Our Organization's Performance O What example essay topic

Conducting a Strategic Audit web - 2000 One purpose of this course is to train you to assess an organization's strategy. Part of your skill development is utilizing knowledge to address the real problems of a business organization. At the same time, technology is increasing your ability to obtain information rapidly from multiple sources. Being able to gather and use such information will become a competitive necessity for anyone in business and management. To prepare you for this, we used information technologies to analyze, discuss, and present business issues throughout the semester. To achieve these, you will form a group.

While some information may be obtained from library research, field work, or direct interviews, it is expected that you will extensively use the Internet to integrate the diverse information from a top-management perspective. Each team will present its findings and recommendations to the class during the final sessions. They may then make changes for their final written report. Please consider these eight dimensions in formulating a unified, comprehensive, and integrated set of decisions that attains organization purpose. Step 1: Situation Assessment What is our purpose? What is our 'strategic intent'? o How do we rank in our business and why? o What is our fiscal condition and why? o What is the relationship between the business strategy, organization environment, and overall performance? o What is our sustainable competitive advantage?

What core competencies do we possess? o What are our strengths? Do we use these fully? o What are our weaknesses? How can we solve or mitigate these? o What are our opportunities? How can we exploit these? o What are the threats to us?

What can we do about them? Step 2: Strategic Managers What is our strategic vision? o Do the executives possess the right leadership skills and abilities? o Are the top managers entrepreneurial and creative? o Are they willing to take risks? o Are they analytical? o Do they possess necessary organization talents? o Do they possess necessary interpersonal skills? o Are they willing to change? o What are their values? What is our social responsibilities and business ethics? Step 3: Environmental Scanning How do we evaluate the scope of our operations and primary competitors? o What industry forces work for and against us? What strategic group are we in, and what are the mobility barriers? o Whom do we serve and who has a stake in our actions? What are their needs and requirements? o What major products and services do we provide these stakeholders? o How do we provide these products and services? o How can we improve these products and services? o Based on the above, do you think stakeholder support will remain about the same? o Based on the above, what is the scenario for the future?

Step 4: Strategy Evaluation What business (es) should we be in to add shareholder value? What is our generic business strategy? How about our international strategy? o How do you evaluate this current strategy? o What really makes the difference between success and failure in our business? What are the industry key success factors? o Is the strategy consistent with the foregoing analysis? o Is the strategy consistent with desired risk, available resources, and timing?

Step 5: Administrative Consideration so What is the role of headquarters? How are we creating a 'learning organization'? o How are our value-creating activities organized? How should we measure and re-organize these processes? o What kind of structure characterizes our organization? o In what ways and in what directions do our systems focus people's attention and energy? o What are the guiding concepts or fundamental ideas around which we have built our organization? o What are the basic management characteristics in this organization? o Describe our approach to human resource management. o To what extent do the above structure, systems, and processes uniquely reinforce and support our strategy? o Can we change and transform the organization? Step 6: Action Planning Which activities will enhance our organization's performance? o What are the planning premises? o What are the expected fiscal results? o What are the feasible alternatives to these activities? Step 7: Implementation What resources will this action plan require from finance, human resources, marketing, operations, and other functional areas and departments? o What changes will have to occur for us to be successful in 2 to 5 years? o Are there other organizations or individuals we might collaborate with? o What training is necessary? Step 8: Performance Evaluation and Control When and how will we evaluate performance? o What are the desired quantitative and qualitative measurements of success? o Will this strategy justify the needed time and resources? o Can we afford it? o Realistically, can we implement this action plan? o Have we included all supporting programs? o Can we clearly establish accountability?