Strategic implementation takes tactical concepts and puts them into practice so that business people can see their ideas become a reality. According to My Strategic Plan, strategic implementation is the vehicle towards achieving organizational objectives. 1. Responsibility o Strategic implementation requires an implementation team. Employees, consultants, specialists or other business people work on a project and assemble to discuss the implementation strategy. Brainstorming sessions determine the most appropriate course of action for the implementation team to take. Function o Strategic implementation divides the main objective into phases, then into actionable tasks. The tasks move the implementation process from Point A to Point B. Work breakdown structures, according to Net MBA, allow implementation teams to illustrate the sequential order for tasks and phases to occur. o Features o Implementation projects require schedules. Project scheduling establishes the timeline for the completion of the implementation process. Teams use project schedules to stay on track with deadlines, measure progress and calculate the amount of work remaining until the strategy is fully implemented. Importance of Organizational Structures to Strategic Implementation By Casey Reader, Strategies do not take place against a characterless background but must take account of the features of the organization in which they will be implemented. Organizational structures determine what actions are feasible and most optimal. The importance of organizational structures in the implementation of a strategy is hard to overemphasize. Good strategy involves taking account of where a company finds itself in terms of the external market and its internal organizational structure. Strategy and implementation must cohere.
1. Centralization o Some organizations have a more centralized structure already in place before a strategy has been implemented. When this is the case, it makes implementing certain strategies more feasible. Change is always difficult to implement as a part of strategy; the fewer people involved in decision-making, the easier it is to gain consensus. More dramatic strategies are aided by a centralized organizational structure. Dramatic strategies can mean changing the basic ways an organization does business. Innate Advantages o The best strategies often seek to take advantage of the innate advantages that an organization already possesses. Most organizations have certain departments that are particularly effective and certain tasks that it is already adept at doing. Strategies of this sort seek to rearrange organizational structures so as to better benefit from innate advantages. These strategies involve taking steps such as expanding parts of the organization that are successful and shrinking those that are not. Consensus o Organizational structures are often important in gaining consensus for a strategy. If all the parts of an organization aren't onboard with a given strategy, it will stand less of a chance of succeeding. The structure of an organization will have much to do with gaining consensus because it will determine who has to be appeased in management and how power is aligned. Different personal interests will often conflict and need to be addressed. Overcoming Disadvantages o An organization that has been failing to compete effectively will often need to go through an organizational restructuring to change its focus. It will need to change its organizational structures to move away from tasks that it is not suited for. This sort of structural shift can be traumatic for an organization and requires great resources of will. Often an organization must have reached a crisis before this type of strategy can occur.
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How to Implement Strategies in the Strategic Management Process By Paul Merchant, eHow Contributor Strategy implementation refers to the translation of specific strategies into organizational actions to gain competitive advantage and improve the performance of an organization. Strategy implementation aims at aligning the long-term goals of the organization to its vision, mission and goals. Successful implementation entails focusing on the key success factors of your organization, such as marketing or efficient service delivery, and concentrating your resources on these factors. Despite being excellently formulated, strategies in the strategic management process fail if they're not properly implemented. Instructions 1. o 1 Select a strategy implementation team comprising key functional managers in your organization. This ensures the team has all the necessary expertise and experience required for implementing various strategies. It also encourages commitment of the managers to the implementation process, as they're solely responsible for strategy implementation. Train the team on skills required for successful implementation of the strategies. Provide sufficient resources to the team for successful execution of the implementation process. o 2 Communicate to employees about the new strategies being implemented in the organization. Communication to employees on impending implementation of a strategic plan makes them feel like they're "a part" of the plan. They're thus committed to the success of the plan and to the successful implementation of the strategies within that plan. o 3 Link your strategic plan with your organization's operational plan. Assign each strategy to a specific manager who's held responsible for its successful implementation. Request that the managers take the strategies to their departments and, with the help of the departmental employees, develop action steps to be followed in implementing the strategy effectively. The managers should then assign responsibility for each of the action steps to specific employees and set time lines for their completion. o 4 Formulate a monitoring system with which to measure the progress and success of the strategies being implemented. Note the name of each manager charged with implementation of a specific strategy and the due date for completion. Apart from aiding in monitoring the implementation, this also enables managers to own each strategy, because they're primarily responsible for its successful implementation. o 5 Review the implementation process of each strategy by carrying out a SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis is a tool that assists in identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the implementation process. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. For example, a strength could be your specialist marketing expertise, while a weakness could be an overwhelmed workforce. Opportunities and threats are external factors. For example, an opportunity could be an emerging market for your products, while a threat could be a new competitor in the market. The analysis enables you to fine-tune the implementation process for your strategies, as well as identify opportuniities and threats that may have been missed in the implementation process. The results also serve as a reference point for strategies to be implemented in the future. Strategic Implementation Steps By Alan Valdez, eHow Contributor There are countless books and papers on the subject of strategic planning. The best strategy in the world, however, becomes pointless if it is not implemented properly. Although every organization and every plan is different, there are some common factors that must be accounted for and steps that must be followed by management in order to align the organizational system with the strategic mission. 1. Defining Tasks and Activities o Before actual implementation can begin, key implementation tasks and activities must be defined in detail. An improperly formulated strategic decision can fail even if the strategy itself is good and even if no effort is o spared in its implementation. There is a fine balance that must be achieved on the level of detail, as a plan that is too vague will not provide useful guidance, while a plan that is too detailed may lack flexibility. Securing the Required Resources o Once key tasks have been identified, the resources required for their execution must be identified and secured. Money is an important resource, but by no means the only one. The implementation of projects may also fail because of a lack of manpower or technical expertise. If appropriate resources cannot be secured and developed -- for example, by providing training in the required skills -- the plan must be redefined or its scope limited. Seeking Participation and Commitment o The success of any plan is likely to be limited if the involved personnel is not committed to the project. Managers and employees should be involved from the start in the strategy formulation process, not only in order to develop a sense of ownership but also for the importance of their insights. Plans formulated by top management are almost always guaranteed to have major flaws if employees and affected groups do not provide a reality check based on their knowledge of the organization's day-to-day operations. Creating Communication Structures o Closely related but not equal to commitment-building, the creation of two-way communication channels must form part of the implementation strategy from the beginning. In the early stages of the project it will allow the affected employees to provide their input about the formulated strategy and its potential issues. In later stages of the implementation those channels will ensure that unforeseen problems are communicated to top management in time to act and adapt the plans. Assigning Roles and Responsibilities o Most successful implementations are propelled forward by a formally appointed champion who will provide both leadership and accountability. Roles and responsibilities are often assigned in a framework of projects and programs, with long-term, open-ended programs providing a bridge between strategy and concrete projects. For strategies where disruptive change is required, strategic teams are often formed outside of the existing structures and hierarchies, as management and personnel used to the current way of doing business may have some reticence to alter the status quo.
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