysis

Chapter 5: Culture and Strategy

How the internal dimensions of culture will impact on the efficacy of strategy implementation


Chapter 4 : STRATEGIC PURPOSE

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BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (Jan 2013) GDS

Learning outcomes

Consider appropriate ways to express the strategic purpose of

an organisation in terms of statements of purpose, values,

vision, mission or objectives.

Identify the components of the governance chain of an

organisation.

Understand differences in governance structures and the

advantages and disadvantages of these.

Identify differences in the corporate responsibility stances taken

by organisations and how ethical issues relate to strategic

purpose.

Undertake stakeholder analysis as a means of identifying the

influence of different stakeholder groups in terms of their

power and interest.


Influences on strategic purpose

Figure 4.1 Influences on strategic purpose


How the direction and objectives are influenced in SM

The figure earlier shows that strategic planning an management is a complex process

It is not a matter of one person driving the plan; rather it is a network of people and constituents who impact the strategies of the firm

There is a key topic on corporate governance- how professionally the firm should be managed (this has became a key issue following the incidences of corporate frauds in the US and beyond)

Another key topic you need to know well is that of “ethics” – this has been set in previous exams.


Who are the stakeholders?

Stakeholders are those individuals or groups who depend on an organisation to fulfil their own goals and on whom, in turn, the organisation depends.

- There are both internal and external stakeholder and they could exert significant impact on the way that strategic decisions are made.

- The manager need to factor in the likely impact of strategic decisions on the needs and expectations of stakeholders

- This is where we get ‘political lobbying’ 4-7 BUSM 3200- Strategic

Management (Jan 2013)

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2–8 Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Strategic Vision, Mission, Values and Objectives

provide the direction for strategic planning

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Mission statements

A mission statement aims to provide employees and stakeholders with clarity about the overriding purpose of the organisation

A mission statement should answer the questions:

‘What business are we in?’

‘How do we make a difference?’

‘Why do we do this?’



The Ideal Mission Statement

♦ Identifies the firm’s product or services.

♦ Specifies the buyer needs it seeks to satisfy.

♦ Identifies the customer groups or markets it is

endeavoring to serve.

♦ Specifies its approach to pleasing customers.

♦ Sets the firm apart from its rivals.

♦ Clarifies the firm’s business to stakeholders.

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Vision statements

A vision statement is concerned with the desired future state of the organisation; an aspiration that will enthuse, gain commitment and stretch performance.

A vision statement should answer the question :

‘What do we want to achieve?’



Purpose of the Strategic Vision

♦ Developing a Strategic Vision:

● Delineates management’s future aspirations

for the business to its stakeholders.

● Provides direction—“where we are going.”

● Sets out the compelling rationale (strategic

soundness) for the firm’s direction.

● Uses distinctive and specific language to set

the firm apart from its rivals.

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Vision Statement for UBS

We are determined to be the best global financial services company. We

focus on wealth and asset management, and on investment banking and

securities businesses. We continually earn recognition and trust from

clients, shareholders, and staff through our ability to anticipate, learn and

shape our future. We share a common ambition to succeed by delivering

quality in what we do. Our purpose is to help our clients make financial

decisions with confidence. We use our resources to develop effective

solutions and services for our clients. We foster a distinctive, meritocratic

culture of ambition, performance and learning as this attracts, retains and

develops the best talent for our company. By growing both our client and

our talent franchises, we add sustainable value for our shareholders.

Effective Elements Shortcomings

• Focused

• Feasible

• Desirable

• Not forward-looking

• Bland or uninspiring

• Hard to communicate

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Statement of corporate values

A statement of corporate values should communicate the underlying and enduring core ‘principles’ that guide an organisation’s strategy and define the way that the organisation should operate.

Such core values should remain intact whatever the circumstances and constraints faced by the organisation.



Linking Vision and Mission with Core Values

♦ Core Values

● Are the beliefs, traits, and behavioral norms that

employees are expected to display in conducting

the firm’s business and in pursuing its strategic

vision and mission.

● Become an integral part of the firm’s culture and

what makes it tick when strongly espoused and

supported by top management.

● Matched with the firm’s vision, mission, and

strategy contribute to the firm’s business success.

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Objectives

Objectives are statements of specific outcomes that are to be achieved.

Objectives are frequently expressed in: financial terms (e.g. desired profit levels)

market terms (e.g. desired market share)

and increasingly

social terms (e.g. corporate social

responsibility targets)



SETTING OBJECTIVES

♦ The Purposes of Setting Objectives:

● To convert the vision and mission into specific,

measurable, timely performance targets.

● To focus efforts and align actions throughout

the organization.

● To serve as yardsticks for tracking a firm’s

performance and progress.

● To provide motivation and inspire employees

to greater levels of effort.

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Issues in setting objectives

Do objectives need to be specific and quantified targets?

The need to identify core objectives that are crucial for survival.

The need for a hierarchy of objectives that cascade down the organisation and define specific objectives at each level.

Objective and control: objectives become the basis for establishing controls at the end of the planning cycle.


Hierarchy of Objectives


Hierarchy of objectives: the objectives set at a higher level will cascade to

objectives to be set at divisional and business function levels

Corporate level

objective: ROCE

SBU level

objective: ROCE

and Sales/Market

Share

Functional Objective:

example Productivity

or Quality Targets


THE TWO ESSENTIAL KINDS OF OBJECTIVES TO SET

♦ Financial Objectives

● Communicate top

management’s targets for

financial performance.

● Are focused internally on

the firm’s operations and

activities.

♦ Strategic Objectives

● Are related to a firm’s

marketing standing and

competitive vitality.

● Are focused externally

on competition vis-à-

vis the firm’s rivals.

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SETTING FINANCIAL OBJECTIVES

Examples of Financial Objectives

♦ An x percent increase in annual revenues

♦ Annual increases in after-tax profits of x percent

♦ Annual increases in earnings per share of x percent

♦ Annual dividend increases of x percent

♦ Profit margins of x percent

♦ An x percent return on capital employed (ROCE) or return on

shareholders‘ equity investment (ROE)

♦ Increased shareholder value—in the form of an upward-trending stock

price

♦ Bond and credit ratings of x

♦ Internal cash flows of x dollars to fund new capital investment

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SETTING STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

Examples of Strategic Objectives

♦ Winning an x percent market share

♦ Achieving lower overall costs than rivals

♦ Overtaking key competitors on product performance or quality

or customer service

♦ Deriving x percent of revenues from the sale of new products introduced

within the next five years

♦ Having broader or deeper technological capabilities than rivals

♦ Having a wider product line than rivals

♦ Having a better-known or more powerful brand name than rivals

♦ Having stronger national or global sales and distribution capabilities

than rivals

♦ Consistently getting new or improved products and services to market

ahead of rivals

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Corporate governance

Corporate governance is concerned with the structures and systems of control by which managers are held accountable to those who have a legitimate stake in an organisation.



Achieving Effective Corporate Governance

♦ A strong, independent board of directors:

● Is well informed about the firm’s performance.

● Guides and judges the CEO and other executives.

● Can curb management actions the board believes

are inappropriate or unduly risky.

● Can certify to shareholders that the CEO is doing

what the board expects.

● Provides insight and advice to top management.

● Is actively involved in debating the pros and cons

of key strategic decisions and actions.

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The growing importance of governance: Reasons

1. The separation of ownership and management control – defining different roles in governance.

2. Corporate failures and scandals (e.g. Enron) – focussing attention on governance issues.

3. Increased accountability to wider stakeholder interests and the need for corporate social responsibility (e.g. green issues).


The governance chain

Figure 4.2 The chain of corporate governance: typical reporting structures Source: Adapted from David Pitt-Watson, Hermes Fund Management

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The chain shows the roles and relationships between different groups involved in the governance of the organization


The principal-agent model

Governance can be seen in terms of the principal-agent model

Principals pay agents to act on their behalf (e.g. beneficiaries/trustees pay investment managers to manage funds, Boards of Directors pay executives to run a company).

Agents may act in their own self interest.


Issues in governance (1)

The key challenge is to align the interests of agents with those of the principals.

Misalignment of incentives and control – e.g. beneficiaries may require long term growth but executives may be seeking short term profit.

Responsibility to whom – should executives pursue solely shareholder aims or serve a wider constituency of stakeholders?

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Key issue in debate on who the managers are really accountable to. There are too many stakeholders to please!


Issues in governance (2)

Who are the shareholders – should boards respond to the demands of institutional investment managers or the needs of the ultimate beneficiaries?

The role of institutional investors – should they actively intervene in strategy?

Establishing the specific role of the board – in particular the role of non-executive directors.

Scrutiny and control – statutory requirements and voluntary codes to regulate boards.


Different governance systems

Table 4.1 Benefits and disadvantages of governance systems


The role of boards (pg 133)

Operate ‘independently’ of the

management – the role of non-executives is crucial.

Be competent to scrutinise the activities of managers.

Have time to do their job properly.

Behave appropriately given expectations for trust, role fluidity, collective responsibility, and performance.


Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the commitment by organisations to ‘behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the local community and society at large’.1

1 World Business Council for Sustainable Development.


Corporate social responsibility stances

Table 4.2 Corporate social responsibility stances


Questions of corporate social responsibility – internal aspects (1)

Table 4.3 Some questions of corporate social responsibility


Questions of corporate social responsibility – external aspects (2)

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Table 4.3 Some questions of corporate social responsibility (Continued)


The ethics of individuals and managers

Ethical issues have to be faced at the individual level :

The responsibility of an individual who believes that the strategy of the organisation is unethical – resign, ignore it or take action.

‘Whistle-blowing’ - divulging information to the authorities or media about an organisation if wrong doing is suspected.


Texas instruments’ guidelines

Is the action legal? . . . If no, stop immediately.

Does it comply with our values? . . . If it does not, stop.

If you do it would you feel bad? . . . Ask your own conscience if you can live with it.

How would this look in the newspaper? . . . Ask if this goes public tomorrow would you do it today?

If you know it’s wrong . . . don’t do it.

If you are not sure . . . ask; and keep asking until you get an answer.


Stakeholders of a large organisation

Figure 4.3 Stakeholders of a large organization Source: Adapted from R.E. Freeman, Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, Pitman, 1984. Copyright 1984 by R. Edward Freeman.


Stakeholder conflicts of expectations

Table 4.4 Some common conflicts of expectations


Stakeholder mapping

Stakeholder mapping identifies stakeholder expectations and power and helps in understanding political priorities.

(remember we mentioned earlier on that strategic decision

making is often a ‘political process’. Go back to Chapter One Appendix and review the Strategy Lenses. This will be related to the view that ‘Strategy is a Discourse’ –see Table C.ii)


Stakeholder mapping: the power/interest matrix

Figure 4.4 Stakeholder mapping: the power/interest matrix Source: Adapted from A. Mendelow, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Information Systems, Cambridge, MA, 1986

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Inside each cell we will indicate which stakeholder group will be placed in terms of their interest and power (see figure 4.3)

Suppliers

Employees

Customers

Financial Community


Stakeholder mapping issues (pg 143)

Determining purpose and strategy – whose expectations need to be prioritised?

Do the actual levels of interest and power reflect the corporate governance framework?

Who are the key blockers and facilitators of strategy?

Is it desirable to try to reposition certain stakeholders?

Can the level of interest or power of key stakeholders be maintained?

Will stakeholder positions shift according to the issue/strategy being considered.


Power

Power is the ability of individuals or groups to persuade, induce or coerce others into following certain courses of action.

(you have covered the topic of power when you studied OB. How do you think power impacts the internal process of strategic decision making?)


Sources of power

Table 4.5 Sources and indicators of power


Indicators of power

Table 4.5 Sources and indicators of power (Continued)


Key debate

Read page 147

Three different views on the purpose of a business:

1. Professor Milton Friedman and profit maximization

2. Professor Charles Handy stakeholder view

3. New capitalists’ argument : “Society and share owners are becoming one and the same.”


Summary (1)

An important managerial task is to decide how the organisation should express its strategic purpose through statements of mission, vision, values or objectives.

The purpose of an organisation will be influenced by the expectations of its stakeholders.

The influence of some key stakeholders is represented formally within the governance structure of an organisation. This can be represented in terms of a governance chain, showing the links between ultimate beneficiaries and the managers of an organisation.


Summary (2)

There are two generic governance structures systems: the shareholder model and the stakeholder model though there are variations of these internationally.

Organisations adopt different stances on corporate social responsibility depending on how they perceive their role in society. Individual managers may face ethical dilemmas relating to the purpose of their organisation or actions it takes.

Different stakeholders exercise different influence on organisational purpose and strategy, dependent on the extent of their power and interest. Managers can assess the influence of different stakeholder groups through stakeholder analysis.


Chapter 5 : CULTURE AND STRATEGY

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BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (Jan 2013) GDS 49

Learning outcomes

Identify organizations that have

experienced strategic drift and the

symptoms of strategic drift.

Analyze how history influences the

strategic position of organizations.

Analyse the influence of an organisation‘s

culture on its strategy using the cultural

web.

Recognise the importance of strategists

questioning the taken–for–granted aspects

of a culture.


Culture and strategy – key issues

Figure 5.1 The influence of history and culture


Strategic drift

Strategic drift is the tendency for

strategies to develop incrementally on the

basis of historical and cultural influences

but fail to keep pace with a changing

environment.

More will be covered in Chapter 11 later.


Strategic drift

Figure 5.2 Strategic drift


Phase 1: Incremental change

strategic drift

Three reasons:

1. Gradual change in alignment with

environmental change.

2. Building on successful strategies used in the

past (built around core competences)

3. Making changes based on experimentation

around a theme (incremental change built on

a successful formula).This approach is called

Logical Incrementalism

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During this phase there is a tendency for strategies to develop on the basis of what the organization has done in the past- especially if they have been successful. Strategy remains relatively unchanged.


Phase 2: The tendency towards strategic drift

Strategies fail to keep pace with environmental change

because :

1. Steady as you go – reluctance to accept that

change requires moving away from strategies that

have been successful.

2. Building on the familiar – uncertainty of change

is met with a tendency to stick to the familiar.

3. Core rigidities – capabilities that are taken for

granted and deeply ingrained in routines are

difficult to change even when they are no longer

suitable.


The tendency towards strategic drift (2)

4. Relationships become shackles –

organisations become reluctant to disturb

relationships with customers, suppliers or

the workforce even if they need to change.

5. Lagged performance effects – the financial

performance of the organisation may hold

up initially (e.g. due to loyal customers or

cost cutting) masking the need for change.


Phase 3: A period of flux

As performance declines and the organisation loses track of the environment then a period of Flux occurs typified by:

1. Strategies that change, but in no clear direction.

2. Top management conflict and managerial changes.

3. Internal disagreement on the ‗right‘ strategies.

4. Declining performance and morale.

5. Customers becoming alienated.


Phase 4: Transformational change or death

As performance continues to deteriorate the outcome is likely to be :

The organisation dies (e.g. goes bankrupt or into receivership).

The organisation is taken over (and perhaps radically changed by new owners).

The organisation implements transformational change – multiple, rapid and fundamental changes.


Why history is important?

Recognizing that organizational experience

becomes deeply embedded in behavior. Taking

cognizance of the history of the company has 4

main benefits:

1. Avoiding recency bias – learning from the past.

2. Asking ‗what if‘ questions based on past

experience.

3. History as legitimisation – past success can be

used as evidence to support specific

strategies.

4. Innovation based on historic capabilities which

can be adapted and transferred.


Path dependency

Path dependency is where early events

and decisions establish ‗policy paths‘ that

have lasting effects on subsequent events

and decisions.

It is a way of thinking about how historical

events and decisions, within and around

the organization, have an effect on that

organization – either positive or in

negative ways


Path dependency and lock-in

Figure 5.3 Path dependency and lock-in


The impact of path dependency

Building strategy around the path-

dependent capabilities that have been

successful in the past.

Path creation – changing strategies in a

way that is built on the past and

acceptable to key players.

Management style may be rooted in and

evolved from the early style adopted by

the founder(s).


Methods of historical analysis

Chronological

analysis

Cyclical

influence

Anchor

points

Historical

narratives

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Read page 167-8

BUSM 3200- Strategic

Management (Jan 2013)

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Organisational culture

Organisational culture is the taken-for-

granted assumptions and behaviours that

make sense of people‘s organisational

context



Key Features of a Firm’s Corporate Culture

Strength of peer

pressure to

conform and

observe norms

Actions and

behaviors

encouraged

and rewarded

Traditions and

stories and ―how

we do things

around here‖

How the firm

treats its

stakeholders

Features of a Corporate Culture

Values, principles,

and ethical

standards

in actual use

Management

practices and

organizational

polices

Atmosphere and

spirit embodied

in the firm‘s work

climate

How managers and

employees interact

and relate to one

another

4-65

Cultural frames of reference

Figure 5.4 Cultural frames of reference


National and regional cultures

Work of Hofstede (you will remember him if you studied International Business or Global Marketing – cultural dimensions)

Also read up Illustration 5.3 : differences in management between Chinese and Western managers


The organisational field

An organisational field is a community of

organisations that interact more frequently

with one another than with those outside

the field and that have developed a shared

meaning system.


Recipes

A recipe is a set of assumptions, norms and routines held in common within an organisational field about the appropriate purposes and strategies of field members.

In effect it is ‘shared wisdom’.


Legitimacy

Legitimacy is concerned with meeting the

expectations within an organisational field

in terms of assumptions, behaviours and

strategies.

Strategies can be shaped by the need for

legitimacy in several ways:

Regulation

Normative expectations

The recipe


Organizational Culture in four layers

Figure 5.5 Culture in four layers


The paradigm

The paradigm is the set of assumptions

held in common and taken for granted in an

organisation.

The paradigm:

is built on collective experience

informs what people in the

organisation do

influences how organisations respond

to change.


Values

A key aspect of culture relates to the values that the organization upholds

In chapter 4 , we considered issues of ethical standards

Ethics is often impacted by the organization culture and the values it subscribes to.



The Two Culture-Building Roles of a Company‘s Core Values

and Ethical Standards

4-74


Transforming Core Values and Ethical Standards into Cultural Norms

♦ Recruit and hire applicants with values and

ethics compatible to those of the firm.

♦ Incorporate the values statement and the code

of ethics into orientation and training programs.

♦ Have senior executives frequently reiterate and

stress the firm’s values and ethical principles.

♦ Use values statements and codes of ethics as

benchmarks for the firm’s polices and practices.

4-75


Transforming Core Values and Ethical Standards into Cultural Norms (cont’d)

♦ Use core values and ethical principles when

evaluating each person’s job performance.

♦ Encourage all employees to help enforce the

observance of core values and ethical

standards.

♦ Periodically have ceremonial occasions to

recognize individuals and groups who display

the firm’s values and ethical principles.

♦ Institute strict ethics enforcement procedures.

4-76

Culture‘s influence on strategy development

Figure 5.6 Culture’s influence on strategy development Source: Adapted from P. Gringer and J.-C. Spender, Turnaround: Managerial Recipes for Strategic Success, Associated Business Press, 1979, p. 203


The cultural web

The cultural web shows the behavioural,

physical and symbolic manifestations of a

culture that inform and are informed by

the taken-for-granted assumptions, or

paradigm, of an organisation


The cultural web of an organisation (1)

Figure 5.7 The cultural web of an organization


The cultural web of an

organisation (2) – stories

What core beliefs do the stories reflect?

What stories are commonly told e.g. to newcomers

How do these stories reflect core assumptions and beliefs?

What norms do the mavericks

deviate from?

Tend to be about heroes, villains

mavericks, successes and

disasters.

Paradigm

Stories



organisation (3) – symbols

Symbols are objects, events, acts or people

that convey, maintain or create meaning

over and above their functional purpose.

What objects, people or events do people in

the organization particularly identify with?

What are these related to in the

history of the organization?

What aspects of strategy are

highlighted in publicity?

Symbols

Paradigm



organisation (4) – power structures

Where does power reside?

Who makes things happen?

Indicators include:

status

claim on resources

symbols of power Paradigm Power

structures


The cultural web of an organisation

(5) – organisation structure

How formal/informal are the structures?

Do structures encourage collaboration or

competition?

What types of power structure do they

support?

Paradigm

Organization

Structure



(6) – control systems

What is most closely monitored/controlled?

Is emphasis on reward or punishment?

Are controls rooted in history or current

strategies?

Are there many/few controls?

Paradigm

Control

systems



(7) – routines and rituals

Which routines are emphasized?

Which are embedded in history?

What behavior do routines encourage?

What are the key rituals?

What assumptions and core beliefs do they reflect?

What do training programmed

emphasize?

How easy are routines/rituals

to change? Paradigm

Rituals/

routines


Illustration 5.5: cultural web of a law firm (page 179)


Figure 5.8 : The cultural web- some useful questions


Impact of culture on strategic management

Read page 181

Strategic capabilities (Chap 3) – culture of the organization is considered a capability (or constraint)

Strategy development- culture affects the manner in which future strategy is crafted

Managing strategic change- would culture facilitate or hinder desired change?

Leadership and management style



Company Cultures Can Be Strongly or Weakly Embedded

♦ Strong-Culture Firm

● Has deeply rooted

widely-shared values,

behavioral norms, and

operating approaches.

● Insists that its values

and principles be

reflected in the decisions

and actions taken by all

company personnel.

♦ Weak-Culture Firm

● Lacks values and

principles that are

consistently preached

or widely shared.

● Has few or no

traditions, beliefs,

values, common

bonds, or behavioral

norms.

4-89


Why Corporate Cultures Matter to the Strategy Execution Process

♦ A culture well matched to the requirements of the

strategy execution effort focuses the attention of

employees on what is most important to this effort.

♦ Culture-induced peer pressure induces personnel to do

things in a manner that aids good strategy execution.

♦ A culture consistent with the requirements for good

strategy execution can energize employees, deepen

their commitment to execute the strategy, and enhance

worker productivity.

4-90


Healthy Cultures That Aid Good Strategy Execution

Good Strategy

Execution

Adaptive

Cultures

High-Performance

Cultures

Commitment to

achieving stretch

objectives and

accountability

Willingness to accept

change and take on

challenges

Performance

4-91


Unhealthy Cultures That Impede Good Strategy Execution

Change-resistant

cultures

Incompatible

Subcultures

Politicized

cultures

Unhealthy

Cultures

Insular, inwardly

focused cultures

Unethical and greed-

driven cultures

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Summary (1)

The history and culture of an organisation

may contribute to its strategic capabilities,

but may also give rise to strategic drift as its

strategy develops incrementally on the basis

of such influences and fails to keep pace

with a changing environment.

Historical, path-dependent processes play a

significant part in the success or failure of an

organisation and need to be understood by

managers. There are historical analyses that

can be conducted to help uncover these

influences.


Summary (2)

Cultural and institutional influences both inform

and constrain the strategic development of

organisations.

Organisational culture is the basic assumptions

and beliefs that are shared by members of an

organisation, that operate unconsciously and

define in a basic taken-for-granted fashion an

organisation‘s view of itself and its environment.

An understanding of the culture of an

organisation and its relationship to

organisational strategy can be gained by using

the cultural web.


PRACTICE ESSAY QUESTIONS

IMPORTANT NOTE: →

These questions are provided for your reference only – they are only INDICATIVE of the standard of questions you might expect in the final exam.

DO NOT use these questions to “spot”

The RMIT examiner will post advise on the exam on the Learning Hub closer to the exam; you are required to pay attention to that advise

The questions here show the range of topics that could be tested from this lecture; they are NOT exhaustive

To score a high grade it is important to LINK the theory to applications and examples. Where from?

You have been assigned specific cases to read from the text. Each case study will show you the kinds of strategic decisions the case company needs to make. You can draw from these examples.

You have selected a case company for your project; you may use examples from there.

You are supposed to read widely from the business press about local, regional and international companies strategies. You can use examples from there as well.


Sample Essay Question

Describe the concept of corporate social responsibility and the four corporate stances on social responsibility. Explain the rationale under each stance and the leadership and stakeholder relationship required for each of these four stances.


Sample essay question:

Discuss the benefits a firm may gain by formulating and implementing strategic management with an ethical approach.

Use examples from the cases studied in this course or other examples from your reading of this subject to illustrate your answer.



Stakeholder mapping is a useful technique for stakeholder management. Describe the process of stakeholder mapping and explain how its outcomes can help in understanding the political priorities in managing its relationships with stakeholders.



Describe the concept of organizational culture. Why organizational culture can be considered an organization’s strategic capability (hint: describe what criteria a resource or competence needs to meet to become a strategic capability)? Provide an example to justify your argument



Describe the concepts of organizational culture and the cultural web. Explain how these concepts can influence the process of strategic management. Give examples to support your argument.


Documents

SM Lecture Four : Strategic Purpose, Culture and Strategy