Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software

http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only.

Strategy execution dilemma

Business success

The success of any business mainly depends upon it’s strategies on which business is to built its plans for long-term basis, a successful strategy
pave the way to gain competitive advantage in the environment, which ultimately results in over all business profitability in the foreseeable
future, Micheal Porter, a business management guru categorized business strategies into three types in his illustrious book competitive
strategy namely cost leadership focuses on how a business can cut the cost of operations?, while concentrating on segmented value creation
activities, for example, a big retailer chain like Macro in Pakistan if persuading cost leadership strategy may not have carpets and elegant decors
in the head office, another strategy namely differentiation strategy emphasis on creating a unique and different products in the industry like of
which we encountered by Apple co IPOD and IPAD with highly diversified applications, and another strategy is focus strategy focusing on a
particular segment of market, some businesses have gone beyond the notion of equipping with a single strategy, Singapore airlines have
deployed both differentiation and low cost strategies which according to Mr. Porter is not viable.

In the following article, I am going to explicate why properly designed strategies turn into a fiasco? , in 2001 the speculative dot-com bubble
got burst, stock market crashed, as knowledgeable investors and professionals saw big warnings known as reflags belief that internet business
instantaneously takes off the retail stores was too much optimistic, people tend to think they would be buying all the commodities online. The
problem was that none of this actually occurring because the companies did not have any realistic business strategy to transform the long
established ways of doing business.

The Blame game

When the strategies are failing to cope with the required outcomes, the CEOs and the other corporate planners tend to shift the blame toward
middle level manager failing to formulate strategy on departmental level, correspondingly, managers may wish to find scapegoat out of
operational staff, if you are to believe in this blame shifting game, you are probably always going to find some reasons to overcome the failures,
a glimpse of such situation is reflected in a statement of former PIA managing director Tariq Karmani with an attempt to over come due
failures, he harshly criticized PIA’s finance officer : Mr Kermani appointed his friend Usmani in Finance and as admitted by him, he was
paying to 0.7 million Rs per month to him as he claimed in the Press that PIA Finance Officers were not ready to cooperate with him by
providing him correct financial figures / data on time.

Financially ill highly government subsidized firm like PIA ensures to develop corporate level strategies, perhaps, the strategists may proclaim
those strategies are brilliant, but, even if a brilliant strategy is not formulated on organizational level, it is futile, a mediocre strategy may
ameliorate the adverse effect of so called brilliant strategy not to be implemented, but rather left on papers in black and white.

We all are sort of doers

Employees, today in organizations are expected to adopt the strategies dictated by top management to act mechanically; therefore, the big
bosses always take the credit if the formulated strategies bring success to organization, in few industries like BPO call center industry the one I
was part of, employees were given credit for long talk time with customers on-phone and forwarding those complaints to technical
departments, off course there is no defy on one can serve more and more customers by acting on these guidelines, but few customers may talk
beyond the problem they are facing, you as a CRO(customer relation officer) may be compelled to built social relations with customer for a
short while which most of the BPO call center do not really welcome such initiatives, another example can be found from portfolio
management industry, some clients may just take care about portfolio and profit on the securities, they would not prone to be socialized but
some clients having trusted their business to a portfolio manager may like to be socialized, the same scenario may exist in retail banking,
where customer is cognizant of the overall interest income on principle amount and they are inclined to be socialized which is not to be
dictated by managers but rather personnel strategies would be bought to the work, which may not be valued or observed by top managers,
such personnel strategies are crucial for front officers to be executed.

Brilliant strategy

Can a brilliant strategy help an election candidate to win a campaign?, ‘yes; if it is formulated properly, for a business, to find a brilliant strategy,
its manager must seek to understand some general considerations of its competitive situations, needs of customers in environment, capital
markets positions, new technology, the structure of the industry and the strength and weaknesses of its rivals.
 Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software
http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only.

The old strategy execution approach empowers the leaders to dictate set strategies and expect subordinates to mechanically follow, a novel
but progressive model the choice-cascade model, on the contrary, allow senior managers to empowers workers by allowing them to use their
best judgment in the scenarios?, would this model be helpful for companies in Pakistan where employees are persuade as unwilling and
lethargic by employers and the whole organization structure is rigidly bureaucratic, well, it depends on how appropriately organization has
recruited employees and what kind of response it requires from its employees in situations where quick decision making would benefit the
organization, in addition, it would also help the top managers to accumulate information on novel situations, could help to facilitate knowledge
management which is not much cognizant practice In Pakistan but could augment vast amount of information for strategy formulation.

Time to try some thing new ?

Senior managers who just like to win do not bother to ask themselves, what its like if I were on the end of my employees?, employees are
expected to sit there as a choice less doers to be some thing for so called brilliant strategy of top management. If a company empowers
employees to choose their own response to situation accordingly would turn choice less doers into better prospective managers.

Better execution of strategies is the path of achievement, be it in political campaigns , wars or businesses, if each employ is expected and
trained to become a better executor, it would be promising for employee to realize self-worth within the organization.

References

http://www.brilliantstrategy.com/

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62141254.html

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Brilliant_strategy_but_can_you_execute_318#

http://www.mba-tutorials.com/strategy/522-market-penetration-strategy.html