Designing Strategies

Corporate strategy shows how a complex organization achieves its mission, while the business strategy shows how each business within the corporation contributes to the corporate strategy. These strategies typically include decisions about shared values and beliefs; industries to work in; amount of diversification; businesses to start, acquire, close or sell; type of products to make; organizational structure; relations with customers, suppliers, shareholders and other stakeholders; geographical locations, and targets for long-term profitability, productivity, market share, etc.

Consider three factors while designing strategies:

1. The mission, which gives the overall aims and context for other decisions.
2. The business environment, which includes all factors that affect an organization but which it cannot control, such as:
   1. Customers—their expectations and attitudes;
   2. Market—size, location, and stability;
   3. Competitors—the number, ease of entry to the market, their strengths;
   4. Technology—currently available and likely developments;
   5. Shareholders—their objectives, returns on investment, profit levels;
   6. Other stakeholders—their objectives and amount of support;
   7. Legal restraints—trade restrictions, liability and employment laws;
   8. Political, economic and social conditions—including stability, rate of growth, inflation, etc.

The business environment is similar for all competing organizations, so to be successful you need a distinctive competence.

1. The distinctive competence, which includes the factors that set your organization apart from the competitors. If you can design new products very quickly, innovation is a part of your distinctive competence. A distinctive competence comes from your organization’s assets, which include:
   1. Customers—their demands, loyalty;
   2. Employees—skills, expertise, loyalty;
   3. Finances—capital, debt, cash flow;
   4. Products—quality, reputation, innovations;
   5. Facilities—capacity, age, value;
   6. Technology—currently used, planned;
   7. Suppliers—reliability, service;
   8. Marketing—experience, reputation;
   9. Resources—patents, ownership.

The strategic plans show how the organization can achieve the mission.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

Designing Strategies

Corporate strategy shows how a complex organization achieves its mission, while the business strategy shows how each business within the corporation contributes to the corporate strategy. These strategies typically include decisions about shared values and beliefs; industries to work in; amount of diversification; businesses to start, acquire, close or sell; type of products to make; organizational structure; relations with customers, suppliers, shareholders and other stakeholders; geographical locations, and targets for long-term profitability, productivity, market share, etc.

Consider three factors while designing strategies:

1. The mission, which gives the overall aims and context for other decisions.
2. The business environment, which includes all factors that affect an organization but which it cannot control, such as:
   1. Customers—their expectations and attitudes;
   2. Market—size, location, and stability;
   3. Competitors—the number, ease of entry to the market, their strengths;
   4. Technology—currently available and likely developments;
   5. Shareholders—their objectives, returns on investment, profit levels;
   6. Other stakeholders—their objectives and amount of support;
   7. Legal restraints—trade restrictions, liability and employment laws;
   8. Political, economic and social conditions—including stability, rate of growth, inflation, etc.

The business environment is similar for all competing organizations, so to be successful you need a distinctive competence.

1. The distinctive competence, which includes the factors that set your organization apart from the competitors. If you can design new products very quickly, innovation is a part of your distinctive competence. A distinctive competence comes from your organization’s assets, which include:
   1. Customers—their demands, loyalty;
   2. Employees—skills, expertise, loyalty;
   3. Finances—capital, debt, cash flow;
   4. Products—quality, reputation, innovations;
   5. Facilities—capacity, age, value;
   6. Technology—currently used, planned;
   7. Suppliers—reliability, service;
   8. Marketing—experience, reputation;
   9. Resources—patents, ownership.

The strategic plans show how the organization can achieve the mission.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.