Introduction
The paragraph from the book Tough Choices discusses many important concepts related to organizational behavior theory and strategic management. Carly Fiorina identifies the importance of distinctive competencies and core competencies in organizational behavior. The steps in strategic management include the use of consensus for decision-making in the organization. Carly Fiorina underlines that resource strength requires unity but not unanimity or concurrence.
SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis can help to identify the strengths and weaknesses of Carly Fiorina’s approach. The strength of Carly Fiorina’s approach is that planning is crucial as it determines strategic directions and activities. In the import/export company, planning consumes prime resources and transforms them into approaches that are intended to improve the quality of service provided.
She writes: “We measured and paid for results through a balanced scorecard that focused the organization on financial performance metrics like revenue growth and profit improvements”. This sentence suggests that managers who are assigned the task of strategic development, have scheduled appropriate time, and have been provided with appropriate knowledge or information need resources such as good lighting, software, hardware, and support staff. Such resources help assure staff members that the undertaking to which they have been assigned will be achieved. The identification and appointment of a strategic planning team or task force are responsibilities that should be given careful thought (Thompson et al 2008, p. 97).
Weaknesses and deficiencies
The main weaknesses and deficiencies of Carly Fiorina’s approach are the lack of interaction between managers, the staff, and customers. A danger is that it may become a social forum. They can drift off track, and it is the leadership’s task is to keep them focused on the task. Strategic management requires a careful analysis of the situation and evaluation of all alternatives. In any situation, strategic decisions call for teams of knowledgeable people to share knowledge for more effective problem solving and decision making. It is past time to break with tradition and to start using teams more effectively. Carly Fiorina mentions: “Along with this balanced scorecard, every employee and every executive was also evaluated against our core values and our leadership behaviors”. This sentence allows me to say that a good manager should take advantage of this powerful mode of interaction when and where appropriate. An effective strategic management process develops a kindred spirit by focusing the strengths of each member on a clear and challenging goal. Then, just as in operating models, various strategic models are used to depict the need for listing alternatives or options to be considered in achieving specified goals. A segment that deals with ordering or organizing the steps to be completed is not included in all models. In some situations, the strategic management has been made that the steps will be sequenced in a way that enables the persons using the plan to achieve the desired outcomes. In one form or another, implementation is contained in most models (Thompson et al 2008, p. 104).
Strategic approaches in business
Carly Fiorina gives special attention to strategic approaches in business. She underlines that the structure of the organization depends upon and is influenced by strategy and size. Carly Fiorina states that strategy depends upon the structure of the business: vertical business requires greater control over its operations and has a centralized and bureaucratic structure based on the span of control. The horizontal process has a decentralized structure based on information relations and communication inside the company. In stable environments where change and interaction are at a minimum, strategic management can be more effective. The main weaknesses are that there are specific situations when employees outperform the functional units of the traditional hierarchically structured organization. Carly Fiorina underlines that employees are effective in coordinating and integrating mechanisms, especially for complex tasks requiring specialized knowledge. Employees are used more effectively in a knowledge/service-based organization (Thompson et al 2008, p. 106).
Conclusion
Carly Fiorina pays special attention to the popular strategic management tool, a balanced scorecard, widely used by modern organizations. Carly Fiorina states that the capacity to coordinate in a team environment is especially useful within a structured organizational environment where information tends to get held up in organizational channels. Now more than ever, managers are turning to employees to accommodate new technologies and achieve creative, significant performance within their organization. Carly Fiorina states that the strategy for creating, developing, and managing an innovative team is a clearly defined goal. The true measure of a strategy’s effectiveness is how successful it is in accomplishing the goal or purpose. In a balanced scorecard, a strategic approach is a primary objective, while an employee remains the means, not the end. It is the degree of the team’s commitment to the goal that makes the team function as a unit and, in large measure, will determine its success. At this point, integration takes place. Through these discussions, managers attempt to attain alignment between their goals, the individual’s goals, and the organization’s goals. From Carly Fiorina’s arguments, It is evident that the strategy is a core of business today. Strategy is essential as it allows a leader to set his or her own goals, even if there is an agreement to support the manager’s and organizational goals, that still does not guarantee a deeply felt individual commitment.
References
Thompson, A. A., Strickland, A. J. Gamble, J. E. (2008). Crafting & Executing Strategy. The Quest for Competitive Advantages. McGraw-Hill/Irwin; 14 edition.