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More About This Title Strategic Management: Logic and Action
English
Strategic Management: Logic and Action provides a wide range of organizational examples along with worksheets at the end of each chapter. Students are encouraged to use the Web as a source of information, but to also interview people to assess actions within the context of organizations. The text is meant to be a useful guide for strategists facing new situations from the beginning of their organization careers.
From the Preface:
"Strategy is no longer the exclusive concern of generals. It is not something you wait to think about until you are the president of an organization. You need to understand strategic thinking right now, as a graduate entering the workforce, a newly appointed supervisor, or a mid-level manager. Corporations, small businesses, non-profits, and public agencies – organizations of all kinds – are discovering how important it is for employees to understand why the organization interacts the way it does with customers, competitors, and other actors. Many then ask their employees to help strengthen current connections and invent new ones."
English
She is a visiting professor at the TUM Business School with a joint appointment at the Center for Advanced Teaching and Learning in the Social Sciences at the University of Colorado. She has also been on the faculty of Cranfield School of Management and a visiting Professor at London Business School. She received an MA in Sociology and a PhD in Management from Northwestern University, and has been on the faculty at UCLA and the University of Illinois.
English
1 Defining Strategy 3
What Are the Characteristics of Effective Strategy? 5
Strategy Communicates a Compelling Purpose or Vision to Others 6
Strategy Connects Organizational Strengths with Environmental Opportunities 8
Strategy Exploits Current Success While Exploring New Opportunities 12
Strategy Generates More Resources Than It Uses 12
Strategy Coordinates and Guides Activities 13
Strategy Responds to New Conditions over Time 13
How Are Strategists Influenced By Other Strategists? How Do They Lead Others? 14
Five Levels of Strategizing are important within the Organization 14
Stakeholders Influence Strategists across Organizational Boundaries 16
Why Are the Successes and Failures of Other Organizations Important? 18
Performance Differences Shape Stakeholder Expectations 19
Performance Differences Offer Evidence from Strategic Experiments 20
Conclusions for the Strategist 20
Key Concepts 21
Questions for Further Reflection 22
Notes 25
2 Developing Resources 27
Which Firm Resources are Associated with Competitive Advantage? 29
How Are Competitive Resources Created and Sustained? 32
Branding 34
Supporting Activities 35
Investment 37
Position 38
Accumulation 41
Socialization 42
What Risks Are Associated with Resource Accumulation? 43
Uncertain Capacity to Accumulate Resources 43
Causal Ambiguity 44
Overcommitment 44
External Attribution 44
How Is Resource Accumulation and Deployment Strategically Managed? 45
Step 1: Attend to Necessary Resources 46
Step 2: Determine Competitive Advantage (If Any) 46
Step 3: Define Distinctive Competencies 46
Step 4: Decompose Distinctive Competencies to Focus Investment 46
Step 5: Look for Opportunities to Leverage Resources 47
Step 6: Plan for the Ongoing Renewal of Resources 47
Step 7: Watch Out for Competence-Destroying Change and Capitalize on Competence-Enhancing Change 47
Conclusions for the Strategist 48
Key Concepts 48
Questions for Further Reflection 49
Notes 53
3 Serving Customers 57
Why Is the Customer Relationship Increasingly Critical? 59
Customers Are Becoming More Sophisticated and Demanding 60
New Technology Allows New Forms of Customer Contact 62
Competitors Are Raising Expectations 63
Coproduction Is Increasing 64
What Is a Service Mentality? 66
Organizational Activities Matched to Customer Needs and Desires 66
Customers Seen from a Positive Perspective 68
Employees Who Understand That Their Success Comes from Service 69
A Climate That Supports and Reinforces Service 70
What Are the Guidelines for a Customer-Based Business Model? 71
Definition of the Business in Customer, Not Production, Terms 71
Clarity about the Needs to Be Satisfied 72
Choices about How Needs Will Be Satisfied 74
How Do Companies Gather Data to Identify and Understand Their Customers? 75
Analyze Customer Experiences 76
Map Customer Perceptions of the Market 77
Track Marketing Information 78
Anticipate the Consequences of Demographic Trends 79
Involve Customers in Design and Selection 80
Use Ethnography Techniques 80
Can the Customer Connection Be Overemphasized? 81
Service Levels Have to Fit Strategy 81
Some Customers Are Too Expensive to Serve 82
Today’s Happy Customers Are Not Necessarily Tomorrow’s Customers 83
Conclusions for the Strategist 83
Key Concepts 83
Questions for Further Reflection 84
Notes 87
4 Seeking Opportunity 91
What Signals the Capacity to Develop Opportunity? 93
Characteristics of Individuals Who Recognize and Develop Opportunities 94
Teams That Develop Opportunities 97
Capabilities of Organizations That Develop Opportunities 97
What Are the Processes of Opportunity Development? 99
Recognizing Opportunities 100
Finding Resources 102
Managing Innovation 103
What Are the Differences between Small Firm and Corporate Entrepreneurship? 106
Small-Firm Entrepreneurship 107
Corporate Entrepreneurship 110
Is Ambidexterity the Answer? 114
Conclusions for the Strategist 116
Key Concepts 116
Questions for Further Reflection 118
Notes 120
5 Competing with Rivals 125
What Distinguishes Competitive Environments? 127
What Affects Profit Potential in Different Environments? 129
Rivals 131
Buyers 131
Suppliers 132
Substitutes 132
New Entrants 133
Complements 134
Strategic Groups 135
How Do Macro Forces Affect the Evolution of Competitive Conditions? 136
Demographic Environment 138
Sociocultural Environment 138
Technological Environment 138
Economic Environment 138
Political/Legal Environment 139
How Do Asymmetries Help Explain Competitive Advantage? 140
What Are Generic Strategies for Achieving Competitive Advantage? 143
Cost Leadership 144
Differentiation 145
Focus 146
Combination Strategies 147
What Are the Characteristics of Hypercompetition? 147
When Do Competitors Collaborate? 149
Spontaneous Collaboration 150
Formal Collaboration 151
Collaboration across Industries 152
Conclusions for the Strategist 153
Key Concepts 153
Questions for Further Reflection 154
Notes 158
6 Specifying a Business Model 163
What Are Common Business Models? 165
Subscription Model 166
Razor-and-Blades Model 167
Broker, Advertising, Community, and Other Models 168
First Mover, Second Mover,Reinventor 170
How Can Value Chain Analysis Contribute to Strategic Change? 174
Linking Value Chain Activities 177
Deconstructing the Value Chain 178
How Can the Life Cycle Be Used as a Source of Business Model Ideas? 180
Stage 1: Birth of a New Offering 181
Stage 2: Systems 182
Stage 3: Solutions 184
Stage 4: Relationships 184
What Can Be Learned from Competitors,Customers, and Others? 186
Franchise Model 186
Promising Practices 188
Open Innovation 189
How Do Business Plans Differ from Business Models? 191
Conclusions for the Strategist 191
Key Terms 192
Questions for Further Reflection 193
Notes 197
7 Considering Corporate Strategy 201
How Do Strategists Pursue Growth? 203
How Are Economic Transactions among Firms Facilitated? 207
Spot Market Exchange 208
Long-Term Contracts 208
Alliances and Networks 209
Equity Joint Ventures 209
Transaction Cost Analysis 210
Can Diversification Leverage Core Competence? 213
Diversification and Core Competencies 216
Corporate Parenting 218
Why Managers Diversify beyond Current Competence 221
When Is Learning an Outcome of Alliance? 222
Barriers to Learning in an Alliance 224
Overcoming Barriers to Learning 225
Conclusions for the Strategist 227
Key Concepts 228
Questions for Further Reflection 229
Notes 231
8 Thinking Globally 235
What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of International Diversification? 237
How Can Competitive Advantage Be Increased through International Expansion? 238
Exploit Economies of Scale 239
Exploit Economies of Scope 239
Exploit National Differences 239
What Are Alternative Strategies for International Expansion? 244
What Are Alternative Entry Modes? 249
Export 250
License 250
Franchise 251
Joint Venture 252
Wholly Owned Subsidiary 253
What Are Significant Cross-Cultural Differences? 255
Conclusions for the Strategist 258
Key Concepts 258
Questions for Further Reflection 259
Notes 262
9 Acting Responsibly 265
What Is Sustainable Strategy? 267
How Are Standards for Corporate Governance Changing? 268
Separation of Ownership and Managerial Control 270
More Diverse Boards of Directors 271
More Active Institutional Investors 273
Corporate Governance Reform in the United States: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act 275
What Are Internal Forces for Social Responsibility? 278
Business Ethics 279
Corporate Codes of Ethics 281
What Intensifies Ethical Dilemmas? 283
Multinational Operations 284
Multistakeholder Judgments 285
Conclusions for the Strategist 288
Key Concepts 289
Questions for Further Reflection 289
Notes 293
10 Ensuring Execution 297
How Can Strategy Execution Support the Increasing Need for Flexibility? 299
Focus on Strategic Flexibility 301
Align Organizational Activity with Emerging Strategy 303
Align People to Strategy and Strategy to People 305
Align Structure to Strategy 305
How Is Strategic Planning Changing? 309
Formality and Timing of Strategic Planning 310
Planning and the Resource Allocation Process 311
How Is Individual and Unit Performance Improved? 312
Financial Control Systems 312
The Balanced Scorecard 313
Linking Data, Decision Making, and Performance 315
Conclusions for the Strategist 318
Key Concepts 318
Questions for Further Reflection 319
Notes 322
11 Managing Knowledge 325
Why Is Knowledge an Increasingly Important Source of Sustainable Advantage? 327
What Are the Characteristics of Knowledge Needed by Companies? 330
Private versus Public Knowledge 332
Explicit versus Tacit Knowledge 333
How Do Strategists Manage and Use Knowledge? 334
Knowledge Creation 336
Knowledge Storage 338
Knowledge Transfer 339
Knowledge Use 341
How Do Organizational Systems Affect Knowledge Management? 343
Corporate Culture and Values 343
Incentive Systems 344
Organizational Structure 345
Recruitment 346
What Are the Most Important External Sources of Knowledge? 346
Benchmarking 346
Contingent Employees 347
Strategic Alliances 348
Distributed Expertise 350
Conclusions for the Strategist 351
Key Concepts 352
Questions for Further Reflection 354
Notes 357
12 Providing Leadership 361
What Are Contemporary Definitions of Leadership? 363
Discovering Mutual Meaning That Can Support Change When Necessary 364
The Responsibility of a Top Management Team and Other Leaders 365
What Are the Most Important Activities of Strategic Leaders? 365
Articulate and Execute a Vision 366
Establish a Supportive Culture 369
Invest in Human Capital 372
How Are High-Performance Organizations Created and Maintained? 374
Communicate High Expectations 374
Support Leaders throughout the Organization 377
Establish Leadership Systems 378
Conclusions for the Strategist 379
Key Concepts 380
Questions for Further Reflection 381
Notes 385
13 Personal Strategizing 389
What Are the Trends Shaping Future Work? 390
Growth Industries 390
Smaller, More Entrepreneurial Firms and More Entrepreneurial Workers 393
A Global Labor Market 394
How Is the Employment Relationship Changing? 396
The New Employment Contract 398
Compensation and Benefits 398
What Are the Most Important Career-Planning Activities? 400
Defining and Updating Your Career Strategy 401
Maximizing Career Options 402
Evaluating Employers 405
Why Be Purposeful About Work/Life Balance? 406
Conclusions for the Strategist 409
Notes 410
Index 413
