1.

Critically analyze the advantages of strategic fitness process in overcoming the problems of
Whitbread PLC.
SFP helped transforming Whitbred and its culture from a unidirectional underperforming
business to a multibusiness, high-performance organization operating in more competitive
markets.

Senior Management involvement in formulating the strategic Direction after thorough

assessment: Allowing a senior team to reinvent the corporation, SFP guided the senior team
in developing a statement of strategic and organizational direction. SFP then guided the
senior team through a systematic diagnosis as well as through change development and
execution. This was done by designing structured meeting between senior team and fitness
taskforce selected by senior team. 100 key executives were interviewed to assess the
organizational effectiveness. Senior management involvement was very crucial because SFP
questioned the current assumptions, value system and how to organize for success. Senior
team involvement in the process ensured their buy-in in implementing the change.

Organizational silence, the inability of facing the bitter truth, makes it difficult for senior
leaders to learn in a timely manner from lower levels about barriers to effectiveness. During
the SFP, a strategic input came in the form of a term Institutionalized underperformance. It
helped task force team to realize a strong culture of consensus prevalent in the organization
which stopped executives to go out of their comfort zones and challenge the status quo.

Synchronization between changes in organization structure, leadership team design and

behavior, and the strategic management process: It is very important during strategic
transformation that there is unanimity and uniformity in defined vision and values and hence,
strategy and behavior aspect should not fall apart. SFP through iterative process, facilitated
by scholar consultants and discussions with a number of executives ensured to highlight the
fact that different strategy elements need to be glued together to meet the strategic objective.

A conversation about strategy needs to move back and forth between advocacy and
inquiry: One sided decisions and strategic directions fail when top management envision a
new direction and begins to develop programs for change without consulting influential

people in other parts of the organization. SFP ensured the smoother flow and exchange of
discussions amongst different level of employees enabling honest, organization-wide and
public conversation. Senior management teams, worked collaboratively with scholarconsultants and organizational members with access to valid data.
2. What might be the flaws of strategic fitness process? What might be the flaws specific to the

way it was implemented in Whitbread?

Unclear strategy, values, and conflicting priorities and Endless Possibilities: The very
basis of SFP is to strategize the new assumptions, values and goals collaboratively however,
it is very difficult to bring everyone on the same page at senior level as people have
conflicting priorities. SFP discover possibilities about a number of possible organizational
prototypes and developing a concurrence towards a single objective collaboratively is rather
a cumbersome process.

Poor coordination across the value chain due to poor organizational design and uncollaborative culture: SFP demands strong co-ordination across the organization and at
different levels and fearless exchange of ideas, thoughts and opinions however, organization
cannot be made ready for effective implementation of SFP in couple of months due to
inherent drag and culture organization carries.

Strategic decisions require trade-offs and these trade-offs are subject to subjective judgments
and preferences.

Future Doesn't Unfold As Anticipated: External Environment is changing at rapid pace and
hence, defining a firm and rigid stance of an organization may be risky in many industries.
Working towards a predetermined or fixed outcomes can be unrealistic due to the continuous
changes in the environment. Alignment may not be desirable as an end in itself since the
business must always change and evolve continuously.

Impeding Flexibility: Strategic fitness process may result in saying "no" to some of the
opportunities that may be highly rewarding. Processes that become firm and "established"
lack innovation and creativity and can destruct the ability of the organization to develop
creative strategies.